The Stupid American Tourists
Dmitri May 23rd, 2007
Why are Americans Considered Stupid? - The American Tourists
This is a follow up on my previous article Are Americans Stupid? aimed to explain analytically why Americans are seen as stupid people around the world. It is the first part of a series which will explain the various factors which cause such a negative world opinion of Americans.
An American tourist couple outside a cathedral in Italy. The couple got yelled at and the lady had to cover her legs as shorts and sleeveless shirts are not allowed at Catholic churches, basilicas or cathedrals.
The Saga of American Tourists and Cultural Conflicts
American tourists in other countries tend to be the ambassador of “Americans are stupid” stereotype. They often dress like they are going to play football (soccer) or are in a golf tournament which gets them the smirk of the locals. They expect everyone in the world to speak English and use US dollars. This is emphasized when they are often heard shouting, “Does anyone here speak English” or “How much is that in real money?” in busy markets in Bangkok or Riviera. They tend not to mix with anything that is not American. Wherever they go, they keep close to an American guide, eat only American food and stay only in American hotels. Anything which is cultural rather than americanised takes them out of their comfort zone. When they are in foreign lands, Americans are always herded like cattle and guided by their American guides at all times.
They mutter things like “evil” or “devilish” when they visit local temples in Asia or Greece. They tend to see Swastika decorated temples, road signs and houses as Nazi symbolism of racism. They often tend to break local laws and disrespect local tradition which usually puts them in soup like the image shown above. Most American tourists who visit strongly sovereign un-American countries like France, Italy or India find that being an American in these countries is not a privilege. This often comes to them as a shock as they expect to be treated royally which makes them end up being bitter against those countries.
Stupid Until Proven Intelligent Syndrome
In Europe and most parts of Asia, a person is considered ‘Intelligent Until Proven Stupid’. Therefore unless a person behaves in a way that makes him or her look really stupid, they are generally left to their own judgments and individual choices. On the other hand it is assumed both in the United States and elsewhere in the world that Americans are ‘Stupid unless proven intelligent’. In the United States, media and the government treats their people like a bunch of morons who need to be guided in every step of their life. Unlike Europe, Americans seem to need expert guidance for everything, from how to wash clothes properly, cook an omelette, invest in shares or have sex. Every small aspect of their life seems to be guided by research findings, which are often doctored by the media to fit corporate and government interests. If they travel, they have travel staff and books giving them directions and guidance for every small aspect of their trip.
Cultural Inexperience
Americans are not as culturally experienced as the people in Asian or European countries with rich heritage. They make this fact quite obvious to the rest of the world which again makes them the target of mockery and sniggers. They display a crude dress sense along with their lack of sophistication and tendency to use swear words at the drop of a hat. In the lingual abilities, most of the people in America are mono-lingual except the immigrants. The only language they speak is English or Spanish which is unlike Europe or Asia where people can speak an average of three languages fluently and many can do five or more. Their cultural knowledge of the world revolves around wars, blood and gore like American Civil War and World War 2 rather than peaceful civilizations like Greek, Sumerian or Indus valley civilizations. This gives them a bleak and xenophobic outlook of the world which ultimately leads to racial bias and subconscious racism.
This article is meant to be informative and not to incite dislike for Americans. Not all Americans fit the given reasons but a large majority do which is why this article will help them recognise the ’symptoms’ of being an American. I have refrained from giving any tips as I am optimistic that Americans could read this article and understand what the root of the problem is, which needs to be avoided.
- World Culture , Internationalism , America
- Comments(11)
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If brains were money American tourists would be among the poorest beings on earth. I have never had an intelligent experience with any American tourist or non. If they didnt have the money no one would have tolerated them. I work in tourism and I know a lot about that.
The sad thing is, this is very true. The typical American expects to be treated like they own the world! I am sorry, Abraxor, that you have not had an intelligent experience with any Americans. Some of us are not entirely ignorant as the stereo-type suggests; however, sadly most Americans are like this.
This is very sad, but also very true. For my job, I travel 90% outside of the US and I am a US citizen. I tend to gravitate towards Europeans, as most of my travel is to Europe. I find Americans (usually on vacation in Europe, although not so much lately as the US dollar is in the toilet) to be very rude and expect everyone to cater to them. I know this is not what they perceive, but they need to step into the shoes of Europeans (and all non-US shoes) and understand that they “appear” to be rude with the loud voices, swearing, and also they expect everyone to cater to them and speak English. Hopefully, this will change. By the way, I am American and when I travel, I am very respectful of this, and I also speak Spanish and fluent Italian, and am always trying to learn new languages and speak those languages when spoken to. Hats off to Europe! I love it there and am actually hoping to move there in the near future.
