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Why don't African/Arabic/Indian - Americans visit US national parks?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Kim, Aug 18, 2009.

  1. Kim

    Kim Member

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    Okay, I don't think I want this to head into D&D, and it has been bugging me for a while. I'm serious too. I recently took a trip around the country to places like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Badlands, and city attractions (Vegas, Big Easy etc). A few days ago watching Obama speak on tv, he started off talking about his trip (which was similar to mine), and I thought to myself that he was going to see more animals than black people on his vacation.

    It doesn't upset me or anger me, it's just really weird to me. I saw thousands of people at the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Badlands, Zion, and Mt. Rushmore. I counted 13 Black people total, and even fewer Indian and Arabic people. White people were everywhere, then Europeans (mostly French and the Nordic countries), then Asians, then Latinos in terms of tourist population. I'm also curious as to why there are so many French at the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone.

    So what's your culture and why or why not do the big US parks interest you?
     
  2. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    I'm Irish-American so I rarely leave bars, baseball fields, or bars near baseball fields.
     
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  3. Mr. Brightside

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    A very keen observation, Kim. Are you saying only regular people visit national parks?
     
  4. VanityHalfBlack

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    I'm a yellow person, and I simply love the outdoors, love the national parks, and recreations...
     
  5. justtxyank

    justtxyank Member

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    Just trying to be a black man in America.
     
  6. JuLiO-R-

    JuLiO-R- Member

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    Why don't they like the outdoors?...Cuz only white people do dat ****.
     
  7. SwoLy-D

    SwoLy-D Member

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    white? :confused:

    I second this. You mean, all of us minoritays are all going to hell if we don't visit national parks? :D
     
  8. Kim

    Kim Member

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    Look, I've had black and Indian friends all my life. I've taken trips with mixed groups of people to different cities. Ugh, I'm not even trying to be controversial...I've been on this board long enough to know how it goes. I'm just stating straight up fact of what I saw and I'm just wondering why it is that way. The Grand Canyon is some cool ****, and the only minorities (excluding Latino and Asian) there were a handful of young teens in a summer camp.

    I'm looking for opinions from those listed. Like if you're French and you have visited one of those places...why? Is it just a big part of a US trip plan that includes LA and Vegas etc.

    Or if you're Black/Indian/Arabic and you turned down the idea of going to one of those big parks...why?

    Btw, I haven't asked non-white friends about this yet, but I will once I get my stuff in order and return to normal socializing.
     
  9. Southern Select

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    It's not that they don't, it's just that white people do.
     
  10. Lil Pun

    Lil Pun Member

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    I don't visit these places because they are not near me. I have visited the ones in Arkansas but that's about it.
     
  11. Kim

    Kim Member

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    But it's totally disproportionate to the number of Black/Indian/Arabic people you see in Vegas, Miami, Cancun, LA, NY, Ocean City, Virginia Beach...all the other tourist places in this country (plus Cancun).

    It's like a regular tourist spot has the regular makeup of a major city, but the US parks are all out of whack. It doesn't make sense...and it's not simply because it's out away from things. Those spots are full of tourists from cities and other countries. I don't think it's mostly locals populating major US Parks.
     
  12. Pringles

    Pringles Member

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    I visited the "Grand" Canyon this month. The Skywalk was stupid. They didn't allow cameras, so people had to buy pictures of themselves. :rolleyes:

    All I saw was whites and Asians.



    Universal Studios and Magic Mountain in the other hand... it was all around diverse.
     
  13. Dr of Dunk

    Dr of Dunk Clutch Crew

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    I think more recent generations of Indians do those things, but for previous generations, most adults weren't exactly hiking and camping when coming from India. They were fairly poor coming here and knew one thing : work your butt off and make as much money as possible. Camping, hiking, sightseeing were usually limited to 1 day excursions to Hermann Park or hunting for deals on seafood in the NASA area. lol. Sorry, but I'm seriously laughing as I type that. :D

    Anywho, it's just varying interests. It's like the older generation of Indians that would have a backyard full of vegetables while Americans had a backyard full of pets and playthings. Neither is wrong or bad - just different. But like I said, I think the newer generations are more into the "Americanized traditions" in vacationing and whatnot.
     
    #13 Dr of Dunk, Aug 18, 2009
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2009
  14. The_Yoyo

    The_Yoyo Member

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    speaking for the indians

    all the indian people i know always visit parks and outdoorsy stuff because its always cheaper than going somewhere like Disneyland etc.

