Are All Europeans Rude?

Off Topic
61

[quote]jp_dubya wrote:
OP,
were you wearing touristy clothes and bothering every passer-by to take a picture of you the the missus in from of “that” thing nearly everywhere you went?[/quote]

None of these happened, actually I take almost all the pictures, most of them with none of us in it, some with my wife alone, even fewer with both of us shot at arm length and 1 or 2 with me in it (out of hundreds) :). We dress casually in plain tshirts and shorts AND tennis shoes (no flipflops) so we didn’t look touristy or american.

Probably the “Europe sux, US rulz” tee I wore all the time had something to do with it? j/k

I hardly ever approach strangers for anything, be it taking pictures, asking for directions or other things.

It’s hard to describe the hostility that was in the air. People were not happy even among their own parties, it was like almost everybody we saw was upset or had something to hide, furtive looks around, avoiding eye contact, trying to get anywhere ahead of anybody around, be it elevators, doors, in line at the (excellent) breakfast buffets or getting on the train and so forth. The elevator doors would open and there’s people chatting in there that would not move an inch even if though they were right in the way, and the same repeats over and over on the street, bumping into you and giving you murderous looks, blowing cigarette smoke towards you while dining out (did I mention everybody seemed to smoke too?) or other little things (see the yelling the copenhagen guy was talking about above).

The original question should have been “are average northern Europeans ruder than average Americans?”

62

I’m not American, but I’ve noticed the same coldness from Europeans. Other countries like the Philippines and Thailand have friendlier people.

63

[quote]undeadlift wrote:
I’m not American, but I’ve noticed the same coldness from Europeans. Other countries like the Philippines and Thailand have friendlier people.[/quote]

White people are just plain rude.

64

[quote]catone wrote:
jp_dubya wrote:
OP,
were you wearing touristy clothes and bothering every passer-by to take a picture of you the the missus in from of “that” thing nearly everywhere you went?

None of these happened, actually I take almost all the pictures, most of them with none of us in it, some with my wife alone, even fewer with both of us shot at arm length and 1 or 2 with me in it (out of hundreds) :). We dress casually in plain tshirts and shorts AND tennis shoes (no flipflops) so we didn’t look touristy or american.

Probably the “Europe sux, US rulz” tee I wore all the time had something to do with it? j/k

I hardly ever approach strangers for anything, be it taking pictures, asking for directions or other things.

It’s hard to describe the hostility that was in the air. People were not happy even among their own parties, it was like almost everybody we saw was upset or had something to hide, furtive looks around, avoiding eye contact, trying to get anywhere ahead of anybody around, be it elevators, doors, in line at the (excellent) breakfast buffets or getting on the train and so forth. The elevator doors would open and there’s people chatting in there that would not move an inch even if though they were right in the way, and the same repeats over and over on the street, bumping into you and giving you murderous looks, blowing cigarette smoke towards you while dining out (did I mention everybody seemed to smoke too?) or other little things (see the yelling the copenhagen guy was talking about above).

The original question should have been “are average northern Europeans ruder than average Americans?”

[/quote]

…are you saying this kind of behaviour is really vastly different from what you experience in the US? Reading through threads on this board alone will show you that antisocial behaviour isn’t limited to northern europe, but thenagain, your hometown might very well be the nicest town ever…

65

[quote]catone wrote:
jp_dubya wrote:
OP,
were you wearing touristy clothes and bothering every passer-by to take a picture of you the the missus in from of “that” thing nearly everywhere you went?

None of these happened, actually I take almost all the pictures, most of them with none of us in it, some with my wife alone, even fewer with both of us shot at arm length and 1 or 2 with me in it (out of hundreds) :). We dress casually in plain tshirts and shorts AND tennis shoes (no flipflops) so we didn’t look touristy or american.

Probably the “Europe sux, US rulz” tee I wore all the time had something to do with it? j/k

I hardly ever approach strangers for anything, be it taking pictures, asking for directions or other things.

