Ron (or Rick, which I called him at first, but somehow he became Ron as callers responded him) in South Carolina called my SiriusXM program to tell us all how he left the supposed hellhole of Southern California—northern San Diego—and moved to the supposedly safe, clean and homeless-free Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
When I told him that South Carolina ranks among the states with the highest violent-crime rates, and that its murder rate is significantly higher than California’s, he refused to believe it—even though the numbers come from Kash Patel’s FBI crime data.
And when I told him that where I was sitting, New York City, is one of the safest large cities in America, with crime—including violent crime and murder—much lower than in South Carolina, he was in complete disbelief. Because, you see, his “local television news”—Myrtle Beach includes a station owned by the right-wing Sinclair Broadcasting, known for pushing disinformation—had told him otherwise.
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Where are your numbers? I asked. He didn’t have any and tried to change the subject to immigration—which is their go-to when they’re losing—and I didn’t let him. I shut him down.
What was even more interesting, however, were the calls for the next hour from many people in South Carolina and others all across the country. They told their experiences and crunched the numbers. Some South Carolinians called Myrtle Beach a MAGA hellhole, with people telling me about drug crime and homelessness in the heart of a city of roughly 40,000 people—which you really can’t compare to a large city anyway.
But I was happy to compare because it turns out New York City has a significantly lower crime rate—including violent crime, which is at the lowest in recorded history—than Myrtle Beach.
And Myrtle Beach has had a reputation for high crime for years. Back in 2017, one report listed it as the third most dangerous city in America:
The Safewise Report listed popular vacation destination Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as the third most dangerous city in America. Lumberton, North Carolina was right behind at fourth on the list.
These people live in a fantasy.
Watch and let me know your thoughts!
