Touring Gangland
By FREAKONOMICS
A group of civic activists in Los Angeles plans to start giving “Gang Tours” — taking busloads of tourists through some of the most dangerous parts of the city — in hopes of “sensitizing people, connecting them to the reality of what’s on the ground.” Critics liken the tours to voyeuristic “slum tourism” in India and Rio de Janeiro. But Gang Tours organizers say they plan on using tour profits to help communities through avenues like loans for inner-city entrepreneurs and sending graffiti taggers to art school.
via Touring Gangland – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com.
We desensitize ourselves from the hard realities of our environment. This is an excellent idea. I’ve been saying that if we required all powerful people to ride in cars with windows down, we would probably have cleaner air. If we also require politicians and rich people’s children to go to public schools we would have a far better education system. There is a saying “out of sight , out of mind”; what we need is to make people who can create major change to feel the pain!