RE: Thoughts from a Swimming Pool | The importance of Perspective
You should always try to imagine how others might feel and be empathetic and such...but you will never know what it's like to walk in another person's shoes. It's important to remember that, and yet still try to empathize and understand, knowing that you never really can. If you delude yourself into thinking that you can understand, you can lead yourself astray.
Traveling a bit, and not just staying in fancy hotels, might let someone grow to be happier with whatever happens in their life though, because you might just learn to just take things as they come. Traveling and just staying in fancy hotels though, viewing other people's lives from the outside and taking pictures with your fancy gadgets...I'm not sure that's healthy. Maybe you'll appreciate what you have just a little more...but I think it's better to immerse yourself in the culture. Going somewhere to see some monument or historical place or whatever is an experience...but if you practice the excess of modern culture while doing so, it's like you're just watching from the outside.
It's hard to explain what I'm thinking about it. I'm remembering all the times I've heard horrible people from the west and such talking about the poverty and such from different areas, and going to see them. It's like their poverty is a tourist attraction for the gluttonous westerners who think themselves better than everyone else. That's in stark contrast to the people who experience a culture and enjoy their time with the locals.
That's true, we'll never be able to fully grasp what other people think or how they feel and it's dangerous to assume we do; at the same time, the very attempt of doing it it's already something, especially nowadays where people don't stop and try to give other people some slack, or try to put themselves in other people's shoes before judging them.
I think the same way, which is exactly why I travel with such a low budget and I try to blend in with the locals and their daily lives and struggles. All the money I have is in crypto, and I try to cash out as little as possible and to not spend money at all, mostly because the real experiences happen when you go out of your comfort zone. Just a small example, back in November 2018 I met an ex-ETA militant who spent time in prison, that very same guy picked me up in Burgos while I was hitchhiking from Spain to Portugal... the conversation with that person and what I learned was priceless.
I understand perfectly what you mean about this:
Because I think the exact same way. It's like going to Mexico and just visiting the resorts and the clubs. It's like going to Spain and just going to Ibiza. It's like going to Paris and just visiting Champs Elisee and The Eiffel tower, etc. No real experience there.
You should try going to Dominican Republic, you'll see exactly what you talk about in your last paragraph. And it sucks, and yet, it's normal, and won't change. But hey, this is not about judging :P
Thanks so much for this meaningful comment, I really appreciate it :)
I saw a documentary about the DR and Haiti recently...and after it, I don't really want to go to the DR that much, but I kinda wanna visit Haiti at least once. It's horrible what that island went through...but it's really bad that the racism persists so much even to today. Sure, it's not good to judge, but when a country kicks out it's own citizens because they're black...I'll make an exception. I've had the misfortune of being exposed to media, so I have to deal with overcoming a bit of prejudice from that, but the level where you actually denounce the citizenship of someone and deport them because they're black? That's just fucked.
I do need to travel and visit more of the world though. Everyone should. Every American should leave the country at least once...because American colleges are way overpriced, and they should go to school elsewhere. After that, they should experience the world a bit more too, but at least they wouldn't be in debt for thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars.