Comments on: When Pictures are Better than Reality

By: Shreesh

Shreesh — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:53:51 +0000

Hi Don,

The people of Guatemala are very kind and nice. It just seems that a small percentage of tough guys are running amok and causing all kinds of problems. That being said, the chances of something bad happening are probably pretty low.

By: Don A.

Don A. — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:23:16 +0000

I spent 3 months in Guatemala, driving around from Huehue to Antigua, Rio Dulce, Todos Santos, Tikal, Xela, Pana, Chichi, Copan, etc. Never made Guat city. No one bothered me or broke into my car. Nervous from what I had heard of Guatemala and confused at entering, I accidentally left windows down with a camera lying on the seat inside Guatemala at a border entry point when I was unexpectedly called into a security building. Realizing my mistake I returned to find 5 people looking into my open window but no one had taken the camera. Strange.

By: Shreesh

Shreesh — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:48:17 +0000

Hi Goyo,

I present that Guatemala is quite different than dangerous places in the US and Europe in the sense that the danger is isolated to a certain pocket or area. This was not my sense in Guatemala – the danger was pervasive. Even in Antigua, a place that would not qualify as a large city by any means, rolled up its sidewalks after dark.

Of course, statistically, something bad happening to you is quite small. Even on 9/11, your chances of being in a hijacked plane were quite low – about 1/1000. But when you expose yourself to small amounts of danger over a long period of time you significantly increase the chance that something bad will happen. Cigarette smoking is an example of this type of risk – very small in an instance but large over time.

Your criticism that we are jaded has merit. We have seen so many interesting and fabulous things on this trip that Guatemala does not have attractions of sufficient quality to merit the concerns of security. I suspect we just disagree on this latter point since you have spent ten years traveling to that country.

Take care and stay safe.

By: Goyo

Goyo — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:58:36 +0000

Having traveled in Guatemala extensively over 10 years in large cities and small towns and having the benefit of family in country I feel I can have a faily unbiased view. Are their armed robberies? yes car jackings? yes. But do tourists and the general population get attacked on a regular basis? Not so much. Newspapers want to sell newspapers so they dramatize incidents that are in many cases drug related. We have numerous family members that live in very different parts of Guatemala from Guatemala City to the small towns. They go about their daily lives with little worry and concern. Are their places it is not safe to be in or go to? Yes. Are there those same types of places in any major US city? Of course. It is all about common sense. Remember several years ago in the US tourists were being robbed in FL and were targeted based on the fact their were driving rental cars? Crime will always exist no matter where you are in the world. But to single out Guatemala as a crime ridden place that you cannot even walk down the street without fear of being assaulted or robbed is an unfair and incorrect picture of this country. In the 10 years I have been travelling throughout Guatemala, I have never felt unsafe at any time. Sorry you have such a jaded view.

By: Shreesh

Shreesh — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:17:11 +0000

Dave Miller,

I guess you suppose yourself as someone of authority since you claim to live there for 10 years. You must be one of those expats who never leave their safe compounds.

Actually we traveled through the more remote regions, quite off the tourist track. We spoke to many people who lived in Guatemala for a period of time. All had been robbed, assaulted, or kidnapped at some time. I present:

1) Owner of Midas Resort – father-in-law kidnapped
2) Guide O.X. expeditions – laptop robbed
3) Cafe Owner – Assaulted, laptop taken

I could go on, and on with these stories, I guess you never ran into such people? Or maybe you choose to remain ignorant?

I suppose you don’t read the local papers either. Every day the stories unfold with new violence. Open your eyes, man!

If you choose to respond, please keep the language and debate civil. My parents read this site!

By: David Miller

David Miller — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:10:45 +0000

I have lived in Guatemala for going on 10 years and your assessment is full of shit. You visited this country as a tourist and only saw what tourist see. I live in the highlands and run a small coffee coop. The Guatemalan people are some of the nicest, most honest and respectful people I have ever met. Your depiction of the country as crime ridden is often true if you live in the cities and never get out. But the vast majority of Guatemalans live in the country and are poor dirt farmers who make about $1 a day. They are not criminals as you portray them to be. Maybe if you took your head out of your ass and left the tourist track you might have a better opinion of Guatemala. Unfortunately people like you continue to spread the lies of Guatemala being a dangerous place to visit. In 10 years of living here I have never been robbed, carjacked, kidnapped or murdered. I guess I am lucky or maybe you are an idiot who should stay home and hide under your bed.

By: Fred

Fred — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:11:35 +0000

I for one feel much better that we have “reality” defined!

By: Shreesh

Shreesh — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:05:08 +0000

Vinay,

Heh, heh. I spent many hours following your links and then their links!

I had run across Nick Bostrom’s arguments before – maybe during my “Matrix” phase? Interestingly he has a section on his website just for Matrix fans!

By: Neena

Neena — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:07:51 +0000

We felt that Guatemala was a bit like Rashomon. Some people told us, “Its just like any other country”. Well, other than Nairobi, I haven’t seen cashiers at grocery stores behind barred windows and hotels with not one but two barred gates. Some others said, “Well Guatemala is dangerous but you have to visit.” I beg to differ. I think there are a lot of safe places in the world that you can visit that can match everything we saw in Guatemala.
But that’s just my reality.

By: Vinay

Vinay — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:40:06 +0000

Fred,
Agree to the points in your post. Also, thanks for the book reco – I haven’t read it, will do. Also should watch Roshomon now.
Between the meaning of infinity, the idea of probability, and the anthropic principle, we can never be “certainly” sure of our origin. It comes down to wagers, – somewhat like Pascal’s wager. (i.e. Perhaps we should believe in that theory that has the highest penalty for disbelief.) However, from a non-pain-minimising, expected-value perspective, we should wager on the high probability theories. Hopefully the estimates of probability for these theories keeps getting more precise, and we could start making sense out of them.