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You are here: Live Your Life E-zine > Hostel Newsletters - 2010 > September E-Zine > Matt the Mouth

Matt the Mouth

Dirty words are such a versatile form of communication. They can be used to convey distain, affection, humor, passion, frustration and even poetry. Take ‐ There once was a man from Nantucket ‐ for an example. Some dirty words are timeless and will hold their place among the unspeakables until the end of time.

A well‐timed f‐word will always be effective and probably comical at the same time. Still others evolve, change and lose the impact they once carried. Calling someone a lick‐spittle today is more likely to garner a look of confusion than insult the persopn you direct said utterance towards.

In recent years there has been a new one climbing the ranks of the curse‐word hierarchy. If you want to really get to someone or undermine their class, intellect, and/or fashion sense, all you have to do is call them a … tourist. Music will screech to a stop, crowds will gasp and the target of this heinous word will sulk away slowly with their fanny‐pack firmly tucked between their legs.

Tourist has become a bad word in almost every corner of the globe and I understand why, but I don’t agree with it. Theoretically, shouldn’t being a non‐tourist be much more of an insult? Tourists are the people who are branching out, leaving their comfort zones and spending lots of money just to come and visit the place where you live ‐ each and everyday.

Residents of cities like New York and Paris often speak of their hatred for tourists. Again, I can see the annoyance that accompanies the throngs of people who don’t know where they’re going, but who wants to live in a place that has no one interested in it (besides Nebraskans)? I suspect that even the most fervent haters of tourists still derive some sense of pride from the fact that so many people want to see their hometown. For instance within thirty seconds of meeting anyone from New York you will know it because they will have name‐dropped the city four times within that time span.

Without tourists or the common desire for people to come and see these cities, the natives would have no reason to feel so elite. On top of all that, everyone is a tourist at some point or at least they should be. This is well‐treaded ground I know, but I think few will disagree that travelling the world is a positive experience that educates, entertains and drop‐kicks ignorance in the face by exposing you to other cultures, first hand. So the next time you’re in a foreign city and you stop on a crowded sidewalk to unfold your gigantic map, and orient yourself just remember. YOU are the tourist!

I do want to emphasise however that people travelling shouldn’t get a free pass. There’s a reason that tourists have a bad reputation and a reason why that title has become such a dirty word. First of all, DO NOT stop in the middle of a crowded sidewalk to unfold your gigantic map and orient yourself. Here in Paris, I see it all the time and this only creates more congestion, delays, and hostility among the locals. I feel like this should be common sense, but you should be the one accommodating the locals by assimilating into their way of life and not getting in the way. Other don’ts include ‐ yelling louder in your language when a native doesn’t understand you, expecting things to work exactly the same way that they do back home and of course wearing the virtual bull’s eye that is a fanny pack. Opt for the backpack instead. Your social and sex lives will thank you for it.

‐ Matt Smith