This is such an important conversation, and one I think about all the time as a person who has spent much of my adult life living in places that I love that also have pretty atrocious human rights records, but also as an American––a place with its own horrific human rights record but one I would never say people shouldn't visit. For me, it all comes down to the money and how much your travel dollars help the government, versus regular people. I wrote about this a few years ago (though some parts of this probably need updating now!) Will probably tackle again in a future newsletter. :) Thanks for sparking discussion about this topic! https://www.curiositymag.com/2019/10/03/should-you-visit-saudi-arabia-cuba-myanmar-iran/
Thank you so much for sharing your article, Rebecca! I love that we came to many of the same conclusions separately...and especially appreciate your callout of travel writers/bloggers/Instagrammers, and how we have a responsibility not to whitewash the places we visit.
In your checklist, this bit: “When it comes to social media, think about what you’re sharing and why” with bells on! It’s all well and good to do the research and make your own decision but then if you’re a heavy hitter on SocMed but don’t provide some background context to the pics/vids/whatever you’re sharing, it’s all for nothing. Educate yourself--and others too.
Super thoughtful essay, Sam. I just LOVE your posts on the philosophy and ethics of traveling. It never really occurred to me to think about this topic, but you explained and dissected it so well I find myself reevaluating all the places I travelled to.
Truthfully, since we in Romania don’t have very easy access to more “outlandish” travel destinations and we tend to settle for Europe, where things are somewhat similar to home, I haven’t really had the need to think this thoroughly about ethics. But I once visited Panama City on a cruise, and boy... that was a whole different ball game. There were two things I saw in that city for the first time: skyscrapers and favelas. And they were right next to each other...
Thank you so much, Andrei!! I totally feel you re: the experience of seeing skyscrapers next to favelas...it’s sobering to see that level of inequality laid out so clearly in visual terms. Obviously in the U.S., we have massive inequality issues (more so than you do in Europe, I think), though it’s far from the worst in the world.
I didn’t broach the topic of poverty tourism in this essay, but I think that’s a huge problem as well. You might remember that I wrote a bit about it in my essay on Cairo’s Garbage City...I didn’t take pictures there because it felt icky to me to treat people like some sort of exhibit just because they live differently than I.
This was excellent, thank you. And Michael's perspective gives interesting food for thought as it is an perspective I've never thought of before - I know people in a similar position but their answer has simply been to avoid countries where who they are is not welcome, similar I suppose to how - and I freely admit quite unfairly - I think twice about certain destinations as a Jewish woman, even though I don't even believe in any form or organised religion because I know I look Jewish outwardly, so it is often a thought in my mind for what I call a 'safe', but if I'm being honest with myself a 'comfortable' travelling experience.
And also I want to note I save your essays to read whilst I'm having lunch. Thanks for the toenail images...!
LOL sorry to ruin your lunch!! I like the distinction you make between what is safe and what is comfortable--safety should always come first, but I also think it can be intellectually convenient to tell ourselves that certain places aren’t safe when in reality, they are safe and would just push us out of our comfort zones.
On the other hand, I don’t believe that traveling *must* make one uncomfortable in order to be valuable. Deeply exploring places where you feel comfortable is still going to be an awesome learning experience...and it may give you more confidence to tackle places that would previously have been outside your comfort zone.
Originally, I skimmed this title and assumed you were talking about tourism and the environment--tossing a Coke can into the Amazon or chipping a souvenir off the spire of Milan cathedral (and yes, we've seen both--and vehemently agree that such carelessness needs to be stopped). But then, I read the piece and realized that you were talking politics and culture, and on that, I would respectfully quibble. Americans have always flattered themselves that the rest of the world both needs and desires their opinions, however ill-informed, without much evidence to support the narcissistic notion. It isn't a simple matter of hypocrisy either (show me a country, and I'll show you a "horrific" human rights record, especially if you want to go back to the 19th century and earlier). It's a matter of missing the entire point of travel, which is to learn. We can't do that if we're so busy judging and opinionating, either with whitewash or otherwise.
Is there a specific point you quibble with, or is it the whole premise of the discussion? I ask not to be argumentative, but because when I read your comment I think we’re in total agreement, and if there’s another angle I haven’t explored I want to know what it is!
