i just remembered this British backpacking youtuber wanker who went to chechnya (he straight up said it like “chech-nyar”) and he was getting a taxi ride and complimenting the car and saying it meant the guy was rich and this Chechen guy was like “you’ve come here from England and can pay for taxi rides, you are rich. I’m literally a taxi driver” and the guy got so fucking huffy about it because his whole brand was how low cost tourism he was. really helped cement my dislike for cunts who go to a much poorer country, start acting like they’re in and savvy with the locals (while gentrifying their eating spots etc) and getting all white guilty about their position as a tourist with money in a strong currency with strong wages. what a cunt.
or like ppl going to thailand or Vietnam and being like “holy shit can you believe it? if you pay enough you can shoot a cow!” like of fucking course you can. you’re the Yankee tourist waving US dollars around for whoever fulfils your stupid requests. no matter how much you want to feel better than rich tourists you’re still wealthy compared to the lady giving you a manicure or the guy riding the bike.
really makes you wonder why they’re so shocked about sex tourism, like of course you can do depraved shit you’re waving money (valuable money too) in front of poor imperialised people. it’s almost less empathetic to be shocked by it than to understand why it’s such a common thing.
and the attitude that tourists get like “oh everyone’s just after my money” and paranoia around getting robbed like of fucking course people want your money you’re wearing a luxury watch in front of subsistence fishermen, you’re showing off how much money you have even just as a regular citizen of empire to people who’ll not only never see a cent of it, but who actively are exploited to make your country rich.
rich cunts i went to school with boasted about having a house in Vanuatu and their mum complained about “how dirty the natives are”. actually evil. like knowing how much easier it was for them as rich Australians to buy a house there than the people who literally live there. fucking hell.