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Hey, did you actually read my post? I was not hanging around them, I was just passing by them in the street. Anyway, thanks for all the responses; some of the replies here are re-assuring in the sense that there is no case of violence in Miami.
Yes, I did read your post. It said that you were AROUND THEM. It doesn't matter if you were right next to them or just passing by. Don't be around drunk people you don't know by yourself. That's just common sense!
Anyway, thanks to everyone here for all their advice, really much appreciated.
Judging from the responses here, The US as a whole sounds rather safe; i think I'll just stay-put at South Beach (as that is where most of the tourists are) and avoid going inland (I don't think most tourists have gone inlandO. It should be okay as long as I stay within the touristy areas and not go into rough places; i think I'll have fun.
Last edited by tigerbalm1985; 12-28-2014 at 03:45 AM..
There are very few "rough" places in Miami to worry about - on the coast or inland. And as others have said, there is no such thing as significant racism in Miami against Asians. I know several Asians who live in Miami, who have no real troubles whatsoever. Certainly nothing along the lines of violence or danger.
In the US, you need to have street smarts, and keep your wits about you - consider for instance what it may be like visiting Bangkok. There's no reason not to visit - just don't put yourself in dangerous situations or be rude to people for no reason. Common sense while traveling. It will be pretty obvious if you end up in an unsafe area - it will look very rundown, with people wandering around who look kind of angry or without purpose, and kind of empty. Those neighborhoods are not that easy to get to anyway, you'd have to drive into them and they're not near many touristy things to do.
Definitely consider coming down to the Florida Keys! We have the 3rd largest coral reef here in the world, and great diving and snorkeling, as well as tropical fruits in Homestead, FL (check out a place 'Robert Is Here', or go to the Fruit & Spice Park), and swimming with dolphins and things like that, the party town of Key West, and lots of deep sea fishing, water sports, kayaking tours, and very friendly people. There are only a handful of Asians living on probably the entire 100 mile stretch of islands, but no one here cares what you are, and there are Asian tourists here from time to time. The Keys have interesting museums, state parks with tropical hammocks you can walk through to see a wide variety of flora and fauna - many not found anywhere else in the world, and lots of fun tourist shops with the Keys unique sense of humor to be found everywhere.
The entire stretch of the Florida Keys is safe for tourists - again keeping in mind standard common sense when traveling not to put yourself in danger by getting too drunk, or giving your money to strangers without assurance that they work with some kind of company, etc.
Traveling on the other side of the continent to a country you've never been to can be scary. But truly, I have lived in a lot of places in the US, including Miami, and I have never seen any significant anti-Asian sentiment anywhere - not of the kind where you would be in any physical danger as a tourist! If anything, Asians have a pretty positive reputation in the US as being hard-working and law-abiding (even if that is a stereotype). There are jerks everywhere, but no one will target you more because you are Asian than they might target anyone else for just being there while they are drunk and in a bad mood or whatever - if someone wants to start trouble, the person they start it with could be of any skin tone or ethnic background, it really won't matter. Even the racial issues that we do have here, more against African-descended people with dark skin, are generally not the type where people would just beat someone randomly in the street out of nowhere - that kind of thing is not considered acceptable among the majority of the population anywhere in the country.
You may have heard stories that you are confusing a bit with an issue against MUSLIMS - some of whom are Asian - and in that case yes, it is possible particularly 10 years ago that some random people with turbans (many of whom were Sikhs mistaken by ignorant Americans for being Muslim) were beaten for no reason. But that does not happen anymore, and if you do not wear a head covering during your travels in the US, you are not likely to have any issue. If you do wear a head scarf or turban, you're not likely to be met with violence now, but some may suspect you of being a possible terrorist and be a little afraid of you, or say something mean to you. That can happen anywhere in the country, again only if you run into the more ignorant types who are looking to pick a fight with someone anyway. There are still thousands of people in the US who live here or travel here every day with a traditional head covering on, and they are just fine, and are even treated very well. Just as in Singapore, Japan, Brazil, or anywhere else, the jerks in the US are in the minority.
Enjoy your trip! There are so many great things to see and do across the US, and you should have a wonderful time!
