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surfguy
Lounge Wizard
Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Posts: 6979
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 Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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| I have to say after visiting St Pete, any major city in the U.S. is more dangerous or at least as dangerous. There are a lot of nieghborhoods that as a white person I wouldn't go into. We have a lot of crime in the states that for sure. But when I was last went to New York I had no problems at all. But that said shit can happen at any time any where. And that is world wide. Just have to be street smart and use common sense. |
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MrSpice
Lounge Wizard
Joined: 14 Jul 2003
Posts: 3431
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| Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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| surfguy wrote: | | I have to say after visiting St Pete, any major city in the U.S. is more dangerous or at least as dangerous. There are a lot of nieghborhoods that as a white person I wouldn't go into. We have a lot of crime in the states that for sure. But when I was last went to New York I had no problems at all. But that said shit can happen at any time any where. And that is world wide. Just have to be street smart and use common sense. |
surfguy: Believe me, for you're saying is just your own incorrect impression of the situation. I have lived in New York for 11 years now and have been to virtually all neighborhoods. You're falling the victim of this country's love for crime reporting and don't realize that here, the police actually works. People go to the police when they have problems. Also, the "bad" neighborhoods are much better defined and normally, you're not likely to be there, especially at night. Add to that that crime rate in New York was falling for the last few years and is at 20-30 year low.
I visited St Petersburg last June. Because I speak Russian and lived there before, I went beyond Nevsky Prospect and the center of the city. And many regular working-class neighborhoods don't feel safe at all, especially after dark. I saw some people that looked drunk or high and the police (miliziya) was nowhere to be found (not that we would go to the police with our US passports - I would be afraid of the police more, because they can arrest you and who knows what else).
Walking in the center and saying that St Petersburg is very safe is like walking down 5th Avenue in New York. And 5th Avenue is much safer than Nevsky even in this comparison. trust me. |
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xxatti
Frequent Guest
Joined: 17 Sep 2005
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 12:13 pm Post subject: |
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| surfguy wrote: | | I have to say after visiting St Pete, any major city in the U.S. is more dangerous or at least as dangerous. There are a lot of nieghborhoods that as a white person I wouldn't go into. We have a lot of crime in the states that for sure. But when I was last went to New York I had no problems at all. But that said shit can happen at any time any where. And that is world wide. Just have to be street smart and use common sense. |
Once again, another white American stating that he felt completely safe in Russia  ... which has nothing to do with the topic at hand.
The issue was the increased risks and dangers for foreigners of dark complexion, and especially those of African and Asian decent. No one ever disputed that white Americans could travel around Russia using good common sense and not run into any problems. But try the same thing as an Asian, Hispanic, or African. |
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charles
Lounge Lizard
Joined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 180
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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What does it mean to "feel" safe anyway? Is New York safer than Moscow, Beijing safer than Los Angeles, or Timbuktu safer than Kalamazoo? Two people can visit the same place on the same day and have totally different experiences. How safe you "feel" is your own perception. A lot of people feel very unsafe when a drunk homeless person approaches them to ask for money. Is their fear justified?
xxatti, I think the point of the thread was that people should go and see Russia for themselves, and not be deterred by negative reports. As gonethesun says, Russia has some problems, yes, but has many great things to offer. Do you think that hispanics, Asians, and Africans should avoid visiting Russia because of the threat of attack? It's always smart to be cautious and vigilant, but why let your life be controlled by fear? |
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xxatti
Frequent Guest
Joined: 17 Sep 2005
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 7:11 pm Post subject: |
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| charles wrote: | | xxatti, I think the point of the thread was that people should go and see Russia for themselves, and not be deterred by negative reports. As gonethesun says, Russia has some problems, yes, but has many great things to offer. Do you think that hispanics, Asians, and Africans should avoid visiting Russia because of the threat of attack? It's always smart to be cautious and vigilant, but why let your life be controlled by fear? |
I would not recommend an African, Asian, or Hispanic to go to Russia right now. Even my Russian friends say they wouldnt advise Africans and Asians to come to Russia. But I guess none of them know what they're talking about??
Advising these people to go to Russia and "discover it for themselves" is like advising Americans to go to Colombia and "discover it for themselves". That's not to say that these people couldnt go to these countries and be fine. But the risk factor is just too high to carelessly advise people to go to these countries when they will have a target on their back. |
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Generation-P
WayToRussified
Joined: 22 May 2006
Posts: 316
Location: SHE WENT TO BARCELONA!
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| Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 6:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Allthough we all have heard the news about the racist attacks against gypsyes, asiatics, caucasians,hispanics, africans and anti-racist acticists in St. Pete and in other major cities in Russia, I still wouldn't be too pessimistic about the issue. I'm sure that there are still quite many people who can and will survive under the circumstances. If nothing more I have to confess that I know some hispanic students who have survived already 4 years in St.Pete. Still one can never be too careful. |
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dcunited11
Frequent Guest
Joined: 10 Jun 2005
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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in the metro, i wasn't scared of skinheads or getting robbed. i was afraid that the train ws actually going to stop and get stuck. and i would be in there for a few hours. the escalators are very scary too.  |
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