The book I'm currently reading (The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille) takes place in...wait for it...Cuba. DeMille's description makes Havana sound highly unappealing, and yet throngs of celebretards say it's a "worker's paradise" - whatever that means - and speak glowingly of their visit. So I decided to get some other opinions from travel bloggers, etc.
The general consensus is that Cuba, which of course is Socialist, is a #### hole...UNLESS you're the type of person who enjoys poverty porn tours. And yes, those people exist. I saw a #### ton of them last night. Basically gawking at poor people who are under extreme government control makes them feel great about their own situation. "I came away with such a sense of gratitude..." "It was soooo authentic!" "See it before it becomes commercialized..." Yes, if only we could go back in time to slavery days and visit an authentic plantation and watch an authentic auction and cat-hauling. You know, before they become modern and all. These are the type of tourists who treat other countries like a human zoo - "Look! A Cuban is his natural habitat....behind bars!"
Cuba does not have nice things for themselves, therefore they cannot provide that to tourists. There's a reason why Cubans jump on rafts and risk their lives trying to escape to the US. Most of us know this, of course, but there is still a large segment of our population that thinks Socialism is super cool because...free stuff!! They don't seem to understand that that "stuff" in fact has a very high price tag.
I don't really understand Americans who vacation in third-world countries. Why? Do they just enjoy filth, crime, and degradation? Is reading about conditions in these countries not good enough, and they need to go gawk for themselves?
The general consensus is that Cuba, which of course is Socialist, is a #### hole...UNLESS you're the type of person who enjoys poverty porn tours. And yes, those people exist. I saw a #### ton of them last night. Basically gawking at poor people who are under extreme government control makes them feel great about their own situation. "I came away with such a sense of gratitude..." "It was soooo authentic!" "See it before it becomes commercialized..." Yes, if only we could go back in time to slavery days and visit an authentic plantation and watch an authentic auction and cat-hauling. You know, before they become modern and all. These are the type of tourists who treat other countries like a human zoo - "Look! A Cuban is his natural habitat....behind bars!"
Cuba does not have nice things for themselves, therefore they cannot provide that to tourists. There's a reason why Cubans jump on rafts and risk their lives trying to escape to the US. Most of us know this, of course, but there is still a large segment of our population that thinks Socialism is super cool because...free stuff!! They don't seem to understand that that "stuff" in fact has a very high price tag.
I don't really understand Americans who vacation in third-world countries. Why? Do they just enjoy filth, crime, and degradation? Is reading about conditions in these countries not good enough, and they need to go gawk for themselves?