SouthernN'Proud
Southern Discomfort
Wasteful Walks?
Officials in the Lake District of England have backed off plans to scrap free tours of the countryside after word leaked that they were going to do so because the tours appealed primarily to white folks, reports the News and Star.
The Lake District National Park Authority wanted to axe around 400 free walks provided each year for the area’s 14 million visitors because of the profile of those taking advantage of the walks was almost uniformly “white, middle-aged and middle-class.”
The government said it wanted to devote more resources toward convincing ethnic minorities, young people and the disabled to be encouraged to visit the area.
**end**
Sooooo.....this makes the project bad in some way? The fact that more whites choose to utilize a public resource makes it less worthy of funds?
I know as fact that there are government funded parks and such here that are used more frequently by blacks than by whites....does that translate into a measure of worthiness? Are these facilities then more valuable for that sole statistical anomoly? Would a library frequented more by women than by men deserve a greater budget boost than one in another part of the same city that happens to have 51% patronage by males? Is a museum of black culture thereby more valuable to the community than a museum of, say, space technology?
This is a dangerous precept. I honestly believe that if these lines of thinking are allowed to prevail, our grandchildren are going to ridicule us as a primitive, backward thinking generation.
I personally believe that projects should be judged in terms of usefulness on their merits and overall use by the public alone without any other factor being considered. I have no use myself for an inner city park and playground funded by tax dollars, but I most certainly want that park to exist for the benefit of those who do use it. Likewise, I would like to think that the hiking trails that are abundant right here in my area would receive their fair share of funding (based on the same criteria) despite the fact that many inner city folks will never set foot on a hiking trail.
*sigh*
Somebody hand me another concrete block, wouldya? This hermit retreat is getting closer and closer to being complete.
Officials in the Lake District of England have backed off plans to scrap free tours of the countryside after word leaked that they were going to do so because the tours appealed primarily to white folks, reports the News and Star.
The Lake District National Park Authority wanted to axe around 400 free walks provided each year for the area’s 14 million visitors because of the profile of those taking advantage of the walks was almost uniformly “white, middle-aged and middle-class.”
The government said it wanted to devote more resources toward convincing ethnic minorities, young people and the disabled to be encouraged to visit the area.
**end**
Sooooo.....this makes the project bad in some way? The fact that more whites choose to utilize a public resource makes it less worthy of funds?
I know as fact that there are government funded parks and such here that are used more frequently by blacks than by whites....does that translate into a measure of worthiness? Are these facilities then more valuable for that sole statistical anomoly? Would a library frequented more by women than by men deserve a greater budget boost than one in another part of the same city that happens to have 51% patronage by males? Is a museum of black culture thereby more valuable to the community than a museum of, say, space technology?
This is a dangerous precept. I honestly believe that if these lines of thinking are allowed to prevail, our grandchildren are going to ridicule us as a primitive, backward thinking generation.
I personally believe that projects should be judged in terms of usefulness on their merits and overall use by the public alone without any other factor being considered. I have no use myself for an inner city park and playground funded by tax dollars, but I most certainly want that park to exist for the benefit of those who do use it. Likewise, I would like to think that the hiking trails that are abundant right here in my area would receive their fair share of funding (based on the same criteria) despite the fact that many inner city folks will never set foot on a hiking trail.
*sigh*
Somebody hand me another concrete block, wouldya? This hermit retreat is getting closer and closer to being complete.
I just had an awful thought...
One of the few liabilities to a Democratic Republic. Since most of the citizenry will be middle, and lower class, they get the biggest voice. They also tend to be more willing to ask for the hand-outs...
Good points all.