>A serious problem, if you’re concerned about debt and deficits—I’ll address that some other time—is that, aside from the late 1990s, revenues haven’t kept up with spending since around 1970. They took hits from George W. Bush’s tax cuts after 2001 and from Trump’s after 2017, but the revenue line has also been essentially flat for decades, just at a level well below spending. Funnily, the people most concerned about debts and deficits—rich people and those who shill for them—are the ones most opposed to paying taxes.
Just imagine this interaction from the mom's perspective. (Because the author sure hasn't!)
You're minding your own business just doing laundry or whatever and your adult son just shows up to you house totally unannounced with a foreign stranger in tow looking for you to cook them a meal. Come on, that is really rude!
Like, it's clear this guy thinks the mom is a total NPC in this situation. It takes some serious delusions of grandeur to think the mom is "happy" about this interaction.
Honestly, I think that is a great way to describe what bugs me most about this list. It's the idea that other people are there for your entertainment.
Like: 'Go to a cemetery. Look for sacred places. People live authentically there.'
Like really. Why are you going to a place to watch people grieving for your entertainment? What -is- this list? After 50 years of traveling? This mentality is what he has to show for it?
Presumably the driver knows their mom well enough to determine how she would react, or call ahead to be sure. If it still blows up, blame the driver, not the passenger who initiated the request.
A taxi driver in a poor country is doing what he needs to do to get paid, probably with a bit of a tip. That doesn't make this interaction ok. It's exploitative and RUDE!
I can't even imagine having this sort of attitude where you think that your presence is like a "celebrity guest" for strangers and and will be "making their day." You. Complete strangers.
Like, how does one have such an inflated sense of importance? And feel absolutely no shame in writing it out for the world to see.
It depends on the place. I've definitely been to a couple places where people were very excited to meet me (a large white man), practice their limited English, parade me around to their friends, and ask me about where I live.
I was constantly expecting them to want something from me in return, but it never happened. Actually they would often insist on giving me things. This has happened to me probably four distinct times. It's obviously more likely to happen in small towns that don't get a lot of tourists, and also more likely to happen in countries without white people.
I imagine this might not generalize to people of all races. It also helps to have an outgoing personality.
Of course, in tourist hotspots people are probably vaguely annoyed by your presence (or specifically and intensely annoyed, like in Barcelona apparently) and will either ignore you or try to sell you things.
tbf there are certain parts of the world where if you're young and white and friendly you absolutely do get the celebrity treatment, including wedding invitations[1] and especially a lot of photo requests. There are also parts of the world and families where a foreign guest unknown to most people there would be extremely awkward even if they had a genuine connection with one of the party.
I'd have gone to the wedding of the daughter of the Indian chap who sat next to me on a bus for a couple of hours the day before if there hadn't been logistical issues, because the invitation was genuine and I'd have been able to have proper conversations with the wedding party and feel like I was there for more than just free food and music. I don't think he needed me to make his day though :)
I grew up in a family where drunk driving was totally normal. Car wrecks happened with regularity. As a child I road with my parents while they were drunk and actively drinking. I road in the bed of my dads pickup truck while he was speeding on backroads while drunk. I never wore my seatbelt until I started driving. One of our cars growing up didn't even have seats, cuz my dad took them out. My dad would slam on the breaks while driving down the highway and everyone would go flying.
I always wear my seatbelt now. I would never would drive drunk now, or even slightly buzzed. I would never expose children to that sort of environment. My parents are awful people.
