I
mean the true meaning of the word too.
There seems to be a distinct lack of it at the moment, and this needs
changing please.
I
know when people are young they do silly things, but - thinking here about the
recent story of the backpackers in Malaysia - if you're lucky enough to be able
to take a year off to go travelling at least first read a guide book about the
areas you're planning to visit.
I
would imagine in this digitally enabled age you're able to find such
information on tablets and smartphones too - they're not just for taking the
ubiquitous 'duck pout' selfies!
If
you're travelling to a conservative area of the globe, which has strict customs,
rules and regulations, read up on it and make sure you don't cause offence.
Having
said that, please tell me that getting naked in public and urinating is surely
frowned upon in most places still these days?!
And
while I'm on the topic of respect, I was also appalled to hear about the two 17
year-old schoolboys from Cambridgeshire who tried to steal artefacts from
Auschwitz.
Whilst
on a school history trip they had spotted some items on the ground, including
buttons, a rusted hair clipper, and fragments of spoon and glass, near a
building where guards had kept prisoners' confiscated belongings.
So
what did they do? They pocketed
them. Apparently they weren't
thinking. Sorry, but who visits
somewhere like Auschwitz and then doesn't think?
These
were pupils from the independent Perse School, and I read that the headmaster
has apologised unreservedly and the boys have expressed real remorse, which I
suppose is something.
But
I would like to hope that visitors to such places remember the history behind
them, and behave in a far more appropriate manner.
And,
although it should go without saying, no selfies. Know when to show some respect and restraint
please.
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