Europeans and other Foreign Nationals who Trash America

In case you saw what I posted here earlier, never mind.. lol

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The Frenchies are just trying to carry on their medieval hillbilly feud with the British. They can't get away with slamming the UK as readily as they used to, but transit across the Atlantic Ocean is about as difficult now as the trip to Dover was two hundred years ago. Otherwise, more of us would sail over there and bloody up their noses.

Their art stinks like Haitian armpits. Speaking of Haiti, I am firmly of the opinion that we should commence with sending Haitian illegal immigrants to France. If we send them back to Haiti, they will only sail back to the US of A before too long. They don't really belong in France, either, but at least the French are not as likely to be offended by the mixture of cheap, French perfume and unwashed underarm odor they always stink of.

Or am I going to hear the Frogs finally admit that deoderant was a good idea?

Dear Frogs: fix Haiti, or I will start writing letters to my senator demanding that YOUR government be held accountable for every penny that the American government has ever spent on that clusterfuck.

That includes the cost of shipping them back to Haiti.

And it also includes the cost of fixing their broken limbs when they are admited into American hospitals. It would be abominable to send them away if they are broken or ill, but I would be thrilled to see an international court rule that YOU owe us for it.

We know they don't stink like that due to being voodoo-practicing black people. Those things are relatively inoffensive. The smell of cheap, French perfume is kind of hard to miss, though.

I don't have to travel more than 400 miles in any direction to get mine *shrugs*. Seriously, if you venture into South Carolina, it's like landing on another planet. The Confederate flag is plastered on everything. LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

 

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No argument here. Much of Europe is a viciously racist, socialist, lazy bunch of whiners who essentially complain about America for their own sakes because it takes their minds off being taxed to death or the equivalent, if not greater, failures in their own countries. EXAMPLE: The British and French bitched about how so many people died in katrina, while over 35,000 europeans died in a... heat wave in 2003. That's right: a heat wave.

Very generally, Europe is idiolized by marginally educated college liberal wannabes for a variety of reasons, but if you go there you'll find striking similarities. The countryside is full of losers in tiny villages sitting around doing nothing. They're lazy, horribly inbred, and are on the government pension because:

a) There are too many people in the EU.
b) They dream of farming some field of rocks or making some weird cheese.
c) They lack any initiative.

As a result of the above almost nothing new comes out of Europe these days. They have become an importer of culture and ideas, not an exporter. The USA manages to do both. Europe's only significant exports are manufactured goods from Germany. Other than that, the USA sets the tone for Europe (and the whole world) and they follow it.

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Another European stereotype of America is that we are all racists. Meanwhile, they have ghettos of palestinians, poles, saudis, pakis, and others living in slums of their "beautiful, historic" capitals and being treated like dogs by the white populace. But the joke's on them since the immigrants are overpopulating them. London is called "Londonistan" in local slang.

 

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that's cuz we are so busy learning 50 states and all of their capitals.

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And I think we'd do better on Geography if all those other countries would quit changing their names after every civil war.

 

WE didn't change the name of our country after ANY of our civil wars!

 

You have no clue.

Lots of them. We call them homes. They're not as extravagant with the rock decor, but they have plumbing. And no, that idea was borrowed from the Scots and the Iroquois, not the Brits - IIRC the Brits still don't have it?

Irish imitating Americans can make a fair show at the less gutty rock if they work hard at it, but the real stuff is in the US. Jazz and blues? You're hopeless.

I agree that's the best you can do, and I rest my case.

What all these other countries regard as the apotheosis of team sports. Exactly my point.

I can travel from one side of this continent to the other, for weeks, and read the signs, and read the newspapers, and talk to essentially all the people, unless I play tourist in some particular neighborhood.

You need a phrasebook and hand signals to run your car out of gas in a straight line and get home.

And the Iroquois, and the Scots, and the old Greeks. So?

Another American cultural advantage - we assimilate from all over. Food, legal structure, music, vocabulary, you name it. We might overlook the proper credit, but we don't turn down the good stuff.

