• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Would You Take a Free Trip to Paris?

Would You Take a Free Trip to Paris?

  • Total voters
    77
Ad_Captandum said:
This is a fascinating response -- please tell me more. To be honest, I can't imagine someone not being interested in history, especially European history -- if you could, could you tell me why it doesn't appeal to you?
Click to expand...

I would say the appeal is not there simply because I am more interested in relaxation when I am on vacation. I'm not all that big into sight seeing or history lessons while trying to relax. Additionally I am not all that comfortable around big crowds so seeing the major tourist ( Historic ) sights would likely make me even more uneasy.

Nothing against those regions at all. I am certain there are some very fascinating places to see. Just not my idea of a relaxing time. Now if I was in the region for work or study, then I would def take in the sights. I would be more interested in seeing Scotland or Ireland than Paris. But if I had my choice I would take an isolated island with a hut to stay in! Either that or a log cabin in the mountains somewhere completely shut out from the rest of the world.

Sounds weird I know but when I think of vacation I think of relaxation. When I think of relaxation I think of getting away from the norm.

Hope that makes sense?
 
Cardinal said:
I haven't made it to the Louvre myself, and admittedly I'm already daunted by the rumors of how unwieldy it is due to the throngs of tourists. There are still some pretty awesome places you can go in Europe that haven't been utterly crapped out by tourists, St. Petersburg being an excellent example, probably because Russia is still such a pain in the ass to get a visa to.
Click to expand...

I lucked out and made it into town on a Thursday, so the crowds really weren't that bad at all. I thought about visiting the Eiffel Tower after I finished with the Louvre, but I was tired, so I opted to just have dinner and turn in for the night instead.

That turned out to be a mistake. When I tried again on Friday, there was like a four hour wait just to get in line. :lol:
 
Gathomas88 said:
I lucked out and made it into town on a Thursday, so the crowds really weren't that bad at all. I thought about visiting the Eiffel Tower after I finished with the Louvre, but I was tired, so I opted to just have dinner and turn in for the night instead.

That turned out to be a mistake. When I tried again on Friday, there was like a four hour wait just to get in line. :lol:
Click to expand...

Unfortunately there are a lot of places in Europe that have become little different than Disneyland. On one recent visit to a European city I genuinely got the impression that at the end of the day not only would the visitors leave to go home for the day, but so would its own residents. It was near impossible to think of the city as a place where natives lived out their own lives outside of their role of servicing tourists. I'll still go to Paris though because, you know, Paris.

Anyway, point taken: visit on a Monday.
 
Last edited:
Woodman909 said:
I'm certain through the bomb site, I'll see the millions of white flags... then I'd stand down. Jealous? of weaklings and cowards? Hardly.
Click to expand...

...and talk about missing the point.
 
joko104 said:
There is a whole world a person could visit, unlimited choices most of which would be interesting and offer different benefits. But a person's lifetime is not unlimited. We travel, but also have limited travel time. For us, a trip to Paris would mean not taking a trip somewhere else.

Playing tourist isn't something I particularly care to do and while each big city offers what it offers, personally I enjoy it more when we fit in and can interact/talk with other people. What does Paris really offer that a person has to go there to see that is so superior?

If it were a situation that we couldn't travel without it being free, that would be a different matter. But our limitations on traveling are not economic, the limitation is time. So it's not about the $$. Paris is not on our future list of places we want to travel to.
Click to expand...

So in between your wife finding cures for cancer and carrying surrogate children that threaten her life, you guys prance around the globe on a whim?

Hey, Joko, not to be a dick, but most of your stories that you post here come off as exactly that and are hilarious to read from a grown man
 
loader said:
Yes, it can happen in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee. Wherever strong Negro and Muslim gangs.
Click to expand...

Straight up racism... pathetic.
 
Cardinal said:
I haven't made it to the Louvre myself, and admittedly I'm already daunted by the rumors of how unwieldy it is due to the throngs of tourists. There are still some pretty awesome places you can go in Europe that haven't been utterly crapped out by tourists, St. Petersburg being an excellent example, probably because Russia is still such a pain in the ass to get a visa to.
Click to expand...

The Louvre is great, if you're into art museums.

The throngs of tourists are only at the entrance and in a couple spots- like the Mona Lisa. The rest of the place is pretty empty because it's so flipping immense.

Another key is to not go in the summer.
 
Andalublue said:
I guess that kind of thing couldn't happen to tourists anywhere else. Oh wait...

