I control your country!

[XCashier]

He finally noticed me glaring at him and went, "What the FUCK are you looking at? I CONTROL YOUR COUNTRY!"

"Yeah, but you can't control your MOUTH!" Arrogant boor. Thanks for making all Americans look like arseholes!

[Mike Taylor]

Yeah but the hate goes both ways. I've even heard that Americans were getting harassed in France so much that their country lost a lot of tourist bucks because a lot of Americans stopped going there. I hear there's no shortage of Americans getting swiped at by the UK and it's former colonies. I know that a lot of Americans are guilty of that kind of boorishness, but I also hear about good manners are on the rapid decline in pretty much the rest of the English-speaking countries in the world.

What's happening is that these poor souls are getting punished for the decisions made by our government. Where I live (Naples FL), we get a lot of UK, French, and German tourists. I go out of my way to make sure that they are treated well and occasionally I ask if they've had a good experience here. In the case of our UK customers, I mention a local grocery chain where they can get things from home (HobNobs, Batchelor's canned veggies, Heinz Spaghetti, etc) if they are feeling a bit homesick. Most of my European customers are very nice, only rarely have I run into the boorish tourist. Usually, it's a middle class jerk who is going abroad for the first time (like the guy who came to Chicago and insisted that they couldn't make a proper pizza there). The seasoned travelers normally don't act like that.

[protege]

I've had several interesting conversations with British tourists over the years...usually when they see me wearing one of my MG T-shirts In fact, one of them even lamented (in 1985, no less) that even though MGs were still being made, it just wasn't the same--the factory was squandering the octagon on econoboxes with no performance...other than the Metro and Maestro Turbos that is Found out later he was working at the Abingdon MG works when it shut down in 1980.

[excuse me??]

Long time ago when the TV show 'Dallas' was being watched in throughout the world, a native Texan friend of mine vacationed several times in Europe...

As a Texan.. she was treated with more respect than an American -

[trunks2k]

Yeah but the hate goes both ways. I've even heard that Americans were getting harassed in France so much that their country lost a lot of tourist bucks because a lot of Americans stopped going there. I hear there's no shortage of Americans getting swiped at by the UK and it's former colonies. I know that a lot of Americans are guilty of that kind of boorishness, but I also hear about good manners are on the rapid decline in pretty much the rest of the English-speaking countries in the world.

I've done a decent amount of travel to Europe. I've been to Germany, Spain, the UK, and Ireland, and I've never had a problem due to being from the US. But then again, I'm very self concious about how I act, especially when I am out of the country. So I'm usually very well behaved. Also when I tell people where I'm from, it's usually immediately followed by "And no, I did not vote for our current president."

[obod7x7]

I went to Germany and Austria this spring and not one person gave me any problems because I am an American. In fact, I thought people there were generally more polite than the people here. I, of course, did not act like the moron mentioned above and I actually attempted to speak German. Good thing he didn't go to a non-English speaking country...he would probably demand everybody talk to him in English.

I don't understand the logic of some Americans. The educational system and huge sense of patriotism here might have something to do with it. In my high school, we were hardly taught anything about other cultures or countries. So many kids go through school without learning anything important about the rest of the world. On my trip to Austria, I am assuming that half of our group couldn't find the country on a map.

Ask some people about history, and all they will tell you is that we "won" the two world wars (and any other conflict we were in...which is untrue). Some people just assume that because we are a "superpower" (which has a loose definition), that we "control" everybody else. In other words, I am disgusted by the ignorance many Americans have. The fact that our president (no, I didn't vote for him either) thought he could just go into Iraq and expect a cakewalk isn't helping anything.

I am glad that most of us aren't that dense.

[Qwakkeddup]

revenge?

If I am correct you speak a different language? Simple mind game, Start telling each other jokes, and gesture, look askance, in his direction while laughing. A Blowhard like him would probably become very uncomfortable. And a good plus, if he says anything about it, just tell him, in your own language. If you come visit us, learn the language!

[Gurndigarn]

Ask some people about history, and all they will tell you is that we "won" the two world wars

Well... we did end up on the winning side both times. As much as you can call anything in WWI a "win". And despite coming in near the end.

[Kiwi]

I think im fairly well travelled for a 22 year old, ive been to America 5 times( been to quite a few states to and did my best to stay away from the tourist areas), Canada 3 times, Mexico once, Tahiti, Cook Islands (Rarotonga), and Aussie (HEAPS of times, like 20) seen most of my country New Zealand more than once

and in my travels Ive discovered it arrogance/ignorance goes both ways

alot of people (from everywhere) seem to have blinkers on and dont even realise or think about the fact that people in a different country live....differently.

I never even realised what NZ had until I travelled, there are things I can get in Canada that I couldnt get at home and vice versa. I do think Americans have been a little unfairly labelled in the uglyamerican catagoery,when my brother went to Tonga he experianced the same thing.

unless its WILLFUL like the asshat in the OP's post I think some patience and a good sence of humor would make the encounters on bothsides go alot better. If you an rude arrogant feck, you could be purple with green stripes from 'poleuptheyouknowwhere land' and youd still be a rude arrogant duck.

Actually thats one thing I miss from NZ, food from the Asia region, we had a Malaysian resturant close to my house that had an Indonesian cook....omg best food in the world! Talk about international cuisne!

[appliance god]

250 million americans and you had to get that one.....quality control ain't what it used to be.

[alphaboi]

250 million americans and you had to get that one.....quality control ain't what it used to be.

300 million come October.

[DigitalEngine]

What kinds of food did you try, Kiwi? I used to bring Indonesian food to school when I was still living in the States, and the spicy ones used to get some really hilarious results.

Yes, the guy was a rude ignorant prick, and the other Americans who shared his table actually looked embarrassed by the way their friend was acting. I heard his friends telling him to be quiet.
At times when I think about this guy I would try to think positive and reason that maybe he had one beer too many, which would explain his incapability of controlling his behavior.
Like I said, I know most Americans are good, well mannered people. I still have friends and family living in the States, and I must say that sometimes I miss living there.

[chainedbarista]

one beer too many or one brain cell too few? hard to decide; maybe it was a severe case of redneckitis.

[tendomentis]

Just for a different view....

I was raised a US military BRAT (that's Born, Raised, And, Trapped for those of you who don't know ), but my father was transferred to the US Army wing of the US State Department when I was ten, so I spent the first ten years of my life a good ol' army brat, and the other eight years of my childhood as a diplomat brat.

Which is very different.

Typically, diplo-brats won't speak loudly in public so as not to give away the fact that we're from the US. A game that me and my friends would play is to change our accents to something completely NOT american while out in public, something that is easy to pull off when a lot of my friends were not american (it's easier to pick up their accents that way).

Generally, we made quiet fun of the tourists (not just from the USA either) and would go back to reading our local mag or newspaper.

If you're an American in another country and see a fellow countryman acting up in public and you also see several people in a group following the incident, odds are one of them is a US diplomat or diplo-brat.

On that note, god I miss Europe

[Argabarga]

we control the horozontal....

we control the vertical....

/old tv refference that no one will get