 

Oddly enough, I only heard that from the Brits when I was traveling. There were many debates with my Spanish comrades, but the Brits were the most anti-American of the bunch that I hung with.

I wish I could find the article on British vacationing habits. I laughed out loud. They inevitably find a Hotel, stay at the pool, drink at English pubs and avoid all contact with the locals. Might as well go to Southern Florida instead of Tenerife!

When I lived in Spain, the Brits were undetectable outside of their various enclaves excpet when intoxicated to the point of public indecency. . .

. . . which is a horrid and unfair generalization to the (probably vast majority of) friendly, well behaved Brits. This may be the case of the squeaky wheel and all that.

To get to the Canary Islands next year, I will spend $1,450 + hotel, take 21 hours to get there and 23 to get back. Europeans are FORCED to mix with other cultures and develop various sensibilities that Americans just don't have the opportunity to develop and use. Those that I did meet overseas were usually the best behaved (especially the ones off the beaten path: hyper-awareness of the bad rep that we've earned, perhaps).

People have a nasty habit of judging entire nations by their "quintessential" metropolitan area, which is idiotic. Parisians are assholes, there's no doubt about that. The city is so goddamned perfect (except for the pervasiveness of various effluvia bearing a strange resemblance to a typical camper toilet), that the inhabitants think they are equally perfect. Once outside Paris, the French become the most inviting people I've known and the rep they've earned is wholly off the mark.

In my travels, I've found some serious metro-exceptions:

Manhattanites (is that even the correct demonym?), on my multiple visits, were outgoing and friendly, almost to the point of making me think that they were out to sell me something (on two occasions, I had a local stop me and ask ME if I needed directions). In bars--gay or straight--most of my experiences were positive to the point of making listeners to my stories believe that I was making the whole thing up. The friendliness quotient has increased markedly since 9/11.

Madrileños (Madrid) are friendly on a level outpacing those of the American south. I was invited home--and accepted--on two occasions on nights out with friends. And we aren't even talking about the "company for the night" type of invites home. No, I'm talking: dinner with friends type invite, after only a few hours of time together.

Caraqueños (Caracas) were also nice. I spent a week there with friends, admittedly in a wealthier sub-community and frequenting nicer areas (that, oddly enough, back in the 90's charged like 25 cents [equivalent] to get in and out of; reason: kept out the beggars and the poor). But my experience on the whole with them was amazing.​

Two of the three adult fist-fights I've been in were with Brits over the same issue. There was almost a fourth, but at that time in my life, I was averse to punching women in the face (I'd reconsider that option if I ever ran into that cunt-whore again). Like you, it's not like I'm the type of traveler who carries the Stars & Stripes with me when I go over seas. Shit, I have considered on multiple occasions applying for a Chilean passport (they sell them, legally) so that I could pretend to be a native (my Spanish accent being far better back in my teens), just so that I could avoid being berated--

Me? Oh, no. . . not American. My mother was from Saskatchewan and my father. . . um, definitely French extraction, but he's from Chile just like me. Ever been to Santiago? You know what I'm talking aboot, eh? ​

--But, over the years, I've become more pig-headed. I'm an American. I'm proud of it, despite the embarrassments like Bush, Michael Fay. . . and . . . um. . . Rosanne (I just hate her and grabbed her name out of my head). But, often times, and out of the blue, I've had Brits approach me to give me an earful of what they think is wrong with the USA and how horrible it is. Upon mentioning their stellar record in Ireland, Africa and Asia I usually got paltry excuses and downright idiotic explanations (once being told that what the British did for Ireland was a favor to them). Huh?

Late for Carnival in Sta. Cruz de Tenerife, I started running from the bus stop, only to trample through the section of sidewalk that served as run-off for yummy, tasty, savory urine[!] that was streaming down walls, pissed-upon by local Brits (they have an obsession with pissing on walls, must be a biblical thing), slipped, a la Slip 'N Slide, and slathered my full front (including a portion of my then, slightly cracked mouth°) in alcohol infused bladder-juice. I console myself with the fact that, by the time of my arrival, most of it was expelled alcohol. . . I think (and don't correct me if you know better).

