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>This feels analogous to leaving a laptop unattended in the back seat of a parked car and blaming the government for not stopping it from being stolen To some
by eloisius 5y ago
>This feels analogous to leaving a laptop unattended in the back seat of a parked car and blaming the government for not stopping it from being stolen
To some degree, that's reasonable, but it also illustrates how low a bar Americans set for their society. Everyone is so numb to the existence of petty theft that we immediately blame the victim for leaving something in their car, or locking their bike up outside instead of bringing it inside.
But I live in a major city where I routinely leave my laptop sitting on a table at coffee shops unattended while I run to the restroom, or lean my bike against the wall outside a restaurant while I go in and have lunch. School kids walk or ride the metro home by themselves after dark. People turn in lost and found wallets and cell phones. If you lose something on the metro, there's actually a good chance you'll get it back.
Why do we act like ubiquitous violence and theft is just part and parcel to living in a modern city?
- slg 5y agoContext matters. People might not be aware but the few miles around Union Station are probably the densest population of homeless people in the country. People who have nothing to lose are going to be more likely to commit crime. The societal breakdown in that area is not caused by the increase in crime. The increase in crime is caused by a societal breakdown that has forced over 10,000 people onto the streets surrounding these train tracks.
- eloisius 5y agoI realize this rail yard is an atypical scenario. I was responding to the analogy about leaving a laptop in your car. I know it’s unthinkable to do that in almost any populated area of the US, but the expectation of rampant theft isn’t a necessary part of life. I live somewhere that proves it.