Originally posted by southernlady:
I have a theory about the "sullen and angry" attitudes of people in St. Petersburg (didn't go to Moscow). Throughout history, they have been under some-one's thumb be it Catherine the Great or the Communists. Someone told them what to do and how to do it. They had no reason to develop an entrepreneurial spirit and don't quite understand being on their own. They keep looking for someone to take care of them. Contrast that with Estonians and Latvians who took their freedom with great enthusiasm and ran with it. An over-simplified opinion but it is mine. Well encapsulated, Donna!
Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends ~~M. Angelou~~
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