Granted that there is some "creative" behavior in the subways that one might not see frequently in other public places (at least outside of NY), a person talking to themselves or singing panhandlers are a far cry from "unsafe", in my book.

If you're going to tell me that you're from suburbia and that you're more comfortable in an automobile than in a train, I can accept that. If you're going to tell me that teenagers in gangsta-wear and not-recently-bathed homeless people make you nervous, that's cool too. But there is nothing intrinsically "dangerous" about any of these people. As you wrote, we NY-ers commute and co-exist with all of these people and more, on a daily basis, and the vast majority of us get from one place to another, complete unfazed and unharmed.

New York City has come a long way from its worst days (late 1960's through the 70's and early 80's) and it is still one of the safest "big" cities in the country. Even in it's worst days, it was still a far cry from places like Tel Aviv or Fallujah. There's a lot here that can overwhelm unfamiliar visitors, but I still maintain that it's overstating things to say that something like riding the subway -- in the middle of the day -- is an "unsafe" activity. Here is an article from the New York Daily News dated Nov 26 that reports 25% fewer felonies in the subway system compared to four years ago. The NY Post reported that through September, there were a total of 202 assaults so far in 2004. That's less than one a day in a system that carries hundreds of thousands of passengers each and every day. Compare that against driving on a freeway -- an activity that most Americans outside of NY do every day -- and you tell me which activity is the more "dangerous".

If people would stop "unfairly" portraying New York as some sort of urban crime pit, I guess we residents can stop "unfairly" having to set the record straight, time and time again.