Thought of the month ...

January 2013: Perception determines fears: Having moved to Africa, or, to be more precise, Johannesburg in South Africa, I had to answer many times the question whether I would be safe there in this crime-ridden city. I was curious and asked myself, how bad is Johannesburg compared to other cities? I am not sure how good the data base is for the list of the most violent cities available here, but the answer was surprising. In 2012, Johannesburg ranked number 50, while New Orleans and Sant Louis end up higher. So does Acapulco. Had I moved to New Orleans, I am sure, much fewer people had asked me the safety question.

And in New Orleans, not many people have high walls and electric fences around their properties. Thus, the widely repeated perception of Johannesburg being one of the worst places in the world has crystallized into a ghettoization of society down to each single piece of land being a ghetto (and prison) for the people living their, seemingly protected by the armored walls. But the walls prevent the people behind the walls from seeing what is going on in the streets, and the people in the streets from seeing what is going on behind the wall. I have never felt as unsafe as behind these walls and the electric fences.

If you have a story, thought, or picture worth to be considered as story, thought or picture of the month, please feel free to inform me about it by sending an e-mail to hpplag@unr.edu.