December 10, 2009
Would you take a gang tour in LA?
Interesting article here on LA gang tours. The idea is to take a bus full of tourists to a 'bad' area, "giving tourists a look at the cradle of the nation's gang culture -- the birthplace of many of the city's gangs, including Crips and Bloods, Florencia 13 and 18th Street."
People who don't like the tour call it exploitative (which I don't see since the tourists' money is supposed to be out to use helping that neighborhood) and voyeuristic (which it certainly is but is that a real problem?):
It seems to echo, more than anything, the "slum tours" of such sites as India's Dharavi township and Rio de Janeiro's favelas. Those operations have been lauded as innovative economic tools and mechanisms for humanizing poverty -- and also attacked as exploitative and voyeuristic.I'm reminded of this post on poverty tourism in Thailand back in March, 2008. Back then the Lebua Hotel was setting up a very fancy dinner and a tour of some slums for a bunch of rich folks. People said it was wrong to see the slums and then eat the fancy dinner but I disagreed.
Should poor parts of the world be off limits to the affluent? Or should the affluent be required to enter poor areas on their own instead of with a tour? I just don't get it.
Posted by James Trotta at December 10, 2009 9:47 PM
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Rich or poor, tour or no tour, I don't see the point in visiting known "gang areas," which actually exist to some degree in every city, town, and neighborhood. Are tourists visiting the "bad" areas out of idle curiosity, or for genuine humanitarian purposes. Riding around on a bus for a few hours through gang areas, virtual war zones, is not my idea of entertainment. Join the Peace Corps, become a missionary, or donate to worthwhile causes, if you have the money to do so.
Posted by: Sharon at December 10, 2009 11:05 PMAs a frugal traveler, I have learned how to quickly traverse rough neighborhoods always in the search for good reasonably priced food or handicrafts. But to view it as a complete tourist is just not possible. I look like some of the people that I would be gazing at while sitting my big ass on a motorcoach. Naw Jack, I like to get out early, dodge as much local color as possible and come home with crab cakes from Fraidy's in Lexington Market in Baltimore or ignore the man with the salmon chained to his coat and buy the best Dim Sum in the world on Pender St in Vancouver, BC. Hey don't play me cheap, I could increase this list ad infinitum, I told you I had a big ass.
Posted by: Cathy Broadus at December 11, 2009 4:33 PMI find this idea utterly appalling! I grew up in Los Angeles, raised a child there.This is not something to be exploited. If you want to do something constructive, put your money where your mouth is! Put in the work (your time) to create jobs/training centers,and parks/recreation centers, so that the children will have a place to go. And the young men/women a future that they can look forward to. Its time to take back our neighborhoods! And not exploit them so that some so-called tourist can say "Guess what I did today- I visited the Ghetto"
Posted by: Jo Ann in Texas at December 13, 2009 9:34 PM