Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Righteous Indignation

"Another one of those "not to good technically" but still one of my favorite photos from my experience in Cambodia. This photo reminds me of the ignorance and selfishness I saw by the tourists who visit. In this photo I see a little child trying to live (she was selling fans - you can see part of a pink one on the extreme left side) while the tourists, tired of the constant onslaught of children, just walk by and ignore her. We were sitting there for a few minutes and just watching the crowds go by and noticed how no one would even so much as give her a "hello" or a "no" but would just plain ignore her. I'm not saying anyone should have bought anything from her, but at least treat her like a person. At one point we even saw a man raise his hand a little like he was going to push her out of his way. It really makes me ashamed to be part of the "western world" to see how ignorant people can be. I will even admit that I went to Cambodia to see Angkor....and was glad to see the temples. But more impressive to me were the people. I was glad the temples were there to distract all the tourists so I could interact with the children and try to learn a little from them without much interference. So I guess I want to thank all the ignorant people for leaving the real Angkor all to me....Thanks."

The comments and photo are by John Paskey. I don't know him or what he believes, but I like what he sees and thinks.

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