crimeinspain

I posted about an experience I suffered in Spain about a year ago, where I was gassed, robbed and sexually assulted, and the people in this forum applauded the criminals, they rejoiced in my suffering and dismissed as somebody who is crazy. That is just evil, inconsiderate and plain old nasty. That could happen to any woman! They laughed at my misfortune. <BR> <BR>I think people in this forum do not agree with freedom of speech. Just because some people did not have bad experiences in Europe does not mean that nobody did, and that you have to dismiss the experiences of people who are trying to share their bad incidents with other travelers. <BR> <BR>In this forum they also posted anti-islamic threads. When somebody said that they were pickpocketed or robbed, people wrote that it was good and that they deserve it because they should have been aware. <BR> <BR>Also if sombody did not have a great time in Paris, it automatically means to these people that that person is stupid, ignorant, and he deserved being treated disrespectfully.

YS

crimeinspain, <BR> <BR>I'm sorry about your experience in Spain, and I think it could happen to <I>anyone</I>, although does not happen to <I>eveyone</I>. Most of what you said are true, however, I would not call the behaviour of anyone incosiderate. <BR>The freedom of speach <I>implies</I> that you can say whatever you want to say. It is up the the reader to digest the information and filter the usfulness as s/he sees fit. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, as well as to their own perseption. <BR>Although it is painful to read about people laughing at you, you have to realize that by posting on this board you may get all sort of feedback, positive and negative. You have to be open for both, and accept if as part of this board's experience. I'm sure you found enough usefull information here that makes you keep returning (and posting). <BR>Good luck!

Philip

I agree with YS and I also have to say that perhaps some people took your posting to be a false one. As you can see, there are several "joke" postings on this board because posting can be done anonymously. Hopefully Fodor's will one day set up this system so that only identifiable posters can post and we can get down to serious travel discussions.

a year

Crime, <BR>what original post are you talking about? I don't remember reading such terrible things, do you remember the title of your post?

Leo

Crime, <BR>What post are you talking about? I do not remember any post mentioning such a terrible story. <BR>Yes a lot people who are called "trolls" somtimes post false stories to attract people to their posts, maybe you were confused with one of them and that is why you got that response. <BR>I also do not recall any anti-islamic threads.

ifitlookslikea

Anybody who drags this up after a year is either a troll or is crazy. <BR> <BR>Cough up the $100 an hour for a good therapist and quit trying to get free mental health care from a travel forum.

Laura

The original poster, criminspain, is referring to the postings: <BR> <BR>SPAIN IS A DANGER! READ AND HEED!!! <BR> <BR>and <BR> <BR>Which country you would NOT want to travel to <BR> <BR>and <BR> <BR>I found Paris.... <BR> <BR>

sickpeople

it seems that this forum attracts way too many sick people who love to hear that young girls were raped. This is not a travel forum this is a sick forum for rapists. I thought this was a serious place.

ifitlookslikea

nice try, sickplace, but you're pushing hot buttons that are way too obvious to be taken seriously. <BR> <BR>any rape victim that comes to a travel forum for emotional help is beyond it. This is a troll...

D. Thomas

"crimeinspain" <BR>Sorry, I don't believe you. I don't believe this happened to you, and I don't believe you are female. <BR>Someone on this forum has it in for Spain and keeps posting this kind of anti-spain stuff. <BR>Did you have a bad experience there once? <BR>Gassed, robbed and sexually assulted (sic)??? Had you said you had your pocket picked or your bag stolen, I JUST MIGHT have fallen for it, but gassed robbed and sexually assaulted, no way. <BR> <BR>Doubting Thomas

xxx

Just FYI: <BR> <BR>The truth of the matter is, "crimeinspain" is crying wolf. He/she/it claims that he/she/it was attacked on a train trip that cannot be taken, as evidenced by this earlier response from Manuel in Spain: <BR> <BR>Author: Manuel ([email protected]) <BR>Date: 8/13/2001, 6:42 am ET <BR> <BR>Message: This is a message to the woman who said: "Only in Spain my girlfriends and I were gassed in an AVE train going from Madrid to Barcelona one year ago... ". Dear Madam, why are you telling us lies. Tell them to your boyfriend, please, but not to us. I tell you why. AVE train means "Spanish High Speed Train", and the only route available right now in Spain is Madrid-Seville, that was built for the EXPO'92. The Madrid-Barcelona line will be open in year 2004 and it is still in construction. So madam please, before telling stupid things about Spain, COME and VISIT us, and bring your boyfriend. <BR> <BR>So please ignore this and other similar postings. <BR>

crime

Thank You, All you guys just proved my point! I hope your wives, mothers or daughters do not experience anything close to what I went through. <BR>I hope there are more messages like these to demonstrate the low caliber of people this forum gets, and the nasty means they would use to obscure the facts about traveling in Spain.

confused

Could this be just a matter of confusion about which train she was on? <BR> <BR>Soon AVE will link Madrid with Barcelona at a blistering speed of 350km/h <BR>The railway line and the engine used for the Talgo200 is the same as the AVE trains and matches AVE’s quality services <BR>from this site: <BR> <BR>http://www.prestigeinternational.co.uk/tocs.htm <BR> <BR>

elaine

I really tried not to respond to this because every time I post to <BR>a message that is more about name-calling than it is about information, I regret it. Yet here I am. <BR>Crimeinspain, if you truly had the horrendous experience you describe, then I urge you to seek counseling. I am not being sarcastic, I am serious. You appear to feel misunderstood and un-sympathized with, and your attempts <BR>to have people join your anger by blaming an entire country, and trying to keep people from traveling to Spain, are not successful, and more importantly, are pointless. However bad your experience may have been, millions of others have not had it happen to them, and I hardly think it's fair to blame an entire country, even when crime statistics are high. I don't think you are finding here the sympathy or understanding that you want, because this is not a counseling forum. <BR>If you feel the need for an official apology from Spain, try writing to the Tourism Minister. <BR>You mentioned in your other posting that you once slept in Penn Station which proves in your mind that New York is safe and Spain is not. That's silly, it proves nothing. You were very lucky (and risk-taking) in one place, and very unlucky in another. Even when New York's crime rate was very high, I was lucky enough to not become a victim, yet many people were. Should the entire city have been blamed? Of course not, it's simply a matter of higher or lower probabilities, not certainties. <BR>Responsible people here don't blame others for becoming crime victims, although I agree that often some use hindsight to point out some actions that may have contributed to the bad experience. Some of us are too quick to judge, but on the other hand, blanket statements like "Paris is full of pickpockets" or "all taxi drivers cheat" <BR>or "Venice smells, don't go there" seem designed to provoke extreme responses. <BR> <BR> <BR>On the other hand, if you are a troll, go away, or go back to school. <BR>