-by El Gitano Peñasco, "The Peñasco Gypsy"
With the recent online buzz about last week's murder in Peñasco I thought I’d set the record here straight and that is Peñasco is about as safe a place as you can be anywhere and when things like last week happen you need not look any further than the nearest USA border to find cause and effect.
First, for you Gringos down here (and up 'there') still thinking that the USA is the ‘Land of the Free’, digest the following data collected from such sources as the CIA World Fact-book, UN, and OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) etc.
The United States houses more prisoners (about 2.1 Million) than any other nation (out of a list of 168 countries); China and India, combined and with a collective population of around 2 + Billion have fewer people incarcerated than the USA (with a population of around 305 Million).
Yes folks, the United States (per capita) leads the world in ‘tossing-the-bums’ in jail, coming in at 715 people incarcerated per every 100,000, followed by Russia with 584 ‘per’ and then China at 119 ‘per’ and India coming it at 29 'per'.
And they love to prosecute up ‘there’, too. With about the largest police force on earth they prosecute about 14,100,000 (Million) citizens each year (and growing); kind of like eating their young, so to speak.
And no, the big ‘crime’ numbers (percentage wise) are not for Murder, Rape or other such horrendous crimes but does include ‘drug-related’ cases with about 1 Million arrests each year in the USA for just simple ‘pot’ use and/or possession…
The long story short is that it is many of the drug policies, politicians and hypocritical US citizens who have created this needless and useless bloodshed in Mexico, as the literally millions of Americans who smoke pot every day up ‘there’ are responsible for creating the demand. And the vast majority of those ‘users’ are blue and white collar God fearing, hard working (and voting) US citizens.
That said, Peñasco and most parts of this wonderful nation are just as safe (if not more so) as any place else you’ll want to travel to or retire to. So don’t buy into those gory headlines and don't fear our community or Mexico. Because if you do it will be ‘you’ who’ll become yet another victim of sorts of that ‘Gringo’ BS and propaganda!
A Gypsy can always dream!
¡Viva Puerto Peñasco y México!
elgitanopenasco@gmail.com
