The other blog I have issues with is a rant....it began aimed at Australian tourists in Bali (I am Australian) but I thought it may be too derogatory...
I think if one is complaining about their own kind, then it gives you a lot more freedom to launch a rant. However, when I was in Bali, I stayed at Jimbaran Bay and only met one other Australian, who was not drunk, so I have nothing to base my rant on. However, if you do, then please publish!
I myself never mince my words when it comes to describing disrespectful Westerners who shouldn't be travelling in the first place, as they lack the most basic intercultural skills. They had it coming, so they shouldn't complain about how much you offended them.
I particularly love this about your blogs - I rarely do it, but did during my trip to Myanmar about the appalling behaviour of camera-wielding tourists during prayers at the Shwedagon Temple. I didn't name where the tourists came from, except for saying they were Caucasian. Perhaps, I should have launched a greater attack on them in my blog and at the time of seeing the incident - I'm still unsure about the blogging part, but am certain about speaking out against it if I witness such behaviour again.
For me, if I write something negative, there are three rules. First, I don't generalise. Thus the mother of all arguments I had with a felucca captain in Luxor only reflected on that particular person rather than all felucca captains. Same applies with a certain taxi driver in Kuwait City. Saying that I had problems with a particular taxi driver is better than saying that all taxi drivers in Kuwait City are bad - when this just cannot be true (as was shown afterwards) as you only need one good taxi driver and the statement loses credibility. Generalisations about a country and its people will usually get bloggers into dangerous territory.
There is a show on Australian TV at present, that Australians, in the eyes of Indians, are "Dumb, Drunk and Racist" (I do agree that a significant portion score two out of three). The producers have brought four Indians to Australia to form their own opinions (well, as much as a guided television show will allow). What is obvious from the series so far is that though these Indians believe there is certainly racism in Australia, it does not apply to all - again the danger of generalisations.
Secondly, if I blog about something negative, then I balance it with a positive, which has always been possible so far. India is a fantastic country and I wrote glowingly about it, but overpopulation, corruption and pollution is a huge problem. This is something acknowledged by many Indians I met in the three months there - so no controversy at all by writing about it in one of my blogs. Likewise, the Middle East is my favourite region on earth, but someone needs to be done about certain population centres looking like garbage dumps - sure this is a negative comment, but it is more than balanced by the positive.
Finally, if it is something potentially controversial, I am always measured in my comments. But that reflects me as a person, as I tend to soak in the positives of life and deal dismissively with the negative, unless I am provoked (but that is another story...). I can understand why people would not feel the need to be measured if something particularly upsets them, and I do not disagree with such rants when appropriate, but it is not a style that I utilise.
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