"poorism"

[Gordon, Matthew J.]

Of course it's not as fun for those of us who have different vowels in 'tour' and 'poor'.


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Laurence Horn
Sent: Sat 3/8/2008 2:10 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject:      "poorism"
 
Blend of the weekend, at least until another one comes up.  As
described in a piece in tomorrow's Travel section in the NYT, "Slum
Visits: Tourism or Voyeurism":

=================
Slum tourism, or "poorism", as some call it, is catching on. From the
favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the townships of Johannesburg to the
garbage dumps of Mexico, tourists are forsaking, at least for a
while, beaches and museums for crowded, dirty--and in many ways
surprising--slums.
=================

Some critics have apparently been objecting that this is exploitative
and unethical, but others say slum tourism is all about finding a new
niche, and besides, maybe it will change the world, "one tourist at a
time".  (Of course "poorism" only works as a blend in a context in
which tourism is under discussion, otherwise it sounds like a general
philosophy.)

LH

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