"A Tale of Two Cities"

Contrast the following.

Andy Ngo: "Other tourists may remember London for its spectacular sights and history, but I remember it for Islam. When I was visiting the UK as a teenager in 2006, I got lost in an East London market."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-visit-to-islamic-england-1535581583 https://twitter.com/econbrkfst/status/1198106179085275137

Andy Ngo: "There I saw a group of women wearing head-to-toe black cloaks. I froze, confused and intimidated by the faceless figures. It was my first encounter with the niqab, which covers everything but a woman's eyes."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-visit-to-islamic-england-1535581583

I went to London too once. 2014.

(me in San Francisco, not London) https://twitter.com/econbrkfst/status/1197680795537694720?s=20

I saw almost no signs of Islam. The only "intimidating" person I encountered was a white guy, clearly drunk, who followed me for a while shouting about Jews. I just kept walking.

To be fair, I wasn't in London long. I mainly wanted to see the Natural History Museum (amazing).

If I hadn't been constantly snapping photos, I'm not sure how much I'd be able to recall of the trip. I remember the food—because I wasn't eating it. I collected, drank, and warmed my freezing self with packets of diet cocoa. This stuff is delicious, but you can't live off of it.

Don't try.

If you get the chance to travel, partake in the local culture.

I'm trying to turn my regrets into advice. Mostly for myself.

Pic 1: my plate
Pic 2: not my plate
Pic 3: not my plate
Pic 4: not my plate

I don't recall seeing anyone in a niqab, but again, I didn't get to spend much time wandering the streets. If I had, I can't comprehend my reaction being "I froze, confused and intimidated by the faceless figures."

Aside from the one guy, everyone was nice. Great experience.

I didn't go to England with any preconceived notions about the people I'd meet, and I didn't come away with any judgments of groups based on the interactions I had there. I'm not saying that makes me "better than" Andy Ngo, just that my perspective was and is very different.

This isn't an article. I'm not being paid to write this. I don't have a grand conclusion here. I found these old photos, recalled my experience, considered it in light of Andy Ngo's ( https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-visit-to-islamic-england-1535581583), felt like sharing.

It was mostly the photos. https://twitter.com/econbrkfst/status/1197676532438687744?s=20

All photos are mine (Nick Lee), aside from the screenshots of Ngo's article, of course. I want to do more of this, both photography/videography and writing. I can and will get better. If you ever find something of value in what you find here and want to leave me a tip...

...no obligation whatsoever, but here's my #grifter shit: https://twitter.com/econbrkfst/status/1196537545305116673?s=20. If you have a problem with individuals (so far, most have been folks I've met IRL—TY so much!) donating to someone doing unpaid work, feel free to @ me, but I'll just link you back to past answers.