Ethnicity on the trail

imported
#21

What are you trying to get away from and what are you heading too.You know i cant even get mad at your comments because I’m sure they have been handed down and spoon fed to you.You statements are the same ones poor uneducated southeners(and others) have been trying to use to justify their lack of posistion in society for the last 150 years.Its interesting how you try to put the new racist justifacations of people just wanting to be with their own; is not racist(true but your other comments are).I am from the south and live in Hawaii now,and as a white man I have been in the minority most of my life(so im not lilywhite as you call it)and I thrive on diversity.I admit its mostly food and music,but a big reason I dont live on the mainland is I dont wanna hear opinions like yours.Its such a small way to live and think. A few of your statements need to be clarified tho.There are many more whites on welfare than minorities,by numbers and percentage.You are right in saying that there is a large welfare state in the south,But if you look you will find the highest per capita welfare areas are in your beloved appalachian mountains.You are welcom to your opinions but please leave your hateful views of the trail and this forum. AS regard to the original post I suspect the minority population is similar to that of women on the trail,its all about culture,not economics as someone lamely suggested(sorry).I imaging most males on the trail were exposed to the outdoors one of 3 ways when they were younger;either Scouts,Hunting or later the military.Most of these activitys are pretty white centric male activitys.Ask yourselves how many people have you invited to go hiking with you.I suggest we start a memorial STEVE HIKER/RACIST MEMORIAL rainbow weekend on the AT.Mayby if we get enogh diversity on the trail we can scare him back off the trail and leave it for the real hiking community. And finally thank you steve for including your email address,I hope your mailbox gets flooded with all sorts of interesting articles from hatewatch and other groups.Aloha

Thanks steve

#22

Some will prolly yell at me because I have little reaction to SteveHiker’s comments. Ok, he likes to hang with white people and is ballsy enough to admit it. Fine. That’s SteveHiker… why is everybody spending so much effort telling him he’s wrong? Is this a self-rightousness forum?
How about just tell people were you stand on the issue without telling SteveHiker he’s wrong?


One thing I did react to is the idea people have that the AT is ‘broken’ because mostly white people use it. Man, that sounds like the diversity training at work. Gotta fill that quota or else we won’t be perceived as ‘good’. If diversity is goodness and if we’re supposed to be colorblind… why are we still counting colors?

dharma

#23

(ooops, screwed up my bold tag.)

dharma

#24

Having grown up in Chicago, I would suggest part of the reason there are fewer folks of color on the trail may have something to do w/urban life. In my blue collar family there was no time for or interest in much beyond the city. If you live in a city all your life and no one exposes you to camping, etc. you may not find it on your own. Some cities do not have trails close by and so it becomes quite a chore to find them. If some friends hadn’t introduced me to camping via the boundary waters, I don’t know if I would have gone there “naturally.” When I moved to Denver, it was a pretty white city and the trails were the same. Now Denver is more ethnically mixed and that is beginning to be reflected on the trails. I believe, with the exception of a few racists, the thru hiker community is not racist. The only racists I met on the trail were day/overnight hikers/hunter types. Now I live in a small town in GA and can understand why folks of color may be put off by hiking a trail that takes them thru small towns where their ability to resupply may be dependent upon hitching into a town. If black men can’t get a taxi in NYC, then what are the chances for a ride into town? (I realize there are plenty of wonderful people who would pick him up, but . . .) Being a minority makes one conscious a different things. Women may have fears about hiking alone for example and those fears may be different then the kind of fears guys have. Hawaii your figures are correct. There are more whites on welfare, if mean TANF and the various supporting programs. Now if we add in corporate welfare . . .

Pat

#25

Why is there so much talk of different nationalities, thus confirming acceptance of diversity in your life, from the non-stevehiker-types here? Why identify someone like that? I would love to be known for my personality and my nature which has nothing to do with where I come from. It is only my habits that are defined by my nationality and culture. Habits can be changed to fit into any culture. Many people who come here try to do that, so they can fit into a mold. The same mold that makes white, black, brown, yellow feel comfortable in their daily lives. Basically we are too lazy for the mental and emotional work involved in accepting anyone different from us. SteveHiker I hope we meet one day because I want to see whether you laugh at a good joke or cry in pain when hurt, just the way I do. Wish you magic!

FindersMagic

#26

I noticed that you didn’t answer my questions.
Why?

Seriously, if you’re going to spew opinions out of your orifices, the very least you can do is back them up when asked to.

Simply saying “because I wanna” is what a 4 year old says in reaction to a statement they can’t justify. While I recognize that your opinions are based in nothing that you can quantify, you should ask yourself why you’re scared of other races.

And, just for the record? I’ve lived in Harlem, NY, Atlanta GA, Grenada, MS, and Hughesville, MD. To contrast that, I’ve also lived in Warrenton, VA, Reelville, IA, and just outside of Bozeman, MT. Hardly representative of the “lilly white North”. I do indeed have a full comprehension of what it’s like to be a white man in the deep south. Unlike you, however, I also understand what it’s like to be a white man and be the minority.

Furthermore, people, in general, do not like to be around their own race; rather, they enjoy sharing a common interest. The sociological ignorance that you continue to show in every post only reinforces that your opinion on “blacks” and racism is based in your acceptance of a long standing unawareness, not in free independent thought.

Why I find this surprising, I’m not sure, but I certainly do feel sorry for you because of it.

Dog Tag

#27

I think there is a fairly good representation of the general population on the trail here in Canada. Fortunately, we don’t have people like Steve (or at least I’ve never met one) to discourage hikers with different backgrounds. I would think that the trail is the best place to leave stereo types behind.

Km

#28

Folks you need to just ignore this guy. He’s either a Troll or just a very ignorant angry person. Steve if you don’t want to be surrounded by black people, move somewhere else! Try Vermont or Maine for crying out loud!

The reality is that this and other stupid conversations like this would never take place on the Trail. Steve would never have the balls to say something in a shelter and most normal folks wouldnt be discussing this around a campfire. The modern day problems with the internet. Everyones a big man

A-Train

#29

:cheers

FindersMagic

#30

So there’s not much diversity of thought allowed on the trail. Just the ‘right’ thoughts.

Ideas are just as different as colors of skin or faces on people. Maybe the trail is so white as a reflection of how sanitized/filtered our thought process is.

dharma

#31

I have had some interesting conversations with people about this topic. A friend of mine who is a Somalian refugee went to the Boundary Waters with her husband and daughter to camp. She told me she HATED it, couldn’t understand why anyone with a house and car would DELIBERATELY give them up, and lug stuff around on their backs’s fighting mosquitos. She said it reminded her of fleeing Somalia through Ethiopia, only that was not by choice. I tried to articulate why I liked camping/ hiking, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents camped, fished, etc as a luxury/ recreational activity. And that caucasian U.S. culture has this fairly recent history of westward expansion, the oregon trail, daniel boone etc. etc. that many are very proud of. While we (caucasians) can seek role-models in the history books that were explorers, surveyors etc, any minorities that went along to “explore” were machetying the way, carrying the packs, cooking and so on. All this oversimplifies things - but is just some food for thought.

Typing this made me think of that covered wagon scene in the movie Blazing Sadles. he he.

Jitterbug

#32

New Direction Attempt:
The ATC has been trying to look into this issue, with no published conclusions. I suggested that if you want to know why ‘people of color don’t backpack’ you should go ask people of color. I don’t know if they ever did.
Now that I think about it, at the ALDHA Gatherings we always do a group photo - this year Sarge was probably the only the black person in the picture.
Here’s project for the group: Ask someone who is not of European descent what they think about this.

TJ aka Teej