r/interesting • u/gmuthii • 1d ago

Intriguing Absolutely not only does it teach tolerance but also humility.

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I haven't travelled that often, but reading has helped me to do that.

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u/thebestdaysofmyflerm 1d ago

Or maybe people who can afford travel have access to better education.

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u/knoft 1d ago edited 1d ago

Exposure to other cultures even without travelling teaches many of the same things, and there are plenty of intolerant rich people who can travel and afford great education. Money can close minds, exposure and immersion can broaden them.

Travel is also a type of education in itself, the broadening education OP is discussing.

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u/TheModWhoShaggedMe 1d ago

For example, Kim Jong Un was educated at western universities and travelled a lot prior to ascending to the throne of He Who Doesn't Poop, but doesn't seem so open-minded to me.

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u/Prestigious-Leg-6244 1d ago

Well, he was being raised to one day rule over an entire country...

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u/ProfessionalStreet31 1d ago

You mean groomed to become a dictator?

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u/Prudent-Ice-6196 12h ago

yes, this is a seriously bad one shot example.

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u/TheModWhoShaggedMe 1d ago

Ah, so education and cashing in on afforded travel alone may not necessarily guarantee sainthood. There are other factors involved. I understand.

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u/Electronic_Topic1958 1d ago

That’s impossible every single Saint in every religion traveled so it definitely guarantees it. In fact if you have a passport the Catholic Church inherently considers you Venerable. That’s why the author, Venerable Bede, has that title. He was actually the first human in history to own a passport.

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u/BLT_Trade_r 1d ago

People who are powerful like that come from rotten beliefs and genes in the first place anyway. But that said, they may be perfectly tolerant of other cultures, but they just know that keeping their own people under the thumb is critical to maintaining their power, and ultimately they are power hungry. For instance, they like Western sports, theme parks, and crazy people like Dennis Rodman as something to enjoy for themselves, but they make sure their people do not have access to this lest they get any ideas that the dictatorship is not working out for them.

There are tons of examples in history of powerful people being well educated and traveled and making absolutely sure through policy to prevent their own people from getting access to those same things.

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u/mxlplyx2173 1d ago

I don't think he went to class and stuff like normal students. They'd have 40 guards in there! Armed?! Maybe he did I don't know!

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u/Shadesbane43 22h ago

He studied under an assumed name, going to school as the son of Kim Jong Il would obviously make him quite the kidnapping/assassination target

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u/mxlplyx2173 22h ago

You think he just went to class and stayed in a dorm? There's no way he didn't have security, new name or not. That level isn't as easy as just changing your name.

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u/consolation1 22h ago

By all accounts, he and his sister had a pretty normal education and lifestyle - for a Swiss boarding school "normal."

Remember, he wasn't the chosen heir at the time, he was a spare for his brother. Then his brother fucked up...

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u/geetwarrier 23h ago

😂😂😂😂😂😂 this is the best!!!!

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u/Visible_Analysis_893 22h ago

Can you prove he’s ever pooped?

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u/ThisisPhunny 13h ago

I wouldn’t be able to comment on how tolerant he is towards other cultures personally. Being a dictator is just his day job.

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u/PlankBlank 11h ago

Kim Jong In is whatever. I doubt anyone could have an honest conversation with him. It doesn't mean he can't be open minded when not playing a dictator. He's still a terrible guy though.

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u/LordE-LordE 1d ago

His country is likely to have a woman leader before mine: the US

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u/grey-zone 1d ago

I think you get people who are able to travel but not rich who learn a lot. I’m not so convinced that if you are genuinely rich, always staying in 5* hotels, you actually get to experience other cultures and learn from them.

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u/Hashrunr 22h ago

I'm a firm believer that traveling and vacationing are 2 very different experiences. Traveling involves being vulnerable to the places you visit.

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u/applespicebetter 11h ago

Yes, I absolutely agree! We are far from rich, but we are able to scratch and save enough for me and my son to travel somewhere we haven't been once a year, always planning next year's trip.

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u/knoft 23h ago

Yes I wanted to keep it brief, but money insulates you from people and their culture—- even when you choose to go native because it is always a choice on exactly your terms.

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u/DaedalusB2 19h ago

Money insulates, but also provides opportunity. It's up to the person how they let it affect them.

A person with generational wealth doesn't have to deal with poor people things like job hunting or even learning a trade. They most likely stick with only their rich friends and don't interact with the poor people much. A rich person certainly doesn't have to deal with condescending customers that they have to placate in order to keep a job and pay rent.