It’s hard to describe the hostility that was in the air. People were not happy even among their own parties, it was like almost everybody we saw was upset or had something to hide, furtive looks around, avoiding eye contact, trying to get anywhere ahead of anybody around, be it elevators, doors, in line at the (excellent) breakfast buffets or getting on the train and so forth. The elevator doors would open and there’s people chatting in there that would not move an inch even if though they were right in the way, and the same repeats over and over on the street, bumping into you and giving you murderous looks, blowing cigarette smoke towards you while dining out (did I mention everybody seemed to smoke too?) or other little things (see the yelling the copenhagen guy was talking about above).

The original question should have been “are average northern Europeans ruder than average Americans?”

[/quote]

I don’t know if you can call them ruder. They are definitely different. Just like it would be considered rude in the states to burp while eating, it is also rude not to burp and slurp in other places in the world. So about the norther Europeans, they aren’t ruder, they are different. It’s a culture where the people keep to themselves, you don’t just chat with random people. They practically do not flirt, not even in disco’s and bars. People who worked there confirm that it’s very hard to become close with them, but once you are, they will be your friends for life. I kind of had the same experience when I travelled there and I’m from Holland. European’s often view Americans as “fake”, with all the pleasantries, small talk and the over the top “How are you today”. I don’t agree, it’s just a different way of communication. Hope this helps

66

[quote]Renton wrote:
catone wrote:
Renton wrote:
Are All Europeans Rude?

Yes, now fuck off.

Fuck off, please! :slight_smile:

LMAO!
[/quote]

I love the way the OP has House as his avatar, but complains about rudeness!
hahaha

67

Dude haven’t you seen Hostel?

I’m amazed you got out of there alive.

68

[quote]undeadlift wrote:
I’m not American, but I’ve noticed the same coldness from Europeans. Other countries like the Philippines and Thailand have friendlier people.[/quote]

Thais are friendly as long as theres a possibility for them to milk all your hard earned money. Once they find out they cant do it your lover that a street rat in their mind…seriously thais are not that friendly once you get to know them more.

Sure if you live there youll get some friends but the average thai has enough troubles making a living that being nice to someone is not first thing on their minds unless theres something to be gained(money).

Having lived there short time it was refreshing to get back home to scandinavia where people did`nt see you as a walking wallet.

Personally ive dont think we scandinavians are rude,ive travelled in most european countrys and i just dont get it how we are characterized like that.

My experiences on tourists here is that americans are definitely among the nicest,they might be lost on history and know shit about country their visiting but always polite and respectful,and i dont agree with lixy mixing politics with everything,people might disagree with US politics on rest of the world but whos so stupid to think that georgie and his butt buddies represent the whole US.

69

[quote]balljack8 wrote:
undeadlift wrote:
I’m not American, but I’ve noticed the same coldness from Europeans. Other countries like the Philippines and Thailand have friendlier people.

Thais are friendly as long as theres a possibility for them to milk all your hard earned money. Once they find out they cant do it your lover that a street rat in their mind…seriously thais are not that friendly once you get to know them more.

Sure if you live there youll get some friends but the average thai has enough troubles making a living that being nice to someone is not first thing on their minds unless theres something to be gained(money).

Having lived there short time it was refreshing to get back home to scandinavia where people did`nt see you as a walking wallet.

Personally ive dont think we scandinavians are rude,ive travelled in most european countrys and i just dont get it how we are characterized like that.

My experiences on tourists here is that americans are definitely among the nicest,they might be lost on history and know shit about country their visiting but always polite and respectful,and i dont agree with lixy mixing politics with everything,people might disagree with US politics on rest of the world but whos so stupid to think that georgie and his butt buddies represent the whole US.

[/quote]

…thing is though: i used to work in a small cafe in Amsterdam that catered to hotel guests too. We dreaded the coaches full of middle aged Finish tourists because they were the rudest, unfriendliest pain in the ass you can imagine. A lot of them did not seem to have any common decency whatsoever: shouting orders from their tables, getting a draft themselves, interrupting other guests when ordering and so on. They never left a tip either, something you can’t say of american tourists. No, the Fins and Israelis are definitly the worst tourists…

70

[quote]Boffin wrote:
Renton wrote:
catone wrote:
Renton wrote:
Are All Europeans Rude?

