A European tourist’s account of a trip to Seattle is generating lots of discussion on Reddit after declaring he and his family “never felt so unsafe [than] in Seattle downtown.”
“We were in family, just arrived in a hotel downtown, Decided to hang around and find a place to eat, First people we met, was a dude on the phone, not walking straight with a huge hunting knife on his right hand,” the Reddit user said. It’s unclear where in Europe the user is from. “The number of junkies in the street is insane, they are screaming and catcalling you. There are more homeless than tourists. For the perspective, i went to many us cities on the East coast and this is the first time i have ever felt so unsafe.”
The post earned over 750 upvotes and nearly 500 comments.
This is what a city looks like when it’s run by a lazy politician who enjoys giving speeches and attending cocktail parties.
Seattle is rudderless under Bruce Harrell. @MayorofSeattle wants another four years.
Can we afford that? He says this below isn’t a problem. pic.twitter.com/n7dbeL497p
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) July 1, 2025
Seattle Reddit users weigh in
A number of people responded to the tourist’s concerns. Some attacked him for being too sensitive, while others offered a sobering review of the state of downtown Seattle.
“It’s not a coincidence, it’s because the transit centers are major drug trafficking hubs. I mean, the government must be complicit or deeply corrupted to allow this issue to go on for so long and not even pretend to try and fix it. There’s no other explanation,” one user responded.
Another user noted the issue is driven by a lack of police staff and misplaced priorities.
“I can’t say for sure there’s no government complicity, but the reality is a bit more pedestrian: it’s police constantly challenged by understaffing, and a general city culture of permissiveness, often expressed as ‘weaponized’ compassion. Instead of seeing the worst of addicts and homeless as issues needing correction, they’re first seen as people in crisis (which they are), and instead of treating them as blights on the city (which they also are), the local culture uses social pressure to permit them to continue until they get violent because the optics are otherwise bad,” another user said.
Another Reddit user from Portland assured the thread that it’s not just a Seattle crisis.
“Oregonian here. It’s the same in Portland. All of the best restaurants, nicest hotels, swankiest bars in the most expensive area. Walk half a block in the wrong direction and you’re in a homeless encampment where the sidewalks are all blocked by tents and people using drugs openly. A strange incongruence indeed,” the user claimed.
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Mayor Bruce Harrell pretends we don’t have issues in Seattle
Despite the growing homelessness crisis, Mayor Bruce Harrell acts like everything is just fine — like the only thing truly in crisis is our perception.
Seattle isn’t suffering from bad luck. It’s suffering from lazy, passive leadership. Harrell inherited a city on life support, then refused to call a code blue. Instead of empowering Seattle Police to clean up the streets, he’s tying their hands behind their backs while handing out glow-up press releases about “light installations” to make downtown more walkable. It’s exactly why downtown has become a hellscape of fentanyl zombies, erratic behavior, and public defecation.
The only chance of a clean-up will be when Harrell’s team does a rush job to clean the area for the World Cup in 2026. Like with Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week, Harrell only acts when we’re on the national stage. He’s happy to impress visitors he deems important, while ignoring the taxpayers.
Seattle wants tourists, right?
Tourists are supposed to want to visit your city, not escape it. But who can blame this European tourist? He didn’t sign up for a walking tour of Mad Max: Emerald City. Families should be safe walking from their hotel to dinner, not dodging twitchy drug addicts holding knives. Yet Harrell has no urgency. He’ll take the stage at community events or pose for ribbon cuttings, but when it comes to actually managing the city? Crickets. Or worse, deflection.
Seattle’s descent didn’t just “happen.” It was engineered by politicians who mistake enabling for compassion and governance for virtue signaling. Harrell’s refusal to back the police and restore order isn’t just weak—it’s dangerous. And every time he ignores reality to preserve the illusion of progressivism, more families—local and visiting—are put at risk.
Maybe this tourist should thank Harrell for the unforgettable Seattle experience. But don’t expect him to come back.
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Author: Jason Rantz
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