I can't speak to everyone's experience or abilities, but I can say that one of the hardest things about overcoming abuse is identifying what reality is and distinguishing the difference between what is true about who/what you are and something you are gping through as a result of the experiences you had.
Between the inflexible authoritarian way my parents were, and the coping mechanisms I used to make it through the years I lived with them, it was a many-years-long journey later on in my adult life (and still ongoing) to work back through the layers and shift the foundations from where they were involuntarily built to where I wanted them to be.
I have a particular grief, for the time in my life I could have been more like who I may have been had it not been for abuse and trauma. The years of lost experiences and mistakes that may have been much less arduous had it not been for the coping mechanisms I adopted for survival. When you say you don't know how to complain- I think it may be more accurate that you may have trouble with communicating with/relating to other people, or you can't find the proper way to articulate how big of an impact or determine at what point something is really part of you or a mindspace you find yourself in.
I spent a long time trying to deal with it on my own, but where I really started to make traction was talking to a professional and actually being honest, painfully so when it came to my dysfunctional way of dealing with intimacy. After some years I was able to begin admitting where I was the source of my own anguish and forgiving myself but also taking accountability of putting in the work to change what I could so I could live life more functionally and really be able to experience things without that weight I hadn't realized I had been carrying all along. To an extent I had become attached to it and it became an extension of me, a part of my identity.
My family in general was (in some ways still is) incredibly problematic, and I've come to realize a lot of the problems started with a desire to be validated and/or accepted by the parental figures. Not saying this is the case for everyone, but it is possible to forgive people (and still love them, if you wish) who caused a lot of harm, and work to heal. You deserved better, and future you can find what you yearn- it's not an easy road working through all that but there is hope to be found in the process which may not have felt feasible otherwise.
Ex post facto laws are forbidden by the US Constitution, both at federal and state levels. [1]
At least, at this time, with current interpretation- "the Supreme Court has explained that people must have notice of the possible criminal penalties for their actions at the time they act" [2] (See also Weaver v Graham[3])
The laws are not ex post facto. They have been on the books, on some cases for over 100 years. States were not enforcing them, because they believed they were constitutionally prohibited from doing so.
Privatized incarceration facilities with incentives to keep people locked up, and influencing the CJ system to maintain profits is also an issue. There are numerous cases of businesses doing shady things to pocket more money.
It is possible to be outraged by all these things at the same time. No one has to pick between different types of exploitation and only be mad at one thing.
I agree in principle. However, as a piece of empirical evidence, you can peruse the comments in this HN post. Compare comments that express outrage for child labor and outrage for forced prison labor. Some HN readers are clearly picking to not be outraged at the latter.
Not a musician, so I don't really have the proper vocabulary, but- as a fan of industrial specifically (and electronic music in general) and as a writer, this has a really nice balance of texture and atmosphere. I could see it being incorporated with visuals and other elements of design/sensory experience for a cerebrally lush creative project. It was nice to listen to, thanks for sharing.
There is an excellent book on birds called The Birds of Pandemonium, by Michele Raffin. I read it some years ago, and recall it being fascinating and beautifully written. Really gave me a great sense of appreciation and wonderment for birds. Corvids are clever and very intelligent, it's such a treat to see it on video- thanks for sharing this.
I don't have a suitable answer to your question but I wanted to mention that I also wonder how come there isn't more discussion about implementing/improving tidal or wave power. There are numerous innovations that might be possible in the horizon, including possibly using fusion, but other alternate approaches such as decentralization and energy storage are also interesting yet seldom discussed.
I remember reading about this as a child in the 90s, it seemed like there was a lot of hype (and hope) that this would be possible in a few decades. This was also accompanied by some skepticism and fear, similar to how people talked about cloning and genetic modification. Then there was the legend that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen (he wasn't).
Interesting read. I was hoping they'd mention suspended animation and studying how some people managed to survive or be resuscitated after accidentally being frozen for lengths of time thought to be impossible to come back from.
Personally, I think if there is a way to bring about immortality it would look more like transferring/uploading consciousness than reanimating a whole human body. Besides which, wouldn't people want new bodies anyway, especially depending on what caused their deaths. (which reminds me of the head transplant that was supposed to happen) There are a lot of different issues also involved with this, besides the ability to succeed, which I find fascinating to think about and discuss.
Perhaps both these options will become possible... maybe neither.
