Cultural Sensitivity

[uknz76]

A couple of years ago I was in Hiroshima, Japan with an American tour group (I'm English). I was in a corner store to buy a soda, and there was a SC from another group also there with a huge attitude. When the SC approached the counter he tried to pay with US dollars. The clerk (we really are all the same the world over) refused to take SC's money, it didn't look like he spoke english. He pulled out some Yen (Japanese money) and waved it in SC's face, trying to get the message through that this was all he would accept.
At this point SC started yelling and abusing the poor clerk. The SC was going on that America had conquered Japan, and that the US economy was the biggest in the world and as a result "you stupid gook" (He actually said that) should take his money.
The clerk stood his ground and pointed to the door. The SC left yelling all the way out. Even though I didn't know the SC I felt really bad for the clerk to have to put up with crap like that, so when I got to the counter I apologised (I'm still not sure why I do that).
The clerk looked at me and said "Not your fault, I get arsehole like that every week".

This is not a dig at Americans, I spent 3 years there and met many great people, but some of your tourists really live up to negative stereotypes.

[Becks]

If I had the money, I'd take a world tour and show them what a nice American is like. (If anyone would like to contribute funds, PM me. )

People like that SC make me ashamed.

[iradney]

Oh, you get people like that from every country. The Americans just stick out more coz more of them can afford to travel. And you tend to notice them coz movies have even played the "stereotypical American Tourist having a fit" scene to death.
Shoot, when I lived in Cape Town, I used to get Joburgers (also South Africans) coming down and playing the snooty tourist...

[Cia]

Is it possible that some of the SC's that are labeled 'sterotypical stupid Americans' are actually from other English speaking countries and they are labeled that just because they are speaking English? I don't expect everybody in non-English speaking countries to know the difference between an American, Canadian, English, Irish, and etc accents.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I was hanging out in this diner in Rome years ago. While I was in Rome, I was a regular there. I was there a little over 2 weeks. So I had become friendly with the owner and some of the native regulars.

Some "Ugly Americans" came in. They weren't entitled assholes like this guy was, but they were obnoxious and boorish,drawing attention to themselves by carrying on, kind of expecting the owner to speak English (he didn't. He spoke Italian and French.) and when they discovered he didn't, did that thing where they spoke louder and more slowly to him, as if that would help. Just cluelessly obnoxious more than anything. I kept my pie hole shut. I didn't want anyone associating me with these guys. Plus, I blend pretty well into the local scene.

After they left, everyone was looking at me with this look of amusement on their faces, to see what I would do or say. Like they were all thinking "I wonder what this American will think of these guys acting like that?" I just shrugged, held out my arms apologetically, and said, in English, "Hey, don't look at me, I don't know those idiots!"

The entire place cracked up. I don't know if they understood me, but they got the gist and the sentiment, I'm sure.

[SuperB]

Oh trust me, I have dealt with tourists for over 25 years and I could piss off anyone in any country with my impression of their tourists here in the states.
It's not just an American trait.

[Kiwi]

The Americans just stick out more coz more of them can afford to travel.

um....sorry can you explain that one?

I would have thought they would stuck out because there are 300 million of them, thats many more than say NZ or Aussie or even the UK.

[iradney]

um....sorry can you explain that one?

I would have thought they would stuck out because there are 300 million of them, thats many more than say NZ or Aussie or even the UK.

I say that mostly coz the majority of Africa is too poor to even buy clothes, let alone travel, and as far as I know, so is Russia and South America.

[Sofar]

I don't expect everybody in non-English speaking countries to know the difference between an American, Canadian, English, Irish, and etc accents.

I've always wondered about that. I can't tell the difference between men from Japan, China, Korea, or the other countries of the orient. It only makes sense that they can't tell the difference between us men of the occident. Maybe even if the difference is clear to our eyes, such as the difference between a Caucasian man and a Hispanic man.

[Andara Bledin]

I'm picky about things like that, so I've actually taken some effort to be able to tell the difference in the sounds of various foreign languages. Plus, it's fun to be able to identify who is speaking what, even if you can't understand them.

But it can be tough, when multiple languages or dialects share a similar sound structure, to tell which is which.

^-.-^

[Spiffy McMoron]

I remember when my family went to England, we ate out at a resturant one night. We'd finished, and Dad and I went up to pay. We were chatting with the cashier, and she started to giggle at our "American accents". We laughed, and said that they were actually Canadian accents. She apologized to us like she swore at us.

[Pagan]

But it can be tough, when multiple languages or dialects share a similar sound structure, to tell which is which.

^-.-^

Kind of like the difference between Irish Gaelic and Scots Gaelic? Yes, there is a difference!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

There is a wonderful Irish woman that works in my building. When I first met her, I was trying really had to place her accent. Finally I just asked her, and said "Are you from Scotland?"

She looked at me a moment, and I thought for a second I'd offended her. Then she said, "I'm Irish, and may God forgive ye!"

She's awesome.

[Estil]

...that the US economy was the biggest in the world...

I hate to burst that guy's bubble, but according to my freshman geography book from a few years back, we're actually THIRD in average GDP behind second place Japan (go figure) and do you know who has/had the highest average annual GDP? Tiny little Luxenbourg of all places! I think it's cuz they have all those big banks if I'm not mistaken. Geez, if you're going to be a bigot, at least get your damn facts right.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Hey Iradney, the reason we Americans have inherited the bad tourist stereotype is because #1 there's a lot more of us than there are Brits, Canadians, Aussies or Kiwis (which someone already pointed out), and #2 because of the unique features of the US.

We are a big country. We are bordered on east/west by 2 very large oceans. Bordered on the north by a culture very similar to ours which speaks the same language, and the south by a country which is divided into two types of places---the touristy places where everyone speaks English and they cater to Americans (like Cancun), and the third world places, where Americans don't often go.

We don't have the experience that Europeans, Aussies or Kiwis have, where they can take trains or planes to scores of other countries in a very short time, and so have an incentive for learning multiple languages and the experience of learning to be sensitive of another culture when you enter their borders. Many Americans never leave the country in their entire lives---many that do only do so once or twice in their lives.

Also, business culture in America is very strong and influences a lot of our actions. In the business world, being aggressive is a useful trait, and so it tends to be nurtured. The most successful business people are often very aggressive, demanding and will bulldoze anything that gets in their way. These are the people who are more likely to travel for business, because they often have powerful positions in their company.

I'm not excusing this behavior in the least, I'm just explaining why so many of us are that way.