When I told my best friend, an Assistant U.S. Attorney, my wife and I were moving to Mexico, his reply was as follows: “I guess you won’t have access to a telephone or the Internet.”
I was dumbfounded almost to the point of not being able to make a coherent reply! Here was a well-educated man, well traveled throughout Europe, who was under the impression that Mexico was still in the Dark Ages without access to modern technology. He, I found, was not alone in his ignorance about Mexico.
While preparing for our move to Mexico, we received, whether we wanted it or not, all manner of “advice” from family and friends which amounted to warnings of how we would be in immediate peril if we went through with our insane decision to expatriate to Mexico. Some of the “advice” was ridiculous; some came from bigoted ignorance. Here are some of my favorites:
•“If you dare drink the water you will get bloody dysentery and die.”
•“Are you crazy? The bandits will kill you down there!”
•“Roving gangs of American-haters will drag you right out of restaurants and kill you on the sidewalk in broad daylight.”
•“You will have to wash you clothes in the river.”
•“Mexicans will lie to you every chance they get.”
I mean, where in the world do they get this stuff? These are college-educated people. How is it that college-educated Americans can be so sociologically and factually ignorant of Mexico?
Have you ever been at a social gathering and someone mentions that so-and-so is vacationing in Mexico? Have you noticed the immediate, harsh, and frightened reaction of everyone?
“Oh my. I hope they don’t drink the water!”
“I heard that it is so dangerous ‘down there’ that you get snatched right off the street by the police just because you are an American!”
“Oh, they’d better be careful. I heard the cab drivers will take you out into the desert, strip you naked, and leave you for the coyotes!”
Here is where I think they get these fables:
“My sister’s neighbor told her that his cousin knew a friend whose mother talked with the baker whose brother-in-law went to Mexico on business and talked with the waiter in the hotel who told him of this story…” And on it goes!
I am talking about strong emotions when it comes to the subject of Mexico! Most often, the stories you will hear from your American family and friends are rumor, innuendo, or sheer nonsense. What is the deal here?
I am not sure that I know the answer to that question. It appears the news media has a lot to do with it because they report only the most vile and scary news that happens in Mexico. Mexico is not a perfect place in which to live because it contains fallible human beings who make some of the same mistakes and commit some of the same crimes as in the United States.
However, having conceded that point, an American must take a long, hard look at the so-called dangers in Mexico. For example, Mexico is not one of the most dangerous countries in the world. According to online almanac website, www.aneki.com, the United States of America is in the top 16 most dangerous countries in which to live. Mexico is not even on the list.
Therefore, to those fellow Americans who get all bent out of shape over the perceived dangers Mexico has to offer, I say, “Get some perspective people!”
Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Associated Content, Transitions Abroad, International Living, Escape Artist, and The Front Porch Syndicate.