<br /><div class="MsoNormal">After seeing the documentary <i>Bus 174</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> it is obvious how countries in Latin America are influenced by the change in culture that is happening all over the world in a negative way. People living in America would most likely find it hard to imagine that taking some public form of transportation would be a daily risk to their lives. Although the killing depicted in the movie was not the day to day norm, those riding the bus knew that robberies were not infrequent for that area. Alberto Salcedo Ramos’s article “The Drive-by Victim” gives a personal testimony to the immediate danger to one’s life that taking a taxi in a Latin American country can impose. Ramos admits to knowing the risk that he was taking when he hailed the cab, which is almost an unthinkable opinion in the United States, even in larger cities like New York City. Modern transportation like the subway or busses, that are usually viewed as new, productive, and environmentally friendly choices, are dangerous and vulnerable in Latin America. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Alma Guillermoprieto’s article “The Heart that Bleeds: Mexico City” focuses on the adverse affect that modernization has had on Mexico City and other cities in Latin America. Much of what is popular in America has been imported to Mexico and other countries, like fast food and mass transit. It seems however, that these are the only forms of modernization that these countries receive; almost all of these can be seen to adversely affect the communities or not be as successful as they are in America or Europe. Why is it that bus robberies are somewhat common in Latin America, but big news in America or Europe. One of the women interviewed in the documentary was not impressed in the beginning when Sandro hijacked the bus that she was taking to work, actually calling into work saying that her bus was being robbed, and that she may be a little bit late. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This desensitization to violence is shocking to those who cannot fathom being in a holdup in the first place. Guillermoprieto points out that this is causing a breakdown of the morals and culture of Mexican, as they are influenced more and more by the unsuccessful facets of the modernization in their country and less and less by the beneficial changes that Americans experience daily. Ramos obviously came out of his ordeal much luckier than the woman that was killed in the Bus 174 incident. Ramos’s attitude however, is much like those on the bus, thankful that the robbers left them alive and unharmed, thinking how nice they must be to treat them so well, rather than thinking that a situation like this should never be common in the first place. It is hard to see where one can start to fix this problem, however it is obviously up to the government to more adequately train a police force in order to stop the violence. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1328590662320988729-5897608697057742865?l=kmclean5-history475.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