Wow. People around the world hold negative opinions of the USA and Americans. And I'm sure they--every single one--are born out of personal experience in engaging Americans.

Right. Coming from the well-educated boy who makes up whole tracts of history and calls for the extermination of entire nations.

You should hurry back to Russia. Don't let the door hit you.

Yes. . . yes. . . it's the part about women desiring you that screws the pooch, isn't it?

Were you being serious, because it seems like you were trying to be. . . but then couldn't even name a real national park.

It's a popular quote. No need for castles. Telling that you missed that point.

That's subjective. Though, to be fair, the Brits deserve every ounce of credit they've earned for their cultural (rock, included) they've exported. Still, ounce for ounce, no nation has more listeners and watchers (of entertainment) than the USA.

There are few enclaves in the USA (and even less when measured by population and land proportions) where you won't hear English spoken and written by nearly as many people who speak the "alternative" language. And even now, those enclaves last, at most, 50 years before becoming English or "some other immigrant" dominated. It's part of our heritage: the assimilation of many.

Indeed. But the first to enshrine equality into the constitution. That the USA has fallen short at times is notable, but not as notable as its continued struggle to grant it to all. More constitutions have been modeled after the American than any other.

~String

_______________________________________
°This beats the horror of seeing my uncle & aunt from Roanoke, VA--assisting in the baby-horse-making part of horse husbandry (um. . . the stallions sometimes--to put it delicately--need a helping hand. . . [guy joke in 3 - 2 - 1: Yep. . . I know how that feels]). Once finished with his part, the male horse removed an erect, swinging penis (the size of which I've never seen before or since) not quite done ejaculating, splashing the faces with mouths wide open (I looked. . . yes, I fucking looked) and saw their mugs glistening with pearlescent equine semen above and below the lip-line (indicating the significant possibility of seminal-oral insertion). Nonchalantly, they grabbed a towel and wiped it off. Not-so-nonchalantly, I pondered a full frontal lobotomy to remove the memories from my brain.

 

doh...:wallbang:

 

There's a hilarious scene in one of the later "Up" films (42 Up I think it was?) where Tony has retired to a British enclave in Spain, and is opening up a British-themed pub for his compatriots. Which is all fine, as far as that stuff goes. But when asked about why he moved to Spain, he launches into a tirade about how tons of immigrants have moved in to Britain and insist on importing their own cultures instead of assimilating into his, and he just can't abide that sort of arrogant disrespect. And this is without the slightest hint of irony.

Yeah, my trip to Taiwan next month exhibits similar statistics, and must be crammed into less than 10 days in order preserve a few vacation days for the upcoming ski season. Not the sort of thing that most people are up for, even if they don't have kids to worry about.

And more power to them for that. It's really cool how Europe hosts such a large collection of cultures and nations in a relatively small area. It's just that it's extremely galling when this situation is attributed to superior character, rather than its actual causes (geography and history). Doubly so in the context of a lecture about cultural understanding.

I really haven't found this to be the case. But perhaps it's because there aren't many actual Parisians in Paris at high-tourist times, which is typically when I'm there. Or, again, perhaps I'm just low-profile enough that they haven't the energy to give me a hard time after dealing with the throngs of dipshits.

I don't carry them around at home, either. I'm one of those kids who refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school once I got old enough to understand that it wasn't mandatory.

But I have been known to vandalize baggage with prominently-displayed Canadian flags on it, while in hostels in Europe. If they consider being mistaken for an American so terrible that they feel the need to wear a badge everywhere they go, then they can damned well reap the rewards of leaving their maple-leaf-adorned luggage unattended in hostels full of American tourists. Cuts both ways, doesn't it?

I don't do anything terrible, BTW. Just tear off the flag patches in the hopes that they'll spend the rest of their vacations being confused for Americans.

