Politics Of Travel

David J. Danto

Business travel thoughts in my own, personal opinion

eMail: ddanto@IMCCA.org Follow Industry News: @NJDavidD

The Politics Of Travel – June 2023

The Red State in Your Future In the 1960s when I was only a few years old, performers like the Beatles (and many others) refused to perform in front of segregated audiences. In their thinking, it was the very least they could do to support the civil rights movements of the era. For many individuals at the time not as popular or powerful as the Beatles, the decision injured their ability to grow in their industry. It often took decades to heal the damage to careers caused by these brave decisions…for those who were able to recover from these incidents.

I was too young at the time to be invested in the issue one way or the other.

I’m many things now, but no longer can be accused of being too young.

How much should I care that my business travels today take me to states that are actively hurting their minority populations? In this case the minorities are not just by ethnicity, but now include sexual orientation, immigration status, those seeking family planning support and other groups that touch on hot-button political issues.

I ask this question because I don’t know the answer. Is it wrong of me to travel to my conference in Orlando this week because the Governor of Florida supports laws that injure minorities, ban books, and deny history, science and education?

I have not cancelled my trip this year, but if this situation does not change, I can’t see myself in good conscience continuing to support states where the laws are so opposed to my personal beliefs and the golden rule. What I am doing (thanks to a suggestion from someone in my industry) is carrying a business card size note (that I print at home) which I hand out to hotels, taxis, restaurants, convention centers and others in the hospitality industry I interact with. It explains that this will likely be my last trip to their state if the hostility toward minority opinions and individuals does not subside. It's important to let these businesses know that their income is in jeopardy because of the politics in their state. It’s taken me a long time to find the right wording to use for these cards (printed on Avery 8741 stock.) Feel free to use what I’ve come up with below, or author a message yourselves:

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Most of the people I give the cards to are sympathetic and feel powerless to make any changes. If they get enough of these and pass them to their employers it may help turn the tide of hate in the USA. If it doesn’t, then I will need to keep a list of conference cities that I will decline to travel to. Lord knows I’m not the Beatles, but just like them in the 1960s, I couldn’t live with myself in the face of such hate and doing nothing.

This article was written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal opinions.

All image and links provided above as reference under prevailing fair use statutes.

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As always, feel free to write and comment, question or disagree. Hearing from the traveling community is always a highlight for me. Thanks!