I’ve got a fair number of friends and acquaintances who say they never, ever come to the Twin Cities because of the crime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, I’ve lived here for 34 years – and like most people who live here, I know that the whole place is not a cesspool of criminality. My neighborhood is generally pretty good. To the north, even better. South of Thomas? Not so much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So most of the hysteria about crime in the Metro is the sort of game of “telephone” you get among people who don’t know the subject all that well – a phenomenon that social media has only accelerated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there are places I just don’t go, or at least times when I just don’t go there. Places and times when the risk\/reward ratio just isn’t favorable. North Minneapolis after dinner. Dayton’s Bluff or the North End after dark. The less well-lit parts of downtown Minneapolis at night. The Green Line after 10PM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Statistically, you are much more likely to be a victim of crime and violence when you hang out where violent criminals are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s not hysteria. It’s prudence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idea that a third of Americans modify their behavior because of fear of mass shootings<\/a>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n