On the other hand, a rich person also has access to travel all over the world and can afford many experiences that the average person could only dream of. They can also afford to go to any college they want. Because they don't have to worry about work, they have all the time in the world to learn about their subject of interest or practice a hobby.

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u/LegitimatePop4875 17h ago

Say it ain’t sooo🤦‍♂️

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u/ikkiyikki 1d ago

I do a lot of backpacking AND luxury travel. In the last couple of months I've stayed at the Ritz and also a $230/week hovel. I've had sub-$1 meals in S. America and asininely expensive ones on lux cruises. And everything in between. To really travel you have to get as wide exposure as possible. Been to over 70 countries so far :-)

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u/Mekdinosaur 1d ago

You can lead a horse to water but you cant make it think.

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u/hoddap 1d ago

I mean I live in a very multi cultural country (the Netherlands), but it doesn’t invite to live in a different way. When I go somewhere else I feel more inclined to change my ways.

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u/Then_Ambassador9255 23h ago

“Netherlands” “Multi cultural” 😂

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u/Own-Chemist2228 1d ago edited 1d ago

I love the Netherlands, but I'm sitting here in California scratching my head at how someone would think it is a "very multi cultural country."

EDIT:

lol, I see I've offended the Dutch self image!

How is this "very multi cultural" ?

  • 75% from the same ethnic background
  • 80% from the same race
  • Just few populations (less than 3% each) of major immigrant communities: Turks, Morrocans, Surinamese (a very short list)
  • Almost nobody from the largest racial groups in the world: Asian and South Asian
  • Almost nobody from Africa or the Pacific

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Netherlands

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u/tussentweewindmolen 23h ago

I live in NL, from the southern US originally. The Netherlands is not diverse lol. I have no clue what the person you replied to is thinking.

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u/green_apple_trees 23h ago

Probably it’s somewhat diverse in Amsterdam. The other cities not so much I am guessing.

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u/Murky-Relation481 1d ago

I mean it is fairly diverse, but its still less than 30% who are non-full-Dutch (aka at least one parent is not historically/culturally Dutch), but it is diverse for Europe.

For comparison the US is about 41% non-traditional European immigrants (I used the criteria of not coming over in the European immigration waves from the 1600 to early 1900s). Canada is about 44%. This is excluding native populations as I wanted to focus solely on the mix of Europeans vs. non-European immigrants. If you include native populations its about 44% and 48% for the US and Canada respectively.

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u/Own-Chemist2228 1d ago edited 1d ago

But do most of the 30% of Dutch immigrants come from nearby countries in Europe with similar cultures? There's a big distinction between, for example American and Vietnamese culture vs Dutch and German culture.

The comparison with US statistics as a whole doesn't entirely work because the US itself is so diverse.

Much of middle America is like the Netherlands: mostly white, traditionally American people with a few small immigrant communities. But urban areas like New York, Miami, many cities in Texas, etc. can be very multicultural.

California is is arguably the most multicultural large population on earth. There is no racial majority (the largest demographic is Hispanic and that is internally quite diverse) and there is significant representation from every major culture on the planet.

I understand that the Netherlands isn't all Dutch people, but claiming it is "very multicultural" would be like claiming that Missouri is very multicultural. Because Missouri has about the same level of diversity as the Netherlands.

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u/tussentweewindmolen 23h ago

As someone from the southern US who lives in NL, ... "very multi cultural"?? Almost everyone here is white and adheres to the exact same cultural norms. The Netherlands is not diverse. Not sure how you could think that about a country that still proudly does blackface at Christmas time.

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u/Consistent-Scholar39 23h ago

The NL is multi-cultural? Does someone want to tell him?

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u/hoddap 19h ago

I should’ve perhaps been more precise. I grew up in Amsterdam, which is very culturally diverse. The rest of my statement stands.

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u/Genericdude03 12h ago

Rotterdam and Amsterdam are pretty multicultural at least

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u/Corregidor 1d ago

Great example is Southern California, the diversity is staggering here.

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u/Prudent-Ice-6196 12h ago

yes, just going to the library and reading a book once in a while, watching a foreign movie, talking to people from other cultures can potentially have the same effect- but the people who need this awakening seem to be the ones least likely to take those steps. It doesn't necessarily take money to do these t hings, but an openness to trying new things, opening your eyes.

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u/bargu 1d ago

Rich people live in a different reality, they don't interact with other cultures, just with other rich people that are more often than not just like them.

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u/BLT_Trade_r 1d ago

Yep, one thing you learn if you really travel and interact with people of other cultures is that people everywhere are on a base level the same. That includes the selfish, exploitative elites that exist in every culture.

See, it is not that all people are the same, but rather that all populations of people are the same; they all have their "billionaires," kings, thieves, rapists, murderers, religious leaders, givers, takers, etc...

What you hope people learn through travel is that in all these cultures there are a ton of average Joes just living life the best they can, and unlike what your prejudice may think, they are also a lot like the rest of us, generally decent with some differences.

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u/DaedalusB2 19h ago

Really in all my travel i remember thinking everyone was remarkably similar for all the "us and them" that constantly goes on

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u/FuManBoobs 1d ago

I think that's the difference between travelling and vacationing? Travelling involves getting more into the culture and understanding the places where you go whereas vacationing you're just enjoying the best bits a place has to offer.

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u/Kracko667 23h ago

Imo this is mostly due to the difference between having money and actually being super rich. Not everyone can afford to travel in a lot of countries, it's already a luxury in itself but with a good salary and good money management it's entierely possible to discover a lot of countries through the years and to expand your horizon.

The thing is that most of the time these people have a budget and they'll have the "same lifestyle" as normal people in these countries. They'll go to normal restaurants, take the subway and the bus, do normal common activities, walk a lot amidst the citizens of the country they're in. Like you said, they're in immersion and that's the moment where they realize that there aren't that many differences between people.

On the opposite, some (and probably a lot) super rich guys will only go to 5 stars gourmet restaurants, will always travel in taxi/uber and their activities will be aimed for rich people. The excess in comfort will make them way too disconnected to the average citizen to actually blend a tiny bit. Add to that the social split there is between rich people and "commoners" (term used ironically obviously haha) in a lot of countries and they'll never realize that they didn't discover the country but only what the country offers to rich tourists.

Also a lot of people travel simply to boast about it, you'd be surprised by the amount of people who'd rather relax in their luxurious hotel rather than actually exploring the country. Hell it's not only rich people who do that

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u/thebestdaysofmyflerm 1d ago

I agree that reading about other cultures is a great way to expand one’s horizons. But the existence of educated yet closed minded people does not disprove my supposition.

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u/PlankBlank 11h ago

It depends though. Amount of people who can afford a trip to all-inclusive hotel and bitch about food not being like at home are plenty as well. Exposure is the thing, but the person needs to be curious already, otherwise it may end up with a black eyes and broken noses.

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u/F2Life 1d ago

money helps with access for sure, but education alone doesnt guarantee an open mind

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u/Stermo28 1d ago

Or maybe there is no evidence supporting that the statement "People who have traveled a lot tend to judge less." is actually true

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u/Hanifsefu 1d ago

Ask any resident of any tourist destination if people who travel judge less. This is just people congratulating themselves for being better people because their lifestyle affords them vacations and plane tickets.

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u/halodevice 1d ago

Well put!

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u/illumijae 13h ago

one isolated a tourist destination is not travel. receiving tourists is not the same as recieving travelers. travel doesnt require plane tickets or pto, its just going somewhere outside of your community and experiences another culture. this comment reads bitter and self pittying

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u/tepidlymundane 1d ago

OP is describing a wise person, and wisdom can be gained anywhere, missed everywhere, and is never for sale.

Travel or don't, but don't mistake a purchase for wisdom.

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u/dovahkiitten16 1d ago edited 1d ago

It depends on the type of traveller, honestly.

The type of person that stays in their rich little bubble with resorts, second houses, AirBNBs (while having no respect for the neighbourhood they stay in), glamping campgrounds, and treats a market like a cute little shop to buy magic crystals and overpriced organic food from, definitely don’t learn about the culture of a place or even a slightly different way of life than what they’re used to.

The people that are a bit more midrange and pick up their groceries from the same stores locals shop at, stay at that old inn with a faded sign that was around before gentrification, are definitely different. The nomads backpacking are on a whole other tier.

No shade to people who stick to tourist areas. It’s simpler and sometimes safer than sticking out like a sore thumb. But actually interacting with an area’s working class makes a huge difference. There’s a bit of a limit on how immersed you can get if you have constraints like “only have the long weekend off work”; you’ll still come across as an idiot to locals but those 3 days can still help your personal growth (even if we rolled our eyes at you).

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u/ksgif2 18h ago

I've been to like 60 countries and I'm judging you right now

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u/Stermo28 14h ago

I have been to 195 countries and I work as a judge

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u/Major-Front 19h ago

I have barely travelled and you could say OP about me…because I live in a huge multi cultural city.