How Americans behave abroad is not as disturbing as how they behave at home. It is natural that person abroad will appear ignorant. By definition if you are in a country that is strange to you then you will appear ignorant. Even Swiss people act like pigs when confronted with a trough. Bangkok, for example. The real problem is that a huge majority of Americans do not even have passports. They do not want to travel. They think the US is the best country on earth and they voted for Bush. They are Christians who believe the Bible to be literally correct and they will watch the world destroyed to prove that Armagedon is real. Those are the ones we should worry about.
I hate to be arrogant but I’m not just American, I’m a Texan. Why should we care about the rest of the world? America is the dominant force in the world. Our media is the worlds media, our culture is the worlds culture (Dont tell my you’ve never drank a Coke, or seen a movie from Hollywood), our language is the worlds language. Americans take great pride in their homeland and rightly so, everyone on the world wants to be like us and envies us. To knock Americans for not caring about other cultures is not fair.
God bless Texas!
<blockquote>@ Tim - "Even Swiss people act like pigs when confronted with a trough. Bangkok, for example."</blockquote>
The Swiss do not demand or shout that the Thai people should speak German, Romansh or French. They do not demand prices quotes in Swiss Francs in the markets of Bankok. Not everyone who doesn’t speak English is stupid neither is dollar the de facto currency of the world. If you encounter a loudmouthed Swiss in United States who demands you speak German, calls you an idiot for not doing so or demands prices in Francs, I’d be happy to hear that you gave him a good piece of your mind. Fear of the unknown may be excusable, however arrogant superiority complex is not.
thought the Americans spoke the language of the English.What is this American language then?.I never heard of it.And perhaps not as envied as you think.
Jerry, dominance doesn’t equal righteousness. Just because something is dominant, doesn’t mean that it is of the highest quality that it could be. Why should you care? Because your life could be better too, friend!
I do take a lot of pride in being an American, because there are tons of great things about this country–which obviously may not be on display when we travel. But I live in Florida, which gets massive amounts of international tourists. And for the most part, they are just as obnoxious, if not more so, than American tourists I’ve seen abroad. I could write long posts about stupid, disgusting, and immature things I’ve seen Europeans and Asians do just in my hometown, but what would it say about me if I categorized all Asians and Europeans just by that?
This post leans heavily towards how self-absorbed Americans are while on vacation. News flash: EVERYONE is self-absorbed on vacation! Everyone wants things to be all about them, and gets frustrated when they don’t know how to adapt. Everyone makes stupid fashion mistakes, offends the locals, overheats and snaps. I find the tone of this post to be a little lofty, assuming that because Americans screw up, that must mean that, by nature, Americans ARE screw-ups.
What I find weird is how, if Americans were to snicker behind the back of a foreign tourist in the US, let alone brag on a blog about doing so, it would be seen as proof that Americans are backwards and intolerant.
But if Americans are laughed at behind their backs in foreign countries, it’s STILL proof that Americans are backwards and intolerant–not their mocking hosts!
Double standard?
Vi! I couldn’t agree more. The anti-american sentiment on this website is not even remotely fair or balanced! It saddens me that the world sees all americans as stupid or ignorant, but there are many intelligent and articulate amercans out there! i’m proud to be an american. thank you for your post!
I have to agree that the average American knows jack about other countries, and everyone else knows about America. I’m from Argentina but have lived in Florida for the past 9 years. I have met a bunch of ignorant Americans but i have also met alot of smart,very well-traveled Americans that know a lot about other countries and their cultures and are very appreciative of them. I do not believe in stereotyping an entire country just because some citizen makes an ass of himself overseas. I have been mocked for being Argentinean as we are perceived to be very arrogant and nationalistic. Im nothing like that but believe me, i have MET THAT TYPE and see why people would think that. However, there is nothing wrong with loving your country, so i respect those people who publicly announce it.
Wow, I am so embarrassed and ashamed. I have always felt American’s were fairly ignorant and self righteous (and I AM an American).. after reading all of this… I want to hide my head.
Austria - here I come!