EDIT: (Original Post Below!)
Hi Everyone,
After the comments that have come forth so far, I am going to remove myself from this thread and let the discussion continue as it may. If anyone has anything specific to say to me (and I'll gladly take criticism if you see fit--I have as much to learn as anyone), please send me a private message.
Thanks to everyone who participated as I had originally intended,
BaylorGrad
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All right folks, I've decided to bring up a subject that has interested me as a Geocacher for a long time: race and ethnicity. A touchy subject in any circumstance, sure--but I cannot avoid it any longer.
I have noticed, and perhaps this is solely a result of the locations where I've cached, that Geocaching seems to be an activity heavily dominated by Caucasians. I am a Caucasian myself, and this bothers me a little. What about Geocaching restricts (or deters) people of other races and ethnicities from participating? Has anyone else observed this trend? What does everyone think?
Just one more observation I've made before we continue... If you feel up to it, go to the city of El Paso, Texas on the Geocaching maps. This is a city of 560,000 that I have visited on two separate occassions. The city is 80% Hispanic. Notice that you can easily view literally the entire city without exceeding the 500 cache limit. My question is--why? This city has excellent places for Geocaches, and the city actually enfolds an incredible, mountainous park. Why so few Geocaches?
I should add two things to make this discussion more feasible:
1) Simply saying, "I Geocache, and I'm of a different race" is not all that helpful; however, an explanation of why you think minority populations are less attracted to the game would be helpful.
2) If you disagree with my observation, feel free to say so--no harm done at all.
3) Let's please keep this discussion as polite as possible... I know this subject can get touchy fast.
Thanks--I'm very interested to hear everyone's responses! Just for reference, I have 102 found Geocaches, mostly in the city of Houston, TX and Terre Haute, IN.
BaylorGrab