Bacchanal 2006 Post-Mortem: Episode 7

The Ethical Question

It seems oddly appropriate to write this on a Sunday, since this post might seem a bit like sermon.

I certainly enjoyed the trip, but there were definitely things that were nagging at my head during it. Most prominently was the fact that we were traveling through the Caribbean. Now, put aside the homophobic atmosphere of some Caribbean islands (Jamaica comes to mind), the discomfort came from basic tourism. It seemed to me, and this was very true in St. Maarten (and a little bit less so in St. Croix), that every time a ship came in there was a sort of unspoken theme going on: the ship would dock, the passengers would spread the money around with the residents, and then they'd leave. The residents get some money, but not enough to really bring the majority of their lives to a level far above "just surviving."

Now, I'm not saying that everywhere on this planet should be full of people who own a house with 2 cars, but there really is no escaping the poverty that one comes across, and to me, it seems that living conditions are partly due to the fact that tourism is the region's major industry. There appeared to be little to no incentive--not to mention desire--to diversify the economy. Tourism itself can be a dead end industry if you make it the sole one. It can only get the average person so far as a job. Yet, I'm fully complicit as are most of you who are reading this. We spend money in the hopes of improving the economy of a locale, but it can only go so far. One must also ask, where does the bulk of the money spent go to? Is it lining the pockets of civil servants, multi-national conglomerates based thousands of miles away, or is it actually going directly to the people?

Perhaps this question also hit me hard because I was reading Jean Genet's The Blacks during this cruise. I started to look at myself as somewhat of an outsider, perhaps one who was going against my culture and myself by participating in an experience that was overwhelmingly white. I'll be honest with you, it was an Imitation of Life moment. Was there anything "really for me" on the cruise? I don't need to tan, nor do I want one, since prolonged sun exposure makes me feel like an ant under a microscope--even with sunblock (therefore, I was definitely a nocturnal presence--more on this in the next episode). I could argue shopping, but why not just take a flight down there instead and go back home? I do like supporting gay-owned-and-operated businesses, but was that my m.o.? There were shows, gambling, parties, and interaction with others that made it worthwhile, but the main thing that attracted people there appeared to be the sun.

It did definitely bother me that there were few black passengers (especially compared to my previous cruise 3 years ago), but that is something that I have had to get used to in my life. I don't want it to be this way, and frankly, it is something that I believe should be worked on. I remember going to Nairobi with my mother sometime ago in the early-to-mid nineties and telling her in my teenage naivete: "I've never seen so many black men in business suits." She laughed, and I was perplexed, because I was being serious. I thought it was quite uplifting to be honest. For so long, I was told by both my parents that I can be what I want to be in this life, but it is hard to do so when you aren't given any images to show that it can be done. While we all applaud trailblazers, I reckon very few of us want to be one. It's an arduous task. You have to be the one that says "I belong," when the surroundings suggest otherwise. I don't think that I have the wherewithal to do so.

I don't want this to read like a complaint or an indictment, because it isn't. It's a statement of one part of what was going through my mind. No one is at fault here, since we cannot help the way the world is. We can only tilt things slightly in the right direction and hope that eventually the circumstances will change. Therein lies one of the reasons that I believe subconsciously guided me on this trip: a chance to recharge my optimism.

Yes, I am an optimist. I may come across as a strict realist bathed in cynicism, but at my core I am an optimist. So much of the world that we live in is governed by the brushing off of possiblities. We don't think we can do things because we don't look or act a certain way, or because of who we undeniably are. We cut ourselves off from others believing that they perceive us a certain way or that they will reject us. One of the advantages of being on a boat is that you are part of a "captive" group. There is no bigger and better person coming around the corner. You get the chance to sit down and have conversations with others that might have passed you by on land. The possiblity of having one of those famous "chance meetings" is increased. There may be a downside, but those are worth the risk, in my view.

Next Time: Hijinx in Fort Lauderdale