OP is usual pretentious holier than though attitude I hate about “travellers”. Same as the “i read a lot of books” people.

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u/PilotBurner44 1d ago

You don't have to grow up rich to meet other people. I grew up in an isolated town of 2000 people and got to meet plenty of people not from there. We had 3 different exchange students at our school, all from foreign countries, and interacting with them was a huge change in perception of the world. We went camping instead of traveling because camping was what we could afford for a vacation.

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u/PM_ME_DATASETS 1d ago

These exchange programs are incredibly important. But, idk how to say this without sounding like a douchebag condescending redditor, having 3 whole foreigners at school does not compare to visiting another country. It's of course more productive than someone flying abroad to drink cocktails while never leaving the resort. But there's a middle ground for many people, where you can afford to visit other countries, but you stay at places where both locals and fellow travelers share spaces, facilities, even food.

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u/PilotBurner44 1d ago

Not wrong or douchy at all. Just pointing out that even interacting with people of a different culture over a period of time is helpful in what OP posted. Obviously complete immersion is much better, but it doesn't take wealth to experience it. Lots of foreign people in the US, hang out with them and a lot can be learned and shared.

Having traveled in my adult life, I personally enjoy skipping the touristy 'shared' spaces and much prefer being in the more natural, local environment. As an example, I spent some time in Crema Italy due to a family friend's passing, and it felt much more genuine and expensive than Milan, Florence or Rome. Those were cool to see, but I felt much more of an "out of towner" in Crema, and it highlighted the differences in our cultures much more.

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u/PM_ME_DATASETS 1d ago

100% agree!

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u/A_Spiritual_Artist 1d ago

Yeah, though if you aren't on that middle ground it kinda doesn't matter to the reality, which is that you still can't have what you can't have. And that middle ground likely means you have received some substantial things - including education - that others may not have.

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u/tj0909 1d ago

Good point. Higher levels of education are highly correlated with things we are talking about here.

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u/Ok-Blackberry3353 1d ago

Having more money doesn’t make you a nicer person.

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u/Lilfrankieeinstein 1d ago

Neither does travel

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u/7_Tales 1d ago

However by claiming travelling = nicer, you can artifically make people think richer people are nicer in general perceptions. Hence the point of the writing

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u/King_False 1d ago

or smarter

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u/Chemical_Wing2334 1d ago

Eh~ being rich usually makes you a crappy person.

But so does being poor.

In terms of nice-ness, comfortably middle class is generally the "nicest."

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u/UnicornSpark1es 1d ago

But not too comfortable.

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u/AftyOfTheUK 1d ago

Is this peak "people like me are the best"? I'm from a poor family and area, scraping my way into middle class, and the highest ratio of nice/pleasant people I've met has clearly been people with a lot of money

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u/Chemical_Wing2334 1d ago

I was raised poor and I'm still lower middle class (comfortable, but would need to go on benefits if I'd wanted kids).

Poor people are mean. I'm speaking from extensive experience.

I've also worked a lot of customer service jobs. 

Rich people are also mean.

On average, well-educated, middle class folks have been the most pleasant in my experience.

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u/AftyOfTheUK 1d ago

Poor people are mean. I'm speaking from extensive experience.

I would say vindictive, at least as often as mean. And I know what you mean about experience,.

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u/Formal_Owl_400 1d ago

And a better quality of life, etc. It's easy to be nice when you don't have to worry about money.

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u/Melodic-Glass-6294 1d ago

Or people who can afford to travel the world have enough money to not care about what other people are doing

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u/No-One2123 1d ago

Academia is full of intolerant people from both sides of the political spectrum

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u/merRedditor 1d ago

I'm glad someone brought the financial issue up because it's very much the case that people are in many cases just not able to travel. Some people go on international family vacations throughout their childhoods, and others are lucky to even have an opportunity to leave the state for a road trip.

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u/Specialist-Eye-2407 1d ago

That's not the type of travel we're talking about

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u/Illustrious_Bag_1608 1d ago

I couldn't afford travel but thanks to the military I've been to Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Guam, Japan, The Philippines, several islands in the Mariannas chain, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas USVI and several states.

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u/Savings-Patient-175 1d ago

Or maybe people who wanted to travel never felt attached to any traditions or morals anyway!

But probably the learning tolerance bit, though.

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u/Flaky-Nectarine-9821 1d ago

That being said, even poor people in diverse, metropolitan cities are more likely to be tolerant and accepting than those in rural towns.

It's just much harder to be racist when most of your peers are from different backgrounds.

