Dispute over Kenyan tour guides at the zoo seems a stretch
Because I’m 25 and am not at all grown up yet, I still like going to the zoo. And since I work for World Vision and am obsessed with all-things Africa, I’ve been particularly interested in checking out the Massai Journey deal that Woodland Park Zoo launched to accompany their Africa Savannah exhibit this summer.
Except now I have a sour taste in my mouth. Apparently, there are some folks over at the University of Washington who are arguing some point about the history of zoos and “bringing in people of color as accessories to exhibits.” The topic of contention is in regards to the four Kenyan men who the Woodland Park Zoo hired to lead educational classes and teach children about their culture and growing up in Africa. What better way to learn about a culture than straight from the source, right?
Wrong.
Apparently it’s bad cause it’s teaching children about African cultures “while they’re at the zoo.” [#]
Like duh. This means we’re purposefully saving lessons about African cultures to places where rare and exotic animals are kept.
I’m sorry, but this seems like a ridiculous stretch to me. It’s hard for me to see any bad in this. Sometimes I feel like people are just searching for something to argue about and shout, “not politically correct!” If children are learning about other cultures around the world, I don’t see any negativity in that–whether it’s at school, or on the history channel or Nickelodeon, or at the Seattle Art Museum, or at the zoo.
Looks like most people over at the P.I.’s Sound Off agreed with me when the topic was raised last April… what do you think Metblog readers?
I was considering posting about this very issue myself except that I wasn’t sure I could get through it without totally flipping my lid. I would like to know how the people raising complaints think that hiring a crew of intelligent, articulate people to talk knowledgeably about their culture in a meaningful, engaging way is racist whereas insisting that these intelligent, articulate, educated men are incapable of knowingly and willingly agreeing to mutually beneficial employment is not.
There are real and serious issues regarding race and culture to be addressed in our community but this is yet another case of self-important jerks grandstanding about a non-issue to puff themselves up and make themselves feel “important” without actually doing anything meaningful or constructive.
While I don’t agree with the sentiments of those opposing this, I can see where they are coming from and I don’t think it’s a grandstanding self important type place. From what I can gather their basic premise is that Africa as a whole (as well as it’s people) have been exoticised in the past and brought into zoos in the past as exhibits. The protesters recognize that this is not the same thing, but it still “exoticizes” the Maasai that are there by just them being at the zoo doing their thing. It’s still kind of a lame arguement since the Maasi are not dressed in native garb and basically act like other zoo personel, only in a much more specific capacity.