Tags
Afghanistan, Asian American, burqa, Korean American, Los Angeles, privilege, racism, travel, women
A photo taken during my own travels in Uruguay. I recognize the immense privilege of being able to travel, and don't take this lightly.
What white people will never know about travel
Two days ago Tammi Jonas tweeted this blog post by Ernest “Fly Brother” White II on “8 things white people will never know about travel.” I agree with most of his points, but I would rephrase the title as “8 things privileged people ignore about travel.” I love to travel and I love reading about it, but gave up on travel web sites (like Matador, which hosts White’s blog post) because of the persistent narrative that “everyone can travel.” Sure, I’d like to think that everyone can travel, but in reality you can only travel (freely) if you have enough funds, few responsibilities to other people, a privileged world passport, an able body, and the right skin tone, gender, sexual orientation, and age (among many other factors) to give you the privilege of free passage. I exercise the privilege of travel when I can, and don’t look down on people who haven’t traveled. Travelers must not only acknowledge inequalities in the places they visit but also the inequalities in who gets to join their ranks.
Racist nicknames
Food service workers around the United States still have not learned that it’s quite offensive to give someone a racist name on their receipt! First, it was Ching and Chong, and now it’s Lady Chinky Eyes. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a national trend, as Colorlines puts it, but these issues are definitely coming to light quite often now. I bet these things happened with much more regularity in the pre-social media days.
Wearing a burqa
Hameed of the Afghanistan blog Jalalagood put on his mother’s burqa and discovered how difficult it is to live life in one.
I took my mom’s mobile jail and put myself in it for a minute. I felt so bored and depressed and I couldn’t keep it on for any longer. Everything seemed blurry and I had no peripheral vision for that minute. I felt dizzy when I took it off. Then I hugged my mom (60 minutes long hug) to show my sympathy.
Be sure to check out the photo of what the world looks like from inside a burqa.
North Koreans in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Times profiles this city’s small community of North Koreans, who are struggling to fit in among the much larger community of Southerners. Their accent makes them stick out clearly, and Southerners often look down upon them. They are reticent about their past experiences, and for good reason:
Among other Koreans and even with fellow defectors, most are careful with personal details out of concern for family in North Korea. If it became known to authorities there that they were in the U.S. — a nation they were taught to think of as an imperialist enemy invader — there is no knowing what punishment would be levied against remaining family members.
I agree with you. Being a white, blue eyed, american male that speaks Spanish I can virtually go anywhere in South America and Europe and be viewed automatically as a higher “class” because of those facts. I mention those points in some of my points and I think it’s fucked up that that’s the case, but, I guess I’m just lucky, but I sure as hell don’t take it for granted, I know the “free” pass I have, and I try and use it as much as possible and at least, try and leave people better than I found them.
Thanks for understanding that I didn’t want to single you out by linking to your post. I just thought that it was a good example of the narrative trap that many travel writers fall into.
Pingback: Ethnicity, citizenship, language, and privilege – a travel story from Taiwan « The Plaid Bag Connection