A friend of mine that grew up in Iran but came to the USA for college, said she was amazed how rape was so high in the USA. "What freedom do you have in the USA? I can't even walk to college without a fear of getting raped?"
When she grew up in Iran, they would have police posted at every corner (they weren't called police, forgot their actual name, but they were govt workers essentially policing the place). Anytime she walked outside, she never had to worry about being raped.
The impression I have is this:
The more poverty, the more potential for violence/riots/rapes, which is why govts are very controlling when their per capita is low. It's an effective way of controlling the crime. Of course, it also controls freedom, but most people prefer the freedom to eat, breathe and live, than the freedom to talk, starve and be shot at.
The serious crime rate in the USA is often talked about by people from certain poor foreign countries. Usually poor countries have a lot of "petty" crime - like theft. But they don't have the really serious violent crimes that the USA has a lot of (murders, violent crimes).
When I lived in one foreign country, I felt very relaxed substantially so compared to the USA, purely because I could walk outside and go jogging and not have to worry about my safety like you have to in the USA. There are no "drive by shootings" in this country, no guns are allowed, etc. If there's a murder, it becomes headline news for the country. In the USA, people are murdered right and left. Additionally, I didn't have to pay a fortune to live in a nice neighborhood to be safe, simply because the country as a whole was so much safer than the USA.
I really find it bizarre that in the USA (Bay Area), you do not have the freedom to live in a safe community unless you want to spend a million dollars on a home. It is so different in some of the foreign countries that are much safer than the USA. The amount of money you have (or wish to spend on a house) does not determine the safety level of your community.
I think capitalism hugely fails in this regard, and makes foreign countries much more appealing for women.
One of the reasons why women don't want to become teachers is because the income sometimes doesn't let them live in a safe area of the city. I would love to see middle class gated communities that form in the USA, not on the basis of money, but on the basis of behavior, that only permit people and families that have no crime history whatsoever, no drunk driving charges, no theft, no drugs, etc.
Because as it stands right now, capitalism only permits those with a million to live in a safe area in the Bay Area, as an example. I don't think safety should be dependent upon the type of job you have (teacher, etc), I think it should be more dependent upon a person's behavior.
Regards,
Amy J |
