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If my friends are any indication, most would be hesitant to move to the US due to physical safety issues in American streets.

by hkai 6y ago

mimikatz 6y ago
That fear is overblown due to media focus. Attacks against Asians happen, but not in numbers that should make anyone hesitant to live here. If the media publicized every vending machine that crushed someone people would be scared of them, but the reality is different
- GuB-42 6y ago
  I traveled to Hong-Kong right in the middle of protests and I actually felt much safer than in the US and my home country (France), and I am a white guy. It is ironic when protesters chanted "Hong-Kong is not safe", these people probably never went to the US or Europe, let alone Africa... I mean just look at here: https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Hong-Kong/United-States/Crime https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Hong-Kong/... Basically safer by an order of magnitude. It is not just the media, many western countries are unacceptably unsafe relative to their wealth and that includes the US. I mean, when you have to lock a bike with a lock that is heavier and more expensive than the bike itself, there is a problem. Going to low-crime country is always a pleasure and I would understand Hong-Kongers for refusing to leave for that reason.
woutr_be 6y ago
From what I can tell, most HKers are looking at Canada, UK or Australia. I haven't really heard anyone talking about moving to the US.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 6y ago
  Compared to the U.S., anti-Asian sentiment is actually worse in Canada and Australia right now by some objective measures, according to a talk I attended yesterday by Dr. Russell Jeung (Asian-American Studies). He didn't mention the U.K. That said, it makes sense that someone from a city-state that was formerly part of the british commonwealth would want to move (back) to the commonwealth. One example: the higher education systems within the commonwealth are more interlinked and university degrees more widely recognised across borders. I'm sure there are many more benefits as well.
danielrpa 6y ago
Please don't believe in media sensationalism. Yes, covid brought us an increase in violence, but that was simply relative to numbers that have been declining for decades. I'm not saying that we shouldn't keep improving this in the US, but it's still an extremely safe place. Also, most of the physical violence in the US is restricted to specific cities or areas within larger cities which you should generally be able to avoid. Regarding ethnic violence against Asians, it's even more inflated by the media. The statistics don't support the narrative of regular violence against people from Asia: https://www.statista.com/statistics/251877/murder-victims-in-the-us-by-race-ethnicity-and-gender/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/251877/murder-victims-in...
- dustinmoris 6y ago
  > Please don't believe in media sensationalism. *) Unless the media sensationalism is from the US media against China. What happens on US streets, regardless how awful it is, is always nothing, but as soon as a single person protests in Hong Kong it's a human tragedy.
- bmn__ 6y ago
  > the US [is] still an extremely safe place. That's incorrect, a misleading exaggeration. In any ranking about safety, it does not occupy the extreme end, but around the median or average. It would be accurate to say that the US, in the international comparison, is at best a somewhat safe place.
  - danielrpa 6y ago
    Let me avoid the word "extreme" then - it doesn't make any difference to the core of the argument. One will be happy to live in a place with "very high" safety levels instead of "extreme". I don't agree with your characterization of overall safety based on ranking positions. The US, as a few other countries, has very localized violence and that sharply skews averages. This means that it's quite possible to live in a safe area even within notoriously violent cities (which often have high violence numbers in relatively small areas). Also, by international standards, the US has very accurate reporting and crime statistics. So while you can see a few countries with surprisingly lower violence numbers, don't assume you are comparing apples to apples in terms of how accurate these countries' statistics are. So while it's true that in aggregate the US doesn't sit well in safety rankings, this doesn't mean that a clear majority of the country isn't extremely safe - as in the chances of you suffering violent crime being very low by international standards. By the way - I'm not saying it's okay to have localized violence. However, it's quite possible, and easy, to enjoy very high safety levels in the US even if you are not rich (while this isn't necessarily the case if you are poor due to limitations on where you can live).
christophilus 6y ago
I had an coworker who lived in Israel. I mentioned that I’d love to visit, but was nervous due to violence/terrorism. She just snorted and said she felt the same way about coming to the US. We both realized that our fears were blown way out of proportion due to media sensationalism. Anyway, the streets are fine.
- joghoen 6y ago
  Now, think again about what media says about the Chinese government.
  - dustinmoris 6y ago
    Also take into consideration that the biggest anti-China propaganda is coming from the one country which is afraid of being overtaken as the world's biggest economy by China. China doesn't seem to be a big problem in any other country across the globe. Strange. It's also quite funny how so many more countries in the world are afraid of the USA, particularly those with oil reserves and other natural resources.
  - christophilus 6y ago
    I do think about it. I’ve been to China. I have many friends who spent a great deal of their lives in China. I’m not sure why you think I haven’t “thought again” about the media’s takes on China.