Physical attacks among crowds are extremely rare because unlike Australians, Miamians would not just sit there and watch others being attacked for their race or ethnicity like Australian do in those videos that have been uploaded on the internet.
We won't? When did street policy change?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugah Ray
Now your chances of getting attacked are higher here in the American continent. We are a violent society so you need to be more careful.
I mean you won't be as safe a you would say in The West Bank, Syria, Iraq, or Afghanistan... Read the Miami Herald and you will have a much better idea of what you will need to be watchful of. Even then expect to be scammed by most stores you deal with and harassed for money by homeless who may become violent if you ignore them or deny their request. Also you will be approached by people offering to take a pic of you with your phone or camera and once you hand it to them they will promptly run away with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugah Ray
It doesn't matter if you are white, black or asian, if you are all by yourself after 9:00pm in a bus, Metrorail station or train or walking some deserted street, you could be attacked. Use common sense.
It definitely does matter whether you are White, Black or Asian.
The below reply by StarfishKey is easily the best and most helpful reply I have seen since starting this post; I will rate the below post as positive.
This is because it has taken anxieties and concerns rather seriously.
I would admit that based on some of the other replies, I am somewhat nonplussed by how safe US is; if any of the comments did take my concerns seriously.
I tend to be very careful whenever I travel overseas, due to personal experience and learning from the mistake of others.
For example, my uncle, whom lived in JB, once drove a car to an shopping mall, and when he left the shopping mall, and he was driving halfway, he noticed he was being followed; and at the point, his tyres went burst - someone had placed some kind of mails into his wheels - he knew that if he stopped, he would be dead, so he kept on driving, (and doing serious damage to the car suspension), all the way to the police station, where the police had seen these kind of things before, and let his car in - and locked the station gates! The robbers in the following cars had no interest in barging in, and they knew the police were waiting for them to leave, so they left. It is a widely-held belief that a certain ethnic minority is targeted for this, hence cautiousness on my part whenever I go.
Just to share an experience, I was planning a holiday at KL, and was planning to book a hotel room at Bukit Bintang, a popular touristy area - until someone lobbed a grenade into a cafe at that area to take out the head of Gang 21. Sames goes for Penang - I was planning to spend a great weekend there at the beaches and eating food - until a sudden surge of over 20 gang shootings, thanks to the repeal of the EO Act. these were not at the back-alleys but at respectable neighbourhoods!
It is strange, I always thought the US would be more dangerous, but my own regional backyard sounds far more worst.
Anyway, many thanks for the below reply, really appreciate it!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarfishKey
There are very few "rough" places in Miami to worry about - on the coast or inland. And as others have said, there is no such thing as significant racism in Miami against Asians. I know several Asians who live in Miami, who have no real troubles whatsoever. Certainly nothing along the lines of violence or danger.
In the US, you need to have street smarts, and keep your wits about you - consider for instance what it may be like visiting Bangkok. There's no reason not to visit - just don't put yourself in dangerous situations or be rude to people for no reason. Common sense while traveling. It will be pretty obvious if you end up in an unsafe area - it will look very rundown, with people wandering around who look kind of angry or without purpose, and kind of empty. Those neighborhoods are not that easy to get to anyway, you'd have to drive into them and they're not near many touristy things to do.
Definitely consider coming down to the Florida Keys! We have the 3rd largest coral reef here in the world, and great diving and snorkeling, as well as tropical fruits in Homestead, FL (check out a place 'Robert Is Here', or go to the Fruit & Spice Park), and swimming with dolphins and things like that, the party town of Key West, and lots of deep sea fishing, water sports, kayaking tours, and very friendly people. There are only a handful of Asians living on probably the entire 100 mile stretch of islands, but no one here cares what you are, and there are Asian tourists here from time to time. The Keys have interesting museums, state parks with tropical hammocks you can walk through to see a wide variety of flora and fauna - many not found anywhere else in the world, and lots of fun tourist shops with the Keys unique sense of humor to be found everywhere.
The entire stretch of the Florida Keys is safe for tourists - again keeping in mind standard common sense when traveling not to put yourself in danger by getting too drunk, or giving your money to strangers without assurance that they work with some kind of company, etc.