I agree that the point of traveling is to listen and learn. As I said at the top of the piece, I believe very strongly that we should NOT be pushing our agendas/opinions on others when we travel. We should be trying to understand the opinions of others; that doesn’t mean we aren’t allowed to have any, but that we should share them if and only if it’s part of an equal and respectful exchange of ideas.
So humorous but so very thought provoking. As I was reading this, I felt some of these recommendarions could also well be extrapolated to our own reactions to other humans that we sometimes club into the "GDPTC" club.
Kudos to you for taking on such a provocative topic! I prefer to travel with an open mind rather than pre-judging people. These days I’m self-conscious about the shoe being on the other foot, with those I meet judging Americans for the actions of our government and our countrymen and women--gun violence, insurrection, contested elections, etc. It’s sobering.
So true, Ruth--we don’t have the moral high ground. I’ve definitely encountered some people who are happy to pre-judge all Americans as a group, but luckily they’ve been a small minority, at least in my experience! I’ve always been grateful for that.
I love your framing device and would 100% visit the the Grand Duchy of Public Toenail Clippers, but I absolutely draw the line at the nation of Open-Mouth Chewers. They simply cannot be abided!
In all seriousness, a very thoughtful -- if amusing -- discussion of a complicated but very important topic.
A sensible decision—the ambient smacking noises in the Republic of Open Mouth Chewers are enough to drive even the most tolerant among us to the brink of insanity!! (But seriously, thank you 😊)
I’ve heard (at the nail salon no less), that in the GDPTC one pays dowry in the form of a perfumed basket of clippings. Can you confirm this is indeed the case?
Oh, yes! This is a cherished tradition that dates back hundreds of years—the basket of clippings represents each partner’s devotion, in that they are gifting literal pieces of themselves to their betrothed. It’s quite beautiful, really.
Because of the picture placement after you’ve introduced GDPTC, I can’t help but think you were scarred by someone clipping their nails in Santorini 😂😂.
This was a great post and it’s great to see so many others had a more nuanced answer than my ‘politics is boring’ 😂
🤣🤣 oh no, I did not mean to impugn the good people of Santorini!! No, the only people I’ve ever seen clipping their toenails in public were unfortunately my own countrymen, in NYC. 😬
This is such an important conversation, and one I think about all the time as a person who has spent much of my adult life living in places that I love that also have pretty atrocious human rights records, but also as an American––a place with its own horrific human rights record but one I would never say people shouldn't visit. For me, it all comes down to the money and how much your travel dollars help the government, versus regular people. I wrote about this a few years ago (though some parts of this probably need updating now!) Will probably tackle again in a future newsletter. :) Thanks for sparking discussion about this topic! https://www.curiositymag.com/2019/10/03/should-you-visit-saudi-arabia-cuba-myanmar-iran/
Thank you so much for sharing your article, Rebecca! I love that we came to many of the same conclusions separately...and especially appreciate your callout of travel writers/bloggers/Instagrammers, and how we have a responsibility not to whitewash the places we visit.
In your checklist, this bit: “When it comes to social media, think about what you’re sharing and why” with bells on! It’s all well and good to do the research and make your own decision but then if you’re a heavy hitter on SocMed but don’t provide some background context to the pics/vids/whatever you’re sharing, it’s all for nothing. Educate yourself--and others too.
Yes!! With large followings comes a responsibility.
Thanks for the shoutout Sam - this is a great post and a really interesting debate.
You’re so welcome! Thanks for contributing your thoughts to the conversation!
Super thoughtful essay, Sam. I just LOVE your posts on the philosophy and ethics of traveling. It never really occurred to me to think about this topic, but you explained and dissected it so well I find myself reevaluating all the places I travelled to.
Truthfully, since we in Romania don’t have very easy access to more “outlandish” travel destinations and we tend to settle for Europe, where things are somewhat similar to home, I haven’t really had the need to think this thoroughly about ethics. But I once visited Panama City on a cruise, and boy... that was a whole different ball game. There were two things I saw in that city for the first time: skyscrapers and favelas. And they were right next to each other...
Thank you so much, Andrei!! I totally feel you re: the experience of seeing skyscrapers next to favelas...it’s sobering to see that level of inequality laid out so clearly in visual terms. Obviously in the U.S., we have massive inequality issues (more so than you do in Europe, I think), though it’s far from the worst in the world.
I didn’t broach the topic of poverty tourism in this essay, but I think that’s a huge problem as well. You might remember that I wrote a bit about it in my essay on Cairo’s Garbage City...I didn’t take pictures there because it felt icky to me to treat people like some sort of exhibit just because they live differently than I.