As someone who grew up in the global South, this reads to me like a person from a privileged background trying to relate to the everyday people in other places and the marginalized- but it comes off sounding like a lot of projectionand assumptions- it would read much better if the conclusions were accompanied with dialogue from people, maybe explanations of where those statements are coming from.
>I don’t travel like most people do
I would think most travel is done by a wealthy few, but most travelers aren't wealthy- if that makes sense? It sounds like the "travel" being referred to here is "flying somewhere and being a tourist" but in fact to many people "travel" means taking the train/bus to another city, staying in a hostel, wandering around. Most people who go to see a wonder of the world do it because this might be the one time in their life they can afford to visit NYC, a place many people dream of seeing, and so they want to experience those things that are iconic there. I guess it really stands out to me, this writing sounds like "I'm not like those other stereotypical tourists" and the stereotypes are those behaviors associated with privileged westerners- which isn't really an accurate representation of most travelers.
From the Istanbul post:
>Most Turks are not secular though, and neither are they religious nuts like them Arabs
He considers education by traveling as sufficient, which I believe is not the best approach. Might be a good idea to read up a little about the history and cultures of a region before going.
There is a lot going on with his writing that comes off ethnocentric, uninformed, insensitive. I'm not going to dissect it, but I'll just say I recommend familiarization with cultural geography, anthropology, and ethnography if the topic of understanding people in different places interests you- because this blog is rife with problematic bias and some really broad generalizations that are prejudice at best, racism at worst.
Wow, the criticism of his "Faces of Affiction" work is spot on.
From his Istanbul post:
>Because being an addict here is an ugly and gross rebellion against a town that feels like a single massive mosque. A place that is welcoming, humble, peaceful, and sublimely beautiful. It is like pissing on an alter. A gross, ugly, and rebellious act that will bring scorn and shame. Both in the physical and spiritual world.
US cities by comparison have all the ethos of an office park. Drab, soulless, and endlessly competitive, where selfishness is rewarded. Being an addict there is like pissing on the drab shrub at the edge of a massive parking lot. It doesn’t feel that wrong. It even feels a little right. Especially if your a tad depressed. A tad isolated. A tad lonely. And many people are."
There is an issue here with this attempt at documenting people but without taking the time to learn and understand how to do it respectfully, ethically, and with consideration to the people he's observing. I want to believe his motivation comes from a good place, that he wants to bring attention to people's lives... but the way his writing reads sounds more like the fetishization of the marginalized and elitism over exceptionalism. It sounds like "yes I'm privileged but unlike those other privileged people I talk to the poors", because rather than centering the voices of the people he claims to "inhabit their tiny slice of the world"(while claiming his goal is "to better understand how they see the universe and their place in it") he dishes out his value judgements. The hubris that all you need to get an idea of how people live is to... show up. He does write that he sees traveling as fiction with the plot written in real time- evidently with him as the MC. He seems to want to change for the better though, and I hope he learns to invest a little more time into figuring out how to look at people's lives more respectfully than as entertainment.
"rather than centering the voices of the people he claims to "inhabit their tiny slice of the world"
I wrote a book center the voices of marginalized people I spent up to 10 years with during my time documenting addiction in the US. It's called Dignity. I don't expect you to read it, but perhaps if you did, your criticisms would be different.
This project, walking around the world and sending dispatches, is different. While I talk to plenty of people during my trips, its a more macro based approach.
While I appreciate your takes, I will say your making some pretty huge assumptions based on one article. Such is life!
I grew up in between Ypsilanti & Detroit, and I've lived around/in a number of borderline-impoverished communities. It's not my place to make generalizations, but you should be aware that your tourism is not always welcome. Many, if not most of these people, are not proud of their situation. They might smile and take your money as you photograph them, but your motivations are not mutual.
When I was a kid, my decently wealthy grandparents visited on my birthday and offered me $100 if I'd cut my "garish, girly" hair down to a more typical length. Self-righteous allegories aside, I still feel that choice burned into my head like a brand. They let me choose between living as I am, a resented shame in a family too poor to buy cans of Coke or Pokemon cards, or take $100 to humiliate myself for a few short moments. In the end I rejected them, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't dream about yo-yos and Bakugan that night.
