--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But some natives--most natives in the…" description: "\"But some natives--most natives in the world--cannot go anywhere. They are too poor. They are too poor to go anywhere. They are too poor to escape the r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/jamaica-kincaid-1540_ability_but-some-natives-most-natives-in-the-wor_2133123.png" --- # But some natives--most natives in the world--cannot go… ![“But some natives--most natives in the world--cannot go anywhere. They are too poor. They are too poor to go anywhere. They are too poor to escape the reality of their lives; and they are too poor to live properly in the place where they live, which is the very place you, the tourist, want to…” quote by Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/jamaica-kincaid-1540_ability_but-some-natives-most-natives-in-the-wor_2133123.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/jamaica-kincaid-1540_ability_but-some-natives-most-natives-in-the-wor_2133123.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/jamaica-kincaid-1540_ability_but-some-natives-most-natives-in-the-wor_2133123.png) > “But some natives--most natives in the world--cannot go anywhere. They are too poor. They are too poor to go anywhere. They are too poor to escape the reality of their lives; and they are too poor to live properly in the place where they live, which is the very place you, the tourist, want to go--so when the natives see you, the tourist, they envy you, they envy your ability to leave your own banality and boredom, they enjoy your ability to turn their own banality and boredom into a source of pleasure for yourself.” [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tourists' ability to leave their mundane lives makes locals feel envy and highlights socioeconomic disparity. **In simple terms:** Travel can create envy due to wealth gaps. Key Takeaway Recognize privilege and avoid exploiting locals. Themes social inequality travel empathy Mood reflective critical Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - travel planning - community engagement - ethical tourism - social work - policy advocacy Key Concepts privilege colonialism tourism impact Questions to Reflect On - How does your travel affect local communities? - What can you do to reduce envy? A Different Perspective Tourists may unintentionally reinforce power imbalances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Natives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natives/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Tourists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tourists/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“That the native does not like the tourist is not hard to explain. For every native of every place is a potential tourist, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/that-the-native-does-not-like-the-tourist-is-not-hard-to-explain-for/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [Move to a new country and you quickly see that visiting a place as a tourist, and actually moving there for good, are two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/move-to-a-new-country-and-you-quickly-see-that-visiting-a-place-as-a/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [Every native of every place is a potential tourist, and every tourist is a native of somewhere. Every native everywhere lives a life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/every-native-of-every-place-is-a-potential-tourist-and-every-tourist/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [As soon as I arrived in the Indies, in the first island which I found, I took some of the natives by force, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/as-soon-as-i-arrived-in-the-indies-in-the-first-island-which-i-found/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [These natives are a very good people; for when they saw that I would not remain, they supposed that I was afraid of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hudson/these-natives-are-a-very-good-people-for-when-they-saw-that-i-would/) [Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hudson/) > [This was the first day of our beginning to take up plants: we had much pleasure in collecting them for the natives offered their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bligh/this-was-the-first-day-of-our-beginning-to-take-up-plants-we-had-much/) [William Bligh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bligh/) > [“I am a visitor from another planet, and the natives are not friendly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-laplante/i-am-a-visitor-from-another-planet-and-the-natives-are-not-friendly/) [Alice LaPlante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-laplante/) > [ “Whose voice was first sounded on this land? 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And no matter how close you get to my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexie-sherman/every-indian-learns-how-to-be-a-magician-and-learn-how-to-misdirect/) Alexie Sherman > [“We have been south and suffered a great deal down there. Many have died of diseases which we have no name for. Our hearts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/little-wolf/we-have-been-south-and-suffered-a-great-deal-down-there-many-have/) Little Wolf > [So do you think were a bunch of superstitious natives or what?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-black/so-do-you-think-were-a-bunch-of-superstitious-natives-or-what/) [Jacob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-black/) > [The state of female artists is very good. 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Why people insist that globalism, after its hideous history, is a good thing, I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/the-slave-trade-was-globalism-why-people-insist-that-globalism-after/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I have no credentials. I have no money. I literally come from a poor place. I was a servant. I dropped out of college.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-have-no-credentials-i-have-no-money-i-literally-come-from-a-poor/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [In my writing I'm trying to explore the violations people commit upon each other. And the important thing isn't whether I'm angry. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/in-my-writing-i-m-trying-to-explore-the-violations-people-commit-upon/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > ["Race." 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