Do you feel safe in America?

[LovingChi]

Wondering if anyone feels the same way as I do.

Call it intuition, but I've passed over the US/CAN border a few times, and every time I go into America, I get this really bad feeling, and I'm tense. It feels like there is something wrong with the land. My husband feels the same way. The difference is, he's lived in America his whole life.

 

[CTChin]

Seems fine from where I sit lol. However, I've never made it to Canada.

 

[Gabby88]

I've never felt unsafe...but I live here, so it's just "home" to me. I'm always more cautious when traveling, no matter where I'm traveling to. Maybe it's just unfamiliar to you? And different? I don't think the land gives off a bad vibe or anything. lol

 

[LeoMonster]

I don't know if I should call it "unsafe" but there's SOMETHING. I don't follow politics much, but I'm really worried about the direction our country is going. I feel like there are more and more laws trying to separate the "bad" from the "good" but they're too strict and creating horrible consequences for good people who make a mistake or a misunderstanding or were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I dislike the fact that people are just out to win, and that there are people in jail for crimes that celebrities have committed as well and just received a slap on the wrist. I dont like our obsession with stupid things, like videos on the internet and our ignorance of more important issues. I mean ill guilty of it as well, but I sometimes hate that I am. I also hate how our country is becoming more and more divided. I have many unpopular opinions on things that I'd rather not state on here for fear of offending someone or starting a HUGE fight, but they all add into why i'm unhappy with my country.

 

[LovingChi]

Leo Monster, you can PM me if you want to talk about this.

Divide and conquer. America is one of the most divided countries I've ever experienced.

There is a quote from this Columbian man:
"I was surprised to see so many young people who were not living with their parents, although they were not yet married. Also, I was surprised to see so many single people of all ages living alone, eating alone, and walking the streets alone. The United States must be the loneliest country in the world."

 

[Gabby88]

I think the media makes America seem more divided than it actually is. Do people disagree a lot? Of course. But most people are not going to completely disassociate themselves from those they disagree with.

People are protesting different political things, but that doesn't mean that the people protesting are completely divided from the rest of the country. They're just trying to express their opinions and maybe make a change. It's not like Democrats and Republicans go to different restaurants, work at different places, and refuse to speak to each other.

Being politically divided and the country's people being divided are very different things.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

Every morning when I wake up, I thank God that I was born in America, The Land of The Free and The Home of The Brave!!! There is no better country in the world, in my opinion.

Anyone who is unhappy here is free to move. Just another one of the benefits of living here!!! :thumbsup:

 

[GorillaJTA]

There is a quote from this Columbian man:
"I was surprised to see so many young people who were not living with their parents, although they were not yet married. Also, I was surprised to see so many single people of all ages living alone, eating alone, and walking the streets alone. The United States must be the loneliest country in the world."

When I lived in Brazil for a time, I noticed it was not uncommon for people to live with their parents well into their 20's. If they wanted to get intimate with a bf or gf, they had to go to a hotel or do it while their parents were gone, even when they were 25 years old.
The US is a bit different. I think rather than loneliness, it is more a sense of independence in the US that kids move out as soon as possible. Societal mores in the US are at the same time more and less restrictive than other countries. There is an expectation of not being promiscuous in your parents house but it is less frowned upon in one's own house. However, someone that lives with their parents too long is looked down on as someone who does not have ambition rahter than as someone who is saving up to do better later. I live alone, and while it gets quiet some nights, I like my independence and not having to notify anyone if I got out to get a beer.

So far as Canada "feeling" different than the US, I wouldn't know. I just knew in Brazil that I always felt like a stranger on strange soil.

 

[ticklechin]

:thumbsup:

Every morning when I wake up, I thank God that I was born in America, The Land of The Free and The Home of The Brave!!! There is no better country in the world, in my opinion.

Anyone who is unhappy here is free to move. Just another one of the benefits of living here!!! :thumbsup:

 

[Airyn]

I'm curious, where in the US did you actually travel to? I've lived right outside of Philly my whole life, but I've traveled all over the country and have definitely felt a different vibe in every city. Maybe the area that you were in just didn't fit well with your environmental needs, so you were out of your element. I tend to feel similarly on battlefields, with Gettysburg being the worst to date. It took me a long, long time to be able to tune out such painful energy.

I'd assume that your husband is in tune with your emotions and vice versa, so it's entirely possible that one of you is just picking up off of the other. Also, it's a safe assumption that you married someone of like mind, so feeling the same way about a particular location doesn't seem all that abnormal to me.

As far as loneliness goes, GorillaJTA nailed it. Those of us who choose to live alone just view ourselves as fiercely independent. Eating alone or watching a movie alone is actually rather liberating. I'd highly recommend it if you haven't tried it! I lived with my parents until I was 25, and that was considered late. I have no interest in marriage or kids and I'm grateful that I have the freedom to make those decisions without judgement. If I want to be around people, I'll grab coffee with a friend. If I want to be around a group, I'll coordinate an event. If I want someone to come home to, I'll invite a "friend" over. I may live alone, but I'm only as lonely as I choose to be, and that choice is what this country is all about.

 

[LoveBug]

i love it here in America, and yes i feel safe.
Moving or even traveling to a new place outside of America,
I wouldn't feel safe, since it'd be my first time there.
But i have NEVER felt unsafe here.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

As far as loneliness goes, GorillaJTA nailed it. Those of us who choose to live alone just view ourselves as fiercely independent. Eating alone or watching a movie alone is actually rather liberating. I'd highly recommend it if you haven't tried it!

