Quote: (01-03-2010 03:48 PM)playa_with_a_passport Wrote:
Quote:Quote:
playa_with_a_passport Wrote:
Ironically, I was in Zambia 4 months ago a country which is 90% Black and I have never been disrepected so many times as a black man.
I have to hear the story on that.
Sorry, I meant Namibia not Zambia. To make a long story short and to not hijack the thread, some cities in Namibia like Swakopmund on the Atlantic coast are still under an "unofficially" Apartheid/Jim crow system. Which kinda of works for them since the vast majority of the local black population are dirt poor. Therefore, they can keep facilities segregated by having artificially high prices that Blacks can not afford and charging whites the "real price." Thus, creating "white only" facilities without having to have those pesky un-pc headline grabbing "White Only" signs. However, this system falls apart when Playa_With_A_Passport rolls into town with pockets so fat it looks like I got the mumps.
For example, in Swakopmund everything is owned by whites who have very little if any respect for their black customers. I am not naive, there are lot places in the world that aren't a fan of Brothers, however, they are always happy to deal with us because their greed is stronger than their prejudice but not this place. They did not want me or my money. I arrived on a Wednesday and the first 3 hotels my boy and I went to were "sold out." We finally ended up staying at this lodge that charged us 3 times the posted rate. I tried to going to some restaurants and they would said they were closed even thought there were people inside. I tried to book some tours and the tour person full of attitude tells me they have none available. People on the street will just stared with their eyes full of hatred. The local black people were no better. If you asked anything from them you were met with crazy attitude and refused to make eye contact when being spoken too. The final straw was when I tried to buy some food and the white clerk put some plastic gloves on to take the money from the table. The reason why I even went there was because Lonely planet recommended as a "fun" place to go and lots of outdoor activities. And I figured Beachtown = chicks in Bikinis = Pu$$y Galore. I was going to stay a week but My boy and I felt so uncomfortable and unsafe that we took the first bus out of there. I gotta give those German fucks credit, They built a replica of a German town in the middle of nowhere in an African desert. That by itself is a marvel of engineering. And Yes, the chicks there were hot.
I apologise to the mods upfront for this, but this will not do. This is unacceptable.
This has to be the biggest load of fuckin horseshit I have ever heard. You go there as a spectator and try to pass western judgment on people and countries you have no understanding of at all. You have no idea why those people are the way they are. You are an ignorant prick. There are areas off limits to whites too. Its about 80% of Africa unless you are under armed guard. Hell, even in developed "democratic" countries like South Africa and Botswana, there are parts of cities that are off limits to whites. This is not the USA bro. Western ideology dies the minute you touch down in Africa.
There is no tiered pricing system in Namibia based on race either you fuckin moron. Get that chip off your shoulder. Its just that there is so much poverty the levels between rich and poor are huge. They make the differences in places like Brazil and Colombia seem closer to Sweden or Norway in economic parity. People are excluded because they dont have money, not because they are black.
You were charged more because you are a foreigner. Not because you are a black man. Those places that were "sold out"? Probably were you tosspot. Those areas are busy certain times of the year with people traveling from all over to stay there. Frikken hell, you think they cant tell the difference between a real African and black American? They dont classify you as African. They classify you as American. Hell, those white racists you cant seem to understand are more African than you are. You think your black skin makes you African in Africa? Give me a break. Your entire point of view, highlighted by your ignorant post dripping with resentment for a situation and history you dont understand, just goes to show how far removed from Africa you are.
The reason why you use plastic gloves to take money? Because paper based money systems are a major spread of disease in Africa and its part of health and safety regulations in some African countries. Like people have to wear hairnets, people have to use gloves when they touch money IF THEY WORK WITH YOUR FOOD. Its for your own safety and health. What, you think you going to get first class medical treatment if you pick up one of those awesome exotic diseases or viruses that float about all over the show? I dont know whats more pathetic. The fact that you are too fucking retarded to see it for what it really was, or the fact that the chip on your shoulder is so large you could not for a minute think that there was a logical, non racial reason for it. People like you see racism where there is none and you are the reason why people will always see colour. Its because you see colour everywhere you go and I pity you for it.
As for the stares of hatred? Not because you are black mate. They grow up with black people around them. They are the minority there yet still prosper. Most can probably speak an African language or two and have more respect for the local African culture than you do. No, what people dont tolerate in certain parts of Africa is DIRECT EYE CONTACT. Its a sign of aggression on the south-western coast and is part of the local African culture. Just like in Japan as a sign of respect you dont look a superior in the eyes. On the South West coast, direct eye contact is a sign of attempted intimidation when its between strangers. Again, never thought for a minute that maybe the cultural difference was the issue and it was not the fact that you were black eh?
No one in Africa exploits Africans more than the Africans themselves. As a visitor from a first world country, and being black on top of it, you probably find that hard to accept. Go live there for a while to experience the real Africa. If you live to tell the tale, you might be a better man for it. You would certainly be a lot less ignorant than you are.
Just because places like Australia, Britain and the USA are more tolerant of all races does not mean that the rest of the world will be. A black man in Russia is going to have a hard time. Just like a white man in Nigeria will. Its part and parcel of travel and its something we all need to accept as a reality of the world. While these things can work to our advantage in some places, in others they will work against us. No point griping about it because we dont understand what drove people and cultures to that point. To be so arrogant as to condemn people and cultures we dont understand simply because they do not share the same ideology is not on, no matter how abhorrent it may seem to us
First world populations are minuscule. Which makes our own belief system and political views minuscule. The only reason they gained any traction is because we hold a slowly eroding economic power.
I tire of this crap where black men from western countries are irritated when they are treated poorly or ignored by local women for reasons they believe are related to race alone. Sure, it plays a major part in it. In many cases though, you are getting the responses you are getting because you are also acting like a fuckin idiot. White or black, the response would be the same.
As for Argentina? Sorry, they are racist. Maybe a good looking black guy with a lot of money, who can speak some Spanish and is hanging out in college towns where the chicks will be a little more liberal will see some success. If you think an African American man, traveling on a budget with minimal Spanish is going to fuck his way from one end of Argentina to the other because he is "exotic" you have another thing coming. Rather go to Sweden or Denmark.