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From: jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick)
Newsgroups: net.travel
Subject: Re: Hedonism, visiting poor countries
Message-ID: <2351@mit-hermes.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 4-Apr-85 12:46:38 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-herm.2351
Posted: Thu Apr  4 12:46:38 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 7-Apr-85 08:05:19 EST
References: <1452@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: The MIT AI Lab, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 19

D. Cherson had a unpleasant time at the Hedonism resort in Jamaica because
of the surrounding local people's poverty. I sympathize. An Indian friend
of mine has several times asked me to go and visit him in India, but my
feeling is that it would be like D. Cherson's experience. How can you spend
money on having a good time, knowing that the people around you are on the
verge of starvation? It's bad enough being well fed and having the option
of being well clothed while people elsewhere are starving and wear rags, 
but I can't see going to their homes and flaunting my wealth. As my Indian
friend says, you get used to it, and perhaps it is hypocritical to allow
such poverty to exist in nearby countries--we don't make solving Jamaican 
poverty an overly high priority--but there's a difference between knowing
that people are suffering and actually seeing them and ignoring them. 
I couldn't enjoy Hedonism either.

			John Purbrick
			decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!mit-hermes!jpexg
			jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA