Statistical Metrics and The Somatics of Safety
Assomeone who has lived in multiple cities, whenever I move to a new place, somebody will almost always ask me how my current city compares to the previous one. And, while there was once a time when I would think about the pros and cons of living in urban centers from the East Coast to the Midwest from down south to the West Coast, I’ve started to notice that there are more similarities than differences between most major and minor American cities.
Whether it’s the popularity of local beer gardens or even how a cityscape looks driving from the airport, I have a hard time noting any significant difference between cities in America outside of the most prominent cultural nuances. These similarities become even more apparent in cities that view or advertise themselves as liberal or havens of the “coastal elite.” No matter what neighborhood I find myself in, nothing says liberal-leaning city more than “Black Lives Matter,” “Love is Love,” or my favorite intersectional sign, “Love is Love. Black Lives Matter. Climate Change is Real. No Human Beings is Illegal. Women’s Rights are Human Rights.” or some other combination of politically correct platitudes.When I first saw these signs, usually outside churches and in windows or front lawns, I assumed they were used to welcome diverse populations and signal that the neighborhood was safe for everyone. But, over time, I began to notice how few people mentioned in these signs exist in most cities. Regardless of what city I have lived in, it is not lost on me that the amount of actual Black women or even queer people seems nonexistent. And I am not the first person to point out that there are more signs welcoming Black and queer people than the people those signs are meant to hail.
Therefore, while these signs are meant to indicate safety and a sense of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the communities and neighborhoods where I see them, they tend to do the opposite by highlighting the lack of diversity in these cities and the popularity of virtue-signaling over outreach in these communities. This is why I have been focused on what it means to feel safe in a neighborhood in an era when…
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