Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The Myth Of Violence In The Wild West...!

Living in Houston, I'm always amazed at the actual number of violent acts committed here yearly. I think most large cities have a similar problem.

What I was really surprised at was the actual figures of crime in the old west towns. Ruins my mental picture of how bad the Wild West actually was. See what you think!

Violence



Shootouts, bank robberies, highly-choreographed bar brawls—if we know anything about the frontier, it’s that it was one hell of a violent place.Or was it?

Turns out the popular image of the Old West as a place where manly men solved their differences by shooting those differences in the face simply isn’t true. People were more likely to cooperate than fight—in a harsh and lawless world, it was better to side with your neighbor for mutual benefit than start shooting. Bank robberies, too, were virtually unheard of. One estimate places the number at about a dozen for the entire frontier period.

Then you have the low-homicide rates. The highest annual body count Tombstone ever experienced? Five. From 1870 to 1885, Dodge City and Wichita had murder rates of 0.6 per year. However you cut it, daily cowboy life was nowhere near as violent as we think.

Do I wish we had less violence here? Certainly! Do I want to go back to the Wild West days? Not on your like...except maybe for a short visit! Very short, know what I mean?

Coffee out on the patio again today! I'm thinking lemon cake for all, OK?

10 comments:

Anna of Mutton Style and Years said...

Hi I saw your blog advertised, yes advertised, by Dizzy. I watched a film on the wild west at the weekend. It had a cameo of back to the future in it. Quite creative. That's the way to visit, with a time machine and a way back home.

Gorges Smythe said...

Yet they use it as an example of why we shouldn't have guns!

Mamahen said...

Hard to believe after the way it has been portrayed all these years...patio n lemon cake sounds good :))

Chickenmom said...

A loaded weapon always levels the playing field against the bad guys.
Save me a slice of that lemon cake!

linda m said...

Sure does put a different perspective on my thinking. And a short (and I mean short) visit would be fun. Just to see what it was really like. I read somewhere that if there was a shootout it was being shot in the back, not face to face. Coffee on the patio sounds great.

Hermit's Baby Sis said...

Bubba -
It might have something to do with the difference in population numbers, too. 7 million vs. 700? Cattle rustling which may not be discovered for several weeks vs waking to find an intruder in your house? But yes, I do see your point.
I'll have some of that cake, thanks. Wonder why mine never comes out as good as the ones Mama used to make? Is this one yours? I'll give it a try!!
Big hugs ~

Jim said...

I've always wanted to go back into that time just to see what it was really like. Lemon cake sounds great.

Dizzy-Dick said...

Even today the media blows things out of proportion. I have seen things happen that were reported in the newspaper the next day and what I saw was nothing like what was in the paper.

JO said...

I sure wish we had less shooting around here. Nobody seems to know how to have a good fist fight, the loser seems to run home or to one of his buddies and they come back shooting. Maybe they need to learn how to be like the old cowboys.

Patio time sounds wonderful

HermitJim said...

Hey Anna...
I certainly have to agree with you on that! I don't want to get stuck there.

I do appreciate you dropping by to visit. Don't be a stranger!



Hey Gorges...
Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

Tanks for the visit this morning!



Hey Mamahen...
Guess it is always a better take on history if you fudge a bit on the stats. The government does it all the time!

Thanks for coming by today!



Hey Phyllis...
I do believe you are correct about that. We are starting to see a lot of California style drive-bys here and that concerns me.

Thanks for stopping in today!



Hey Linda...
I reckon that face to face was just too fair for some. Still is, I think.

Many thanks for the visit today!



Hey Sis...
I have to confess that this cake is a store bought one. I was just too lazy to cook.

It wasn't too bad though.

Thanks for the visit today!



Hey Jim...
I wouldn't mind a very short visit, or maybe a cloaked one. Don't want to draw attention to myself!

I appreciate the visit this morning!



Hey Dizzy...
Sometimes I wonder if the media can ever do a straight story at all.

Thanks for dropping in today!



Hey Jo...
I reckon that the lack of back bone is the main cause. Back in my day, two guys fought and later usually became friends.

Thanks, sweetie, for stopping by today!