This was excellent, thank you. And Michael's perspective gives interesting food for thought as it is an perspective I've never thought of before - I know people in a similar position but their answer has simply been to avoid countries where who they are is not welcome, similar I suppose to how - and I freely admit quite unfairly - I think twice about certain destinations as a Jewish woman, even though I don't even believe in any form or organised religion because I know I look Jewish outwardly, so it is often a thought in my mind for what I call a 'safe', but if I'm being honest with myself a 'comfortable' travelling experience.
And also I want to note I save your essays to read whilst I'm having lunch. Thanks for the toenail images...!
LOL sorry to ruin your lunch!! I like the distinction you make between what is safe and what is comfortable--safety should always come first, but I also think it can be intellectually convenient to tell ourselves that certain places aren’t safe when in reality, they are safe and would just push us out of our comfort zones.
On the other hand, I don’t believe that traveling *must* make one uncomfortable in order to be valuable. Deeply exploring places where you feel comfortable is still going to be an awesome learning experience...and it may give you more confidence to tackle places that would previously have been outside your comfort zone.
Originally, I skimmed this title and assumed you were talking about tourism and the environment--tossing a Coke can into the Amazon or chipping a souvenir off the spire of Milan cathedral (and yes, we've seen both--and vehemently agree that such carelessness needs to be stopped). But then, I read the piece and realized that you were talking politics and culture, and on that, I would respectfully quibble. Americans have always flattered themselves that the rest of the world both needs and desires their opinions, however ill-informed, without much evidence to support the narcissistic notion. It isn't a simple matter of hypocrisy either (show me a country, and I'll show you a "horrific" human rights record, especially if you want to go back to the 19th century and earlier). It's a matter of missing the entire point of travel, which is to learn. We can't do that if we're so busy judging and opinionating, either with whitewash or otherwise.
Is there a specific point you quibble with, or is it the whole premise of the discussion? I ask not to be argumentative, but because when I read your comment I think we’re in total agreement, and if there’s another angle I haven’t explored I want to know what it is!
I agree that the point of traveling is to listen and learn. As I said at the top of the piece, I believe very strongly that we should NOT be pushing our agendas/opinions on others when we travel. We should be trying to understand the opinions of others; that doesn’t mean we aren’t allowed to have any, but that we should share them if and only if it’s part of an equal and respectful exchange of ideas.
So humorous but so very thought provoking. As I was reading this, I felt some of these recommendarions could also well be extrapolated to our own reactions to other humans that we sometimes club into the "GDPTC" club.
Thank you, Balu! Ooh, I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on that!
Kudos to you for taking on such a provocative topic! I prefer to travel with an open mind rather than pre-judging people. These days I’m self-conscious about the shoe being on the other foot, with those I meet judging Americans for the actions of our government and our countrymen and women--gun violence, insurrection, contested elections, etc. It’s sobering.
So true, Ruth--we don’t have the moral high ground. I’ve definitely encountered some people who are happy to pre-judge all Americans as a group, but luckily they’ve been a small minority, at least in my experience! I’ve always been grateful for that.
I love your framing device and would 100% visit the the Grand Duchy of Public Toenail Clippers, but I absolutely draw the line at the nation of Open-Mouth Chewers. They simply cannot be abided!
In all seriousness, a very thoughtful -- if amusing -- discussion of a complicated but very important topic.
A sensible decision—the ambient smacking noises in the Republic of Open Mouth Chewers are enough to drive even the most tolerant among us to the brink of insanity!! (But seriously, thank you 😊)
I’ve heard (at the nail salon no less), that in the GDPTC one pays dowry in the form of a perfumed basket of clippings. Can you confirm this is indeed the case?
Oh, yes! This is a cherished tradition that dates back hundreds of years—the basket of clippings represents each partner’s devotion, in that they are gifting literal pieces of themselves to their betrothed. It’s quite beautiful, really.
Because of the picture placement after you’ve introduced GDPTC, I can’t help but think you were scarred by someone clipping their nails in Santorini 😂😂.
This was a great post and it’s great to see so many others had a more nuanced answer than my ‘politics is boring’ 😂
🤣🤣 oh no, I did not mean to impugn the good people of Santorini!! No, the only people I’ve ever seen clipping their toenails in public were unfortunately my own countrymen, in NYC. 😬