Diaspora Dialogs [.com]

In deciding whether or not the diaspora are part of an elitist travel club. I think we have to consider the pre colonial and post colonial diaspora’s separately. I would not consider those of the diaspora that were scattered around the world by a system that lead to the genocide of the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean some of who preferred to commit suicide rather than be subjugated.
In regards to the contemporary diaspora, which is where I believe the question was focused, I would agree with a statement that those of the diaspora are part of an elitist travel club. In spite of the fact that boats leave from North Africa everyday carrying Africans from different countries but with the similar dream of making it to onto mainland Spain.
My reasoning is that or norms and values are shaped by the environment and culture that we are raised in. Thus, by a very young age we create a personal “map” that we follow. I would contend that people of a similar background or culture have their “maps” anchored at similar places and as we grow our map changes and adapts to the environment that we are in, although anchored at he same place. When we travel to a new environment and interact with people that use a different “map” that is anchored at a completely different location, this dominant “map” will tend to challenge our own “maps” and anchors.
Why I consider those of the diaspora an elitist travel club is because they have had the chance to interact with others who have a different world view then their own (anchored differently). In contrast to those that haven’t had this challenge.
To return to my first assertion that the pre colonial diaspora should not be considered a part of this elitist travel club, I reflect on the fact that these peoples were forced into a situation where the ideal for their oppressor is that they lack a modus operandi. Hence tribes and kingdoms were split up to achieve this goal. The response of the slaves to this attempt at destruction of their maps is encompassed in what is called, “African Retention.” The slaves made due with there surroundings and made music using the tools of their trade, and came up with their own dialects or patois’.
In contrast the contemporary diaspora are those that willingly seek to put their maps forth for challenge and criticism.

I am not entirely sure how to respond to the question of whether or not the diaspora can be said to be an elitist travel club. Perhaps. What is interesting to me in this particular blog is the juxtaposition of those who travel, who are exposed, worldly, etc. and those who are left behind, who are stable, secure, possibly culturally insular. I suppose this juxtaposition has forced me to reconsider the differences between me and my mother.

My mother has not been fortunate enough (neither has she even expressed desire) to travel outside of the U.S. Security and stability are important to her, but I now wonder if her lack of desire to travel is symptomatic of her fear of having her worldview challenged or disrupted. I, on the other hand, have had opportunity to travel. As a traveler I am accustomed to the feeling of being exposed, feeling sort of naked upon arrival in a foreign place, amongst people who, at times, seem to have a foreign culture. Being thus exposed, however, allows me a rare opportunity to step outside of myself and reevaluate my postion in society and my perspective on things. It also allows me to challenge my knowledge against other perspectives, and both increase my understanding of my own culture, as well as that of other cultures.

I guess, in the sense that my knowledge is extended by virtue of being a traveler can be said to be a step above the position a non-traveler occupies. Would I argue as far as elitism? I have my reservations.

I think that traveling is a good thing if you have the privilege and money to do so because it can assist in defining yourself further. When I say "you," I really mean me. Where would Black Thought and progress be had Marcus Garvey not been able to travel the world and see the plight of people who looked similar to him? Not equating these glamorous women with their expensive baggage and outfits to Marcus Garvey by any means. Nonetheless, you find out more about how others see you and what "other" means in the local, national, and more global sense. I found that no matter how different I thought I was within Detroit, Belleville, the state of Michigan, or the country of North America, those who have come here from a different country more than likely see me as American in the worse sense of the term and it is similar to other people's perspectives when I visit another country. It reveals a certain reality that might have taken longer to unveil in the U.S. For those who have seen the Matrix, it's like leaving the matrix. It's crazy when the many ways you're fighting or against oppression in the U.S. are perpetuating what it is you're against outside of the U.S. It's hard to know that when you haven't left, but not impossible.

There are those who would love to leave where they are at and have been their entire lives. Sometimes it's fear of the unknown. However, I think more times than not, people simply cannot afford to travel. When I leave the country, I recognize that it is a privileged thing to do and that the citizens of the places I am going to may not my luxury, but it's vise versa as well. It is inaccurate for me to think that I'm elite just because I can travel. I know that my ancestors died so that I would be able to travel, not only for my own enjoyment, but in addition, to make it easier for my brothers and sister elsewhere. I've realized that there are fractals of classes and oppression everywhere and it's difficult to be avoided; in other words, poverty within poverty within poverty.

I do not believe that my travels make me more cosmopolitan necessarily. There are people who have never left their homeland and are more “syncretic” or adaptable than I am. I try not to force my culture on someone else, but it's hard when globalization has already done that. And globalization is a result of the whole travel industry anyway.

