4 ms·

As somebody who is Brazilian, I gotta tell you. Comparing the US with Brazil, especially with respect to some violence-adjacent statistic, is absurd in a way I

As somebody who is Brazilian, I gotta tell you. Comparing the US with Brazil, especially with respect to some violence-adjacent statistic, is absurd in a way I don't think anybody from anywhere aside from perhaps South Africa could grasp big is your privilege.

SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago
Yeah, take it from me, NYC and Boston are far more relaxed and friendly than Cape Town for walking or driving around. But I find the airport border security in CPT Airport much more pleasant. The worst that happens is that they sometimes go through your stuff thoroughly, hoping to ding you some money for "importing" e.g. that second bottle of booze. In all of these cities, there is crime and violence. Less so in NYC and Boston. In all of them, there are safer places and times, and less safe areas. If you know what they are. You can't say "USA crime and poverty rates are terrible, therefore Manhattan will be very dangerous" - it just doesn't work that way.
- bitsandboots 2y ago
  Agree with the point but boy, NYC is one of my least favorite cities so it wouldn't be my example of nice places to be. Boston's nice though!
rbanffy 2y ago
Both Brazil and the US are huge and extremely diverse countries. On both you can see extremes of luxury and poverty. On both you will see violence and police corruption. In the case of the US, it's more heartbreaking because it's a rich country, and you shouldn't see people living on the streets of a place like San Francisco. There are too many things that "shouldn't" in the US that just are and that is what makes me avoid visiting as often as I once did. The current descent into a quasi-fascist state isn't enticing either. Brazil, on the other hand, is a poor country with rich pockets (chances are we both grew up in one), and poverty is kind of expected and hard to avoid. At least there (I don't live in Brazil anymore) we see a government dedicated to reducing economic inequality. I hope they succeed. In the meantime, I guess I'll learn some basic Mandarin and spend more time in China. It's an interesting country that's now opening up to the world and with a lot of new things to be discovered by those who grew up elsewhere.
- buzzert 2y ago
  > The current descent into a quasi-fascist state isn't enticing either. > In the meantime, I guess I'll learn some basic Mandarin and spend more time in China. Uhhh....
- SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago
  > and you shouldn't see people living on the streets of a place like San Francisco. Taking a straight line on the map in San Francisco, we saw people in conditions as grim as I have ever seen, including South African slums. As you say, it's in some ways worse because the USA should not - there must be the ability to improve that, but not the inclination. The dire pockets are smaller in the USA, sure. But there were also extremes of luxury and poverty.
- creer 2y ago
  > In the case of the US, it's more heartbreaking because it's a rich country, and you shouldn't see people living on the streets of a place like San Francisco. It is certainly not for lack of money all around that many/most live on the street. Money is the one thing that sloshes all over the place. Mental health care and friendly administrations of all kinds, on the other hand, not so much.
- syndeo 2y ago
  你说得对，你首先需要学中文。Otherwise you'll have a tough time out here. But once you've got the language to a decent place, it's pretty nice. I'm hesitant to express how much I like it here, though… I look at what's happening with all the foreigners causing trouble in Japan, and really hope that the "scary" reputation of China helps keep those types of people from descending like locusts here too. Some secrets are better left kept…
  - ZeroTalent 2y ago
    What's good about living in China? Aren't the cities huge, unwalkable, polluted? Asking in good faith. I've never visited, but spent a lot of time in Bangkok and that was a dystopian nightmare to me. I'm assuming Chinese cities are similar? + what about the gov? I have a lot of friends who emigrated from China and they are complaining a lot about freedoms, social welfare, and work life balance back home.
AngryData 2y ago
The US has a 40% higher incarceration rate than Brazil.
- simonsarris 2y ago
  That may be part of why the US so much safer than Brazil, eg, 4x fewer homicides.
  - ViewTrick1002 2y ago
    Now compare both incarceration rate and homicides with Canada and Europe.
  - AngryData 2y ago
    Then how come the UK with 4x lower incarceration rate than the US also has 5x less homicides?
- HDThoreaun 2y ago
  so what?
marcuschong 2y ago
The comparison was only regarding incarceration rate, it seems to me.

SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago

Yeah, take it from me, NYC and Boston are far more relaxed and friendly than Cape Town for walking or driving around. But I find the airport border security in CPT Airport much more pleasant. The worst that happens is that they sometimes go through your stuff thoroughly, hoping to ding you some money for "importing" e.g. that second bottle of booze. In all of these cities, there is crime and violence. Less so in NYC and Boston. In all of them, there are safer places and times, and less safe areas. If you know what they are. You can't say "USA crime and poverty rates are terrible, therefore Manhattan will be very dangerous" - it just doesn't work that way.

bitsandboots 2y ago
Agree with the point but boy, NYC is one of my least favorite cities so it wouldn't be my example of nice places to be. Boston's nice though!

rbanffy 2y ago

Both Brazil and the US are huge and extremely diverse countries. On both you can see extremes of luxury and poverty. On both you will see violence and police corruption. In the case of the US, it's more heartbreaking because it's a rich country, and you shouldn't see people living on the streets of a place like San Francisco. There are too many things that "shouldn't" in the US that just are and that is what makes me avoid visiting as often as I once did. The current descent into a quasi-fascist state isn't enticing either. Brazil, on the other hand, is a poor country with rich pockets (chances are we both grew up in one), and poverty is kind of expected and hard to avoid. At least there (I don't live in Brazil anymore) we see a government dedicated to reducing economic inequality. I hope they succeed. In the meantime, I guess I'll learn some basic Mandarin and spend more time in China. It's an interesting country that's now opening up to the world and with a lot of new things to be discovered by those who grew up elsewhere.

buzzert 2y ago
> The current descent into a quasi-fascist state isn't enticing either. > In the meantime, I guess I'll learn some basic Mandarin and spend more time in China. Uhhh....
SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago
> and you shouldn't see people living on the streets of a place like San Francisco. Taking a straight line on the map in San Francisco, we saw people in conditions as grim as I have ever seen, including South African slums. As you say, it's in some ways worse because the USA should not - there must be the ability to improve that, but not the inclination. The dire pockets are smaller in the USA, sure. But there were also extremes of luxury and poverty.
creer 2y ago
> In the case of the US, it's more heartbreaking because it's a rich country, and you shouldn't see people living on the streets of a place like San Francisco. It is certainly not for lack of money all around that many/most live on the street. Money is the one thing that sloshes all over the place. Mental health care and friendly administrations of all kinds, on the other hand, not so much.
syndeo 2y ago
你说得对，你首先需要学中文。Otherwise you'll have a tough time out here. But once you've got the language to a decent place, it's pretty nice. I'm hesitant to express how much I like it here, though… I look at what's happening with all the foreigners causing trouble in Japan, and really hope that the "scary" reputation of China helps keep those types of people from descending like locusts here too. Some secrets are better left kept…
- ZeroTalent 2y ago
  What's good about living in China? Aren't the cities huge, unwalkable, polluted? Asking in good faith. I've never visited, but spent a lot of time in Bangkok and that was a dystopian nightmare to me. I'm assuming Chinese cities are similar? + what about the gov? I have a lot of friends who emigrated from China and they are complaining a lot about freedoms, social welfare, and work life balance back home.

AngryData 2y ago

The US has a 40% higher incarceration rate than Brazil.

simonsarris 2y ago
That may be part of why the US so much safer than Brazil, eg, 4x fewer homicides.
- ViewTrick1002 2y ago
  Now compare both incarceration rate and homicides with Canada and Europe.
- AngryData 2y ago
  Then how come the UK with 4x lower incarceration rate than the US also has 5x less homicides?
HDThoreaun 2y ago
so what?

marcuschong 2y ago

The comparison was only regarding incarceration rate, it seems to me.