I believe you hit the nail right on the head -- the
media make everything look worse than it is!.
The view we get of the US from
our media is of a gun-happy country, full of redneck, right-wing, fundamentalist "bubbas" or black "gangsta rappas", where you are likely to be gunned down on the freeways or in the city streets.
Then, on my first of several trips to the US, I spoke with a professional coach driver, who had been driving LA's freeways for 27 years, and who had
never seen anyone pull a gun on anyone else while driving. He didn't say that it
didn't happen -- just that with all the thousands of miles he'd driven, he'd never seen it -- contrary to how our media report it.
Then I went up to New England (I had relatives living in Maine) and fell in love with the place and the people. Ayuh! The lifestyle reminded me of Perth
before we became paranoid. The people were friendly and open, relaxed -- and not the least bit "redneck". Where I stayed, "home invasion" (armed forcible entry while the occupants are home) was unknown, not like here. The vandalism and graffiti were negligible -- not like here. My brother-in-law kept a 30-06 in the wardrobe -- not because he needed it, but because
he could! His was no different from most households I visited -- gun on the wall or behind the door. They couldn't really understand my fascination -- or that we were denied being allowed to do the same. I even bought myself a BB gun there -- 44 Automag "replica". Inaccurate as hell, slow, but the best fun since sliced bread. Had to leave it there, though, because they're a prohibited "weapon" here.
Now, they've moved to Salem, OR. We haven't been able to visit yet, but I am hoping to do so soon. I hope the people are as friendly, and the gunstores as big
as in New England.
The
only time I felt real discomfort in my trips was driving down through the tunnels and everything leading to the George Washington Bridge (??--memory going) in NY at 1.00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Pretty creepy stuff for me.
Oh, and when we were accosted and abused by some maniacal jerk in Washington, DC for being "godammed f***ing foreigners" etc. because we automatically walked on the left hand side of the footpath.
Apart from those incidents, which I see as a function of population size, not nationality, I would happily live in the US -- except your immigration laws preclude it.
I spend a lot of time here trying to correct the misconceptions actively promulgated by our media. Even here in the office, there are a couple of "youngsters", fresh out of University, who have been so indoctrinated with an anti-US mindset that it is quite frightening. (Their attitude to gun ownership is almost identical, BTW.) It's like talking to a brick wall -- you can see their eyes glaze over when you try to explain anything they don't want to hear.
Forgive the ramble, people, but this was something I
needed to say.
Bruce