Yes, now fuck off.

Fuck off, please! :slight_smile:

LMAO!

I love the way the OP has House as his avatar, but complains about rudeness!
hahaha[/quote]

And Hugh Laurie is a Brit, too.

(Love House, btw)

71

[quote]Boffin wrote:
I love the way the OP has House as his avatar, but complains about rudeness!
hahaha[/quote]

Are you really a pirate? :slight_smile:

72

[quote]T.O.M. wrote:
catone wrote:
jp_dubya wrote:
OP,
were you wearing touristy clothes and bothering every passer-by to take a picture of you the the missus in from of “that” thing nearly everywhere you went?

None of these happened, actually I take almost all the pictures, most of them with none of us in it, some with my wife alone, even fewer with both of us shot at arm length and 1 or 2 with me in it (out of hundreds) :). We dress casually in plain tshirts and shorts AND tennis shoes (no flipflops) so we didn’t look touristy or american.

Probably the “Europe sux, US rulz” tee I wore all the time had something to do with it? j/k

I hardly ever approach strangers for anything, be it taking pictures, asking for directions or other things.

It’s hard to describe the hostility that was in the air. People were not happy even among their own parties, it was like almost everybody we saw was upset or had something to hide, furtive looks around, avoiding eye contact, trying to get anywhere ahead of anybody around, be it elevators, doors, in line at the (excellent) breakfast buffets or getting on the train and so forth. The elevator doors would open and there’s people chatting in there that would not move an inch even if though they were right in the way, and the same repeats over and over on the street, bumping into you and giving you murderous looks, blowing cigarette smoke towards you while dining out (did I mention everybody seemed to smoke too?) or other little things (see the yelling the copenhagen guy was talking about above).

The original question should have been “are average northern Europeans ruder than average Americans?”

I don’t know if you can call them ruder. They are definitely different. Just like it would be considered rude in the states to burp while eating, it is also rude not to burp and slurp in other places in the world. So about the norther Europeans, they aren’t ruder, they are different. It’s a culture where the people keep to themselves, you don’t just chat with random people. They practically do not flirt, not even in disco’s and bars. People who worked there confirm that it’s very hard to become close with them, but once you are, they will be your friends for life. I kind of had the same experience when I travelled there and I’m from Holland. European’s often view Americans as “fake”, with all the pleasantries, small talk and the over the top “How are you today”. I don’t agree, it’s just a different way of communication. Hope this helps

[/quote]

This is probably the simplest and best explanation. I somehow expected northern europeans to be “civilized” but used the american measuring stick. I can see how they must think of the americans being loud and obnoxious, because the americans we met were cheerful and vivacious and ENJOYING their vacations.

And to those asking where I was from: currently in Washington state, but lived before in Ohio and Arkansas :slight_smile:

73

i meant that i have seen four therapists in my life, not at the same time. three actualy. one was not actualy a therapist at all, she was more of a career planner at my school. she was rather freaked out. i was misinformed apparently.
i am not a therapist, i am an assistant to a motorcycling instructor. psychology is made up. i only went out of desperation. i did enjoy talking to them though since i havent got any friends

74

[quote]catone wrote:
T.O.M. wrote:
catone wrote:
jp_dubya wrote:
OP,
were you wearing touristy clothes and bothering every passer-by to take a picture of you the the missus in from of “that” thing nearly everywhere you went?

None of these happened, actually I take almost all the pictures, most of them with none of us in it, some with my wife alone, even fewer with both of us shot at arm length and 1 or 2 with me in it (out of hundreds) :). We dress casually in plain tshirts and shorts AND tennis shoes (no flipflops) so we didn’t look touristy or american.

Probably the “Europe sux, US rulz” tee I wore all the time had something to do with it? j/k

I hardly ever approach strangers for anything, be it taking pictures, asking for directions or other things.

