The Frog Wizard will protect you.
While looking through some old posts, I came across this post, “My Fellow Riders and I Will Attack You on the Metro“, which described a woman who had moved from Southern Virginia to Tysons Corner, VA and was scared of the Metro–though she managed to overcome it. She still was doing things like not standing within ten feet of the platform and was concerned about people with lots of full shopping bags (presumably they were criminals?).
Some people have always been afraid of city things–even the Tysons Metro station.
And then we have from this year a poll showing that most Americans–an overwhelming majority, like “release the Epstein files” kind of majority–do not realize that homicide rates in U.S. cities have dropped dramatically since 1990.
I don’t know how we fix this, and it’s important that we do because the misperception of crime in cities is being used to justify martial law. Fortunately, even with the massively incorrect beliefs they hold.
Maybe we need more Frog Wizard? Dunno.
mikethemadbiologist
I’m not sure it’s possible to convince anyone of measurement statistics. I think one should point out just who commits crimes, and who advocates crimes.
The demonization of Jews by nazi owned media began over a decade before Hitler took power. Things may seem to be going a bit faster today, but remember that right-wingers have been exaggerating “urban” and immigrant crime to make cities look like lawless hell holes since at least the early 2010s. Those “Fair & Balanced” folks at Fox are using footage from past unrest in the US and even from overseas to support their claims that US cities are war zones. Add AI generated slop and we’re headed for an environment where no one will believe anything that contradicts their biases unless they see it in person with their naked eyes.
If the good guys prevail this time we’re going to need a lot more than “truth and reconciliation” to begin the healing.
NYC as a media center made the most of its reputation for urban lawlessness. Writers of movies and television shows portrayed the city as an anarchic hell hole. It made for some good art, a lot of bad art and a lot of people absolutely terrified of urban life. It wasn’t until the 90s that this trend lightened.
There used to be a web site by a NYC based location scout. He’d often visit the places where various movies were shot and show how they’ve been gentrified and much less scary than back in, let us say, 1975. He realized that things had changed when he was out scouting with his expensive camera and some big Black guy approached him and asked to see his camera. He was sure he’d never see it again, but the guy checked it out, looked through the viewfinder and handed it back saying that he was thinking of buying a similar camera and asking for advice.