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I agree, and I wish we could do that, but how? I won't look half as convincing if I wrap a scarf around my head. I have thought about this after reading about G

I agree, and I wish we could do that, but how? I won't look half as convincing if I wrap a scarf around my head. I have thought about this after reading about Günther Wallraff[1], and I haven't found a nice way to try this out. Maybe I should "dress up" on the internet? So far, the closest experience I have is being white and understanding Chinese - but it doesn't hurt nearly as much, the worst people regularly think about me is that I am an unreliable, eternal frat boy. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Günter_Wallraff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Günter_Wallraff

wpietri 14y ago
How about a turban? You could go for a Sikh turban: http://www.sikhnet.com/pages/tyingturbans http://www.sikhnet.com/pages/tyingturbans or a Muslim one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r1_HfOMRBM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r1_HfOMRBM I'm sure you could go to a local gurdwara or mosque and ask for pointers. They'd probably be over the moon. It's also not particularly hard to look verging-on-homeless poor.
- gurkendoktor 14y ago
  Right, but I am white as paper and it takes a while to grow a beard. I would look like a male convert, something that (to me) seems much more exotic than a tanned person wearing a turban.
  - wpietri 14y ago
    Well, that was basically Ela's experience as well, and it was educational for her. If you really want to do skin tones, you'll need decent makeup. If you're in a big city, just go by a serious makeup store. (In San Francisco, Kryolan is great.) Otherwise, call up your local community theater and ask them to put you in touch with a makeup artist.
  - ktizo 14y ago
    The complexion doesn't matter, they are religions, not ethnicities. Also you are likely to get an even bigger reaction as you would probably then be viewed by some people as some kind of traitor.
potatolicious 14y ago
When it comes to skin color it's definitely a tall order - but it's realistic to do it re: orientation, wealth, or a large number of other factors where major discrimination happens. This is a similar story: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cross-closet-straight-christian-lives-year-gay-man/story?id=17443219#.UINepfk-toI http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cross-closet-straight-christian... The whole masquerade part also isn't strictly necessary, putting yourself close to the issues at hand is also helpful. I've never been homeless, but I've worked at three separate organizations related to homelessness (an employment/retraining program, a transitional home, and a straight-up shelter) and met many people that way. I will likely never gain a complete understanding of what it is like, but hopefully I've picked up enough of the big things that I'm being less of a net-negative on the world. Mark Twain once said (or perhaps according to the Internet Mark Twain once said): "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." - purposefully exposing yourself to different types of people along all arbitrary lines of division in a substantial way may be the next best thing.
- gurkendoktor 14y ago
  Ooohh, orientation is a fun one. I have never thought about that - thanks for the idea. I'll make a note for when I'm back home.
- quadhome 14y ago
  He said it in The Innocents Abroad.

wpietri 14y ago

How about a turban? You could go for a Sikh turban: http://www.sikhnet.com/pages/tyingturbans http://www.sikhnet.com/pages/tyingturbans or a Muslim one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r1_HfOMRBM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r1_HfOMRBM I'm sure you could go to a local gurdwara or mosque and ask for pointers. They'd probably be over the moon. It's also not particularly hard to look verging-on-homeless poor.

gurkendoktor 14y ago
Right, but I am white as paper and it takes a while to grow a beard. I would look like a male convert, something that (to me) seems much more exotic than a tanned person wearing a turban.
- wpietri 14y ago
  Well, that was basically Ela's experience as well, and it was educational for her. If you really want to do skin tones, you'll need decent makeup. If you're in a big city, just go by a serious makeup store. (In San Francisco, Kryolan is great.) Otherwise, call up your local community theater and ask them to put you in touch with a makeup artist.
- ktizo 14y ago
  The complexion doesn't matter, they are religions, not ethnicities. Also you are likely to get an even bigger reaction as you would probably then be viewed by some people as some kind of traitor.

potatolicious 14y ago

When it comes to skin color it's definitely a tall order - but it's realistic to do it re: orientation, wealth, or a large number of other factors where major discrimination happens. This is a similar story: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cross-closet-straight-christian-lives-year-gay-man/story?id=17443219#.UINepfk-toI http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cross-closet-straight-christian... The whole masquerade part also isn't strictly necessary, putting yourself close to the issues at hand is also helpful. I've never been homeless, but I've worked at three separate organizations related to homelessness (an employment/retraining program, a transitional home, and a straight-up shelter) and met many people that way. I will likely never gain a complete understanding of what it is like, but hopefully I've picked up enough of the big things that I'm being less of a net-negative on the world. Mark Twain once said (or perhaps according to the Internet Mark Twain once said): "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." - purposefully exposing yourself to different types of people along all arbitrary lines of division in a substantial way may be the next best thing.

gurkendoktor 14y ago
Ooohh, orientation is a fun one. I have never thought about that - thanks for the idea. I'll make a note for when I'm back home.
quadhome 14y ago
He said it in The Innocents Abroad.