[jplahn]

I was just going to mention this exact same observation from my visit to Japan in October. I stayed in an Airbnb north of Shibuya and morning and night we saw little kids walking to and from school. It was awesome. That, coupled with everybody leaving their bikes unlocked, was such a stark contrast to what I'm used to here in the US.

[ehnto]

The concept of "us vs everyone else" or "other people are dangerous and untrustworthy" is probably the most clear difference in US TV shows when I compare it to where I live.

It always seems to be the exception rather than the rule, that people might be willing to co-operate. The idea of "only we are sane" is another. Assuming everyone else is crazy or disagreeable seems to be common.

I wonder if that is something reflected by US media correctly or if it is something skewed.

[RonanTheGrey]

I've wondered the same thing. It concerns me that there are more police dramas than any other genre on American television.... and even more that they are so popular. It says alot about a cultural mindset. One the one hand you can argue the shows are being pushed.. but they wouldn't continue to do so if people didn't eat them up.

It's a gut fear that is being appealed to, and simultaneously teaching people exactly "us vs everyone else" and "other people are dangerous and untrustworthy." Even your neighbor. Even your friends.

Makes me sad.

It didn't used to be that way in the US. It's certainly gotten worse.

[jpatokal]

Bike theft is actually a surprisingly big thing in Japan. However, they have another method to control it: all bikes are registered and police conduct random spot checks of ID and registration. (Foreigners tend to get "randomly" checked more often.)