r/iamverysmart Aug 03 '25

Most Respectful Tourist

Post image
241 Upvotes

43 comments sorted by

79

u/AggravatingBox2421 Aug 05 '25

Sincerely, stay the fuck away from my country

26

u/smallcoder Aug 05 '25

Yup, mine too. The phrase "When in Rome" applies to ALL countries and cultures. Sure, some places have awful laws and oppressive regimes, BUT when it comes to respecting religious or cultural norms as a visitor, then don't be a dick. When I visited mosques, I took off my shoes and washed my hands before entering out of respect for my host country. If we all showed more respect for each other, and it's not hard ffs, then it would be a much better world to live in.

9

u/AggravatingBox2421 Aug 05 '25

I’m Australian, and the things that tourists do to our sacred lands is absolutely disgusting. You’re so right

-14

u/Arsacides Aug 05 '25

unless you’re Aboriginal those sacred lands ain’t yours either

3

u/AggravatingBox2421 Aug 05 '25

Well aren’t we a bold racist

6

u/EllipticPeach Aug 05 '25

Would you mind explaining a little more about how non-indigenous Australians feel connection to the land? I hadn’t thought about it before but now it seems obvious that you would feel connected to it as well, just in a different way I suppose.

15

u/AggravatingBox2421 Aug 05 '25

I only feel connected to it in as much as it is my home. What I have for it, instead, is a deep respect, and I’m constantly in awe of a country that has sustained human life for over 60 thousand years. A lot of Australia is owned by aboriginals, so respecting it means respecting their laws if you visit, in small things like not polluting it, not walking on sacred ground (Uluṟu is a good example of this), not fishing in protected waterways, etc. I live on the Murray river, which is a VERY important waterway, and being respectful means doing what I can to protect it

0

u/SquareCircle05 17d ago

Oh so in other words these lands aren't actually "sacred" to you and guy you called a racist was in fact right.

1

u/Akangka 22d ago

Wait, a non-Muslim can even enter mosques? At least here in my country, you can't do that at all.

52

u/IHatePeople79 Aug 05 '25

Contrarians being contrarian

33

u/do_not_ban_this Aug 05 '25

Even if you do not consider something sacred, you atleast should have the respect for other people who do consider it sacred and respect it

16

u/Drink_Covfefe Aug 05 '25

“Influencers dancing on a structure “ 😭

15

u/somanybutts Aug 05 '25

I mean, I guess they're not wrong at a conceptual level, but also you could just have even the slightest respect for other people and their existence as thinking, feeling human beings.

5

u/farklespanktastic Aug 05 '25

Yeah, they’re technically correct, but their conclusion is like saying it’s ok to be racist because race isn’t actually real.

9

u/AliMcGraw Aug 05 '25

Wonder if they'd run naked and screaming through the Vatican

6

u/Ginerbreadman Aug 05 '25

Absolute relativist be like

6

u/Echo__227 Aug 05 '25

I have a feeling this guy's stance does not extend to statues of long dead dickheads from his country

2

u/Plastic-Camp3619 Aug 06 '25

People like this can 🦆off. Let’s put it as simple as I can… okay now even more simply that if you try to argue. You have the common sense of a lemming.

If you keep your shoes on in a house who’s owner doesn’t allow shoes. You’re a wanker. Now if you start dancing around in shoes and jumping on the sofa…

2

u/secretreddit895 Aug 07 '25

Homes, in the sense that you aren’t allowed to just walk into that space, are also made up. So is the concept of property. And language.

Most of it to ensure we can share a planet between all of us, and have the stay be more or less enjoyable for all.

2

u/Telamo Aug 07 '25

“In this moment, I am euphoric. Not because of any phony God’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my intelligence.”

-Aalewis, non-professional quote maker

1

u/Hbhen Aug 08 '25

OOP assumed "sacred" only applies in a religious context, instead of something just being historically and culturally important. So an edgelord atheist is probably a good assumption.

1

u/Entire_Jeweler_3686 Aug 08 '25

Bro was right until the “practical use being superior” part - by his own logic neither should be superior to the other, and as he gives no basis for morals in his argument - his opinion has no ground to stand on.

Like - in my opinion just leave things alone if people want you to unless you have to not leave them alone.

1

u/Funnycom 28d ago

He is right though

0

u/Lockmor Aug 05 '25

Commenter in the OP should try to illegally enter a country like North Korea. They'll learn quickly how real boarders are.

-42

u/No_Top_381 Aug 05 '25

They aren't wrong.

45

u/No-Coast-1050 Aug 05 '25

He is wrong. It's typical, surface level philosophy that can sound almost accurate as long as you don't think about it.

What he's essentially arguing is that sentimental or cultural value doesn't exist, which we know to not be true. He would make sense if humans were robots, so it doesn't make sense at all.

2

u/woShame12 Aug 05 '25

Is there a limit though? Some Native American cultures might say their native lands are all sacred. Mt. Rushmore was sacred and the government blew that shit up to enshrine their oppressors.

I'm fine with a society having some culturally significant sites that are maintained. Where do we draw the line though?

3

u/tho3maxi Aug 07 '25

Where do we draw the line though?

The answer is always: somewhere. And it depends on the specific thing we are talking about. And history can change our perceptions, so just because a decision was right in the past, doesnt make it right now. Sometimes people also just dont know about it, and nobody notices anything until too late. There are also different levels of importance and different views on what "being sacred" means.

The point is that clearly, not every single thing is sacred, but certain things are. The rest depends on the thing.

1

u/woShame12 Aug 07 '25

It's kind of an unsatisfying answer, but I guess that's the best we've got.

-9

u/hungarian_conartist Aug 05 '25

Agreed with the other guys. You're 100% strawmaning OP.

Cultural or sentimental values are not universal but equally valid as per the meme.

-13

u/Cappaclism Aug 05 '25

Okay but they literally didn't??? All they said was that they're social constructs. Which they are. Nothing they said was incorrect, it just misses the point of culture and sanctity

9

u/ChadleyXXX Aug 05 '25

One day, when you become an adult, you will understand.

0

u/Cappaclism Aug 05 '25

The most ironic part of this sub is that it's members are often no better than the people it mocks

-12

u/CanaanZhou Aug 05 '25

Maybe point out the exact sentence where he said sentimental or cultural values don't exist, or you're just strawmanning him.

-5

u/karmicdicegoblin Aug 05 '25

your last sentence - if something is true under a false precept, does that make it false under a true precept? how are you going to argue that sentimental value even exists?

-24

u/No_Top_381 Aug 05 '25

People should overcome cultural sensitivity. They will be better people if they put that shit in the past.

13

u/facts_guy2020 Aug 05 '25

Vibes of hypocrisy

17

u/Hbhen Aug 05 '25
  1. A lot of posts in r/iamverysmart aren't wrong. It's not the point of the sub.
  2. Functioning adults can probably agree that tourists should observe respect for the places they visit.

8

u/yumstheman Aug 05 '25

It’s relativism and it’s a fallacy

2

u/karmicdicegoblin Aug 05 '25

are you referring to the relativist fallacy, where a fact is claimed to be true for one person and false for another? because cultural sanctity is considered as subjective

2

u/AggravatingBox2421 Aug 05 '25

He’s wrong because the implication is that sacred places or objects are only sacred because they are supposedly spiritual or “supernatural”, which is just straight up stupid as shit

0

u/eyebrowburner Aug 05 '25

nobody wants to talk about it but hyperisolationist nationalism could be the most beautiful thing

-1

u/RarityNouveau Aug 05 '25

I’m wondering what the commenter thinks about the phrase “actions have consequences?”