Crime

My day started off slow. I had a morning appointment with my Creole teacher, and he called at the last minute to move the location. I got off the bus a bit earlier than I should have, and I ran into a friend on her way to the hospital. She was flagging over a large black woman to ask directions, and it turned out that the woman was Dominican, which was good for my friend, because her French is not good. The woman sent my friend on her way then continued walking with me toward my destination (a gas station), and we were talking and she kept telling me how dangerous it is here, that everyone carries a gun, that it's dangerous to go to Chicago (the local term for Chinatown) at night, and how racist the black people are. Now this isn't the first time I've heard accusations of racism, but it was the first time I'd heard it from a person who was herself black. I myself don't tend to go out late at night, partly due to my nature as a homebody and partly because there seems to be nothing open after 9, 10, 11 o'clock (and I'm sure as hell not going out late now).

I'm not prepared to offer any evaluations of her statements; they may or may not be true. I can say anecdotally that I know someone who says his house was broken into 4 times, and someone else who's never had any problems. I also know that the income gap here is heavily pronounced, as is the rate of unemployment, and that that frequently leads to high crime rates. I always take precautions, never carrying much cash, leaving my passport home (where people need to get past two locks to get to it), wearing clothing that isn't obviously pricey, etc. (don't worry Mom!).