[lisper]

In his famous "This is Water" essay DFW exhibits enormous empathy for others, but I find that empathy MIA here. Yes, there is a little bit of effort to describe the duffel bag story from the porter's point of view, but that's not really the overarching point, which is that Cruising Is Horrible because Life Is Horrible and there is No Way Out and there is no escape from the pit of existential despair.

If instead he'd written a piece about how the staff on cruise ships work ridiculously hard for very low pay to give the guests a respite from their own shitty lives because the crew live even shittier lives than the guests, that would have been a much better piece. But that's not the piece he chose to write here. Alas.

[gizajob]

But why should he write something to suit your moral demands? The piece is clearly and obviously designed to entertain, and is written by a character called DFW who is as much of an invention as everything described. I feel you're missing the depth and the angle - it's not meant to be purely descriptive, it's artistic entertainment.

[lisper]

Yeah, I get that. But as a fan of cruising it feels like a cheap shot at an activity I enjoy and the people who work their butts off to make it possible. DFW seems completely oblivious to the fact that the people behind the scenes of his dystopian fantasy (to say nothing of people like me who buy their product) are actual human beings with hopes and dreams and feelings. You can spin this as "suiting my moral demands" but I think that my entertainment should come at their expense.

[gizajob]

Don't read it then...

Also, if you're a fan of cruising, why do you continue to do it knowing the completely compromised position of those below decks who are being cruelly taken advantage of and underpaid to deliver you your cruise? It seems like you're pinning your own issues with yourself and the activity onto DFW while continuing to enjoy it

[lisper]

Because the people below decks are still taking those jobs voluntarily, and so as bad as their situation is in those jobs, I figure they must still be worse off without them.

I also try to avoid cruise lines that really abuse their workers.

[spicymapotofu]

Is this the defense of your choice to support the industry? I'm not sure I understand it, as the same logic was/is used to justify slave labour and systemic racism - "they want to work, the children enjoy helping their parents in the field". Doesn't this ring sour to you?

[lisper]

It does indeed, but there is a salient difference: I have no influence over the economic policies of the countries from which cruise ships draw their labor forces. If I did, you would be absolutely correct that I would not have any claim to the moral high ground. But I don't, so AFAICT giving them money is the best I can do under the circumstances. If you have a better idea, I'm all ears.

I would also point out that this kind of "exploitation" seems empirically to be effective at lifting large numbers of people out of poverty. It's far from ideal, but it nonetheless produces better outcomes than anything else that has been tried.