Crowd Beats, Strips & Robs Tourist On St. Patrick’s Day; Incident Caught On Camera « CBS Baltimore
Click to expand...

Baltimore is a huge ****hole, no doubt, but I think the video is meant to imply a sectariaon or nationalist element to the attack in Paris. And unfortunately these type of tensions with the arab and islamic community in Paris is nothing new.

Muslim Brotherhood Supporters Attack Egyptian Novelist Alaa Al-Aswany in Paris - YouTube

BBC News - Suspect 'admits soldier knife attack in Paris'

Jewish youths attacked in Paris - Israel News, Ynetnews

French girl attempts suicide after
 
Andalublue said:
White gangs don't count, I guess.

Black couple savagely beaten by gang of white youths in Brooklyn | The Daily Caller
Click to expand...

Pro-tip: lol, you should read an article before posting it

from the article- "Whoops! Ronald and Alanna Russo are white. And they were called “crackers” and “white motherf—–” and such as they were kicked and beaten, not that really bad word starting with “n.” Never mind. Nothing to see here. Local crime story.

Read more: Black couple savagely beaten by gang of white youths in Brooklyn | The Daily Caller
 
Dirt Racer said:
I
Sounds weird I know but when I think of vacation I think of relaxation. When I think of relaxation I think of getting away from the norm.

Hope that makes sense?
Click to expand...

That's what a lot of people like to do on vacation. My wife, for example, will sit on a beach for days on end.

That's why I travel with other people....
 
Cardinal said:
The challenges of being a tourist, I've found, is avoiding being corralled into all the safe, white establishments along with the rest of the Americans by the hotels and guides. .
Click to expand...

What is your fixation with race? You seem to constantly cite "whiteness" as if it's some disease and that it's the root of all evil in western society. You did the samething while hilariously maligning a remake spike lee did

The irony is regardless of where you travel there are "safe" and established tourist routs catering to people just looking for the "cruise" type getaway. Regardless if that route is populated by middle class locals, Indian or Chinese nationals, or the Japanese. Race really has nothing to do with people being uncultured, lazy and stupid. And sometimes people just want to relax
 
Threegoofs said:
The Louvre is great, if you're into art museums.

The throngs of tourists are only at the entrance and in a couple spots- like the Mona Lisa. The rest of the place is pretty empty because it's so flipping immense.

Another key is to not go in the summer.
Click to expand...

That common wisdom did not unfortunately help me in the last place I visited.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
It is now 68 and raining here in Uhland, TX. Forecast is for highs in the low 70s for the weekend (and no more rain) so I can finish up my current roofing job. ;)
Click to expand...

Well, you can always blow off the roofing job...head down to Club 21. Is that still open? As I recall good burger, music, etc.
 
Dr. Chuckles said:
What is your fixation with race? You seem to constantly cite "whiteness" as if it's some disease and that it's the root of all evil in western society. You did the samething while hilariously maligning a remake spike lee did

The irony is regardless of where you travel there are "safe" and established tourist routs catering to people just looking for the "cruise" type getaway. Regardless if that route is populated by middle class locals, Indian or Chinese nationals, or the Japanese. Race really has nothing to do with people being uncultured, lazy and stupid. And sometimes people just want to relax
Click to expand...

While I think you tend to go to Defcon 5 over nothing, I'll answer seriously anyway. When I refer to something as being "safe and white" I'm referring to the assumption that I, as a white person, can't handle an experience unless it's been placed in a context that is displaced from its ethnic origins. This ends up getting translated into something that is so bland that it's almost not worth experiencing at all.
 
Last edited:
Threegoofs said:
The Louvre is great, if you're into art museums.

The throngs of tourists are only at the entrance and in a couple spots- like the Mona Lisa. The rest of the place is pretty empty because it's so flipping immense.

Another key is to not go in the summer.
Click to expand...

The Louvre is enormous. I liked it a lot. And also Musée d'Orsay. And the Grand Palais. But there are endless things to see and do and most people just can't take in all in in a brief trip. One has to be dedicated and organized to even begin to grasp all of the obvious tourist places. It really becomes even more spectacular when you wander off of the tourista trail and check out the Parisian life....not the tourists life.

Well, I guess I'm in a minority. I find Paris a really unique and fascinating place to be.
 
Dr. Chuckles said:
You did the samething while hilariously maligning a remake spike lee did
Click to expand...

