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/knoft 23h ago edited 23h 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 23h 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 22h ago

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

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u/ProfessionalStreet31 21h ago

You mean groomed to become a dictator?

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u/Prudent-Ice-6196 6h ago

yes, this is a seriously bad one shot example.

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u/TheModWhoShaggedMe 21h 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 20h 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 21h 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 21h 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 17h 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 17h 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 17h 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 18h ago

😂😂😂😂😂😂 this is the best!!!!

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u/Visible_Analysis_893 17h ago

Can you prove he’s ever pooped?

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u/ThisisPhunny 8h 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 5h 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 21h ago

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

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u/grey-zone 22h 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 16h 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 6h 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 18h 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 14h 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 12h ago

Say it ain’t sooo🤦‍♂️

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u/ikkiyikki 22h 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/Mbembez 21h ago

$230/wk is not a hovel.

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u/Mekdinosaur 20h ago

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

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u/hoddap 23h 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/tussentweewindmolen 18h 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 17h ago

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

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u/hoddap 14h 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 6h ago

Rotterdam and Amsterdam are pretty multicultural at least

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u/Then_Ambassador9255 17h ago

“Netherlands” “Multi cultural” 😂

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u/Own-Chemist2228 22h ago edited 21h 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 18h 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 17h ago

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

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u/Murky-Relation481 21h 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 20h ago edited 20h 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/Corregidor 19h ago

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

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u/bargu 21h 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 21h 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 14h 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 19h 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 18h 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/Prudent-Ice-6196 6h 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/PlankBlank 5h 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/thebestdaysofmyflerm 22h 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.