Nowadays I thankfully live in a different economic strata, and I even sympathize with your curiosity to explore different cultures and lifestyles. You should stay fully aware of your optics at all times, though. Sometimes, the greatest charity is treating other individuals with the same respect you give your peers.
Again. There is nothing in this I disagree with. But there is a lot of assumptions on what I have wrote over my last 12 years based on not reading what I wrote.
If you read Dignity, and come to the same conclusion. Fine. But this thread is based on a Wiki page.
Congrats on Living in a different Eco strata. That is well done! (no snark intended. Genuine congrats)
I'm not here to throw stones at you or tell you that you're wrong. You can't expect your entire bibliography to be required-reading in an HN thread though (or anywhere else, for that matter). Take my concerns with the levity of someone who has no idea what your work entails, since that's pretty much all it is.
As someone completely independent of the author with a long history on HN (the latter of which you can check) I just want to chime in to say that Arnade’s book is incredible and one of the most affecting books I’ve read in years.
It is in fact one of the most thoughtful and nuanced reads on what it means to be marginalized in the United States, and shines a light on voices and communities that are almost completely ignored, or fetishized, by mainstream media.
He’s being graceful, because anything else would sound silly or like self promotion without that context. But your criticism really is misplaced.
If you care about these issues you should definitely dig in a little and read his book, it’s worth it.
> They might smile and take your money as you photograph them, but your motivations are not mutual.
In my experience. Dealing with tourists like this generates mostly bemusement. They come into your life, spice it up for a little while, and then they disappear again. You don’t expect anything different.
I don’t think most people consider that they’ll be written about on some random travel blog later, nor that it will be in any way relevant to them.
> too poor to buy cans of Coke or Pokemon cards
It’s so weird to read this and then consider that some people do/did see this as the standard of being ‘not poor’. I’d have never considered myself poor, but every time I read stuff like this I wonder if others would have considered my family so.
I'm being pretty pessimistic here, I admit. At the same time though, documenting this stuff is a fragile task. I mostly oppose to the monetary incentive side of it, which creates unfair power dynamics between photographer who used to be a day trader for two decades and someone less-fortunate. Maybe other people are less sensitive to that, it's just my two cents.
> It’s so weird to read this and then consider that some people do/did see this as the standard of being ‘not poor’.
It's all relative. Both of my parents were working full-time and also addicts, which made the money pretty tight. There were definitely weeks where we lived paycheck-to-paycheck. Again though, none of this is to throw a personal pity party. My larger disagreement comes down to his methods.
It might be possible that what you're doing is both noble and controversial. That may be inescapable from what you're trying to do.
There's a certain burden that comes with being from the areas you've covered, which based on my limited reading of your Substack (today) I think you understand. Being a Florida boy might help too. Rust Belt came out some time ago, it was after I got out of the military I believe. I remember not being a fan, mainly because I felt like it would fuel stereotypes about "back row" Americans. I think I was wrong at the time assuming your work would be fuel for that; much of America is already predispositioned to disliking the Midwest and South for a variety of reasons. It probably didn't help I was living in a trailer at the time and at a low point of my life; in that way, I think it was a reminder of what the mirror looks like (though I was not a Trump voter, Rust Belt covered a lot of culture too).
In some way, I think because there's a burden for the people who live and escape those experiences there is also a burden for you in telling that story. We are stuck in a state where front, and maybe middle row, people often just do not have a point of reference for McDonalds being a local watering hole (as an example). I see it in online discourse, I hear it in the areas I've lived in with my job, and I feel it in the runs of politics. I still thank my lucky stars I was able to leave, but I had better opportunities and luck than most.
All that to say, I'll buy Dignity. You at least dared to tell the stories of people whom the most powerful parts of the United States call "flyover".
I’m curious if you have actually been anywhere in Turkey and lived there. I have and for me his perspective is extremely accurate from my experience. I’ve cumulatively lived over 1 year of my life, living as a local, not a tourist, and there are many issues in Turkey, but mental health and drug abuse is simply culturally handled very differently and the US is an embarrassment in comparison.
> I would think most travel is done by a wealthy few, but most travelers aren't wealthy- if that makes sense? It sounds like the "travel" being referred to here is "flying somewhere and being a tourist" but in fact to many people "travel" means taking the train/bus to another city, staying in a hostel, wandering around. Most people who go to see a wonder of the world do it because this might be the one time in their life they can afford to visit NYC
I think you are ignoring middle class mass tourism. Between the privileged few who stay at chain hotels and the people going for once-in-a-lifetime experiences, there are many people who travel as tourists once every year or two.
