Geocaching Ethnic Makeup Worldwide

[Jeremy]

It's the only place where you have no way to prejudge someone based on their looks.

 

Well, unless you have a pasty white avatar.

Edited January 17, 2005 by Jeremy

[+reveritt]

... It's the only place where you have no way to prejudge someone based on their looks.

Unless, of course, they use a goofy-looking picture of themselves as an avatar.

[+ibycus]

I found this thread a very interesting read. No I don't think it was a racist thing to ask at all. My initial guess at the source of the question seems to have been right. You meet a lot of cachers who are white, and wonder if your experiences are typical. It also might become a more interesting question, if you look around, and see everyone else as being essentially equal in everything else in your area.

FWIW, around here (Calgary), I would venture that the ethnic makeup of the caching community is probably pretty similar to the general makeup of the city.

[+ibycus]

Honestly I have no statistics for the general makeup of geocachers. I don't even know if I'd want to include that in a survey since I appreciate the Internet being the great equalizer when it comes to ethnicity. It's the only place where you have no way to prejudge someone based on their looks.

I don't really think any kind of survey would be appropriate, as in order to have any meaning, you'd probably have to ask way more information than most people would care to answer (too much like hard work).

I agree that is the great thing about the net. Even if you do have a goofy looking picture of yourself as your avatar, there is no way for anyone to know that that is, in fact you. The ideas are what comes across, and not the colour of the skin, or gender or whatever.

 

Ibycus

(single white male, age 18-25)

[Jeremy]

Unless, of course, they use a goofy-looking picture of themselves as an avatar.

Hey now. It's only ok when I say it about myself

[mufasa1023]

the next time i'm in Europe im buying sTeamTraen a beer (wine?) and will quietly listen to what surely is a perspective i could never receive through textbooks

[+Renegade Knight]

Honestly I have no statistics for the general makeup of geocachers. I don't even know if I'd want to include that in a survey since I appreciate the Internet being the great equalizer when it comes to ethnicity. It's the only place where you have no way to prejudge someone based on their looks.

I don't really think any kind of survey would be appropriate,...

I agree. It would take time and energy to gather the information needed to study a buch of crap that is cool to speculate about but which is best left to grad students desparate for a thesis and not for geocaching sites in general because this is about a box in the woods and that box doesn't care.

[+reveritt]

...Even if you do have a goofy looking picture of yourself as your avatar, there is no way for anyone to know that that is, in fact you. ...

That's true; Jeremy could be an afro-american woman for all we know.

 

Does it also follow that if I post a picture of George Clooney as my avatar, there will be no way for people to tell that it is NOT, in fact, me? This idea has possibilities.

[+sTeamTraen]

the next time i'm in Europe im buying sTeamTraen a beer (wine?) and will quietly listen to what surely is a perspective i could never receive through textbooks

I'll take that as a compliment... but after a couple of beers it starts to get less well-argued

[+GRANPA ALEX]

Changed my mind . . . sorry!

[+SamLowrey]

And obviously Black Enterprise Magazine DOES have an agenda, huh? No problem with having an agenda, if you're up front about it.

Double standard alert!

 

You seem to retreat when it comes to Blacks being racist. Why is that? Where did all your preaching about color-blindness go? Shouldn't you be condemning that magazine?

 

Why is the simplest test for whether something is "racist" or not so rarely applied? Just reverse the races. If you have a different reaction, then it is racist.

 

Take a similar incident that happened here. An official at Jeep magazine tasked some reporter to scare up a Black geocacher by any means necessary. He came here posting that he was looking for Black cachers and if they didn't have a Jeep, they would LOAN them a Jeep to go caching in and take PR pictures with. Fortunately, they retreated. Now, imagine if they were wanting a White couple.... Most of you would say that was racist.

 

We need to pick one standard and stick with it. I won't tolerate Whites getting the sh*t end of the stick any longer and I'm sick of Whites being expected to just accept it.

[Jeremy]

I don't like where this topic is going.

[+The Puzzler]

I have been really enjoying the focus and direction of this thread with lots of open sharing of thoughts and curiosities about the ethnic makeup of geocaching without turning into a tread on racism.

 

We, as a community have done a fine job of touching on and exploring a bit of a hot-button topic while keeping it on track and without much angst. I hope we can keep it that way a bit longer.

 

Are we an "inclusive" community? I think we try hard to be. Are there things we could do (or gc.com could do) to be more welcoming to people that are different from the current majority?

[+El Diablo]

Are we an "inclusive" community? I think we try hard to be. Are there things we could do (or gc.com could do) to be more welcoming to people that are different from the current majority?

