# Anti-Americanism and travel **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 22, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691 "2005-03-22T07:06:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/61 "2005-03-23T23:30:27Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > They are loud, arrogant, dreadfully dressed (old people in tracksuits and trainers, people wearing shorts in churches etc) and have a propensity to expect everything to be just the same as at home. And then there’s the whole “American Hair” thing… > > So sometimes it just comes down to manners. That’s why I like the Japanese tourists. Fair enough - so the rule is “when in Rome”? Fine. Next time you lot come to the USA how about visiting a goddamned dentist? (you know, that British “teeth” thing) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/62 "2005-03-24T00:04:50Z")
Several years ago, my husband was taking his stepfather to the U.S. immigration office in Newark for some reason (the stepfather was a legal immigrant but not a citizen). A British couple were in line in front of them and were treated rather rudely by the bureaucrat behind the counter (as were my husband and stepfather, BTW). My husband apologized to the British couple for the rudeness they had encountered, and said he felt embarrassed on behalf of the country for the clerk’s behavior. “That’s all right,” said the British fellow. “We have idiots back home, too.” ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/63 "2005-03-24T05:39:44Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > As a limey who lives in a tourist trap (London), and travels on the continent a lot I would say that most Europeans can easily tell the difference between America (which many actively dislike - especially the French) and actual individual yanks. > > There are of course some people who just don’t like you - but they are a tiny minority. > > Having said all that, yank tourists are (outside of the French) easily the most irritating. They are loud, arrogant, dreadfully dressed (old people in tracksuits and trainers, people wearing shorts in churches etc) and have a propensity to expect everything to be just the same as at home. And then there’s the whole “American Hair” thing… As a yank I have to agree with you that Americans are bad tourists. Here in Colorado we have a term for the worst of them, we call them “New Yorkers or Texans”. There is a definate attitude difference between the east and the mountains in how people act. There is a wierd sense of entitlement that just doesn’t fit in here, and I’d imagine it fits in less well around the world. The whole loud talking thing to start with, plus the fact it just gets louder and more annoying over the most trivial things, creates a lot of resentment. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/64 "2005-03-24T08:26:46Z")
I lived in London for six months, and I was never able to pick out a person’s nationality based on their hair. Is there some cabalistic method of divination that I’m missing? ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/65 "2005-03-24T10:23:03Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > I think owl’s perfect “sophisticated European hairstyle” is that of Kip (Aaron Ruell) in [Napolean Dynamite.](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.rgj.com/news/files/2004/08/23/51542.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rgj.com/news/files/2004/08/23/51542.jpg.php&h=406&w=450&sz=80&tbnid=BtEEHqhraaIJ:&tbnh=111&tbnw=123&start=205&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnapoleon%2Bdynamite%26start%3D200%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN) Am I wrong? Sadly yes. This is closer: > **[William Hague](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hague)** > > William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond, PC, FRSL (born 26 March 1961) is a British Conservative politician and life peer who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) in North Yorkshire from 1989 to 2015. He served in the Cameron government as First Secretary of State from 2010 to 2015, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2010 to 2014, and Leader of th... And yes there most certainly is such a thing as American Hair. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/66 "2005-03-24T10:27:24Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Fair enough - so the rule is “when in Rome”? Fine. Next time you lot come to the USA how about visiting a goddamned dentist? (you know, that British “teeth” thing) 😉 Fair enough. I’ll even put on 50lbs to fit in. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/67 "2005-03-24T10:55:52Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] [ul][li]In Italy (I don’t remember if it was Milan, Florence or Venice – but I think it was Venice) there was an elderly American couple. ‘Hey Murray! Go stand by that statue. I want to take a picture of it!’[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] I remember standing in front of the Goldenes Dachl in Innsbruck (which is in the middle of the Old town Pedestrian Zone, and surrounded by great restaurants, which were really cheap that year, because the dollar was so strong) and hearing some kids say: “Mom, where’s the Burger King?” Personally, I don’t have anything against most American tourists. I just can’t stand the ones who show no interest at all in the local customs, quisine, art, etc. These are ususally the elderly couples doing the “Europe in a week” trips, who sometimes don’t even know what country they’re in anymore. Or, it’s the college-age kids who go to Amsterdam for the drugs and sex, and to Prague for the beer and sex. For some reason most Americans are really surprised when they travel the equivalent of a trip from Baltimore to D.C. and they are suddenly in a different country, where the people speak a different language, eat different food, and just behave differently in general. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/68 "2005-03-24T14:21:40Z")
