When I arrived at night to visit my friends in New York in 1989 I said “Let’s go check out 42nd street.” I was making a game of saying “No thank you!” to the crack dealers in an exaggerated midwestern accent. Next thing I knew I was on the ground thinking they wanted to rough me up for being a smartass about the crack, but then I realized it was a mugging. Once my very skinny friend and his girlfriend saw what was happening they turned around and said “Let him go.” They got off me one by one because they didn’t want to deal with someone who was not alone. And they didn’t even get my money.
Lessons learned: Don’t ask for trouble. Bring backup.
I’d still want to visit New York. People who are careful and don’t make stupid decisions regarding tourism in red light districts seem to do ok there.