If I recall right....and it's been awhile, but I don't believe that GC has any knowledge as to the ethnic makeup of cachers. There is nothing that I remember on the register forum that asked that question.

 

I do believe that the international cachers are larger than you might think and have the largest possible growth. Of course that is my thoughts.

 

El Diablo

[+Renegade Knight]

...Are we an "inclusive" community? I think we try hard to be. Are there things we could do (or gc.com could do) to be more welcoming to people that are different from the current majority?

Beyond having caches listed so anyone can see them?

 

It's a marketing function. Where do you have a hole in your market? If you do some digging and find that people in that area love geocaching but don't have the money for a GPS you can run a GPS drive and donate them to the area, you can market the heck out of the Letterbox hybrid which should be more conductive to finding without a GPS. If they hate caching as it's implemented you can invent a new type of cache that they do like. Marketing. All it takes is time, information, patience, luck...

[+JMBella]

The caches I've seen range from green, those would be the ammo cans, translucent with blue lids are pretty common as well. I've even seen pink, yellow, orange... just about every color you can think of. It's hard to say which are more predominant, I guess it matters what area you're caching in. All I now is that it doesn't matter, I like all caches now matter what color they are.

[+M&DofKJE]

A few comments:

 

I too believe that Geocachers are predominately caucasian. There are several non-caucasian Cachers out there.

 

Like Mopar, I wonder if it really matters. It doesn't matter much to me. Having said that, I need to say something else- humans are quick to classify and categorize.

 

Removing the "PC" filters for a moment let me say that Tracy and I sometimes realize that we are black when in a totally white area Geocaching- especially when someone gives you that what-are-you-doing-around-here look. BTW, we have never had a problem with anyone, but are still aware of where we are and how people are acting.

 

One last comment- publications like Black Enterprise exist to address issues that some mainstream publications either won't or can't.

There are solutions. Hide caches in areas that might not be the whitest areas of town. My daughter saw a similar thread on FGA and decided to do something about that. She planted a cache on the campus of Bethune Cookman College, a historically black college. Centennial Fountains Her reasons for planting it were non-racial, she just views Dr. Bethune as a role model and a good example. She isn't color-blind, she just doesn't think color matters. I wish her grandmother and uncles (and a couple of cousins) could see things like that.

[+carleenp]

From what I have seen the demographics in Nebraska and likely surrounding states is that the cachers are almost all Caucasion. Team Tecmage used to live in Iowa, but I never got the chance to meet them before they moved.

 

I am a little surprised that there is not more caching diversity in my city because we have a large University that because of its agricultural specialties, draws many foriegn outdoors oriented type people. We are also one of the major refugee relocation areas. As a result the city itself has quite a bit of diversity. In my own immediate neighborhood (which is generally working middle class home owners mixed with student and refugee renters) there is quite a mix of African American, Asian (many Vietnamese), Arab (mostly from Iraq or Afganistan), and Hispanic people. Caucasion might be a minority in my neighborbood, although I think if it nods majority it is because of the Russian and former Yugoslavia people. I love my neighborhood because of the wide variety of interesting people in it.

 

For awhile there was a person of Arabic descent who found some caches here and did not tend to log online. I saw some of the logs in books and they were written in both Arabic and English with an Arabic name. I haven't noticed new logs there recently though. I think that many of my neighbors don't own computers and would not find caching because of that. The kids next door, who are a mix of African American and Native American have expressed interest before though, but never followed through when I offered to take them caching. Like typical kids they tend to be too into playing basketball or catching bugs in my backyard when I offer to take them. And then there is an African American friend of mine from law school who said caching sounded cool, but he would rather go golfing. He just isn't quite as geeky as me, although when I told him how he could use a GPS golfing he got more interested.

 

Much of it is likely culture and economics. I remember an article in Fly Fishing Magaizine a few years back about why there were not many African Americans involved in that sport. The decision there was that it came down to (1) community culture. Many fished but chose to spin fish and (2) economics, because it is more expensive and there are simply less affluent African American people than Caucasion. Unfortunate, but true. I will note that an African American neighbor of mine fishes often, but does not fly fish because he cannot afford a fly rod and uses fishing to also get fish to eat and spin fishing here is more efficient for that. He likes to come cast my fly rod in the yard at times though for fun and I told him I would loan him one if he wants to try it for real fishing. He also found the idea of caching interesting but said he would never dish out the money for a GPS and would rather spend his outdoor time fishing. I would guess that the Caucasion people in my area also would not likely find caching for the same reasons.

