Thanks for the data point re: Cape Town. That's interesting. I suppose my only point was that we like to think that things are way worse somewhere else (or perhaps someone likes us thinking that?), the State Department likes to issue warnings about how dangerous Country XYZ is, but you'll never see a travel warning w.r.t. visiting New Orleans.
The New Orleans Chamber of Commerce would throw a snit fit if the government issued a travel warning for their fair city. The Chamber of Commerce in Cape Town is somewhat less influential in that regard.
About your larger point, maybe. If true I doubt it's a cultural thing but just the way people are.
I have.
It seems that the Westerner attitude is that "somewhere else" things are really bad.
If I lived in a place where crime was a problem, I'd say so.
New Orleans has close to the highest murder rate in the world.
Cape Town was higher, last year.
And? I don't especially care about New Orleans: don't live there, wouldn't want to live there. It's a problem, but there isn't anything I can _do_ about it, so why worry?