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Somewhat ironically, though, all that's really unusual here is that the destination for this "cheap holiday in other people's misery" is New York. Because unfortunately, this is basically what tourism is, almost by definition. There's a good (admittedly quite polemical) article about this here.
quote:Tourists are locusts. They strip bare the body of the earth. They render empty and desolate. They create the desert. They choke the air. Tourists float in on a cloud of cash, and buy up everything that can be neatly described in brochure-style adjectives. Their presence alone turns different cultures and peoples into petting zoos, where they can pay the price of admittance and gawk at the locals.
They're colonialists, operating in the wake of war and imperialist expansions. They create theme parks in foreign lands, collecting images of Nature, Other People, and Difference, to put it in a jar called Overseas Experiences, and take it home for the coffee table.
Tourists consume everything they come across in their adventures—their footsteps remake the world as commodity.
[ 22-01-2002: Message edited by: Flyboy ] |
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