Naturally we must mention that a lot of tourists, of any country, are rampaging and loud idiots. 🙂 I lived in London for 3 years and you kind of just turn off the presence of some of the tourists. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/69 "2005-03-24T14:28:30Z")
> [@](#): > > And yes there most certainly is such a thing as American Hair. Okay fine, but what is it? You keep saying this and yet won’t explain. Is there some big mystery about it that you aren’t allowed to tell anyone? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/70 "2005-03-24T15:52:38Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > Sadly yes. This is closer: > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William\_Hague](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hague) Don’t forget [Boris!!!](http://www.geocities.com/borisjohnsonfanclub/) ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/71 "2005-03-24T15:53:43Z")
> [@missbunny](#): > > Okay fine, but what is it? You keep saying this and yet won’t explain. Is there some big mystery about it that you aren’t allowed to tell anyone? No not really. It’s just if I start explaining it it turns into a rambling high-jack and I’m a well brought up bloke so I don’t do that. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/72 "2005-03-24T15:56:24Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Don’t forget [Boris!!!](http://www.geocities.com/borisjohnsonfanclub/) The only other person with hair like BORIS is BORIS’ Dad. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4016035.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4016035.stm) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/73 "2005-03-24T15:59:53Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > We heard several comments about boorish Germans, and I did see one German (dressed in a fringed buckskin jacket and floppy leather hat) who was obnoxiously drunk. Traveling in eastern Europe in the early 90s, we kept hearing from locals that it was the loud and obnoxious _German_ tourists they _really_ resented. (But that may may have been because, at that point, they were overrun with German tourists, and not so many Americans. I’m sure those same locals have plenty of “boorish American” stories to tell now. None in which I am featured as a character, I hope.) ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/74 "2005-03-24T16:07:09Z")
In Amsterdam we see a lot of loud, drunken _English_ tourists. I believe there’s a thing called ‘binge’ drinking. They binge a lot here. Must be our cheap booze. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/75 "2005-03-24T16:14:47Z")
> [@Mycroft Holmes](#): > > I remember standing in front of the Goldenes Dachl in Innsbruck (which is in the middle of the Old town Pedestrian Zone, and surrounded by great restaurants, which were really cheap that year, because the dollar was so strong) and hearing some kids say: “Mom, where’s the Burger King?” That comment really brings back memories. I went to France for the first time around the time Pulp Fiction was released. It sucked - all the people I was traveling with kept talking about getting a “Royale with Cheese.” I spent half the time trying to shrink into my clothes, and the other half avoiding the people I was traveling with. “Um, so, Chad - why don’t you go get your ‘Royale with Cheese’ and I’ll just stroll around here.” _bolts for Marseilles as soon as Chad leaves_ ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/76 "2005-03-24T16:56:07Z")
> [@gum](#): > > In Amsterdam we see a lot of loud, drunken _English_ tourists. > > I believe there’s a thing called ‘binge’ drinking. They binge a lot here. Must be our cheap booze. 🙂 I read somwhere that 90% of the people who fall in the canals in Hamster Jam are British. I’m quite proud of my countrymen if that’s true. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/77 "2005-03-24T17:23:17Z")
hahahaha 🙂 Just the other day a drunken guy from Finland claimed he had a fight and punched someone in a canal. Trouble is: He couldn’t remember which canal. The police are still searching. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/78 "2005-03-24T20:50:23Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > No not really. It’s just if I start explaining it it turns into a rambling high-jack and I’m a well brought up bloke so I don’t do that. Hey–I think we’d all forgive you if you went on that “rambling high-jack.” I think I speak for many of us when I say that _we want to know what the heck American hair is!_ As a non-bald American, I am especially concerned that it may be not only our horrible foreign policies that are alienating our European brethren, but our coiffures. Please, in the interests of international cooperation and understanding, tell us what you mean by the phrase, “American hair.” ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/79 "2005-03-24T21:27:54Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > The only other person with hair like BORIS is BORIS’ Dad. > > [BBC NEWS | UK | England | Devon | Tory candidate on marbles mission](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4016035.stm) Hmmn. I wouldn’t be too sure about that. I f I let my hair go native I could almost be a Johnson too. Erm, if you know what I mean. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691/80 "2005-03-24T22:43:42Z")
> [@Mycroft Holmes](#): > > I remember standing in front of the Goldenes Dachl in Innsbruck (which is in the middle of the Old town Pedestrian Zone, and surrounded by great restaurants, which were really cheap that year, because the dollar was so strong) and hearing some kids say: “Mom, where’s the Burger King?” > . Oddly enough, almost the first thing I saw, the first time I visited Rome, was a large Wimpy’s hamburger restaurant. It looked so authentically American that I was surprised to learn later that there’s no such thing as Wimpy’s in America. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-americanism-and-travel/295691.md?page=5)