Inside from the Inside

Over the past couple of weeks, two friends of mine had tasks that took them traveling to places in the southern USA. In both instances they expressed their reluctance to be in that part of the country. While they joked about it a bit, it was also pretty clear they were uncomfortable with the idea of being in that region.

Why would two grown men be reluctant to be in a southern state?

A lot of people might figure it was because they are African Americans or perhaps undocumented Mexican immigrants. But the reality is that neither of them is black nor Hispanic.

In one case, my friend is a gay man who is married to his partner. He was deeply relieved when he safely arrived in Los Angeles. In the other case, my friend is a second-generation Korean American who was warned by another friend that he would undoubtedly be told at some point: “You speak really good English.” (English is his native language.)

As a frequent visitor to Mexico I am sometimes asked if I am afraid to travel there. People in the USA often think that Mexico is a scary place to travel. The truth is that I am careful and I do avoid certain places, but I’m not fearful. The worst that has ever happened in many trips—plane, bus and automobile—is that a child’s purse was stolen from a hotel room at a beach resort.

I don’t know if there were any actual problems for either of my friends while traveling in the southern USA, but that isn’t the point here. They were nervous about being there at all—as if they were unsafe—whether or not that feeling was justified. It seems ironic to me that people would be concerned about my safety traveling in Mexico when evidentially there are US citizens who fear traveling in our own country.

This brings me to a couple of questions. I’d be interested in your views.

1. Are there parts of the USA where you would be afraid to travel? If so, why?
2. Is your region unfriendly to any particular groups of people? If so, who and why?