Contact Lonely Planet on its Racist PR Guide Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Those familiar with the travel guides published by the Australian Yuppies at Lonely Planet won't be surprised by the following. Lonely Planet guidebooks on Cuba and China are similarly offensive, patronizing and ridden with cold-war cliches. This one sounds a bit more ignorant than most, however. But Down Under's so far away, maybe they don't get much news there. Or maybe they are too busy living the good yuppie life to notice... -- NYTransfer source: John Lindsay-Poland ACT FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22 PLEASE CALL OR SEND AN E-MAIL TO LONELY PLANET PUBLISHERS URGE THEM TO CORRECT PRO-NAVY/CHAUVINIST PORTRAYALS OF VIEQUES IN THEIR PUERTO RICO GUIDE Dear friends, We are writing to ask you to support Puerto Rico and Vieques in a day of action against Lonely Planet Publications on Friday, December 22. The Vieques section of Lonely Planet's Puerto Rico Guide is informed by blatant racism and gross historical inaccuracies about Vieques' relationship to the Navy. When the Bay Area Vieques Coalition pointed out these inaccuracies and racism, Lonely Planet's response was to evade concerns about its racist attitudes and refuse to issue a correction on their web-site, where readers of the Guide could see it. Instead, Lonely Planet -- which benefits from a reputation as a progressive travel publisher -- hid behind the claim that "that events have made our coverage of Vieques dated." Lonely Planet's Guide crudely rationalizes this Navy occupation of Vieques and dehumanizes and stereotypes the people of Vieques. "Although the Navy's control over wide stretches of Vieques may seem more than a little bizarre," Guide author Randall Peffer writes, "this system keeps the population size under control, limits development and provides uninterrupted vistas of forests and pastures inclining to a turquoise sea. Almost everybody here claims to hate the US Navy, but only the fools and developers want the military to leave." The Guide makes no mention of the long list of civilian deaths, nor of the economic, ecological, and social health costs of the occupation. The economic depression and poverty on Vieques are intense. Many people survive through dependence on government assistance, or even by rummaging through Navy dump sites, searching for food for their families. The Guide dismisses the idea that the people of Vieques are suffering from poverty: "While statistics show that more than 50% of Vieques residents are unemployed, no one on this island seems to live in desperate circumstances. A curious paradox, unless the recent arrests of five island police officers for drug trafficking are clues that Little Girl Island still hasn't given up her piratical ways." In other words, the people aren't really that poor - they're probably dealing drugs! Moreover, the occupation and bombings - far from protecting the "uninterrupted vistas of forests and pastures inclining to a turquoise sea" - have resulted in deforestation and reduction of the land's capacity to absorb rainfall. Though Mr. Peffer claims to have visited Vieques many times over the years, he knew nothing of these environmental and health impacts -- and asked the Vieques Coalition to go with him to the island to show him around. He also appeared to know nothing about the groups on vieques who have worked for years to address the myriad problems caused by Navy occupation, nor did he show any interest in contacting them. After the Vieques Coalition sent a letter to Lonely Planet requesting a meeting to discuss the Guide, LP took months to respond. An LP editor promised by phone to issue a public statement of correction, but did not fulfill her word. More recently, LP promised to "update" the next edition of the Puerto Rico Guide to "more regionally sensitive and less offensive." Meanwhile, Lonely Planet is profiting from their offensive portrayal of Vieques and the Navy -- and has similarly profited from a guidebook on Burma which provoked an international boycott by group's working for human rights in Burma. Guide author Peffer responded to our letter with more ignorance, claiming that in recent years, "the Navy presence seemed to fade from the island" and that Vieques "is indeed a tidy and prosperous-looking place. Who would suspect 50% unemployment? Navy land felt like a wilderness sanctuary. Who could complain?" LP editors backed up Peffer, saying his response was "thorough and well stated." ACTION On Friday, December 22, call or write Lonely Planet and politely but firmly urge that they: * issue a public correction and apology for the offensive and inaccurate portrayals of Vieques in its Puerto Rico Guide, to be posted on its web-site and made available for distribution and * include material in the next edition of the Guide that accurately reflects the devastating impact of the Navy's presence and mass movement in Puerto Rico for the Navy's departure and treats the people of Vieques with respect. Call: Lonely Planet at 510-893-8555 and ask for publishing editor Mariah Bear (or enter Extension 174) or editor David Zingarelli (or enter Extension 140) Or write to: and . Sincerely, The Vieques Solidarity Coalition For more information contact coalition members: Deborah Berman Santana - 510-430-3162 John Lindsay-Poland - 415-495-6334 ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-12.22.00-14:25:47-8007