Levels of Entitlement

[yeloson]

I came home to see the roommate watching some documentary about some surfers who go down to Peru. As I'm cooking dinner, I overhear the narration:

"...They explored the depths of this ancient culture... They took them in, and revealed their magnificent heritage to them... 'We got to see places people don't go to', etc."

Seriously, you can explore the depths of a culture, or be totally taken in and assimilated in a 2 week trip? And of course, who guided you to all these places "people don't go"?

Oh, that's right. Not everyone counts as people.

Comments

[kitsuchan.livejournal.com]

It's like the backpackers in China who would get all angry when they saw me, as if they were saying, "How dare you come in and ruin my exotic China experience by being another white person!"

It's the mentality that people in other cultures aren't people, they're commodities that are more valuable the less contact they've had with others.

[benlehman.livejournal.com]

It's the virginity myth writ cultural.

I had a fun time when Western tourists would tell me about this great place they went in China that had "no foreigners" and I would lean in and whisper "actually, just between you and me, I'm pretty sure there was at least one foreigner there."

yrs--
--Ben

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

I'm also amused by the idea that it's virgin territory, if you can get someone to guide you to the place without it being a giant. fucking. hassle.

If it's a place where tourists don't go, the question they'd first hear is, "Why the hell would you want to go there? Nothings out there!" etc.