Traveling on the other side of the continent to a country you've never been to can be scary. But truly, I have lived in a lot of places in the US, including Miami, and I have never seen any significant anti-Asian sentiment anywhere - not of the kind where you would be in any physical danger as a tourist! If anything, Asians have a pretty positive reputation in the US as being hard-working and law-abiding (even if that is a stereotype). There are jerks everywhere, but no one will target you more because you are Asian than they might target anyone else for just being there while they are drunk and in a bad mood or whatever - if someone wants to start trouble, the person they start it with could be of any skin tone or ethnic background, it really won't matter. Even the racial issues that we do have here, more against African-descended people with dark skin, are generally not the type where people would just beat someone randomly in the street out of nowhere - that kind of thing is not considered acceptable among the majority of the population anywhere in the country.
You may have heard stories that you are confusing a bit with an issue against MUSLIMS - some of whom are Asian - and in that case yes, it is possible particularly 10 years ago that some random people with turbans (many of whom were Sikhs mistaken by ignorant Americans for being Muslim) were beaten for no reason. But that does not happen anymore, and if you do not wear a head covering during your travels in the US, you are not likely to have any issue. If you do wear a head scarf or turban, you're not likely to be met with violence now, but some may suspect you of being a possible terrorist and be a little afraid of you, or say something mean to you. That can happen anywhere in the country, again only if you run into the more ignorant types who are looking to pick a fight with someone anyway. There are still thousands of people in the US who live here or travel here every day with a traditional head covering on, and they are just fine, and are even treated very well. Just as in Singapore, Japan, Brazil, or anywhere else, the jerks in the US are in the minority.
Enjoy your trip! There are so many great things to see and do across the US, and you should have a wonderful time!
If you get lost in the wrong side of town at night you will probably get robbed regardless of race or residency status. Being Asian is not a give away that you are a tourist. There are Asians here, it's not like they are creatures from another planet. Quite a few speak Spanish too because they previously lived in Latin America. Now don't go around looking like a clueless tourist. An example would be having a $2k camera hanging around your neck, flashing the newest Iphone in the bad side of town or wearing clothes with flower prints...
It's common sense. Just avoid dark lonely places. If possible don't hang around late at night and have a GPS if you plan to rent a car. If you are gonna use public transportation be extremely careful late at night. Public transportation does have a higher share of shady individuals. If you get lost in a bad neighborhood just keep driving until you get out.
It's not common to target cars here. That happens more often in other countries where the car rentals/hotel employees are part of the scam. The police is either corrupt or doesn't have the power to stop these people. Over here if a gang tries to do that, they actually investigate, figure out the connection(like all robbed people all stayed at the same hotel or rented a car with the same employee) and the police will press charges. Most criminals in the US don't do a lot of planning. They wait for opportunities to come to them.
Americans don't put up with that kind of nonsense. If someone is getting attacked in a train full of people for their ethnicity people will react. They won't just sit there and ignore it, or worse join the pigs like Australians are known for doing. If you don't believe it there are plenty of videos on Youtube showing how tourist and immigrants become targets.
Quote:
Originally Posted by canesfan33068
Read the Miami Herald and you will have a much better idea of what you will need to be watchful of. Even then expect to be scammed by most stores you deal with and harassed for money by homeless who may become violent if you ignore them or deny their request. Also you will be approached by people offering to take a pic of you with your phone or camera and once you hand it to them they will promptly run away with it.
I have probably visited all bad neighborhoods in FL with the exception of the Panhandle area and I am a woman. I have never seen a panhandler getting violent when I tell him I have no money. You are being sensationalist, most panhandlers just ask for money and that's about it.
Americans don't put up with that kind of nonsense. If someone is getting attacked in a train full of people for their ethnicity people will react. They won't just sit there and ignore it, or worse join the pigs like Australians are known for doing. If you don't believe it there are plenty of videos on Youtube showing how tourist and immigrants become targets.
You mean like all of those Youtube videos where people watch others fight/get beat up in public where people record on their phones but do nothing to stop it? There's plenty of those in the U.S. and in Miami online.
I'm Asian and I live in Miami :-) Don't worry racism against Asians is non-existant in Miami, it will probably be one of the least racist city toward Asians in the US!
Even in places in the US that have plenty of Asians, racism will never be as bad as in Australia, for instance people shouting at you these things will never happen in the US.
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