Freeper post in Wikipedia--about Rick Steves! Can you help?

[kay1864]

Anyone facile at editing Wikipedia? Couple days ago, some nutball added this BS to the Rick Steves entry:

Criticisms
A common complaint about Rick Steves is that his programs are very anti-Christian in scope and intentionally cast Chrisitan places visited in his programs in a negative light. If he is forced to acknowledge a Chrisitan place or artifact, he tends to only do so in a negative manner.

His politics are far too overt in his program Europe Through The Backdoor. Many times he will cover travel concepts from an extreme left wing point of view.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Steves

If you know how to delete this crap, please do.

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

1. I love Rick Steves' shows

and I have no idea WTF this person is talking about. He seems very reverential in the religious sites, and clearly states who built the structure and why.

But then again, I am a heathen, so the alleged anti-christian stuff would pass right by me.

And I don't know how to make edits in Wikipedia...

[kay1864]

2. I've seen most of Rick's shows, and that post is total nonsense

It's from a lying freeper who doesn't like that Rick is a liberal.

"common complaint" my ass. Utter BS.

[LynneSin]

3. I don't know who Rick STeves is but done

:D

[kay1864]

5. Thanks very much!

He's a travel writer with a show on PBS. His shows are mildly liberal (his shows are not about political views, but rather about experiencing other countries and cultures, on the cheap).

In his private life he serves on NORML's Advisory Board, bought an apartment complex for homeless mothers to use for free, is a big fund raiser for Bread for the World, and is an active Lutheran.

His travel guidebooks are IMHO the only ones to buy.

Thanks again! :hi:

[supernova]

4. Silliest thing I ever heard

Rick Steves is very respectful of all the religious sites he's visited. Even the non xtian ones! He's been to mosques too.

I don't know if he personally is or not, but coming from a WASP background, his talk about these subjects sounds somewhat academic and not a little Presbyterian to me. So if a holy roller wrote that, that might be what they are pissy about.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

11. Rick Steves is a Lutheran

Several years ago, the ELCA had a program called "In The City For Good." The program was introduced with an ELCA-produced video. Our tour guide through the inner city?

Rick Steves.

Here's link from Rick's website

http://www.ricksteves.com/about/pressroom/activism/elca_menu.htm

[supernova]

15. Still works

One of the elemental things that separates the mainline denoms (ELCA, Presby USA, and the methodists for a few) from the fundies is the more academic approach, willingness to see the benefits and flaws of religion. Fundies hate that.

[LeftyMom]

6. He made some comments in favor of pot legalization a while back

That's probably why they're bent out of shape.

[kay1864]

10. That, plus he doesn't see OBL as a demon

From Rick's website (March 2006):

Let's be honest: Is there anyone out there who would actually want to — or, more importantly, be able to — invade the United States? Consider today's biggest perceived threat, al-Qaeda. Do Osama and his gang want to ride into Washington D.C., take over our government, and turn us into an Islamo-fascist nation? Or — as his recent offer of a "truce" suggests — do they instead want dignity for Palestine, Christian armies out of sacred Muslim territory, and freedom for the Arab world to control its own natural resources? "We do not negotiate with terrorists," our administration gravely informs us. But forcing our interests on the ever-more-volatile Middle East doesn't seem to be helping much, either. Isn't it ironic that this planet's most overtly "Christian" nation is feverishly pounding plowshares into swords?

http://www.ricksteves.com/about/pressroom/activism/islamo_facism.htm

Either way, these viewpoints don't make their way into his shows.

[Shakespeare]

23. He's on NORML's board of directors.

Which only raises him in my esteem. :thumbsup:

[ceile]

7. Wha?

That is the last thing that comes to mind when I think of Rick Steves. Have these people nothing better to do? And what exactly are "travel concepts from an extreme left wing point of view"?

[LeftyMom]

8. Trying to understand cultural context, not being an ugly american, actually leaving the country...

[supernova]

9. Guess cuz RS advocates traveling out of your backpack

and staying in hostels and even camping if need be. Certainly not fundie behavior. Can't get too far from the tour bus, you know. :-)

[kay1864]

12. This, maybe?

travel concepts from an extreme left wing point of view

"And if our beloved comrade Karl Marx had been a member of a Frequent Flyer program, he would have advocated 'From each, according to his ability, to each, according to his need'. 100,000 points for ALL!"

:silly:

[DS1]

13. Europe Through The Backdoor ?

They left out the part where he's very clearly into buttsecks

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

19. You spelled it wrong...

It's "Butt Sects"

[kay1864]

14. Somebody else DU'd it too!

It's been changed from

Rick Steves is an outspoken advocate of far left political ideologies, supports open borders and globalism and is a member of far left political organizations.

He views Sweden as a perfect government.

He denies that Al-Qaeda and Islamic terrorism are threats to the United States, stating that Bin Laden is only seeking "dignity and peace" for his people in the Middle East.

Recently, Rick Steves was quoted in response to Osama Bin Laden: "Do Osama and his gang want to ride into Washington D.C., take over our government, and turn us into an Islamo-fascist nation? Or — as his recent offer of a "truce" suggests — do they instead want dignity for Palestine, Christian armies out of sacred Muslim territory, and freedom for the Arab world to control its own natural resources? "We do not negotiate with terrorists," our administration gravely informs us. But forcing our interests on the ever-more-volatile Middle East doesn't seem to be helping much, either. Isn't it ironic that this planet's most overtly "Christian" nation is feverishly pounding plowshares into swords?" Rick Steves attributes problems in the middle east to Christianity, but denies that Israel contributes to volatility in the region.

to

Rick Steves is a proud, outspoken liberal and supports open borders and globalism.

