In a shady location an airport taxi would likely be safer than a street taxi
Sure, but thats a different argument - when a foreigner arrives at an airport, they don't have the option to decide between an airport taxi and a street taxi.
There have been cases in Manila and Bogota where the foreigner has been robbed whilst in the taxi going to their hotel. No one can be sure if the taxi driver was in cahoots or not. A personal friend of mine arrive in Rome airport and took an airport taxi at an agreed price. The taxi guy then drove him to an ATM and demanded 150 euros. My friend was frightened, had no choice and so did as he was told.
OP, the people you mentioned are not passport bros - they're DNs like yourself. This sub has 2.3 million followers and the passportbro sub has like 20k followers. Do the math.
What's ruined many foreign spots was the ability to work remote after covid.