I had an illuminating encounter on Twitter about all those "crime-infested cities." A certain Twitter influencer (who runs a wholesome, popular, apolitical account) announced that he would be visiting New York City (in case any followers wanted to meet up). Now... this person is a grownup and a man of the world: originally from a fairly major European city and now living in Asia. I trust he can handle himself in scarier situations than a trip to Central Park.
But up pops this lady who's earnestly advising him to hire security if he's planning to set foot in NYC. It turns out she's from... North Carolina. I live in the NYC suburbs and go there pretty often, without incident. I told her this, also citing statistics that NYC crime rates are unremarkable among cities (not even in the top 20 in the U.S.). She was having none of it, ignoring the actual numbers and telling me to read the newspapers in "my own city" if I'm that out of touch with reality. I patiently explained that you can read about crimes occurring without learning much about the actual frequency and risk, which is... very modest, especially in the tourist-friendly parts of Manhattan.
But there was no getting through to her. She'd been told cities are war zones and wouldn't be convinced otherwise... even by someone who actually goes there, or by the actual statistics on crime.
They will be leaning on the “socialism destroys freedom” mantra. Bill Barr got it started yesterday in his Caitlin Collins interview!
Well said. Love your podcast, too👍
Great piece, Reed. Sharing widely.
This is excellent, thanks
I had an illuminating encounter on Twitter about all those "crime-infested cities." A certain Twitter influencer (who runs a wholesome, popular, apolitical account) announced that he would be visiting New York City (in case any followers wanted to meet up). Now... this person is a grownup and a man of the world: originally from a fairly major European city and now living in Asia. I trust he can handle himself in scarier situations than a trip to Central Park.
But up pops this lady who's earnestly advising him to hire security if he's planning to set foot in NYC. It turns out she's from... North Carolina. I live in the NYC suburbs and go there pretty often, without incident. I told her this, also citing statistics that NYC crime rates are unremarkable among cities (not even in the top 20 in the U.S.). She was having none of it, ignoring the actual numbers and telling me to read the newspapers in "my own city" if I'm that out of touch with reality. I patiently explained that you can read about crimes occurring without learning much about the actual frequency and risk, which is... very modest, especially in the tourist-friendly parts of Manhattan.
But there was no getting through to her. She'd been told cities are war zones and wouldn't be convinced otherwise... even by someone who actually goes there, or by the actual statistics on crime.
Public gullibility adds fuel to the fire!