I should point out that the last two paragraphs above are accurate (from his website). Dunno how he feels about Sweden't government though.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

16. Wow!

I didn't know there was a left wing point of view about travel! Silly me to miss that. Rick spoke at a ceremony that I was involved in arranging. He is articulate and thoughtful about the role of America in the world. He is outspoken in his opinion of you-know-who. But I've never seen him use his program, newspaper columns or speaking engagements to promote that view.

[formerrepuke]

17. One wonders what a 'travel concept from an extreme RIGHT wing point of view' entails.....

..as opposed to what the latest editorialist suggests.

[petronius]

20. Right-wing travel is where you send your military to invade a country,

and then you fly in later to serve fake turkey to the troops.

There's also RW adventure-travel, where you stuff a sock down your pants and make an entire carrier crew wait a day to get home so you can posture...

[FredScuttle]

25. Here's a travel show that would pass muster

Devout Travels with Mother Angelica



Accompany an 80+ year old nun with a 7 pound crucifix around her neck as she moans and bitches about all the secular locations around the world those nasty people at EWTN send her.

[grace0418]

27. Yeah, I doubt most of them would leave the country anyway. And if they did

it would be on sanitized tours where you never actually experience anything real and you only deal with people who speak English. And if you encounter anyone who doesn't speak perfect English, you sneer and yell at them and complain about how stupid they are.

[DS1]

18. Jesus fucking Christ. if you go through the history of that page

you'll see why anything having to do with 'people' on wikipedia is useless. You'll also see why I hate people.

[supernova]

21. Who in the world

has all the time in the world to edit nasty things into Wikipedia?

What a stupid waste of time hobby.

[tanyev]

22. PBS ran an interesting behind-the-scenes episode of his show,

probably for a pledge drive, where he talked about how they had to be careful shooting European paintings and statues that might offend American TV audiences. Sad.

[CBHagman]

24. Doesn't Bread for the World sponsor the program?

Here's a link:

http://www.bread.org/about-us/

Bread for the World is a nationwide Christian movement that seeks justice for the world's hungry people by lobbying our nation's decision makers.

Doesn't sound particularly anti-Christian to me.

Also, if you Google "Rick Steves" and "Bread for the World," and if you check the Wikipedia site, you'll see that Steves has been involved with fundraising and advocacy for Bread for the World.

I suspect the entry was by someone who is a raving maniac and/or has some personal bias against Steves. I don't know what the procedure is for pointing out errors, but there should be a system for removing it.

On edit: I should also add that as someone who lived and traveled in Europe, I can testify that Steves's advice is quite solid for anyone wanting to get a real sense of a country, not just play tourist.

[grace0418]

28. The only problem with Rick Steves' advice is sometimes his recommendation can

"out" a hidden gem and make it too popular. We were just in Florence and tried to go to one of the little off-the-beaten-path restaurants he suggested. Every patron in the place had a Rick Steves book, and the staff acted a bit snotty with us, like they were all too aware that they didn't need our business. We ended up finding a place a few doors down that was just lovely and the staff treated us like family.

I also disagreed with his disdain of San Gimignano. I thought it was lovely, and I avoid tourist traps like the plague.

But overall, his advice is rock solid and I wouldn't travel anywhere in Europe without one of his books.

[LadyoftheRabbits]

26. NO one talks about Rick Steves like that!

His shows have been like candy for me, seeing places I desperately want to go to. x(

[northzax]

29. people,. people

the book is called "Europe through the Back Door" is it any suprise the freepers don't like it?




wait for it....wait for it...

[redqueen]

30. ...

:rofl:

[Lisa]

31. I guess they didn't bother checking out his special on Christian holy sites

"Faithful Travel"
(can access a clip here)

http://www.ricksteves.com/about/pressroom/activism/elca_menu.htm


I don't consider myself a practicing Christian, but from what I have seen, Rick Steves is just the kind of person who exemplifies the teachings of Jesus -- being humble yet not afraid to stand up for justice -- and completely apart from that "holier-than-thou" attitude that is cultivated by some so-called "believers".

If he is being branded as a fanatic, for gently suggesting that people ought to visit other countries and talk to the local residents, and attempt to experience life that way rather than shelling out the big bucks for a phony "Disneyland bubble" commodified vacation (which in some ways is WORSE than not leaving home, because you don't learn anything and come back with all your preconceptions still the same) ... well, they can call me "extreme left-wing" as well. I don't see anything wrong with his reminders that everyone (not just Americans) who is out there travelling is also an unofficial ambassador, and that what you say or do can have a big impact, positive or negative, in another country.

He is out there advocating for the homeless, and addressing poverty issues -- if that person who was criticizing him while posing as some neutral authority on Wikipedia is doing as much, I would love to know!

http://www.ricksteves.com/about/pressroom/activism/activism_menu.htm


I bet that a certain group is out to get him because he expressed some concerns about the impacts of recent US foreign policy, on Americans who are travelling overseas. He is obviously a patriotic and deeply caring person who wants to do the best for America, and the world as a whole.

"As a patriot and a good citizen, I am concerned that America is making a huge and long-term mistake in its foreign policy. We won the war but we are losing the world. At my church we learned those with a hammer as their primary tool are inclined to see every problem as a nail."

http://www.ricksteves.com/about/pressroom/activism/letter.htm


By the way -- I buy his videos/DVDs and donate them to the travel section at my public library. They are immensely popular. DUers who wish to express their support of Rick's work -- you might want to check with your local librarians, to see if they would be interested in this kind of thing!