I was immediately excited to read this hearing that you were in Boulder because I went to school there and live about 60 minutes South now. It’s interesting because I live in an area of the state that tells it’s own stories of Boulder; that it’s for hippies and rich folk, that they are too friendly to homeless individuals and those individuals are ruining the city. But when I go there I am more deeply in touch with the outdoors, I appreciate the niche-ness of its stores, etc. I get sad at the assumptions other people make but I realize I probably miss so much too.
I often feel that people have the harshest and most unyielding opinions about a place are outside of it! I love how you describe your experience of being in Boulder and what you appreciate about it (I too loved the stores--so many incredible places! And that VIEW of the mountains...damn). It saddens me to think that lot of the people you describe might not be open to what you feel there because they're too busy looking to confirm their own biases. I think we could all get so much more out of so many aspects of life if we set our assumptions to the side!
Oh, this piece hits hard. I'm from Singapore, and I can't tell you how many times people (not from Singapore) will immediately respond to that with, "Oh, it's Disneyland with the death penalty" or derisive comments along those lines. It's totally valid to have criticism of a country's human rights record but I can't help but think that people who say that sort of thing out loud to a total stranger aren't thinking about human rights, they just think they are better than the person they're talking to. And like you said, racism and a lack of curiosity is absolutely part of it. Being on the receiving end has definitely made a more curious traveller!
WILD how empowered people feel to just blatantly criticize someone's home to their face because they think they know more. Also, this really speaks to how we tend to share and distill a place down to just a couple elements and completely ignore the complexity...
Eillie–really and truly, such a lovely essay that illuminates not only the Oakland perspective, but how reactionary media erodes our ability to connect with one another. It's not just people from elsewhere, but sometimes I feel that energy in the streets of the Bay, among one another. Yes, from transplants, but at times from other locals as well.
I worked retail in the tourist industry for 15 years and the crazy shit I would hear about Canada and more specifically in my city was boggling Always be curious!💕 Talk to locals!
I was immediately excited to read this hearing that you were in Boulder because I went to school there and live about 60 minutes South now. It’s interesting because I live in an area of the state that tells it’s own stories of Boulder; that it’s for hippies and rich folk, that they are too friendly to homeless individuals and those individuals are ruining the city. But when I go there I am more deeply in touch with the outdoors, I appreciate the niche-ness of its stores, etc. I get sad at the assumptions other people make but I realize I probably miss so much too.
I often feel that people have the harshest and most unyielding opinions about a place are outside of it! I love how you describe your experience of being in Boulder and what you appreciate about it (I too loved the stores--so many incredible places! And that VIEW of the mountains...damn). It saddens me to think that lot of the people you describe might not be open to what you feel there because they're too busy looking to confirm their own biases. I think we could all get so much more out of so many aspects of life if we set our assumptions to the side!
"too busy looking to confirm their own biases" feels like a good description for a lot of life right now.
Oh, this piece hits hard. I'm from Singapore, and I can't tell you how many times people (not from Singapore) will immediately respond to that with, "Oh, it's Disneyland with the death penalty" or derisive comments along those lines. It's totally valid to have criticism of a country's human rights record but I can't help but think that people who say that sort of thing out loud to a total stranger aren't thinking about human rights, they just think they are better than the person they're talking to. And like you said, racism and a lack of curiosity is absolutely part of it. Being on the receiving end has definitely made a more curious traveller!
WILD how empowered people feel to just blatantly criticize someone's home to their face because they think they know more. Also, this really speaks to how we tend to share and distill a place down to just a couple elements and completely ignore the complexity...
Eillie–really and truly, such a lovely essay that illuminates not only the Oakland perspective, but how reactionary media erodes our ability to connect with one another. It's not just people from elsewhere, but sometimes I feel that energy in the streets of the Bay, among one another. Yes, from transplants, but at times from other locals as well.
I worked retail in the tourist industry for 15 years and the crazy shit I would hear about Canada and more specifically in my city was boggling Always be curious!💕 Talk to locals!