    I have no idea where you get this idea from

    at least here in california whenever I've gone to yosemite, beaches etc I've always seen a decent amount of indian people. are they in the minority? yes there are always more "white" people there but thats because its the makeup of this country (for now)


    also some of the national parks you mentioned are in states where there isnt much else to do (south dakota, wyoming etc), generally I know at least in my family we never liked to just go to one place to do one thing we often preferred to go to multiple places on one trip.


    Also figure in the costs of going to those places, Indians are primarily concentrated in california, texas and in new england going to some of those parks will require either a long distance drive or air travel and at least a week of vacation time. Once again most of the indian people I know will not spend that sort of time and money because a lot of them are always saving their vacation time and money to travel back to india to visit their own families. Airfare to india isnt cheap especially if taking an entire family (can easily be 5-7 thousand round trip for a family of 4) and you cant just go to india for a week it needs to be at least a month.




    and most of these people who you mentioned are immigrants so the national parks and all you mentioned have less significance to them. its like if i go to india and go to lets say Tirupathi (one of the biggest most famous temples in south india) and go why isnt there any white people here??
     
  15. Dr of Dunk

    Dr of Dunk Clutch Crew

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    BTW, it's funny you mention this because I used to have friends that would ask me to go camping with them and they would always bust out laughing when I would respond with "why?". lol. I mean, I've got AC, a TV, shopping, electricity, etc. and you want me to go live in the woods with bloodsucking mosquitos, a bear, and grass for toilet paper. I came from sleeping on woven mats made of reeds while dropping nets over myself to stop from being eaten alive by mosquitos to this country and the comforts of a home with AC and running water, and you want my happy ass to go live in the woods with none of those? Nah. I'm cool, y'all go ahead. Bring back pics. lol.
     
  16. Southern Select

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    You are forcing my hand....

    If you find yourself trapped in the middle of the woods without electricity, running water, or a car you would likely describe that situation as a “nightmare” or “a worse case scenario like after plane crash or something.” White people refer to it as “camping.”

    When white people begin talking to you about camping they will do their best to tell you that it’s very easy and it allows them to escape the pressures and troubles of the urban lifestyle for a more natural, simplified, relaxing time. Nothing could be further from the truth.

    In theory camping should be a very inexpensive activity since you are literally sleeping on the ground. But as with everything in white culture, the more simple it appears the more expensive it actually is.

    Camping is a multi-day, multi-step, potentially lethal activity that will cost you a large amount of both time and money. Unless you are in some sort of position where you absolutely need the friendship of a white person, you should avoid camping at all costs.

    The first stage of camping always involves a trip to an outdoor equipment store like REI (or in Canada, Mountain Equipment Co-Op). These stores are well known for their abundance of white customers and their extensive inventory of things for white people to buy and only use once. If you are ever tricked into going to one of these stores, you can make white people like you by saying things like “man, this Kayak is only $1200, if I use it 35 times I’ve already saved money over renting.” Note: do not actually buy the kayak.

    Next, white people will then take this new equipment and load it into an SUV or Subaru Outback with a Thule or Yakima Roof Rack. Then they will drive for an extended period of time to a national park or campsite where they will pay an entrance fee and begin their journey. It is worth noting that white people are unaware of the irony of using a gas burning car to bring them closer to nature and it is not recommended that you point this out. It will ruin their weekend.

    Once in the camp area, white people will walk around for a while, set up a tent, have a horrible night of sleep, walk around some more. Then get in the car and go home. This, of course, is a best case scenario. Worst case scenarios include: getting lost, poisoned, killed by an animal, and encountering an RV. Of these outcomes, the latter is seen by white people as the worst since it involves an encounter with the wrong kind of white people.

    Conversely, any camping trip that ends in death at the hands of nature or requires the use of valuable government resources for a rescue is seen as relatively positive in white culture. This is because both situations might eventually lead to a book deal or documentary film about the experience.

    Ultimately the best way to escape a camping trip with white people is to say that you have allergies. Since white people and their children are allergic to almost everything, they will understand and ask no further questions. You should not say something like “looking at history, the instances of my people encountering white people in the woods have not worked out very well for us.”

    Note: this works for all races!
     
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  17. moestavern19

    moestavern19 Member

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    It is funny because I did a tour of National Parks a few years back and it was mostly nothing but Foreigners, Asians, and white people.
     
  18. RedRowdy111

    RedRowdy111 Member

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    F the national park, give me bright lights, big city.
     
  19. ItsMyFault

    ItsMyFault Member

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    Part Indian... we go to Parks all over the place... maybe not Yellowstone.. but at least in Texas we go to a bunch of different Parks and major sights like the Grand Canyon....
     
  20. moestavern19

    moestavern19 Member

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    You really should stop plagiarizing, its against forum policy.
     

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