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Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j4grizz wrote

Reply to comment by Hellrazor32 in Decentering Whiteness in Hiking and Fostering Inclusivity Outdoors by honeybeedreams

I personally am not going to assume I know what makes strangers comfortable. When I see black people on the trail, I react as I would to anyone else, which is to say" Hello" as we're passing each other. Usually me going up, them on their way down. I think black people are as complicated as anyone else. Beyond basic decency, what makes one person comfortable may make another very uncomfortable. I'm not going to force a conversation w/ someone because of their race. Especially not in a place where most people go to relax. stuff like "prioritize their comfort" seems like empty virtue signalling.

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Hellrazor32 t1_j4gwxir wrote

I think it’s safe to assume that prioritizing people’s comfort includes not calling police on POC who are in parks, using your white privilege to address racism if you see it happening rather than turning a blind eye, not leaving racist notes in trail books, giving excellent customer service to POC shopping in outdoor gear stores, and in general, not getting angry and defensive when hundreds of POC produce thoughtful content about the problems they face when being outdoors. The line of thinking that people’s comfort needs to be as involved as approaching them on a trail and saying “how can I, a White make you, a black, more comfortable today?” is obviously stupid and misses the point entirely.

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Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j4lbmx2 wrote

Calling police? What??? Calling police bc someone is hiking a trail would be certifiable. If you took my comment as defensive... IDK. People tire of lectures from young, rich white kids. Sorry.

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Hellrazor32 t1_j4majqj wrote

Are you saying I’m a young, rich, white kid? I’m a 40 year old tradeswoman from a middle class family, and I have a high school education. Park Rangers are alerted to the presence of POC on trails pretty often, particularly black men because “they looked out of place” or other nonsense. The lecturing isn’t coming from me. It’s coming from non white people. Like, for example, the person who wrote the article that was posted. If you’re tired of hearing it, imagine how tired they are of living it.

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Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j4ntu0t wrote

I'm sure they are. I can't imagine non white people feel comfortable anywhere in VT.

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Galadrond t1_j4h2lqb wrote

It only takes a handful of assholes to ruin things.

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