Is it Safe for Tourists to Visit Mexico?

I just did an interview for blogexpat.com (yay! -- I'll add a proper link when it's published). They asked me to name a myth about Mexico & I recalled a funny story that I forgot to blog about..  

My favorite myth about this country is that it isn’t safe for tourists to travel "in Mexico", which is like saying it’s unsafe "in America." Use common sense & know which spots to avoid (in Cancun, stay south of Lopez Portillo, especially at night) & you’ll be fine (probably). It reminds me of a story I posted on my website (anecdotage.com: 25,000 anecdotes & funny stories about famous people) recently:

On April 14, 2004, Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman left London and embarked upon a 20,000-mile motorcycle journey (chronicled in their seven episode series "Long Way Round"). On July 29th, they arrived in New York, having passed through Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Alaska, and Canada, often forging their own roads in virtually uninhabited wilderness. Along the way, the intrepid travelers encountered paparazzi in Kazakhstan, Kalashnikov-toting gangsters in the Ukraine, risky food (including bull's testicles in Mongolia), and a hungry grizzly bear. Before leaving, Ewan and Charley had asked a former SAS officer which leg of their adventure presented the most potential danger. Without hesitation, he looked at the map, and pointed at the United States!

True, they didn’t visit Mexico, but you get my point :)

I wouldn’t visit Guadalajara, but I wouldn’t visit Compton either...