It's an endless cycle and I think when I travel I take more away than I leave and that is an issue. It's not exploitation because I don't control power anywhere, I simply have access to it; but, it feels like something close when one thinks of it as taking more than one is leaving. When I travel, how do I leave more than I take away to avoid that?

-Gabriel Peoples

In answering this type of categorical question, I needed to clarify some of the basic terms in the argument for my own understanding. What is elite? What is class? What is cosmopolitan? Well, elite led me to class which had 27 entries according to dictionary.com so that has lead me to believe that this is a somewhat subjective kind of assessment. Cosmopolitan was also an interesting one combining ideas of sophistication and exposure to world cultures. Essentially, we are looking at the idea of having multiple experiences in various locales as being privileged. Does having traveled to multiple countries and experiencing various cultures mean what one has a privileged perspective? I would say not. Although many have the opportunity to travel, how many truly reflect on this experience and learn something. Then, how many of those who learn something from said experience give back or exchange some cultural capital with the peoples who they have learned from. In traveling we are hopefully gaining cultural capital by means of truly having experienced the lifestyle of a foreign people. But with gaining that capital comes the responsibility of producing something from it. That is where the real meanings of elite and cosmopolitan come into play, when one can use that broad range of knowledge for the uplift of all peoples. As for members of the African Diaspora, some have been traveled by our own choice or not by choice but we can still learn from our experiences in different places. For those who have had the choice to travel, there is an extra sense of obligation because of that privilege of being able to choose. However, this doesn’t get others off the hook. There is still a sense of obligation to use that knowledge of wider cultures to uplift our brothers and sisters who won’t even have the chance to transcend their physical and mental boundaries. In sum, rather than trying to fit these conscious travelers and non travelers based on experience, they should be classified based upon what they do with their “cosmopolitan” knowledge.

There are a number of things racing through my head as I read everyone’s comments. For one, I think we need to think about our own personal and theoretical notions of travel, diaspora, and tourism. Is there a difference between travel and tourism? Can one travel without performing the role of tourist, or can one avoid reenacting that problematic and privileged gaze? I personally hope that there is a difference between travel and tourism, but my cynical side says there’s no traveler who doesn’t perform some aspect of the “bad tourist.” In my mind, these symptoms include having a detached voyeuristic gaze, demanding (whether subconsciously or not) a distinction between the self as traveler and the native “Other,” seeing the subject(s)/object(s) of your travel as exotic, romantic, sublime, authentic, and/or pathetic.

At the same time, I have moved numerous times throughout my life ( 3 elementary schools, 3 high schools, 2 undergraduate universities), and I cannot deny the fact that I find the core of my identity to be in that painful process of moving. At the same time, I envy people who can root their identity and personal relationships to one “home.” Certainly there is a value that comes with traveling (whether for leisure or not), but I hesitate to agree that those who have “missed out” really have missed out.

I am still a novice when it comes to speaking of the diaspora, but I’m wondering if the question dealing with elitism comes down to intentionality. For instance, are we thinking about the diaspora for humanitarian reasons or is this merely an opportunity to write our own personal travel journals (ie: to speak of the important places we’re from or have traveled to). I don’t want to offend anyone in the class who is here for very personal reasons (I certainly am), but that’s my shot in the dark.

At the same time, I think we’re really focusing on the very personal and private aspects of travel. Shirine Housee notes in “Journey through Life: the self in travel” that travel experiences places subjects within public spaces of negotiation. Perhaps if we think about how the members of the diaspora have been experiencing a kind of inverted tourism where they themselves are the objects of the tourist gaze in the spaces in which they are traveling, we might also begin to understand and break down the notion of an “elitist traveler.”

The first question that pops into my head immediately after reading this blog is, “Can all world travelers be considered cosmopolitan or elite?” I would say no. How many travelers do we know who go on one week tours of eight European countries or cruises to ten Caribbean islands? What are they learning about these country’s people, history, or culture? Not much in a three hour tour. As Amanda implies in her post what is the point of travel if one takes nothing out of it. Why not just look at pictures in a book? It’s cheaper. Traveling should be ones chance to immerse their selves into a culture different than theirs; however, many do not do this. They instead choose the all inclusive package, where they sleep and eat in and never have to leave their resort havens. For me I do not feel like one can truly begin to experience another culture unless you have spent at least a week there. How does one know what Sunday morning is like in Milan if you only stay on Tuesday and Wednesday? Traveling should be about opening up your self to new experiences, which in turn allow the traveler to appear cosmopolitan.

Secondly, I believe that to think of the world in terms of “world traveler, club class, or premier class” is in itself elitist and essentially places the haves against the have nots. More importantly it places a large portion of the world outside the model. This idea is very capitalistic and places those with the most money into first class with the rest following behind in coach. As I stated before just because one takes the trip does not mean they have learned anything.