Lakeside Crime

I set my burglar alarm when I went out today and my gardener was still working in the yard. As I left I told him "don't forget to clean the leaves off the roof". When I got home I noticed the roof alarm had been set off - DUH! I know not to set it when he is working there but was nervous and forgot. I apologized and told him I knew someone who had been robbed and murdered and another couple - one in a wheel chair robbed at gunpoint and that because I was nervous I had set the alarm. He said he read about the murder in the newspaper and he understood.

He told me "we are all frightened". He said he is afraid to walk on the carraterra. Then he told me that two Oxxo stores had been robbed on the carraterra in the past week I believe.

Nervous Nelly

The only burglar alarm I have is my dogs and so far they get set off if my neighbor dares to go on her mirador.

simpsca - Two OXXO's robbed??? That's how rumors get started. Until you read it in the newspaper, it's not true. Your gardener afraid to walk the Carretera? It's safer than in the US.

If you don't see it in the paper that doesn't mean it didn't happen. It's better to read the Mexican press, there's more info there.

johninajijic wrote:simpsca - Two OXXO's robbed??? That's how rumors get started. Until you read it in the newspaper, it's not true. Your gardener afraid to walk the Carretera? It's safer than in the US.

I am telling you what my Mexican gardener told me. I think they often have more information than we do. All information we receive is probably somewhat distorted and not completely accurate. But I feel the more information we have the better. Inaccuracies can be corrected. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time cannot.

Well said Simpsca. Better to be informed and aware of your surroundings.

Wonder how long it'll take a certain poster (the one with his head buried six feet under) to throw a hissy fit like he did on Mecconnect the other day when he was exposed on a similar topic?

xxx

Edited by Dawg in the interest of civility. Replaced by later comment.

Hey Bubba, whats a sycophant?????

I am glad I read John's post before it was nuked...And I just thought pixels were forever.... I guess he didn't get the memo...So just for John....

These are the board rules
by Admin on Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:44 pm

1) No personal attacks (other than in the Octagon). Even then try to keep it above the belt. If you have something nasty to say send a PM to the person as the rest of us probably don't want to see it. Topics that turn nasty or offensive outside the Octagon will be deleted, edited or moved to the Octagon.

2) Please keep the swearing to a minimum outside the Octagon.

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4) Be nice to the newbies. They are the lifeblood of our forum.

5) Try to stay on topic. If you have something to add that isn't relative to the topic then start a new one. If you want to just chat with the poster then send them a PM.

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That's it. Enjoy


Re: These are the board rules
by CanuckBob on Fri Jan 14, 2011 8:06 am

Hello all, as many perfectly good posts are getting ruined by swearing or personal attacks we are going to start enforcing the rules as set out above. I hope you understand.

Bob

New Rules...

Thank you Bob. It was getting difficult to read what should be just regular posts. And I was concerned that some of the new members were being scared off.

I would like to make a comment on the notion, as stated by another poster on this thread that, "...Until you read it in the newspaper, its not true...." regarding crime in Mexico. I comment, not to criticise the poster who made this remark but to give another perspective from one who has lived both here and in Chiapas for some ten years and four years respectively. We learn a great deal more about criminal and other activities in both Ajijic and San Cristóbal from Mexican acquaintances attuned to the communities than we ever learn from newspapers either in Jalisco or Chiapas. Time and experience has taught us who and what to believe and we always take street scuttlebutt with a grain of salt as is appropriate. In San Cristóbal, most community news is broadcast on local radio in Spanish or in one of a number of indigenous languages and crimes in the community rarely make the local newspaper at all and never the national press. As a consequence, one would hardly imagine just how violent Chiapas is, especially in rural indigenous areas all over the state but, seemingly even more so in regions adjacent to the border with Guatemala. In both communities , we are more attuned to what we call the community "tom toms" and we hear of much crime that takes place in thiese communities that is rarely mentioned in newspapers. Please don´t believe the canard that if it ain´t in the newspaper it never happened. That is a perilous notion and could lead to undue complacency.

I agree with hound dog. The community "tom-toms" are very important to listen to. Think about life in the U.S. In the U.S. city and suburban neighborhoods, there are many crimes that happen that are never in the paper, including violent crimes, child kidnapping attempts, robberies, & burglaries. In Mexico, it is a beautiful thing that expats and Mexicanos have a tom-tom system to communicate about what's happening.

QUESTION FOR SIMSCA: Did your gardener say why he is afraid to walk the carratera? I would be interested in more details as to why.
Thanks.

No he did not say why he is afraid to walk on the carraterra but right after he said that he told me about the two robberies at Oxxo "On the carraterra".

But there is another reason to be afraid here in San Juan Cosala. A few weeks ago a NOB was riding his bicycle on the Carr. in this area. He stopped on the side of the road to talk to someone and a truck passed another truck on the right and hit him (standing on the side of the carr.). Augustine, owner of Viva Mexico got to him first and got help - don't know all the details, but I met the man in Augustine's restaurant yesterday. He had just had heart surgery before being hit by the truck, so amazing he survived. Wife said blood was everywhere, but no broken bones.

So I don't know why my gardener is afraid - being shot? or being hit by a truck? We did discuss pistolas.

xxx

I will ask him next week (if I can remember:)