Try traveling to another country alone, you'll never think that you can't do anything by yourself ever again! It was extremely liberating and felt amazing! You really get to know yourself and trust your instincts!

I love America, I feel very fortunate to be able to pursue my dreams here. I have also loved the few other countries I've visited as well, but nothing will be like home. Every country has their pitfalls and so far there is nothing about America that I cannot live with.

 

[EMSChins]

I have lived in several different countries in my lifetime but was born and bred here in America!

I live in a constant state of awareness and have never felt unsafe anywhere I have been but am never more comfortable than when I am at home with things that are familiar to me. If I stayed here always - life would be pretty boring indeed.

Some times I think people rely too heaviliy on things that they hear about a certain place and then get their uncomfortable feelings from those reports.

One example of this is a trip that my husband and I took to San Francisco. He was in meetings most of the week and I was on my own to explore and do as I like. It was one of the most wonderful and exciting weeks that I have ever had in my life. I walked everyday all over the San Francisco area. When my husband had some downtime, we took a bus tour of the city and while traveling through a certain area, the tour guide cam over the microphone informing us that the area we were currently driving through was known as "the Tenderloin" and that tourists should stay away from this part of the city as it was quite dangerous. Funny thing was that I had walked all over the area several days earlier and had a great time and met some wonderful people. Had I been given this news prior to my day trip - certainly I would have been much more cautious and suspicious - if I had even ventured there at all.

Sometimes we just have to be able to enjoy where we are without preconceived notions of a place.

 

[Pikaia]

If I went to another country, I am sure that I'd be tense and uneasy. I've only traveled outside the U.S. once and that was to Mexico. It was Tijuana and I did not feel safe there. We have our unsafe areas, just like anywhere else. I think America is heading for a pretty big change in the future, but this is my home and I'd rather be here than any other place!

 

[Airyn]

Try traveling to another country alone, you'll never think that you can't do anything by yourself ever again! It was extremely liberating and felt amazing! You really get to know yourself and trust your instincts!

Traveling to another country is most definitely on my to-do list! I really want to go to Australia. I just need to find someone to foster my chins while I'm there. )

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

I think we get so comfortable in our own comfort zones, whether it's where we grew up, or have other strong connections somewhere. Nothing beats home. Maybe that has something to do with your own vibes.
I do know this, I am incredibly fortunate to my family, the sacrifices they made, family they left behind in other countries to come here for a better life. Starved to death, persecuted, murdered. This was barely a hundred years ago, all for me, someone they never met, but knew one day knew would benefit. As a woman, I can vote, drive, don't have to stand behind any man, or be escorted to the store, or beaten and stoned to death for speaking my mind. I get to comfortable with all my freedoms and forget easily sometimes how lucky I really am, to be born into this great country
.
I was very independent, moved out months after graduating. Bittersweet for me. I wish I had known time was limited with my Mom, but no one really knows. My husbands family on the other hand, his culture, the children stay with their parents longer. Grandparents live with their children, and grandchildren. Sometimes even Aunts, and Uncles. I sort of wish I had this experience sometimes. To really connect as a family unit. I think we get caught up in running full speed ahead, with out taking time to slow down and take it all in, life that is. I'm preaching now, ugh, but yes we have freedom to choose our path. I wouldn't trade where I live for anything! Red,white and blue, always!

 

[AZChins]

I'm scared to death every day of my life. People are careless and drive like idiots...it terrifies me to be around them. I'm not really scared of some ominous outside threat. I don't even have to think about that! I'm close to the border...people get abducted and held for ransom so I guess that could be a fear to ponder from the hazy outside.

Life isn't really safe, it never has been. At least we have modern medicine and vaccines and things to keep us safe from all the problems people have had through history that has shortened their lives. Fear is something that I really do have a problem with just because of the way that I was raised. Living in America doesn't really do anything to ease my fears of anything.

I'm scared of the violence, carelessness and indifference that seems to run rampant in this country. No one seems to care much about anything but themselves and it shows. (And people from other countries can see that from afar.) That scares me because it means that I can't depend on my fellow Americans to watch my back. They simply do not care.

 

[LovingChi]

Hey thanks for the great replies everyone! I wasn't trying to step on toes. But like Gorrilla man said, we see the direction this country is headed in, and it doesn't look pretty. I was just curious of everyone's thoughts!

On another note, I have been to the Dominican Republic twice, and I loved it there and I did feel safe. We traveled outside of our resort walls almost every day. My parents have actually moved there this past year. The people are great! (Not to mention the weather and food!) We have visited the poorer villages and given them shoes and school supplies. It was definetly an eye opener, seeing the conditions these folks lived in!

 

[GorillaJTA]

I'm scared of the violence, carelessness and indifference that seems to run rampant in this country. No one seems to care much about anything but themselves and it shows. (And people from other countries can see that from afar.) That scares me because it means that I can't depend on my fellow Americans to watch my back. They simply do not care.

I think that may be regional as well. I am in Memphis, one of the most dangerous cities in the country, but there is a still an undercurrent of hospitality and willingness to assist someone in need.

 

[Gabby88]

I wouldn't say that Americans are unwilling to help each other. In fact, if you take the time to look around, you'll see all of the fantastic, wonderful people that help their fellow man on a daily basis. Hundreds of thousands of people run marathons for breast cancer and other charities, people donate money, they volunteer at soup kitchens and animal rescue centers, and there are numerous other ways Americans try to help each other, but I won't list them all because that would take an entire day!