'The people are so beautiful!’ That’s enough of the colonial tourism

In english class we read an article about colonial tourism. It says that talking to people who had travelled around the world often ends saying that the people that live on a specific place have very good qualities, based only in some aspects, and it doesn’t shows the reality of the world they are living in. For the author, this shows that the travelers only observe, and many of them are from colonial nations, so they have the idea of power, superiority and privilege. The author also thinks that tourists have the perspective of people from other places as ¨exotic people¨, they only see their way of dressing, of cooking, farming and living.

For the author, colonial tourists say that people from one place are so beautiful, but at the end, that is not the purpose of traveling. For the author, the purpose is to get to know more about the history and people, to respect the population and to not treat them as objects. Also, it says that people only focuses on physical beauty and don’t give importance to the country itself. At the end, the author explains that the colonial tourists refer to countries as ¨pure¨ communities and ¨noble savages¨ showing them as countries that haven’t evolved and that are used as public entertainment. The article concludes saying that tourist do not get to know in depth the country and the people, they only see them on a superficial way. The authors wants people to get to know people in all the ways because they are humans, not toys.

In my opinion this article is inaccurate, the author has to enjoy more and let others enjoy their adventures however they want. Most of the people travel to relax, to have fun, to explore and learn new things and to get away from their daily life for a few days. When we travel, we want others to know our experience, so maybe the people we find are part of it, they’re not only ¨beautiful people¨. Also, it’s normal for us that when we see something that we have ever seen, we see it as different, exotic and new and it calls our attention, so the same happens with colonial tourists. The author’s purpose is to know more about history and people of a country but it is up to us to choose what we want to do in a trip.

On the other hand, I agree with the author when he or she says that colonial tourists shouldn’t treat other people as toys. They are humans too, so they don’t deserve to be treated as objects, the colonial tourists should have a different and more cultural and social perspective about them, they have to get to know them in every aspect of their life.

We also read a testimonial of ¨Humans of New York¨ (Horny), it shows the reasons of a woman’s vote for Donald Trump. It says Muslims and Latinos are in a way invading them and that they are responsible for what is happening in her country. So if we relate it with the opinion of the author in the article, both of them are generalizing about someone without knowing exactly how they are.

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/4/8/1396977962912/Members-of--the-gulabi-ga-011.jpg?w=300&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=c160ec220a1bd4d00e233368cf0e59d9

Bibliography:

• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/08/people-beautiful-colonial-tourism-travel