 

Anyway, there are the rough demographics for my area. In the end though I think it is interesting from a sociological perspective, but not really important in the sense that I doubt racisim in caching will ever become a big issue. I certainly hope not anyway! Of course the Magellan v. Garmin user debates can always continue.

Edited April 19, 2005 by carleenp

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I think it's a question I want an answer to!

 

Despite a certain reputation, most of us in the South are not racist - for us it's a lifestyle issue - speak English, dress and act somewhat as the community overall expects, and everyone gets along. Expect to live here, speak in a way that can't be understood, act poorly, keep house and yard filled with trash, and adhere to your "roots" and you likely won't be accepted by many, regardless of race or ethnicity. It's this lifestyle difference, not racism, that keeps segregation alive in the South.

 

That said, I work, go to church with and share a community with a large variety of colors and cultures.

 

Since I am all about the people and working hard to promote the AGA and the game of geocaching I wish I knew how to make it more attractive to others.

 

I have been to many events and met hundreds of geocachers - in all that I saw one black man, at GW2 in Nashville, and when I introduced myself I learned he was the cook, an employee of one of the hosts, and had no idea what geocaching is!

 

To grow our association and to better the game I would love to attract EVERYONE.

 

Anyhoo - I will watch this topic with interest for ideas on how to go about that!

Ed

[Find Now, Log Later?]

Despite a certain reputation, most of us in the South are not racist - for us it's a lifestyle issue - speak English, dress and act somewhat as the community overall expects, and everyone gets along. Expect to live here, speak in a way that can't be understood, act poorly, keep house and yard filled with trash, and adhere to your "roots" and you likely won't be accepted by many, regardless of race or ethnicity. It's this lifestyle difference, not racism, that keeps segregation alive in the South.

I agree with you that "racism" and "discrimination" are not one-and-the-same ... but sadly, I also remember when the verb "to discriminate" was used literally ... the ability "to discriminate" was a positive attribute. Unfortunately, that's just not the way it is in many parts of the world, including many areas of our beloved USA, where many people tend to immediately ostracize anyone that is in any way different from themself. I suppose it is some kind of misguided defense mechanism.

[+GrizzlyJohn]

I suppose it is some kind of misguided defense mechanism.

I don't know that it is really a misgided defense mechanism. I think it is just natural and easier for people to accept others who are more like them than not.

 

Let's say you are a 60 year old white male. And you are in an elevator with two other people. One is a white male who looks about your age. The other is a white male that looks about 25. Who do you think you would be more likely to strike up a conversation with if the elevator stops and you are stuck between floors?

 

I just think it is a natural thing that one is more likely to gravitate to someone that looks like them. And that counts for age, race, social and economic class, etc. We all tend to associate with others who are like ourselves.

[Find Now, Log Later?]

Let's say you are a 60 year old white male. And you are in an elevator with two other people. One is a white male who looks about your age. The other is a white male that looks about 25. Who do you think you would be more likely to strike up a conversation with if the elevator stops and you are stuck between floors?

I would say something and gauge their reactions. (Verbal and/or physical.) I would direct my next statement to the one who seemed to be more receptive. What would you have done?

[+GrizzlyJohn]

What would you have done?

I would have talked to the person that seemed most like me. And I am not afraid to admit that or apologize for it.

[+Tharagleb]

Honestly I have no statistics for the general makeup of geocachers. I don't even know if I'd want to include that in a survey since I appreciate the Internet being the great equalizer when it comes to ethnicity. It's the only place where you have no way to prejudge someone based on their looks.

Unless your avatar has a pic of your face on it and you are striking some silly pose.

[Find Now, Log Later?]

What would you have done?

I would have talked to the person that seemed most like me. And I am not afraid to admit that or apologize for it.

As it happens, I am neither 60 nor 25 ... I'm smack in-between, and don't identify myself closely with "the stereotypes" typically associated with either age group ... therefore, my procedure seems ideal.

 

Regarding the last sentence of your quote: I hope you would also not be afraid to admit that you were wrong (and perhaps even apologize) should you subsequently discover that you actually had much more in common with the individual you originally "discriminated" as being "least like you."

[Jeremy]

Honestly I have no statistics for the general makeup of geocachers. I don't even know if I'd want to include that in a survey since I appreciate the Internet being the great equalizer when it comes to ethnicity. It's the only place where you have no way to prejudge someone based on their looks.

Unless your avatar has a pic of your face on it and you are striking some silly pose.

That's actually my roomate. I'm a dyslexic albino squirrel.

 

(edit: with poor grammar)

Edited April 19, 2005 by Jeremy