MEXICO IS DANGEROUS

I should have my head examined, because despite the fact I was recently warned that Mexico City is a dangerous place, I flew into DF anyway (Distrito Federal, Mexico City) and spent a couple days in the city, just as I have many times before. I stay in a wonderful B&B located in the leafy, park and fountain laced Colonia Condesa, that was once a hippodrome or horse racing track, and later became a residential area renowned for its Art Deco, and International Style architecture. Think Luis Barragan. I love Mexico City. 

This wasn't the first warning I'd received about the dangers of DF, and I'm sure it won't be the last. And according to authorities, it's not just DF that's dangerous, but apparently all of Mexico. Yet, I continue to go back and forth between NYC and DF, same as ever. And I've begun to feel at home wandering the colonia, frequenting certain cafes and book stores, and watching children play around a fountain in Parque España. 

The Mexico City I know must be very different from the one I've been warned about many times. It never fails. Usually just before I go, some well wishing US/Anglo• lectures me about the perils of Mexico– mainly beheadings. Invariably, I ask the well wisher if they've ever been to Mexico, and the reply, nine times out of ten is, "No." This is usually followed by a pause, my silence, then eventually it dawns upon the "Mexico Expert" that their credibility may be at stake, which is inevitably followed by, "But I just read it in the news!" Hmmnnnn.

Let's just say all news– print, television, radio, and internet– is accurate and true. For the time being, set aside what W.R. Hearst said,"You furnish the pictures, and I'll furnish the war." And don't be asking questions about the integrity of the press. Don't mention the name Rupert Murdoch. There is no such thing as distortion or media propaganda. Hello? 

One night during my last stint in the states, while visiting my father in Suburban Philadelphia, I heard a story on the evening news about a gunman in West Philadelphia who entered a disco and randomly gunned downed seven people. Also, while I was there, stories about the Long Island Killer kept popping up as frequently as corpses. And I recall reading about six police officers gunned down in the line of duty (an isolated incident was what the writer said) somewhere in Miami. And you know what? I started feeling more afraid while I was in the US, than I am now, here, back in Mexico. I kept wondering when some psychotic on a random killing spree might plant a bullet in the back of my skull while I wasn't looking.

Hey, I'm not saying parts of Mexico aren't dangerous, especially where the drug wars are raging around the US/Mexican border. The horrors, and death toll– consequences and collateral damage from the war on drugs is real. And it's a US problem as much as it is (if not more so), a Mexican problem. But the vast majority of those crimes, and casualties are directly related to people implicated in drug traffic. Not random killings. 

You know what? My mother always told me the world was a dangerous place. Is it really possible the US is safe, safer than Mexico, statistically– per capita? Odd, the lion's share of the demand for drug product is in the US. And that the guns and ammo are sold by US dealers. Yet crime, violence, and murders related to drug trafficking seem to mysteriously vanish (at least as far as media coverage is concerned) once it crosses the border. Hello, again? 

-PHA

* Coming up: A question of Taxonomy - The Anglo/Hispanic conundrum