[at-l] Re: Why the Grand Unification Theory - isn't

[askowronek@mindspring.com (Amy)]

Raphael Bustin wrote:


> 
> The observation is that hiking in general appears to me
> to be mostly practiced by white folks.  As in Caucasian.
> I rarely see people of color on my hikes, either on or off
> the AT.  I've walked roughly half the AT at this point, and
> this generalization seems to apply to the half that I have
> walked (Springer->Roanoke, Maine, NH, a bit of MA)
> 
> The question, obviously, is why?
>  
> Is it a matter of means, or of choice, or of culture?




Culture, IMHO.  Bear with me while I ramble for a minute.  My
thoughts are undeveloped.

There is a history of affluent white folks going on holidays in
the outdoors.  Boating trips, skiing, picnicking, and other
outdoors activities got them away from the stinky cities where
they made their wealth.

Obviously not all the caucasians are wealthy, but we all
share the national culture via the media.  I think there is
a push toward outdoors activities as being healthy.  Certainly
there are lots of "Just do it" commercials.  Between a rose-colored
history of getting outdoors (who hasn't seen those wonderful
pictures of women in pretty long dresses picnicking beneath enormous
chestnut trees with fashionably attired gents?)  and the fairly
homogeneous culture pushed by the media, it's not surprise that
lots of white folks like to hike or otherwise play outside.

As to why the non-whites aren't.. I suspect that either they haven't 
been in the country long enough to get thoroughly integrated, or they've
specifically held on to their own subculture, retaining different
attitudes about the outdoors along with their religion, speech patterns,
cooking, and all the other wonderful things that make up a diverse
population.  The relative newcomers sometimes acculturate very quickly,
depending on how they feel about the country.

I think in 100 years you'll find an awful lot more hispanics on the 
trail than you do now.  And asians.  Your guess is as good as mine
about african-americans.  They've been here a long time already.

I had a Chinese boyfriend a few years back who just loved backpacking,
but his folks were pretty well off and he'd been raised in a not
overwhelmingly asian community.  The Indian boyfriend I had prior
to that (what an international past I have :)  had no interest in
getting all dirty and sweaty in the woods.  He was raised in the same
neighborhood as my Chinese boyfriend, but with stronger ties to Indian
families in the area, and stronger ties to India.

I think if this were an essay for school, I'd flunk.  Sorry that wasn't
more cogent.

-amy