The ugly American: A stereotype?

NOT ALL AMERICANS! Certainly not any SNOWFLAKES I know. Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about the ugly American.

My wife taking a cruise with her mother on the Rheine circa the late 70s. When a lunch menu is passed around, a loud American couple asks why there is no hamburger on the menu. They are informed sorry but it is not something they offer. But we want a hamburger argues the American couple.

THAT IS A TRUE STORY. However, one should NOT judge American tourists by the example of just one couple, right?

Guess again:

You know those moments when every stereotype you have about a nationality is realised? I had one of them the other evening in a hostel in Austria. It might not surprise you to hear that the nationality in question was American. (Cue slightly off-key rendition of Star Spangled Banner.)

I was trying to get some work done in the common room of the hostel. (OK, fine, you caught me out – I was procrastinating on Facebook!) But the point remains that I couldn’t concentrate because the not so quiet American was having a very loud and very personal conversation on Skype.

At first it was annoying but, when I started to eavesdrop on what he was saying, it was so entertaining I gave up all hope of getting any work done. (OK, I gave up hope of looking at my friends’ photos and their inane updates on their kids or binge drinking exploits… or, disturbingly, both.)

“We went to a Chinese restaurant here in Austria and it was so ‘bizarre’ because the whole menu was in German,” he tells the not so quiet American dad over Skype.

https://www.timetravelturtle.com/the-not-so-quiet-american/ 

Oh, there's more:

"For some reason, the [American] people I meet in my country are not the same as the ones I knew in the United States. A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They are loud and ostentatious."

— U Maung Swe, The Ugly American

When American citizens go abroad, they will be arrogant, shameless, entitled, rude, and ignorant.

Compare Americans Are Cowboys, Hawaiian-Shirted Tourist — to drive home the stereotype, an Ugly American might wear a cowboy hat or a Hawaiian shirt, or a bathing suit in a situation where it's not appropriate. They are also likely to be overweight or obese.

This is a common stereotype  in many parts of the world for a variety of reasons. One is American individualism and values of freedom of expression contrasting the collectivism of many other cultures; unlike in most cultures that value social harmony and peace at the expense of individual expression (e.g. Japanese Politeness), in America speaking your mind out is actively encouraged, even if it is critical of superior institutions, or offensive. This is paired with a belief in American exceptionalism and/or twisted or exaggerated into extreme self-centeredness. The US's position as a dominant military and economic world power and the high purchasing power of the dollar (allowing a not-wealthy American to live large elsewhere) in many countries are other factors. There's also the recurring stereotype of Americans suffering from Global Ignorance.

 https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UglyAmericanStereotype



Of course, we all agree that this is just an ugly stereotype of Americans, and not reflective of reality. Am I right?




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