Part 6/12:
A particularly eye-opening Reddit post from a European tourist underscores the severity of the situation. The tourist recounts encountering individuals on the street wielding large hunting knives—something they jokingly described as “pretty normal” in Seattle, albeit shocking from a European perspective. The streets are filled with screams, catcalls, and the presence of heavily intoxicated or drugged individuals behaving erratically.
The tourist recounts feeling more unsafe in downtown Seattle than in other U.S. cities on the East Coast, despite assumptions that cities like Portland and Seattle are liberal havens of tolerance. Instead, they paint a picture of chaos: homeless encampments blocking sidewalks, open drug use, and violent interactions that could turn deadly.