6 ms·

Because going to a foreign country and staying in an English speaking hotel between trips to landmarks and Burger King (but in Spain!!!) is not experiencing oth

Because going to a foreign country and staying in an English speaking hotel between trips to landmarks and Burger King (but in Spain!!!) is not experiencing other cultures. You're the "Vince Vega" tourist who visits France and eats fucking McDonalds. You've completely missed the point of visiting another place, you've just gone to the place where America has exported its culture into another area, with all the grace and sensitivity of a hiker taking a dump on a birds nest.

samsonradu 7y ago
While I find your comment quite rude, I remember having a “What the fuck!” moment when I saw the huge McDonalds on Champs-Elysees.
- FussyZeus 7y ago
  Sorry, I get punchy when people deliberately misconstrue what other people are saying to further their own biases. It's a particular trigger for me.
  - magduf 7y ago
    Well you should be pissed at yourself then, because I didn't misconstrue anything, yet you completely misconstrued what I wrote, and made ridiculous and untrue assumptions about me. Maybe you should stop projecting and try working on your own issues.
ApolloFortyNine 7y ago
Did you just generalize all American tourists? I think people here expect better discussion than this.
- FussyZeus 7y ago
  I'm replying to the assertion (which was a generalization itself) that liberals want people from the flyover states to get out of their bubble and travel, but when they do, make fun of them for it, and I responded to it by saying that's because so many tourists when they go abroad don't experience the culture of the country they visit; they experience at best a sanitized, western-friendly watered down version, or at worst, just miss it all entirely and visit chain restaurants and the regular "sights to see." Something like the Taj Majal is a sight to behold, certainly. But if you just go there, and oooo and aaah at it, and then go home, you haven't experienced a lick of India. You could've had the same experience with a Google Maps walkthrough. I don't find this offensive so much from a cultural standpoint as much as just a massive waste of time and resources, to jet across the world, go to a completely new place, and experience NOTHING in it. What was the point of it then!? You'd have been further ahead never leaving your damn sofa.
  - magduf 7y ago
    It sounds exactly like you're making fun of these people for not getting as authentic an experience as you think they should have. "If you can't be a tourist the way I think you should be a tourist, then you should just stay home and look at photos on Google Maps!" Do you have any idea how much of a pretentious person this makes you sound? Personally, I avoid any American restaurant chains abroad (and usually do at home too!), but I'm not going to tell people to just "stay home" because they aren't backpacking and staying in hostels like I have. That's some pretty serious arrogance. At least these people are getting out of their comfort zone a little. It's pretty impossible to travel in a foreign country without being exposed a little to the local culture, even if you have a tour guide escorting you around everywhere.
briankelly 7y ago
As much I dislike this form of tourist, it's actually more responsible then those trying to go "off the beaten path". They are sticking to infrastructure that is built to accommodate tourists instead of staying in Airbnbs and going to the "local" places that inevitably will cater to the tourists. It's an easy parallel to going off the trail when hiking to get away from the crowds: it might not appear to be a problem on an individual scale but as more people do it the vegetation and fungal colonies are damaged, a new social path forms, more people are invited by the easier path and erosion becomes a problem. It clearly forms a feedback loop - the more people that come, the more others feel encouraged and invited, and the more that those on the "cutting edge" feel emboldened to go farther to escape the new crowds. I was a digital nomad for awhile, too, but even after months in a place you are still a tourist. You are never really living like the locals do, even if you go to their bars and grocery stores.

samsonradu 7y ago

While I find your comment quite rude, I remember having a “What the fuck!” moment when I saw the huge McDonalds on Champs-Elysees.

FussyZeus 7y ago
Sorry, I get punchy when people deliberately misconstrue what other people are saying to further their own biases. It's a particular trigger for me.
- magduf 7y ago
  Well you should be pissed at yourself then, because I didn't misconstrue anything, yet you completely misconstrued what I wrote, and made ridiculous and untrue assumptions about me. Maybe you should stop projecting and try working on your own issues.

ApolloFortyNine 7y ago

Did you just generalize all American tourists? I think people here expect better discussion than this.

FussyZeus 7y ago
I'm replying to the assertion (which was a generalization itself) that liberals want people from the flyover states to get out of their bubble and travel, but when they do, make fun of them for it, and I responded to it by saying that's because so many tourists when they go abroad don't experience the culture of the country they visit; they experience at best a sanitized, western-friendly watered down version, or at worst, just miss it all entirely and visit chain restaurants and the regular "sights to see." Something like the Taj Majal is a sight to behold, certainly. But if you just go there, and oooo and aaah at it, and then go home, you haven't experienced a lick of India. You could've had the same experience with a Google Maps walkthrough. I don't find this offensive so much from a cultural standpoint as much as just a massive waste of time and resources, to jet across the world, go to a completely new place, and experience NOTHING in it. What was the point of it then!? You'd have been further ahead never leaving your damn sofa.
- magduf 7y ago
  It sounds exactly like you're making fun of these people for not getting as authentic an experience as you think they should have. "If you can't be a tourist the way I think you should be a tourist, then you should just stay home and look at photos on Google Maps!" Do you have any idea how much of a pretentious person this makes you sound? Personally, I avoid any American restaurant chains abroad (and usually do at home too!), but I'm not going to tell people to just "stay home" because they aren't backpacking and staying in hostels like I have. That's some pretty serious arrogance. At least these people are getting out of their comfort zone a little. It's pretty impossible to travel in a foreign country without being exposed a little to the local culture, even if you have a tour guide escorting you around everywhere.

briankelly 7y ago

As much I dislike this form of tourist, it's actually more responsible then those trying to go "off the beaten path". They are sticking to infrastructure that is built to accommodate tourists instead of staying in Airbnbs and going to the "local" places that inevitably will cater to the tourists. It's an easy parallel to going off the trail when hiking to get away from the crowds: it might not appear to be a problem on an individual scale but as more people do it the vegetation and fungal colonies are damaged, a new social path forms, more people are invited by the easier path and erosion becomes a problem. It clearly forms a feedback loop - the more people that come, the more others feel encouraged and invited, and the more that those on the "cutting edge" feel emboldened to go farther to escape the new crowds. I was a digital nomad for awhile, too, but even after months in a place you are still a tourist. You are never really living like the locals do, even if you go to their bars and grocery stores.