Which affects British perceptions more: Stereotypes of the “ugly American” or our country’s foreign policy? Or is something else at play?by Diane Vadino (Source: MSN Travel)
Like it or not, an American abroad is a living symbol of his homeland, and is occasionally held to account for it.
To start, here’s a classic view of the U.S. traveler in Britain: “When I think of American tourists, I think of people in front of the British Museum, yelling across large spaces to each other about how to use their digital cameras,” says Ian Hamilton, a university student in Glasgow. “Or complaining loudly in McDonald’s about how the chips taste in London versus how they taste in America.”
Fortunately, that unflattering view appears to be in the minority, at least among the British people I spoke with. When giving their opinions of American tourists, most were positive—as long as we were talking about an American, in the singular. “When abroad as individuals or couples, Americans are sociable, friendly and generous, but something seems to happen when Americans are abroad in groups,” says Geoff Smith, a British tech worker. “A group of Yanks is loud, raucous, insular and appears to have no interest in the local culture.”
Indeed, solitary travelers conjured up an entirely different reaction than a group of Americans, who were perceived as camera-wielding, Bush-supporting boors. “Universally idiotic; large Hawaiian shirts; large cameras; stupid questions,” says Ian Clifford, a software developer from Nottingham, ticking off the stereotypical qualities of a group of average American tourists. And, says Clifford, these are the more cultured members of U.S. society: “Only 10 percent of Americans have passports. What on earth have you left behind?”
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s continued support of White House policy is another factor that affects how American travelers are viewed in the U.K. And to many Brits, the much-vaunted “special relationship” between our two countries was brightly illuminated at last summer’s G8 Summit in Russia. In what became a notorious incident, President Bush greeted the leader of the United Kingdom with “Yo, Blair,” displaying a lack of formality—and, some said, respect—that led to Blair’s being pilloried in the British press as Bush’s “poodle.” That sort of disregard between leaders, some said, reflected an assumed American superiority—as well as a general disrespect of other cultures. "It's like the U.S. is the flash kid in school with the money and great clothes and neat stuff who gets 'wanker' muttered behind their back as they walk down the hall," says Smith. "But they either don't hear or don't care, because they have the money and great clothes and neat stuff."
There are just some excerpts of what seems to be a great article on British attitudes toward Yank tourists, read on >>
georgie
18 Comments
when i was in the uk i did feel out of place sometimes, especially when i ate pizza one time and i didnt use a freakin fork n knife, i thought the british etiquette police were going to arrest me!
i think when i return im going to respect those customs more, and try to break the loudmouth, no manners, american stereotype.
- See?? No respect for other cultures...
;)
A year later, things have changed. When I find myself in Leicester Square, the typical American family on their London vacation is hard to miss. You can see and hear them coming from miles away, loudly squawking about the sights, or asking for directions to Holborn station, or complaining so that you can hear them from the far end of the train. In my head, I'm thinking "Shut up, please, just shut your mouth. You are making us look stupid!!!"
So please, American tourists, mind your manners when you reach Heathrow Airport. Some of us have to live here.
But there's Americans and then there's American Tourists.
They're different. It's my experience that American Tourists are exactly as described in the particle above. The picture accompanying it is absolutely correct but for one thing - the guy looks to be too thin, lol.Americans on the other hand, I have found to be friendly, cheerful, individually bright despite the National Reading Age. The Americans I've worked with, I have respected, usually for the denigration of Americans, lol.And Georgie, surely you should know - It's Knife & Fork, not Forkin Knife :o)
Of course 'cutlery' includes 'spoon(s)'.
I remember one day some time ago, standing in the queue (sorry, line) for a coffee. Pizza had just arrived in the UK and the woman in front of me wanted one. There were two Americans behind me. Now, as you know, 'pizza' is pronounced 'peet-sah'. Using a short i, as in 'hit' and running the z's together to soften them, the woman in front asked for 'pizzer' (to almost rhyme with 'pisser').
In my head, I'm thinking "Shut up, please, just shut your mouth. You are making us look stupid!!!"
We also call it silverware in the States, even when it's plastic knives, forks, and spoons. Go figure.
So when british come over here I expect yall to eat pizza with your hands for christ sake! ha
And then when we go to your supermarket and we see the breakfast cerial section... man, how can you have THAT many choices.
Oh and when I buy milk I just want MILK. It's milk dammit. None of your 2% 1% 3% x2 over easy double half whattsit. Listen I just want Milk, Bread, and Butter. Where the hell do I get that from.
Ohhhhhhh... I get it... It's right between the count chocula and frankenberry peanut butter jelly section.....
;)
I was just commenting to my friend on the fact that although strong alcohol was available on the streets, there was no trouble, no fights; nothing but civilised social discourse, when I heard yob-calls insulting the atmosphere.
Surprised, we looked up to see, to our shame, a band of drunken Brits, crew-cut hair, tattoos & Union Jacks, moving (staggeringly) through the crowd, calmly accompanied by police officers.
In the '70's a common joke was that the length of the hair was directly proportional to the amount of grey matter*. That cannot be applied now, because hair-free seems to be the fashion. But I think, in this case, it was justified.
* This was because students and 'hippies' wore their hair long, whilst skinheads, football hooligans and criminals wore crew-cuts.
I recall one such occasion when I was sitting on the tube, with an English friend of mine. Some Aussies were mouthing off in a loud, embarrassingly obnoxious manner. I was cringing and just dying in my seat. My friend looked at me and then he leaned in and whispered, "Sweetheart (actually he said sweet 'art) - you do NOT sound anything like that". He read my mind!!
It's a well known phenomenon here - we call it the Cultural Cringe.
Hey you know AdGuy always gets the last word! ;)