now i am in now way blaming a less then warm reception at a dealership on skin color. as i rarely wear anything other then jeans, and sneakers that combined with afircan american and being 29....im sure screams IM JUST LOOKING...but that in know way makes it right. so i spent my 100K+ with a dealer who treated me correctly.
****
Don't feel singled out Some of the inexperienced salesmen will "prejudge" you. It happened to us also when we were wearing our "weekend" clothes. It's always fun to burst their bubble.
I think sometimes we forget that the freedoms we have are freedoms not because of celebrities. The freedoms are because of ordinary people who did extraordinary things, who loved this country more than life itself.
[quote=serenity roadIf you want to see more minorities involved in RVing help to expose more minorities to it. Start with your friends or your children's friends. If the adults don't want to go invite their kids. Anytime you want to exact change, start with fresh young minds; they don't have all the hesitations that adults do. We have been trying to expose our friends' children to camping one at a time. Each child that we have taken so far has thoroughly enjoyed it and continually ask when we are going to take them again.[/quote]
I agree 100%. Well said. The same could be said for all inner city children no matter their ethnicity, to expose them to outdoor positive experiences.
We see too many kids just "hanging out" at a mall. They know no other life.
Kudos to you for your efforts.
Note: Due to invalid formatting, all formatting has been ignored.
I don't think it's a matter of feeling un-welcomed. Being Korean and immigrating to America when I was 4, we didn't do much camping. Parents were too busy working 6 days a week trying to just get situated. When I go camping now, I rarely see minorities, but I think that'll change in the future. I think my son & daughter will enjoy coming when they're older.
At the same time, I have a lot of friends (family included) that poke fun at me for being a RV'er... hehe. I enjoy it, what can I say?
On a side note, I don't have a problem with translating to other languages such as Spanish, Japanese, etc. To suggest that we should translate for ALL tourists is a bit far-fetched. The reality is that America has a growing Hispanic population and by helping translate a few things, we're helping our country develop. Just like when you go to other country's, English is used at times. This will be more evident with Chinese in the upcoming years due to their huge economic growth spurt recently.
* This post was
edited 08/28/07 01:01am by phwang20 *
2000 24' Bigfoot 3000 Series
Bought a RV to enjoy God's country
I am African American and I enjoy camping a great deal. I have always enjoyed the outdoors. My camping experiences have all been positive for the most part. I have had some surprised looks though. There are many factors that could be influencing why the vast majority of African Americans and other minority groups don't partake in RVing. Many of which have been mentioned. The primary reason is not that we can't afford to own a RV. What I would consider to be the primary reason is lack of exposure. A personal example of this would be when we starting talking to family members about our interest in purchasing a RV. My family thought that purchasing a RV made sense and would be great for our family, but my husband's family for the most part thought it didn't make sense, except those uncles that are avid hunters. They are not outdoors people for the most part. My family on the other hand is passionate about many outdoors activities. Both of my parents are that way. My family has always been involved in hunting clubs, horse riding clubs, motorcycle clubs, or some type of club related to outdoor activities, even unofficial fishing clubs(that would be my Mom). If you want to see more minorities involved in RVing help to expose more minorities to it. Start with your friends or your children's friends. If the adults don't want to go invite their kids. Anytime you want to exact change, start with fresh young minds; they don't have all the hesitations that adults do. We have been trying to expose our friends' children to camping one at a time. Each child that we have taken so far has thoroughly enjoyed it and continually ask when we are going to take them again.
Aaron & Delores
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now i am in now way blaming a less then warm reception at a dealership on skin color. as i rarely wear anything other then jeans, and sneakers that combined with afircan american and being 29....im sure screams IM JUST LOOKING...but that in know way makes it right. so i spent my 100K+ with a dealer who treated me correctly.
I have visions of you driving your RV to the *OTHER* dealerships and repeating the line from Pretty Woman...
Big Mistake
Wayne in San Jose
TV1:2002 Chevy 1500HD 4wd Crew Cab,Valley Odyssey brake ctlr,McKesh mirrors
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cruzgal wrote: I'm just not sure why it should be important to make ANYONE start camping if they're not interested. And as far as wanting more people to enjoy our public lands, are there not more and more restrictions and closures on the public lands we have that somewhat limit an individual's use of them?
The concept is that the more people that use AND love our public lands, the better the policies will get due to voter influence. I have no idea why it needs to be an issue of ethnicity though. Let's just get more people camping, period. Far be it from me to care what "color" they are! Hey, my "color" changes depending on how faithfully I applied sunscreen! LOL NO, it won't make camping more crowded, at least not for long...the industry will expand to follow the money!
I am opposed to translating signs to Spanish to encourage the Hispanics though. If we are going to translate, we should translate everything for ALL our "tourists". Either that or acknowledge that ENGLISH is the language of international business and therefore should/could be the language of international travel (at least here in the U.S.)!
Oh, and we were treated with the same cool reception at some RV dealers. Nothing to do with race, since we were all white (salesmen, saleswomen and us). I think they just get a little stuck-up or maybe just sick of all the browsers.
Some of the inexperienced salesmen will "prejudge" you. It happened to us also when we were wearing our "weekend" clothes. It's always fun to burst their bubble.
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