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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,047,835 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by bejarano
You really do have a huge vault of stupid questions Trimac, really. It doesn't happen in Asia? Vietnam? Indonesia? Latin America is more violent than Spain? I mean, where do you get this crap from - which part of Latin America... Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Guatemala, Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Cuba? - and comparing developing countries to a pseudo 'first' world country that has been propped up by EU money just isn't sport you know.
I think it's a valid question. The stats speak for themselves. I'm not saying Latin Americans are inherently more violent, just wondering if there's something about their society which leads to this. It sticks out like a sore thumb, no Asian city was in the top 50 worst cities for murder, and this is where 2/3rds of the world's people live!
Trimac - the place where you are most likely to die if you are a western expat (by suicide, accidental death and yes - murder) is Thailand. If people are offing each other in 'Villa Miserias' is not a concern of yours unless you are daft enough to go there. Simple as that. If you want to be ripped off, charged double, cheated, scammed and in places like the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia - mugged and robbed - then you can't do any worse than a fair few parts of Asia.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,047,835 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by bejarano
Trimac - the place where you are most likely to die if you are a western expat (by suicide, accidental death and yes - murder) is Thailand. If people are offing each other in 'Villa Miserias' is not a concern of yours unless you are daft enough to go there. Simple as that. If you want to be ripped off, charged double, cheated, scammed and in places like the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia - mugged and robbed - then you can't do any worse than a fair few parts of Asia.
Where are the stats to back that up?
Thailand is pretty safe if you don't do anything stupid. I never felt unsafe walking the streets of Bangkok at night, by myself, even in deserted areas. I felt unsafer walking some American cities in broad daylight.
Some numbers to ponder, if you are Australian, British, German or Kiwi - Thailand is the place where you are most likely to die outside of your own country, if you are American - only three other countries are more lethal than Thailand.
Yes, many parts of Latin America are very violent. Five of the top 10 most "homicidal" countries are in Latin America, and three are in the Caribbean (though not Spanish-speaking). The most violent country in the world is currently Honduras with a annual homicide rate of 91.6 per 100,000, which is stratospheric and is roughly comparable (the entire country) with New Orleans (an individual city) at its historical worst. Even "safe" Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 10 / 100,000, which would rank 2nd if it were a U.S. state (Puerto Rico, a territory, by the way, is at 26.7).
The countries of the southern cone have homicide rates comparable to that of the U.S. (which is 4.2 for the latest data period available, representing a drastic drop from what it was in even the recent past). Paraguay and Bolivia are about twice the rate of the U.S.; Ecuador is roughly comparable with Mexico with a homicide rate four times that of the U.S. Brazil is five times the U.S. The entire nation of Colombia has a comparable rate of homicide (33.4) to Baltimore, Maryland, and Venezuela is roughly ten times the rate of the U.S.
So yes, Latin America is a homicide-prone place. Those who fail to recognize that are either ignorant or in denial. Part of the bloodshed is fueled by the global demand for drugs, many of which are either cultivated or trafficked through Latin America. This demand does not only originate from the U.S., but also from Europe and Asia, especially in South America. However, I do not think this accounts for the entirety of it. Many Latin American countries (or classes therein) have cultures of "honor", similar to the American South, which has a higher homicide rate (even when isolated to the white majority) than the rest of the U.S. Insult a northerner, and he will likely brush it off; insult a Southerner, and he is more likely to respond angrily. There have actually been studies done on this. With the cultures of honor and the persistent machismo (with both its positive and negative characteristics), this could account for some of the violence in Latin America. The high level of social inequality and desire for wealth at any cost is also likely responsible for the high homicide rates there.
Note that this does not reflect any hatred for Latin America on my part. Rather, many of my best friends are from Latin America, and I have an intense respect for some Latino cultures. However, there is a dark side to everything.
As of 2012, 46 of the 50 most violent cities are in Latin America. Its a rich-poor disparity thing I feel. Nice people, mostly. Pretty girls, good weather - they have loads going for them, except the system perpetuates success for a rich few.
That's not how the protocol works here. When somebody asks you to cite your sources, you cite your sources. I realize you are new here, but that's the way things work on discussion forums.
At least, give us some search terms as a hint. I just googled /expat crime victim rate/ and all I got was individual countries, no comparisons, so you are also wrong when you say "they are easy to find".
Some numbers to ponder, if you are Australian, British, German or Kiwi - Thailand is the place where you are most likely to die outside of your own country, if you are American - only three other countries are more lethal than Thailand.
Cite a source? Also, is it per capita or does it have to do with the large number of expats in Thailand? If it's per capita, does it have to do with the insane driving and traffic regulation in places like Bangkok/food poisoning/etc. or is it violent crime as we've been discussing on this board?
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