Quote: (08-28-2010 08:25 PM)Brandon E Wrote:
You guys ranting about how dangerous Brazil is are paranoid and are part of the reason so many Americans are affraid to visit South America. While the murder and crime rate is much higher than that of the US, it's not like you have to watch your back everywhere you go. Think about it like this, even if the murder rate in Brazil is 6x higher than that of the US, how many people do you know that have been murdered in the US? I grew up in Las Vegas, considered a dangerous city for the United States, and I don't know one person who has been murdered. None of my Brazilian friends know anyone who has been murdered in Brazil either. Most of them have never been robbed after living in brazil 20+ years. Yeah, you do have to be aware of your surroundings in a lot of areas, but if you decide not to travel to Brazil because of danger issues, you are a lame puss in my book.
Added: Most of the murders and things like that you are hearing about are happening in the Favelas. And yes, the favelas are dangeous as all hell. There are 10 year old kids at the entrances of some that point a gun at you and make you lift up your shirt to make sure you aren't armed. I've heard from some sources that the favelas in Brazil are the second most dangerous place on earth, after a war zone in Somalia. I take that with a grain of salt though, because that was a statistic off a movie I saw called "Manda Bala" which made Brazil seem much more dangerous than I noticed when I was there. Just stay away from those parts and any other seedy neighborhood you think you shouldn't enter. I definitely went in neighborhoods I thought I probably shouldn't have entered, even some small favelas, and I was fine, but I was also with locals (Ones I have known and trusted for a long time). I also grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood. I would advise against going in any favelas or seedy neighborhoods.
Nice post...I would add...the fears are real, just depends on your level of conditioning. If your not used to being around violence, you will struggle with it..having lived in places like dc/bmore, detroit, houston nothing really stuns me...I think the real fear is the police because they basically kill everything in sight and do not work 2 protect innocents..
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/world/...21rio.html