Death Wish: Part Cam
Sep. 18th, 2010 09:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
camrogersLet me clarify something:
The idea of being able to go anywhere and write about it is enormously appealing. However, jumping into my Batmobile and rocketing off to Afghanistan to make friends with the Taliban would be the height of idiocy. Also complicated. I mean, seriously, some of you actually thought this was something I was just going to do? That post was loaded with caveats.
There's at least a three-year lead time on this. Furthermore I have no plans to attempt getting embedded anywhere. The plan is to become a better traveler. The more familiar it becomes, and the better gauge I have of myself, the more areas open up to me. It's important to me to stay out of hotels as much as possible in the places I go, hence the need for adaptability or contacts. I'd make exceptions for places of actual violent conflict because life is going to come to you regardless.
If at some point I wind up spending time in more dangerous areas, for a living, then that has a five-year lifespan, tops.
I'm not going anywhere without a). doing my homework, b). speaking to as many people as possible who have already done it, c). being confident in my own abilities, d). having reliable friends/contacts and e) having the thing structured to my satisfaction. Furthermore if at any point between now and then something back in the real world changes, it won't happen.
Right now, though, there's a clear path toward eventually being able to do this sort of thing. If I work toward it and it doesn't pan out, I get some cool skills and contacts regardless.
Everyone's covering the Big Events in any given place and I'm more interested in the way the backdrop reflects in the people who have to live with it. That sort of thing doesn't happen without contacts, either my own or those of whatever organisation I might be affiliated with. The BBC is still running interviews with talibs under house arrest in Kabul, for example.
If I don't get enough travel experience, it won't happen.
If I don't make the right contacts, it won't happen.
If I'm unfamiliar with a given area, it won't happen.
If there's no story in a given area that I care enough about, it won't happen.
If I don't have enough confidence in my abilities, it won't happen.
If life elsewhere changes in such a way that is both more important and incompatible with my doing this, it won't happen.
If I change my mind it won't happen.
50% of expectations and preconceptions don't survive actually being there, and the same goes for all of this immediate stuff that I'm talking about right now. Even this is going to change somewhat between now and, eventually, maybe, spending some time in more dangerous areas. In the short term I hope to spend some time with at least two people who have actually done this. It may put me off, right now.
Anyway, I hope that's clear.
The idea of being able to go anywhere and write about it is enormously appealing. However, jumping into my Batmobile and rocketing off to Afghanistan to make friends with the Taliban would be the height of idiocy. Also complicated. I mean, seriously, some of you actually thought this was something I was just going to do? That post was loaded with caveats.
There's at least a three-year lead time on this. Furthermore I have no plans to attempt getting embedded anywhere. The plan is to become a better traveler. The more familiar it becomes, and the better gauge I have of myself, the more areas open up to me. It's important to me to stay out of hotels as much as possible in the places I go, hence the need for adaptability or contacts. I'd make exceptions for places of actual violent conflict because life is going to come to you regardless.
If at some point I wind up spending time in more dangerous areas, for a living, then that has a five-year lifespan, tops.
I'm not going anywhere without a). doing my homework, b). speaking to as many people as possible who have already done it, c). being confident in my own abilities, d). having reliable friends/contacts and e) having the thing structured to my satisfaction. Furthermore if at any point between now and then something back in the real world changes, it won't happen.
Right now, though, there's a clear path toward eventually being able to do this sort of thing. If I work toward it and it doesn't pan out, I get some cool skills and contacts regardless.
Everyone's covering the Big Events in any given place and I'm more interested in the way the backdrop reflects in the people who have to live with it. That sort of thing doesn't happen without contacts, either my own or those of whatever organisation I might be affiliated with. The BBC is still running interviews with talibs under house arrest in Kabul, for example.
If I don't get enough travel experience, it won't happen.
If I don't make the right contacts, it won't happen.
If I'm unfamiliar with a given area, it won't happen.
If there's no story in a given area that I care enough about, it won't happen.
If I don't have enough confidence in my abilities, it won't happen.
If life elsewhere changes in such a way that is both more important and incompatible with my doing this, it won't happen.
If I change my mind it won't happen.
50% of expectations and preconceptions don't survive actually being there, and the same goes for all of this immediate stuff that I'm talking about right now. Even this is going to change somewhat between now and, eventually, maybe, spending some time in more dangerous areas. In the short term I hope to spend some time with at least two people who have actually done this. It may put me off, right now.
Anyway, I hope that's clear.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-18 11:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-18 02:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-18 03:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-18 02:42 pm (UTC)I recommend some kind of self-defense and/or martial arts training along the way - specifically situational awareness skills.
I get the impression that your situational awareness skills are pretty good anyway, but having a little deeper skills in that space is a good thing if you're going into any not-perfectly-safe locations.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-18 03:21 pm (UTC)I have no idea why.
The world is fear. There is often no reason for that to be the case.
As much as I don't see this is true, I believe people are essentially good.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-18 05:12 pm (UTC)