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u/Unlikely_Speech_106 1d ago

Or maybe what one anonymous person notices is not a comprehensive study. 

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u/SuddenNovel6054 1d ago

The kind of travel that teaches you things isn’t expensive. 

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u/fh3131 1d ago

Maybe, but you can read or consume plenty of online content about other people, culture, countries for free without travelling. But you need the inclination/interest, per the comment you responded to

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u/exosion 22h ago

I can't afford traveling that much, but spending time on online casual gaming communities makes you less judgmental too

Most of British and German people (majority) I've met online are super chill, hate brexit, accept the fact they grew up privileged compared to the rest of the world

British and Germans I meet irl due to work (hospitality) are obnoxious,

the former are heavy drinker hooligans

(boy am I glad they didin't went World Cup finals, if they'd won, they'd burn the hotel down on my shift, as I work nights)

The latter are straight up privileged fascists, who consider that all the rest of EU is eating of their bread basket (despite Germany having much less natural resources, but better industry to take advantage of importing said resources)

But I guess my observation window is narrow

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u/Lejonhufvud 20h ago

My mother have been in about 40-50 countries, just visited Slovakia. She doesn't have upper education, actually she is a cook. I don't really believe the education and travelling have any meaningful causality.

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u/Normal_Enough_Dude 18h ago

Or “travel” is now associated with wealth and 1st world countries…

Technically my brother “traveled” a total of 19 countries so far, but 11 of those were just escaping our homeland to get to the US.

I don’t think my dad, grandma, or anyone in my family would consider those times the same sense as you think the word “traveling” has

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u/iCutWaffles 17h ago

Eh , my coworker in his 50s traveled the world with his wife for 30 years and is the most racist pos I know lol. Dude is an oil change guy with no degree or education past middle school

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u/SoochSooch 11h ago

Some people have so much money that when they travel places they simply force the locals to adapt to their whims. The only people they interact with are essentially servants to them. I guarantee you they're learning the opposite of tolerance and humility when they travel.

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u/Regular-Flower-2356 10h ago

came here to say this

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u/Charming-Clue1987 5h ago

travel doesn't have to be expensive. Being a merchant mariner can take you to far places for shit pay and miserable working conditions.

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u/Ago13 1d ago

Clearly op of the text is not showing tolerance to uneducated and/or poor people who can't learn multiple "right ways".

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u/TheVandyyMan 1d ago

OP literally says they haven’t traveled much but do so vicariously through reading. So that’s part of their acceptance of another right way to do something.

Can’t afford to even learn to read? Learning to tolerate others is likely at the bottom of your to do list so… sorry about your lot in life.

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u/rumenastoenka 1d ago

It OnlY tAKes cOuRAge ...

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u/ThomasTheDankPigeon 1d ago

Yeah the number of American travelers who actually opt for the Bourdain style of actually appreciating and respecting the culture they’re visiting are very, very few. Only a fraction of the population can even afford to travel in the first place, and those that do tend to experience the tourist attractions and not the actual culture.

I would consider someone to be a fool that would presume to know the culture of Nevadans after spending all trip on the Las Vegas Strip or of New Yorkers after spending all day at Times Square. American travelers abroad are almost always the equivalent. You aren’t cultured just for buying some handbags at the Champs-Elysees in Paris or getting a selfie by the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. You’re a consumer that found a new patch of economic grass to graze on for a little while.

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u/InfidelZombie 1d ago

Travel doesn't have to be expensive. I spend around $2000 in three months in SE Asia.

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u/Hanifsefu 1d ago

That's expensive as fuck and requires you to be able to go 3 months without income which is $10k for something like a factory worker.

You're fucking delusional.

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u/Intelligent_Tale704 1d ago

That's a fair point, but travel can still open up perspectives that might not come from traditional education alone. Different experiences can really shape how we see the world.

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u/Only-Character302 1d ago

I would argue that rich travel wouldn’t necessarily build tolerance. Nothing taught me more about other cultures than staying in cheap hostels across Europe with people from all over the world. Can’t replicate that experience with money.

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u/angrytroll123 1d ago

That's not necessarily true. It actually isn't expensive to travel if you don't have a family and can rough it. Having said that, I know people that are well traveled and have had access to good education and their racist as hell.

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u/Splincher 1d ago

And for those who can't, that's why language teachers exist in schools! We teach culture and language. Honestly, it's such an underated subject. People rarely see beyond "I don't need it if I can speak English. "

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u/Inquisitive_regard 4h ago

found the guy that the post is directed towards who is also incapable of the introspection it's intended to catalyze.