Growing up in Finland in the 80s, I got used to an environment where most families could afford traveling around Europe. If there was a nice destination a travel agency could charter flights to without fighting the regulators for years, it was quickly filled with cheap hotels and restaurants catering to middle class tourists. Getting there was usually 1/3 of the costs, the hotel was another 1/3, and the money you spent on other expenses was the final 1/3.
Today flying is even cheaper. Regardless of whether you are from a nearby town or from another country thousands of kilometers away, the costs of staying at the destination are likely to dominate.
It seems he didn't do much travelling (from his blog?). Many people on HN would have done more. It also seems that he wrote off an entire continent (Africa) which is the cheapest to travel, has the most to experience and probably is the best adventure out there for travelers.
He has biases and he is travelling to confirm his biases; not to change them or let new ideas in. He is using a bit of a rough language to attract readers and collect up-votes.
Paradoxically, traveling Africa can be very expensive, because many parts are so poor and unvisited that there is no demand (and hence no supply) for reasonable transport, hotels, etc. The locals just don't travel long distance, and if they do, it's squashed into a clapped-out truck going to the market with a flock of goats, and it's two weeks until the next one.
The cheapest places to travel are middle-income places like Thailand and Vietnam, where there is plenty of local demand but wages have not risen to Western levels yet.
>Paradoxically, traveling Africa can be very expensive, because many parts are so poor and unvisited that there is no demand (and hence no supply) for reasonable transport, hotels, etc.
You just use "unreasonable transport, hotels", which is fine if you're the kind of "traveller" the author claims to be. Due to cost of living differences, they are still much cheaper than Thailand and Vietnam.
It's only "very expensive" if you go for luxury in those places (and even then, due to cost of living, it's cheaper than comparable luxury elsewhere, except if you go to some place that only caters to the elite). For exampke, if there's no transport in a country in Africa, you can usually just hire a guy to serve as a driver for several days - and it's often less than what you pay for a simple train ride betweem countries in Europe.
My firm has conducted over 50 projects in rural Africa last year, and the cost of living and transportation is most certainly inversely proportional to how developed the area is.
The local options simply aren't available to outsiders.
I understand if you are looking for a minimum of comfort but I thought the main point of the article is to go the "rough" way. You can always bring a car from Europe (cheap) and drive starting from the North and getting into the Ivory Coast and neighboring countries.
Lots of people (Westerners) are doing it every year. They have groups and connect with one another. You won't be alone.
There's something about underground infrastructure that really intrigues me, despite how claustrophobic it can feel if I start thinking about what lies above.
I find it really interesting in this tunnel there are lifts for cars, because the entrance/exit points are vertical drops to the tunnel.
Between the inflexible authoritarian way my parents were, and the coping mechanisms I used to make it through the years I lived with them, it was a many-years-long journey later on in my adult life (and still ongoing) to work back through the layers and shift the foundations from where they were involuntarily built to where I wanted them to be.
I have a particular grief, for the time in my life I could have been more like who I may have been had it not been for abuse and trauma. The years of lost experiences and mistakes that may have been much less arduous had it not been for the coping mechanisms I adopted for survival. When you say you don't know how to complain- I think it may be more accurate that you may have trouble with communicating with/relating to other people, or you can't find the proper way to articulate how big of an impact or determine at what point something is really part of you or a mindspace you find yourself in.
I spent a long time trying to deal with it on my own, but where I really started to make traction was talking to a professional and actually being honest, painfully so when it came to my dysfunctional way of dealing with intimacy. After some years I was able to begin admitting where I was the source of my own anguish and forgiving myself but also taking accountability of putting in the work to change what I could so I could live life more functionally and really be able to experience things without that weight I hadn't realized I had been carrying all along. To an extent I had become attached to it and it became an extension of me, a part of my identity.
My family in general was (in some ways still is) incredibly problematic, and I've come to realize a lot of the problems started with a desire to be validated and/or accepted by the parental figures. Not saying this is the case for everyone, but it is possible to forgive people (and still love them, if you wish) who caused a lot of harm, and work to heal. You deserved better, and future you can find what you yearn- it's not an easy road working through all that but there is hope to be found in the process which may not have felt feasible otherwise.