My problem with remakes of films originally made in Asia is partly the feeling that it needs to cater to white (or simply Western) audiences, but it's more to do with the objective in the story. Western storytelling tends to be based on self actualization and the realization of one's own abilities, while Eastern storytelling tends to be based on the acceptance of destiny and one's place in the grand scheme of things. When the story crosses from one construct to another it tends to lose its point.
 
Cardinal said:
While I think you tend to go to Defcon 5 over nothing, I'll answer seriously anyway.
Click to expand...


Defcon 5? I pulled your card for being the type of liberal that always associates a negative with whiteness and in the process simply ignores basic human tendencies.

When I refer to something as being "safe and white" I'm referring to the assumption that I, as a white person, can't handle an experience unless it's been placed in a context that is displaced from its ethnic origins. This ends up getting translated into something that is so bland that it's almost not worth experiencing at all.
Click to expand...

If you ever done any serious traveling you would know those types of places exist every where and cater to what ever ethnic and national group forms a majority. The fact that you feel such is inherently "white" is what makes it funny. Just like you making a similar comment about the inherent "whiteness" of a ****ty spike lee movie.
 
Dr. Chuckles said:
Defcon 5? I pulled your card for being the type of liberal that always associates a negative with whiteness and in the process simply ignores basic human tendencies.



If you ever done any serious traveling you would know those types of places exist every where and cater to what ever ethnic and national group forms a majority. The fact that you feel such is inherently "white" is what makes it funny. Just like you making a similar comment about the inherent "whiteness" of a ****ty spike lee movie.
Click to expand...

You're not even trying to understand what I'm saying. I'm not talking about how being white or Western is bad, but about perceptions over what is safe for white people or Westerners, and how that results in the blanding down of experiences. I don't think it's an accident that every time I've been corralled into white/Western restaurants, for example, the food is a fraction of the spiciness of restaurants that serve almost exclusively its own natives.
 
Cardinal said:
My problem with remakes of films originally made in Asia is partly the feeling that it needs to cater to white (or simply Western) audiences, but it's more to do with the objective in the story. Western storytelling tends to be based on self actualization and the realization of one's own abilities, while Eastern storytelling tends to be based on the acceptance of destiny and one's place in the grand scheme of things. When the story crosses from one construct to another it tends to lose its point.
Click to expand...

really, it seemed more that you weren't aware it was a spike lee movie and simply assumed such sanitizing was some inherent consequence of "whiteness".
 
Dr. Chuckles said:
really, it seemed more that you weren't aware it was a spike lee movie and simply assumed such sanitizing was some inherent consequence of "whiteness".
Click to expand...

Your reading comprehension is nonexistent, and I've been far more patient with you than you deserve.
 
Cardinal said:
You're not even trying to understand what I'm saying. I'm not talking about how being white or Western is bad, but about perceptions over what is safe for white people or Westerners, and how that results in the blanding down of experiences. I don't think it's an accident that every time I've been corralled into white/Western restaurants, for example, the food is a fraction of the spiciness of restaurants that serve almost exclusively its own natives.
Click to expand...

That's what you're not getting: in places where the dominate tourist group is Chinese you have such places catering to Chinese tourists in the same manner. In Bhutan, where the dominate tourist group is Indian, they cater to Indians by making the food more bland and playing up to middle class Indian sensibilities.

It really has nothing to do with being white or western. It's just a consequence of how people are and the fact that they want a safe, relaxing holiday with no stress nor fuss.
 
Removable Mind said:
The Louvre is enormous. I liked it a lot. And also Musée d'Orsay. And the Grand Palais. But there are endless things to see and do and most people just can't take in all in in a brief trip. One has to be dedicated and organized to even begin to grasp all of the obvious tourist places. It really becomes even more spectacular when you wander off of the tourista trail and check out the Parisian life....not the tourists life.

Well, I guess I'm in a minority. I find Paris a really unique and fascinating place to be.
Click to expand...

I don't think you're in a minority at all. Paris attracts the third most tourists of any city in the world (after Bangkok and London) so I think you're in pretty good company. Are we surprised that the Paris haters all seem to be RW Americans?
 
Andalublue said:
I don't think you're in a minority at all. Paris attracts the third most tourists of any city in the world (after Bangkok and London) so I think you're in pretty good company. Are we surprised that the Paris haters all seem to be RW Americans?
Click to expand...

:shrug: I liked Germany well enough. If I didn't know any better, I almost could've been back home in the States.

I just think Paris is kind of overrated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom