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Samantha
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera
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 Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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cangringo says:
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| Women can walk around in my neighborhood without fear of being attacked and assured that the neighbors would run to help them if they were |
Don't be too sure that neighbors will run to help if you are getting your purse lifted off you and are fighting (with fury and screaming at the top of your lungs) with your mugger. They will probably call the police, but don't count on them tackling your mugger or interrupting a theft in progress. I have personal experience with this, and can tell you that the culture takes a different view on getting involved. People tend to mind their own business in this culture and are also afraid of being stabbed and afraid of the police if the mugger or thief happens to get hurt or whatever. I won't bore you with the details of what happened to me, other than it was a mugging in broad daylight near the Uni I taught at and near my home in a "safe area"... it was a cultural eye opener at the time. The police were great, the neighbors were useless.
P.S. I still feel perfectly safe in Mexico. I did then and I do now. |
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hlamb
Joined: 09 Dec 2003
Posts: 431
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:55 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, Samantha, that's scary. I'm glad it hasn't affected your feeling of safety here. Many people would have run home after that.
I had my ass grabbed one evening, near my house in a good area. Then the guy started to follow me. I screamed as loud as I could and he disappeared, but no one else came to help. I still feel safe here but I am cautious, as I would be anywhere. |
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Samantha
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera
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| Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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Exactly, it can happen anywhere and that's why I hadn't brought it up until now. It was just to point out that people should not have the false sense of security that a neighbor will dash out and interrupt a purse snatching or a butt grabbing in progress. 
It's a different culture and we tend to make too many incorrect assumptions about it. A friend of mine had her butt grabbed while jogging on the malecon (the sea wall). She said the guy just kept on jogging as if nothing had happened. She calls it her "jog-by butt grabbing incident". My snatcher had a fight on his hands. Then I chased him, still screaming, and the last I saw of him was the police with AK-47's drawn, chasing him up and over the hill. Neighbors standing outside staring. Cute policemen promising to catch him for me (and they did search to the point of nearly arresting the wrong guy) made me feel much better. They found my purse minus all the good stuff, but miraculously my house keys were still there and they brought them to me. And they always stopped and checked in with me when they saw me walking about. |
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gordogringo
Joined: 15 Jul 2005
Posts: 159
Location: Tijuana
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| Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:47 am Post subject: |
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Why can't I get anyone to grab my butt? Maybe it is because I don't jog.  Guess I need to start exercising.
Sexual harassment does not seem to be viewed as seriously in Mexico. This is a machismo culture, after all. The worst gropers and fondlers here are the local cops. More than a few times I have watched them "pat down"
a woman with alot of special attention to her chest area. Nothing can or will be done about it though. Maybe try jogging with some type of short pole or device to whack your butt grabber good and he will learn. I have never seen anybody jogging in TJ, though. Ever. For running people seem to go to the sports club. |
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carolync
Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 38
Location: Phoenix, Az
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| Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 10:00 am Post subject: |
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| if you just want to hear some nice stories... |
I don't want to hear nice stories. I want to hear REAL stories. |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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| gordogringo wrote: |
| Why can't I get anyone to grab my butt? Maybe it is because I don't jog. |
I think you're on to something there. I don't jog and nobody ever tries to grab my butt either. 
| gordogringo wrote: |
| Sexual harassment does not seem to be viewed as seriously in Mexico. This is a machismo culture, after all. The worst gropers and fondlers here are the local cops. More than a few times I have watched them "pat down" a woman with alot of special attention to her chest area. |
Again, please don't make what happens in TJ sound like it's that way in all parts of Mexico. I can't imagine local police in Merida ever attempting such pat-down tactics that you've described as being common practice in TJ. In Merida they would lose their jobs in a minute and probably a few front teeth as well. I have never seen a policeman pat down a woman here, although on a couple of occasions I've seen women police officers frisk women.
I have never seen anyone, policeman or otherwise, grope or fondle a woman against her will during the 10+ years I've lived in Merida. I take that back. I recall seeing a couple of walk-by ass-grabbings in the main park. In one case the grabber was drunk. The victim pointed him out to police officers who latched on to him immediately, and he was escorted out of the park. In the second case, the woman shouted some rather unkind things about the grabber and his mother as he ran away.
As for sexual harrassment, I agree that it's not generally viewed as seriously in Mexico as in the USA. However, in the part of Mexico where I live, it's not open season on sexual harrassment either. People do get arrested and charged for it here. One of the teachers at the university where I teach has charges pending against him right now for attempting to coerse a grad student into having sex with him in order to pass his course. The charges came after the student's husband showed up at teacher's office on campus and pretty much beat the bejesus out of his face. |
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cangringo
Joined: 18 Jan 2007
Posts: 327
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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| Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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Ok good point, I only assumed that because of stories from other people. I guess I feel safe because there are always kids playing in the street and the police drive around constantly with flashing lights all night. Makes one feel safe in their neighborhood. They coudn't beleive that we can't just let our kids run around in the streets and the parks at night.
Haven't had any butt grabbings here either - but I don't job either. Come to think of it, I haven't seen anyone jogging...running for the bus but not jogging. |
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