Right. It's the tourists' fault.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

They're loud, their clothes are all wrong and, as the late American novelist Patricia Highsmith once noted of her countrywomen in particular, they always seem to take up too much space. They're among the United States' most visible - and audible - exports and, as obesity keeps increasing among Americans, some of its biggest ones, too. They're the legendary "ugly American" travelers whom Europeans and other foreigners put up with but often find to be clueless when it comes to good taste in dress and decorum.

OK, fair enough.

Now such "loud-mouthed Americans abroad are being warned to quiet down - by their own government. They are being urged to listen to locals and avoid arguments in a bid to repair America's battered international reputation." Behind the new campaign to get American travelers heading to other countries to be more sensitive and to leave the Homer Simpson behavior at home is Business for Diplomatic Action, a U.S.-based, non-profit group whose Web site declares: "Anti-Americanism is bad for business." The organization is supported by major U.S. corporations. BDA's assumption: If Americans overseas would just change their behavior, "anti-Americanism" in other countries would diminish, as foreigners would have less to resent, to snicker at, or even to hate about U.S. visitors.

Pardon? Moronic tourists are responsible for anti-Americanism?

Somebody, please send this to the Ugly American in Chief.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/indexn?blogid=15

[benburch]

1. I'd love to see Bush as a tourist.

I'd love to see him take a five mile walk, alone, though Baghdad.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

2. In a loud hawaiian shirt, no doubt.

And flip-flops.

[benburch]

16. Whatever color he was wearing...

would soon be scarlet.

[madmom]

3. I would not argue with them, I'd agree 100%, but yeah they are

putting the blame in the wrong place. It isn't the tourist who are responsible for the bad press we get.

[genie_weenie]

4. Wait, wait, wait I thought we weren't supposed to blame

the victim? They're loud, their clothes are all wrong... They're the legendary "ugly American" travelers whom Europeans and other foreigners put up with but often find to be clueless when it comes to good taste in dress and decorum.. So What? They way someone dresses doesn't excuse someone else's behavior or their attitudes towards them. I remember a big thread which says it's not an invitation!

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

11. It isn't just the style of dress.

I live in the UK, and I have to deal with American visitors for business/pleasure on a regular basis. The dress thing is, I think, not so much of an issue. Granted that in Europe you are judged based on the way you dress in a way you wouldn't be in the US. But generally, nobody is asking for expensive three-piece suits and fancy dresses.

They way someone dresses doesn't excuse someone else's behavior or their attitudes towards them.

And ignoring local custom with respect to dress is insensitive. It works both ways.

Hell, many British tourists dress worse than their American counterparts. But there is a certain attitude that I frequently encounter from American tourists. Many are literally shocked by those things which many Europeans do without (cars, clothes dryers, large living quarters, etc.) And they can't manage to shut up about it. Or the cost of everything. This inevitably leads to "things are so much cheaper / more luxurious in the US." And quite frequently that leads to "The US is just a much better place than X." And it's annoying to the residents of X. Hell, it's annoying to me.

[genie_weenie]

14. I lived in the UK for a year.

Of course for the first few months I spent my days shuttling back and forth to between RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth and then I flew on to the Middle East. So, I unfortunately spent most of my time in England dealing with East Anglia winter.

I do think I was judged by my USMC charlies and cammies and even in civies, that dumbass Marine Corp haircut and Chicagoland accent made me stick out...

But, I did go without a car for my tour. Which meant I managed to stay off the bloody A1!

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

15. Too bad about the winter.

You'll be pleased to know that the winters in East Anglia are actually considered very mild by British standards. And yes, a military uniform will get you dirty looks, especially in the cities. (Well, especially in cambridge.)

[Gormy Cuss]

5. Can someone please get a copy to Karen Hughes?

She should be a beta testing candidate.

I might be wrong, but I think the ugliest Americans abroad are the conservative jingoists who like to tell everyone how much better the U.S. is and demand that someone with the almighty dollar in his pocket ought to be able to do whatever he pleases. They are the opposite of the young backpacking liberals or the liberal families who want to try local foods, learn local history and customs to understand the world rather than prove the U.S.A. is the best place.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

12. It isn't necessarily even the jingoists.

It's people who've never traveled before. Or met different people before. It can come from both sides of the political spectrum.

A much smaller yet distinct problem is American liberals fetishising European culture and politics as some kind of classy socialist utopia. This is annoying to some people here as the jingoism, because it glosses over all of the real and important issues people in Europe face. A lot of people here hate their own governments as much as we hate ours.

[Gormy Cuss]

13. I know it's on both sides of the political spectrum, but the righties

seem more likely to be willfully obnoxious, as opposed to just naive.

I'm sure naive liberal Americans viewing Europe as utopian are annoying too. ;-)

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

6. I think the 'tourists' wearing camouflage and bearing weapons probably

have more influence on the perception of Americans worldwide.

Not that it's their fault they happened to be in the military during the shrubco reign.

[rucky]

7. I reject the assumption that the president is somehow involved

you don't see him wearing hawaiian shirts, or recklessly riding around...

nevermind.

[BooScout]

8. Oh yea riiiiiiiiiight.....

....that will fool the Europeans. It's all simply a matter of dress and decorum:eyes: ....the people of Europe don't hate Americans............they hate the foreign policy of America and they are smart enough to recognize the difference.

*note to all........this does not include Parisians.......they hate everyone regardless of nationality:patriot:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

9. Heh...

*note to all........this does not include Parisians.......they hate everyone regardless of nationality

Including the French.

[BooScout]

10. LOL....most definitely.....

That actual quote was given to me by a Inn Keeper in Rouen nearly 30 years ago. It still proves true today.