What the media is getting wrong about the shooting in Newtown, CT – Part 1 of 5, “Such a nice, quiet town.”

The media, especially on the day of tragedy, made a point of saying that Newtown was a quiet suburban area where there is rarely any crime.  Those 27 people would be just as dead if they were in a big city, a rural area or small town. The guns used have the same firepower wherever they are shot. Living in a quiet suburban area – which just means that houses are on big lots, almost everyone is the same race, religion or ethnicity, you have to commute to work, and you have to get in a car to get a loaf of bread or a light bulb or anything else - is no isolation from tragedy.  I am a happy Manhattanite who grew up somewhere in the swamps of Jersey where no one locked their doors but there were still murders, not to mention serious car accidents that don’t occur in cities where most people can rely on public transportation.  Those of us who live in big cities do not accept crime, nor are we indifferent to it.  If someone screams here on the street, in a park or a store, at least there are people to hear and help out and yes, we respond and help.  Meanwhile, on Monday in Afghanistan, 15 girls died when they came upon an unexploded land mine.  Compared to the rest of the world, the US is quite safe