In retrospect, I'm actually glad I got so many of those "lectures" back on my 2002 Europe trip, prior to the Iraq fiasco. To be treated that way when we were still digging bodies out of ground zero made it pretty easy to write off. Now I respond with mock shock, as if I'd never heard such a proposition before, and then tell them what a great service they've done by informing me, since I'm in a position to single-handedly remake American foreign policy and national character with a quick phone call back to the White House.

 

Stunning!
I love it.
:bravo:

 

I don't think a majority of the people dislike Americans for not travelling. But what a minority of them do when they do travel.

But, as a certain american told me. that sort of behavior is common to all anglo-saxon countries. Eastern cultures tend to be slightly more insular. Or maybe just not in the spotlight as often.
Still, there is a perverse irony in seeing representatives of the conquering "civilised" nations dispel their illusions of moral superiority so easily.

 

I refused to "march" in my graduation. I'm a bit more mellow now (and regret not having done it), but I considered the requirement to wear a cap and gown indoctrinating (And a pledge to a flag. . . really? A flag? Why the damned flag?) My father has only just now forgiven me. My principal had to frakking retire before I could pick up my diploma (ten years later). Though. . . there was the small matter of me playing "Butt Bongo Bananza" (in which a small-ish white woman get's nailed in the pooper by an exceptionally well endowed African fellow moments before the "money shot" during which she was forced to close her eyes to prevent blindness) on the school-wide closed-circuit television system (programmed to start at noon, during my geometry class). The added fact that I pounded tooth-picks into the lock to prevent ease of entry by school authorities, forcing them to break the lock & jam to enter the "electronics room", further complicated the matter.

ha-HA! Dick!

I've got one for you. Before you travel overseas, buy a bunch of American flag stickers, and find a few Canadian bags and "vandalize" them with that unwanted logo. Shit! That's such a good idea, I may have to do it myself!

I'll be using that technique. I hope there's no royalty charge. Where and when I employ it, I'll be sure to give you full credit though.

~String

 

Actually, I have always liked the Germans who visit here. You know, maybe I am just speaking from anecdotes, but the ones I run into are invariably these friendly, intelligent, interested people. They seem to be able to turn almost anything into an enlightening experience, and they are unabashedly perverse. However, I could have just been really really lucky.

Mainly, Bush was an embarrassing, stupid douchebag, and the GOP were making us all look like retards.

However, if the Germans can live down their historical fuck-ups, we can live down ours. In fact, I would wager heavily that the reason you find that Germans tend to be a lot nicer to Americans than most European nationalities is exactly that: they have known all along that we would eventually begin behaving normally again.

The Bush regime may be a pale comparison to other horrors even in our own history, but it was nonetheless an incredibly embarrassing thing to happen so soon after Vietnam.

You would realize that the Frogs (who all stink and wear really horrible perfume) have actually been doing a great deal of biomedical research. To tell you the truth, their material is actually pretty reliable and fairly thorough.

And the UK's institutions are actually fairly competitive with MIT in terms of nanotech and information technology. To tell you the truth, they were working on the idea of a nanotube battery at about the same time that the MIT boys started on it. And have I mentioned that the Information Age was kind of born there?

And the Germans were actually leading the way in alternative fuels for a while, if I recall correctly. I don't know where they are at with it, at this point. By the way, their cars are still better than ours. Our automobiles are actually kind of crappy.

I am not saying that Europe is some special place where everything is fine. On the contrary, I am actually quite convinced that their culture is not all that different from ours.

 

hmmm. interesting thread, but it's kinda all over the place. so i shall pretend that i have only read the OP:

europe: i'm usually there on "business"--as a musician, that is. the other continents: i'm usually there as an unpaid wandering minstrel, getting by on a (u.s.) dollar or two a day. but i'll stick with europe as the focus here seems to be more upon europe.

so, europe: i've been all over the place--perhaps 20 countries?--and i've visited the largest cities and tiny little villages. i've heard plenty of opinions about america and americans, both positive and negative, and a few opinions on the "average" american's propensity to travel abroad. given that i am visiting such places for the purpose of performing, most of the individuals with whom i deal most are quite accustomed to dealing with american musicians and have little to say about americans traveling for the sake of traveling. though when wandering about on my own, i occasionally encounter some dismay over the "funny american" who looks like a jew and dresses like a "gypsy." (i don't really--dress like a "gypsy"--but that seems to be the best they can come up with) i've experienced such more in eastern europe, like in little latvian villages (what the hell am i doing playing "weird" music in such places anyways?). still, opinions regarding americans and traveling are few; but i suppose context is everything.

