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Friday, May 12, 2006
Jim Geraghty has a few notes on "The Ugly American" and efforts to clean us up before they turn us loose outside the country. While it's true that we can be a bit loud and brash, we're usually friendly. Every time I've been in France, I've been picked out as an American because a) I was smiling and b) I was looking forward, not down, as I walked through town.
Truth be told, the easiest tourists to pick out are the Germans. They dress like American golfers and act like nothing could have a higher purpose than to be trod upon or photographed by them. A confession: During my trips to France, almost any time I've wanted pictures from a no-photography zone, all I've had to do is wait twenty minutes for a group of Germans to show up, replace my smile with a frown and snap away.
I overgeneralize, of course, but so do these folks so fearful of the specter of the Ugly American. American tourists are no worse, I think, than Japanese or German tourists. The pamphlet doesn't offer the worst advice, but it is a bit patronizing.
posted by gbarto at 12:54 PM
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