If my friends are any indication, most would be hesitant to move to the US due to physical safety issues in American streets.

by hkai 6y ago

If my friends are any indication, most would be hesitant to move to the US due to physical safety issues in American streets.

mimikatz 6y ago

That fear is overblown due to media focus. Attacks against Asians happen, but not in numbers that should make anyone hesitant to live here. If the media publicized every vending machine that crushed someone people would be scared of them, but the reality is different

GuB-42 6y ago
I traveled to Hong-Kong right in the middle of protests and I actually felt much safer than in the US and my home country (France), and I am a white guy. It is ironic when protesters chanted "Hong-Kong is not safe", these people probably never went to the US or Europe, let alone Africa... I mean just look at here: https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Hong-Kong/United-States/Crime https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Hong-Kong/... Basically safer by an order of magnitude. It is not just the media, many western countries are unacceptably unsafe relative to their wealth and that includes the US. I mean, when you have to lock a bike with a lock that is heavier and more expensive than the bike itself, there is a problem. Going to low-crime country is always a pleasure and I would understand Hong-Kongers for refusing to leave for that reason.

woutr_be 6y ago

From what I can tell, most HKers are looking at Canada, UK or Australia. I haven't really heard anyone talking about moving to the US.

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 6y ago
Compared to the U.S., anti-Asian sentiment is actually worse in Canada and Australia right now by some objective measures, according to a talk I attended yesterday by Dr. Russell Jeung (Asian-American Studies). He didn't mention the U.K. That said, it makes sense that someone from a city-state that was formerly part of the british commonwealth would want to move (back) to the commonwealth. One example: the higher education systems within the commonwealth are more interlinked and university degrees more widely recognised across borders. I'm sure there are many more benefits as well.

danielrpa 6y ago

Please don't believe in media sensationalism. Yes, covid brought us an increase in violence, but that was simply relative to numbers that have been declining for decades. I'm not saying that we shouldn't keep improving this in the US, but it's still an extremely safe place. Also, most of the physical violence in the US is restricted to specific cities or areas within larger cities which you should generally be able to avoid. Regarding ethnic violence against Asians, it's even more inflated by the media. The statistics don't support the narrative of regular violence against people from Asia: https://www.statista.com/statistics/251877/murder-victims-in-the-us-by-race-ethnicity-and-gender/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/251877/murder-victims-in...

dustinmoris 6y ago
> Please don't believe in media sensationalism. *) Unless the media sensationalism is from the US media against China. What happens on US streets, regardless how awful it is, is always nothing, but as soon as a single person protests in Hong Kong it's a human tragedy.
bmn__ 6y ago
> the US [is] still an extremely safe place. That's incorrect, a misleading exaggeration. In any ranking about safety, it does not occupy the extreme end, but around the median or average. It would be accurate to say that the US, in the international comparison, is at best a somewhat safe place.
- danielrpa 6y ago
  Let me avoid the word "extreme" then - it doesn't make any difference to the core of the argument. One will be happy to live in a place with "very high" safety levels instead of "extreme". I don't agree with your characterization of overall safety based on ranking positions. The US, as a few other countries, has very localized violence and that sharply skews averages. This means that it's quite possible to live in a safe area even within notoriously violent cities (which often have high violence numbers in relatively small areas). Also, by international standards, the US has very accurate reporting and crime statistics. So while you can see a few countries with surprisingly lower violence numbers, don't assume you are comparing apples to apples in terms of how accurate these countries' statistics are. So while it's true that in aggregate the US doesn't sit well in safety rankings, this doesn't mean that a clear majority of the country isn't extremely safe - as in the chances of you suffering violent crime being very low by international standards. By the way - I'm not saying it's okay to have localized violence. However, it's quite possible, and easy, to enjoy very high safety levels in the US even if you are not rich (while this isn't necessarily the case if you are poor due to limitations on where you can live).

christophilus 6y ago

I had an coworker who lived in Israel. I mentioned that I’d love to visit, but was nervous due to violence/terrorism. She just snorted and said she felt the same way about coming to the US. We both realized that our fears were blown way out of proportion due to media sensationalism. Anyway, the streets are fine.

joghoen 6y ago
Now, think again about what media says about the Chinese government.
- dustinmoris 6y ago
  Also take into consideration that the biggest anti-China propaganda is coming from the one country which is afraid of being overtaken as the world's biggest economy by China. China doesn't seem to be a big problem in any other country across the globe. Strange. It's also quite funny how so many more countries in the world are afraid of the USA, particularly those with oil reserves and other natural resources.
- christophilus 6y ago
  I do think about it. I’ve been to China. I have many friends who spent a great deal of their lives in China. I’m not sure why you think I haven’t “thought again” about the media’s takes on China.