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I own it. That is my personal life experience, observation, and again, personal opinion. Which I have a right to express.
Judging from the amount of reps and supportive messages I have received, I am not alone in my observations.
Your experience may vary.
No one said you don't have a right to express your opinion. Why write more deflection?
Like you, judging from the amount of reps and supportive messages I have received, I am not alone in my observations. But again, this is more deflection.
Yes, my positive work experience with numerous black people in a highly technical field causes me to have a different opinion than you about their capabilities. I wonder what you get out of believing black people aren't "inherently" capable of complex planning. A smug but false superiority, perhaps?
The article quoted one person who experienced a campground with an intimidating vibe. I'm willing to believe such a campground exists in Georgia, just as im willing to believe campgrounds exist with 13% black campers even though that's far from my experience. Someone here described a campground in Texas with a racist vibe. That comment was sensationalist and drew eyeballs is all.
The weekend was set up as an introduction to camping, that is all. The participants appear middle age and middle class, maybe upper middle as the cost is pretty high. They are definitely not glaring at the young white woman who I assume is a representative of REI. I assume those who like camping will camp alongside everyone else.
There's no reason to conclude they hate white people. Yet all the screams: black people are racist! It's merely justification to support their own racism as seen on this thread.
If your wife goes on a Church women's retreat does that mean she hates men?
It’s a *good* thing black-oriented groups are forming to encourage Black Americans to get into the wilderness. The NBC article mentions some organization names. It’s *not* a good thing the NBC reporter called this process needing “safe spaces.” From what? At one point, the reporter writes the idea 'the outdoors doesn’t belong to us’ comes from blacks themselves: "That’s white people stuff," is her phrasing. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/...source=twitter
Still, she also comes up with ONE specific example of so-called racism (other than the Trump flags) contributed by the head of one of the black-oriented outdoor groups, and then links that article in her article. It is this:
The outdoor leader organized an outing of Black women to hike in a Colorado mountain park. Far more women showed up than anticipated. They started along a horse trail, and apparently did not or could not separate to allow oncoming horses to pass through entangling the two parties. Worse, drones used by the accompanying news reporters started spooking the horses. The drone-flyer(s) response to the horse riders? Deal with it.
The horse-riders' leader dealt with it by calling the local park rangers. Who informed the hikers that they had needed (but failed to obtain) permits.
The title of the linked article (subsequently used as evidence for the NBC article): Black Women’s Groups Find Health and Healing On Hikes, But Sometimes Racism, Too.
How so? The hiking leader said she didn't get why the park rangers were called at all. Surely the horses could have trotted or galloped anywhere on the mountain (yes, she said that). The horse riders' leader in referring to the size of the other group supposedly used the word “mob.” Not acceptable language. The hiking leader thinks that deep down the white people didn’t want them sharing ’their space.'
Most of the NBC reporter's article was positive: she herself Black showed up at a outdoors training camp where there were few Blacks, and had a great time.
Maybe there are reasons why Black Americans are slower to put themselves some places but pebbling vague accusations into an otherwise good article is ... just ... sad, and irritating, and frustrating.
Last edited by EveryLady; 07-29-2023 at 05:41 PM..
Out door recreation is an expensive hobby. Nice shoes and a good backpack can set you back $500.00. Throw in a reliable sleeping bag and other gear and it becomes an investment. People who are willing to shell out this kind of cash usually live where they have good access to recreational areas, where home prices are also high.
If I'm going into the "Great Outdoors" to get away from it all(yes I'm black and I have gone on similar excursions), the LAST thing I want to deal with is any political/sociological garbage shoved down my throat. I don't want pride flags, Trump flags, Biden flags, RDS flags, BLM flags, etc in that type of environment. It's supposed to be me and nature. No other distractions.
Speaking of which, alot of you people in this thread are ignorant. It's not about cheap MAGA flags scaring off black folks. It's what they represent. Manigault and Green are the only ones who seem to get it, especially Mani bringing up examples. The history of Black America in the wild hasn't been pleasant, although that is slowly changing.
I agree with this. When sharing any space - be it a trail or a campground - best not to deliberately introduce controversial stuff. Personally I can't imagine buying and flying a flag period, unless it was EveryLady Family Reunion or perhaps a US flag on the Fourth of July.
Still, practically speaking, there's no way to prevent someone wearing a MAGA baseball cap from coming down the trail towards you. There's a high likelihood someone already owning one never gives it a second thought, simply pops it on his head and goes.
Maybe some do prefer to hike with a Black-organized Democratic or anti-Trumper group (cause there are Trump-loving Black Americans, albeit small in number). That way they can turn and vent some - and I get that.
Still, to use the word "safe space" per the NBC article suggests emotional fragility in a way that sounds potentially demeaning to that Black-organized group. Like I said earlier, I thought the racism example presented in that article downright silly. In the end, serious subjects deserve serious consideration - both ways.
Out door recreation is an expensive hobby. Nice shoes and a good backpack can set you back $500.00. Throw in a reliable sleeping bag and other gear and it becomes an investment. People who are willing to shell out this kind of cash usually live where they have good access to recreational areas, where home prices are also high.
Not always. As a university student, I had just enough money for a new pair of sneakers and jeans. Bought a used windbreaker and sleeping bag from Goodwill. Borrowed my dad's flashlight. Put gear into an old laundry bag. Took a Greyhound bus and walked a lot. Had a great time with my friends. We didn't need no stinkin' expensive gear!
Having said that ... camping and hiking lost their appeal to me pretty quick. Books and music were infinitely more interesting and rewarding. Different strokes.
I enjoy camping, and hiking, and kind of "roughing it". More so when I was young, and waning a little more as I age.
I rarely see black people doing this, on long hikes, or tent campgrounds. A black friend of mine told me "I have a perfectly good and comfortable bed to go home to, why would I want to sleep on the ground?" He said Black people, when they vacation, want accommodations that are BETTER than what they have at home, not less comfortable. Sounds like a reasonable perspective.
ON the other hand, it's probably also likely that state park camping grounds and other campsites do have an abundance of Trump flags.
Last I checked, some of Trumps biggest and most passionate supporters are black people. So I doubt they care about Trump flags. Every day, more and more Black people are leaving the plantation and supporting Trump and other Republicans. Anthony Brian Logan is one of the best podcasters on youtube right now. And last I checked, the KKK was a democrat thing, not Republican!
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