Dear Friend,
If you camp or RV, do you feel a part of the community? Do you have an idea of what a “camper” or outdoors-person looks like? Do you think you know what their political affiliations often are?
After 4 years of RV camping and mostly living on the road, I can tell you that campers are diverse. That they come in every shape, size, race, gender, and sexual orientation. I can also tell you that those who don’t fit what you might have first thought of as a camper don’t always feel safe.
The outdoors are for everyone. Everyone belongs in nature. But everyone isn’t always made to feel that way. If you’ve never encountered barriers to getting outside, never had comments made that make you feel unsafe, then you (like me) are among the privileged.
Recently, Chelsea at she_colorsnature shared some statistics from the 2023 KOA hospitality report that I found challenging. Did you know that 4/10 campers have some difficulty walking or climbing stairs? 50% of those say restroom access is their biggest barrier. Definitely something for campgrounds to work on, especially in terms of infrastructure.
Not surprisingly, but dishearteningly, “6 out of 10 Black campers reported having instances of feeling uncomfortable or unsafe while outdoors” and 46% of those people are “at risk of never going back.” That sucks, friends. We need to do better.
When we set out in full-time RV life, I frankly thought that we would be surrounded by evangelical homeschool families and mostly trump-style republicans. I worried we wouldn’t make lasting or deep friendships because it’s just really hard to connect deeply with people who hold fundamentally different values from you. It’s not that those people don’t have a right to be out there camping, it’s just that sometimes it can some of those groups can feel aggressively exclusive, at least to me.
Our first winter of official full-time life we joined Fulltime Families and did the Thousand Trails shuffle in Florida. We thought that was where all the families were and that we would quickly fit into a group. We didn’t. In fact we felt pretty isolated. Our kids weren’t invited in and we were largely ignored with a few exceptions. All while the Fulltime Families events were becoming more and more religious in a way that we weren’t comfortable with. Then, they arranged attendance to a “Freedom Convoy” on official FF platforms.
I actually asked for our money back and had a lengthy email exchange with one of the owners of the (very much for-profit) group. And it wasn’t that we couldn’t have willed our way into fitting in if we had wanted to. But that’s the thing. We could. We’re white and in a marriage with a man and a woman with two kids. We “fit” enough. But it wasn’t the welcoming community we thought we were joining. When “Trump won” flags (and other, less appropriate but similarly-messaged flags) are prevalent among the Fulltime Families flags, it can shut out other voices. It says loudly, “this group is for us, not for you.” It goes beyond small political differences.
As an aside - Fulltime Families is a large group and has many “branches.” Some of our experiences were likely specific to a particular event and the contingent that happened to be in Florida that year.
And this, friends, is at least one thing we can do as privileged people in the outdoors. We can call out unwelcoming messages when we see them. We can distance ourselves from groups that aren’t creating welcoming spaces. We can tell people we don’t agree. Loudly and repeatedly.
We can put up our own flags and stickers that signify that we support everyone getting outside. It’s a small thing, but something that’s easier for the privileged among us to do, to be vocal in big and small ways. We covered our Fulltime Families sticker with an REI Outside with Pride sticker, a small little thing to let our neighbors know we were safe, we were glad they were there.
One of the best things we can do as white and otherwise privileged people, is listen to black people and other underrepresented groups who are in the outdoors community. Really listen to their experiences. Then go tell our white friends and family. A few black outdoor influencers I really enjoy are:
This article also lists 22 more accounts to follow.
The inclusive community we want to be a part of doesn’t just happen overnight. We won’t just wake up one day to a campground full of people as diverse as our country. We have to work towards community. Smile at our neighbors in the campground. Say “hi” to everyone. Lend tools or a hand when someone needs it. Invite people to your campfire. Campers are some of the best storytellers.
We did find community out there, by the way. We’ve found plenty of like-minded people (some of them were or are Fulltime Families members) and people who we connect with despite differences. We have really enjoyed being a part of the Republic of Nomads and other groups that are more focused around interests and hobbies. I’ve learned that groups and clubs need to have clear goals or their most vocal members will decide what they are, even if they are not the majority. I am excited to see the changing demographics of the average campground, but we still have a long way to go.
So let’s get out there and encourage others to do so. Everyone belongs around our campfire as long as they’re okay with everyone belonging.
See you down the road,
Jamie
I read this post after it first came out but thought I would come up with something really profound to say before I posted a comment. But I guess this topic is too personal and complex for me so rather than wait any longer, I just wanted to say thank-you for saying this.