Stories are often told about rude American tourists, neighbors, or simply Americans. They have been labeled as rude because of their actions and their portrayal in the media and our society. Most of the complaints involve tourists. According to a businessperson. Com, Tripods, a travel blog, conducted a survey last year involving 700 respondents from 62 countries about bad tourist behavior. It covers everything from travel etiquette and manners (like hogging the arm rests and asking to switch seats incessantly in plane rides) to drunken misbehaver and foreign fertilization.
A whopping 33% of respondents, three times as many as the next worst, Britain, agree that Americans are terrible tourists. 44% of the American respondents even agreed that their countrymen are the worst tourists. As the stereotype goes, they're loud, rude, fat, and make terrible fashion choices. Stereotype aside, why are Americans seen as rude and disrespectful? Aside from the Internet research, a survey was also done in class asking the students their opinions on why Americans are often seen as rude.
The top reasons turned out to be the US is involved in a lot of wars, the American bringing and cultural differences and misunderstanding. The supports, however, were mostly based on information from the Internet and personal observations. First reason on why Americans are often seen as rude is the role of the US in wars around the world. The US has been a world superpower for so many years and is considered as one of the "Most Reliable Countries. Being one of the richest and most powerful countries, Americans tend to think they are superior and can overpower anyone, making them come off as rude and disrespectful. American rudeness and disrespect also comes from the wars hey were involved in the past to gain power or just for the sake of warring such as World Wars I and II, Vietnam, Korean, Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Even if they didn't win without the help of other countries, it still made Americans act and think that they are above anyone, which carries on up until now.
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Second reason of American rudeness is the American upbringing. It is the environment that they grew up in; it is how they were raised. Many Americans are loud and outspoken because they grew up in a similar environment especially if they grew up in a city since American cities tend to be hectic and Hattie. They are often seen glued and yelling over their phones, which may be just talking normally for them. They are also seen as rude because of their informality when meeting strangers and they think everything is funny.
This is because they are comfortable with other people although they don't realize that the same open behavior comes across as disrespect to other people. Americans are seen as rude because many of them feel that they have to insult others because everything has to be their way. Many Americans are known to be chain-swears like it's a part of them, like it's a normal thing. When they do not get what they want, they become frustrated. They just lack manners and social graces because they feel the need to become dominant and take control of everything without thinking about how to treat others.
Americans also seem to have a bad reputation with not realizing that the whole world did not grow up learning English to serve them, and that speaking slower to someone who doesn't understand or speak English, doesn't make a difference. Third reason is cultural differences. As mentioned in the previous reason, the open behavior of Americans comes across as disrespect to other people cause they aren't used to such culture, whereas Americans often view familiarity as a good thing. Mistakes made by tourists when visiting other countries are often seen as disrespectful.
They may not be fully aware, but some people actually get offended. For example, if you're in France and you're invited to dinner at someone's house, you should bring a gift but do not bring a bottle of wine because it implies that your hoses wine is not good enough. Since it is habitual for polite Americans to bring a bottle of wine as a gift for one's hosts, it may be a problem especially if they aren't familiar with he French rule. Americans are also known for their busy lifestyle, wherein their time costs so much that they don't waste it in apologizing or thanking others.
Some people as a child has been taught that saying "thank you," "you're welcome," or "I'm sorry' is a way of showing good manners, so not doing any of the mentioned may seen by others as rude. The way they show their nationalism and pride makes them seem to look down on other countries since they say that other countries are nothing compared to them, and that the US is the best country in the world. Maybe we are just used to he respectful culture, but some of the ways they show nationalism and pride may be disrespectful to other countries.
Some of the things they say may also sound offensive but they actually mean something different. An example would be their use of the phrase, "Oh, really? " A person could take it as someone challenging his opinion but in reality it simply means, "Interesting Can you elaborate? " The portrayal of arrogance among Americans through their actions, the media and the society is caused by the role of the US in wars, the American upbringing and cultural differences. Not all Americans are rude; they were just stereotyped as such.
That is why everyone should respect and appreciate each others differences and try to learn and understand them and their culture. It is important to learn and understand them to avoid getting too offended, and to know how to react to certain situations. It also helps in getting to know and socializing with Americans instead of avoiding them for being intentionally or unintentionally rude because after all, they are humans just like everyone else.
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Rude American. (2018, Mar 24). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/rude-american/
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