BUT, something i do encounter fairly often--and in any and every place, east or west, big city or little village--is the "jewish issue": people invariably think me a jew (i am partly of ashkenazic descent, but i do not identify myself a jew)--why do they feel compelled to bring this up? moreover, they assume that because i am (to their eyes) a jew, i must come from money! heh, this couldn't be further from the truth.

i really do not know what to make of this. i have not really encountered any anti-semitic attitudes (apart from some skinheads on a train to wroclaw, poland one time), but there is this compulsion on their part to identify me as a jew. sure, there is a significantly smaller percentage of jews in most of europe as compared with america, but why bring it up?

the only parts of the u.s. in which i've encountered a similar phenomenon is in the southeastern states and the western central states (n. dakota, s. dakota, etc.)--but in these instances, there is often an undercurrent of antisemitism as well. in fact, it can be pretty damn creepy and disconcerting at times.

so what is it with the europeans and the jews?

 

That is a good idea. Unfortunately I'm now old and rich enough that I rarely stay in hostels, and so do not expect to have unfettered access to Canadian luggage... I can only hope that others pursue this plan in my stead.

 

There's always the Airport! (you just gotta be quick)

Note: I have heard interesting stories from hetero guy-friends about the happenings in various German and Czech hostels. Something about Swedish girls having ZERO inhibitions. The words, "Head. Raunchy. Threesome." Were dropped ad nauseum. Having utilized mostly hotels back when (I was working through a respectibe inheretence [totally spent on travel and drugs]) and stayed in various hotels. My few hostel experiences were in South Beach and NYC. After the movie, of this namesake, I'll avoid any European hostels for the remainder of my life. Being able to afford better accommodations, notwithstanding.

~String

 

The Germans are indeed very nice to Americans. Part of this is cultural affinity: Germans are, far and away, the most prolific exchange students to the US. Some ridiculous percentage of Germans spend a year of high school studying in the US. There's also the matter of there having been hundreds of thousands of US troops stationed in their country for the previous decades, so they also tend to be familiar with Americans from that route.

The other part of it, I think, is that they are very sensitive to their recent history of brutal nationalism, and are eager to put a different cast on their country. If they start talking trash to someone about their country, they'll just be met with some quip about the Holocaust, and so they smartly avoid such base behavior. The British, by way of comparison, don't seem to feel that they have anything to be ashamed of, and so don't hold back.

 

Dude, it's Germans who are noted for their lack of sense of humour. Since the USA produced 'Friends' we think we can pull your leg a bit and you'll understand.

The point is that the term is inherited, as proven by it's etymology and the lack and castles in the USA. Therefore, being inherited, it is not UNIQUE to the USA.

Mass consumption does not equate to the product being superlative though does it? Or McDonalds would boast Michelin star ratings. Sure the US produces a lot of quality music, but you've not had a band like 'The Beatles' or 'The Rolling Stones'. I guess you produce more individuals, like Elvis, Prince, and Michael Jackson, and I'm more into bands. What American music seems to lack for me too, is gritty reality (apart from Country, but I'm not a fan of Hugh ('I love Hugh', etc (pronunciation joke, if I need to explain it)), and music is too often an over produced and polished product.

 

So wait! You want them to be mistaken for Americans and treated as such, even when they are not? Why?

And if they are treated badly, what does it prove?

 

Your problem, not mine.

What was that about smug sense of superiority? Oh, yeah. You're making my argument for me. The European notion that America, the nation who invented film, computers, the blues and put a man on the moon, is "backward" and "behind" is exactly what I am talking about. Apparently, having a few Rembrandts on the wall overcomes all of that.