Is she carrying a backpack or a chip on her shoulders?
I'm surprised that you think she has a chip on her shoulders. Was there something in particular in the piece that gave you that impression?
I found that to be lovely. I've really appreciated articles about the AT by black women recently. Buzzfeed had another one a few months ago about books read while hiking that I thought was tremendously well-written.
I have found the trail to be overwhelmingly white and male; I enjoy outsider impressions, especially looking at rural America through that lens. As a white southerner, I think it's important, too, to remind myself that the ease or even slight discomfort I may sometimes experience moving about in these spaces is an entirely different experience for hikers of color or minority hikers.
Being well-written, apparently well-researched, and reflective of honest moments of self-doubt that I've experienced myself, only made me appreciate this article more.
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My impression was that it was penned with a bias and a fault finding mentality
So, I don't think we're likely to find common ground here, especially as you're apparently a bit reticent to actually be specific in your criticisms, but as an Alabama girl, a Tennessee resident, and a sometimes Georgia worker...nah. Story checks out.
Source: idk let me find my racist cousins for you.
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A bit long but worth the read. A well written, heartfelt account, it seems to me.
I'm a straight white male but like the author of the article have a visceral reaction to Confederate flags. Bryson wasn't the only one feeling a wee bit out of place in the south.
I agree with TTT, Stop with the race /gay card already, Racism goes both ways - Everyone seems to be flying a flag today-Just hike on and enjoy the trip.
I think it is difficult as a white person, and especially for old white guys from the US or South Africa, to relate to what a black person experiences in a predominantly white society everyday in their life, whether they be home, working, hiking, whatever. So, we have a choice. We can listen to their story and try to understand their perspective, or we can dismiss it as the complaining of a part of society we neither understand nor particularly like. I doubt you or I face the daily problems of functioning in a society that marginalizes us to at least some degree because of our skin color, gender, sexuality, or anything else. Okay, for me, maybe age these days. But you and I wouldn't even think of such things being related to something as simple as going hiking, would we?
The AT was the setting for her story, but in no way was her story about the AT. Her story is about her view of a world she sees as overwhelmingly white and oppressive and sometimes hostile. And from her point of view, the Trump yard signs and Confederate flags she saw from Georgia through Virginia and beyond were all the proof she needed to confirm her preconceptions.
Several things about her story make me sad:
I'm sad that so few black and brown people venture into the wild places.
I'm sad that she felt alone and vulnerable and different.
I'm sad that although she expressed some warmth towards fellow hikers (people she saw as individuals), she chose to focus on her discomfort with the communities she traveled through (people she stereotyped).
I'm sad that her discomfort overshadowed the warmth.
I'm sad that the tone and the words she chose to communicate her feelings make me feel that she would be unfriendly to me, dismissive or annoyed if I attempted a conversation about her story.
I'm sad that the racial barriers exist, and persist - even though neither she nor I built them. They just are, and we learn to navigate where we can.
Sigh.
I read the story uncritically and took it for what it was worth. It is her story as understood from a lifetime of experiences both good and bad. She commented on the good and the bad. It isn't easy for "the majority" to understand how racism feels - how it tears a person down and makes them feel worth less or worthless. Everyone has value. I could critically dissect the article and find fault with certain sentiments in it, but I have no desire, as that is akin to "I'll be there in a few minutes honey, someone on the Internet is wrong!" She is one of us. She has more hiker trash cred than I do because she's done a thru. God bless her.
Not all old white guys had it good, coming from a broken Polish immigrant family in the early 1960's , we had little food and less cloths, I remember having to sit in school lunch rooms without food or being offered anything to eat. Ended up in reform school at 10 years old and being happy having 3 meals a day, joined the Marine Corps at 17 and retired from Dept. of Corrections at 51.
I always champion poor folks and never cared about race - seems today's youth have very thin skin and have to blame somebody for anything.
You can't ignore her view of the Confederate flag. To white people it may be a symbol of family pride or the flag of a lost cause, only worthy of an eye roll. To black Americans it is a threat of violence. It is the symbol of lynchings, race riots, police dogs, and night riders. That flag will divide us until the end of this country.
You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet
Not really an "AT story", it was more "The south is racist and backwards" piece.
I remember back in the late 70's and early 80's I started collecting various documents and old stock certificates from the Civil War era. I found an ad for some Confederate War Bonds and called and spoke to an obviously elderly but charming female. I told her that I would like to come and examine them before buying them. She gave me her address and I drove to her house near the Tennessee-Georgia border. We talked for a while and it was quite obvious to me that she was around during the Civil War. She asked if I had any confederate currency and I told I did have a rather large collection. She told me to hang onto it as it may come in handy again. I eventually bought her bonds and left with the feeling that she was still fighting that war and was very upset with General Lee for surrendering.
A few years later I read about a school that was trying to teach the kids about racism and bigotry. They divided the classes into two equal groups and had one group wear signs that said "Today I am Black" and the other group Was labeled as Whites. It did not matter what their true race was. The kids labeled as whites received more of the teachers' attention, got to go to recess first and go to lunch first. The children labeled as blacks were basically ignored by the teachers, had to stand at the end of the line to do anything, were not permitted to play on certain playground equipment and were segregated in the lunch room. The next day the roles were reversed. The teachers still did as they had the first day, but they saw that the group that had been labeled as blacks the first day seemed to be kinder to kids labeled as blacks. Of course I feel that if a school tried this today, they would be chastised for it.
And here we are nearly 40 years later and it seems as though nothing has changed. I will not take anything away from minorities and their shirts and signs that say "Black lives matter", but to me they should say ALL LIVES MATTER.
Blackheart