It’s hard to describe the hostility that was in the air. People were not happy even among their own parties, it was like almost everybody we saw was upset or had something to hide, furtive looks around, avoiding eye contact, trying to get anywhere ahead of anybody around, be it elevators, doors, in line at the (excellent) breakfast buffets or getting on the train and so forth.

The elevator doors would open and there’s people chatting in there that would not move an inch even if though they were right in the way, and the same repeats over and over on the street, bumping into you and giving you murderous looks, blowing cigarette smoke towards you while dining out (did I mention everybody seemed to smoke too?) or other little things (see the yelling the copenhagen guy was talking about above).

The original question should have been “are average northern Europeans ruder than average Americans?”

I don’t know if you can call them ruder. They are definitely different. Just like it would be considered rude in the states to burp while eating, it is also rude not to burp and slurp in other places in the world. So about the norther Europeans, they aren’t ruder, they are different.

It’s a culture where the people keep to themselves, you don’t just chat with random people. They practically do not flirt, not even in disco’s and bars. People who worked there confirm that it’s very hard to become close with them, but once you are, they will be your friends for life. I kind of had the same experience when I travelled there and I’m from Holland. European’s often view Americans as “fake”, with all the pleasantries, small talk and the over the top “How are you today”. I don’t agree, it’s just a different way of communication. Hope this helps

This is probably the simplest and best explanation. I somehow expected northern europeans to be “civilized” but used the american measuring stick. I can see how they must think of the americans being loud and obnoxious, because the americans we met were cheerful and vivacious and ENJOYING their vacations.

And to those asking where I was from: currently in Washington state, but lived before in Ohio and Arkansas :slight_smile:
[/quote]

…don’t worry about it; we’re used to americans believing they’re at the pinacle of civilisation. We simply know better (-;

75

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
undeadlift wrote:
I’m not American, but I’ve noticed the same coldness from Europeans. Other countries like the Philippines and Thailand have friendlier people.

White people are just plain rude.[/quote]

LIES!!!

76

I think french people are fucking arrogant. I love pissing them off! .Fuck em…

77

I’ve never been to france but i would love to since i dont care much about hygiene either

78

That works well for my friend. When she meets up with someone that she just does not want to talk to, she will usually let fly a zinger. Something like…(and no kidding):

Hey you? How are you doing? How was your weekend?

My Friend: Oh, you know, not much - I fucked a midget, then ate an orange.

You can hear the crickets chirping almost - hilarious.

79


OP, if you want a super f’jolly tourist experience go to Disney World. Sea World is nice too, especially the Anheuser Busch Hospitality Tent.

Not all European’s are rude, but they’re different that’s for sure. It’s the little cultural differences that make us all unique. There may be some hostility against the Americans though, and here’s an excellent reason why:

Invading Iraq may have something to do with it too. You know it wasn’t right when Germany, out of all countries was against the war. Bush and his corrupt administration are to blame for all of America’s troubles, here and abroad. Impeach that fool.

As a tourist the nicest service I’ve ever received was in Colombia, especially Bogota and Cartagena. Cuba was a very close second.

Shittiest by far was Panama, they’re as rude as they’re fat.

Peace to all,

80

So yesterday I was riding BART (~subway) home in a pretty full car and this chinese guy sat next to me. I don’t know if he was a tourist or not but he spoke chinese on his phone and he definitely wasn’t a native English speaker from the three words of that I heard him say getting off the train.

I was in the window seat and he was on the aisle and the car was pretty full when I felt this stench creeping over. It wasn’t BO, I can usual deal with that, but it was porta-potty-- as in the rankest gas a human can make.

Ok, I can look the other way for one (even if I can’t smell the other way) because everyone has a slip up once in a while. But then there was another. And another. And another, one per minute. Then he sort of crossed his legs in that way girls do, learning towards the aisle and pointing his ass in my direction.

By this point we’ve been through a few stops and had a several people around us change so I’m reasonable sure its him or one other Jerry Garcia looking guy a few seats away (it was the Chinese guy in the end though).

Then came the moment of panic. There was an obstruction in the line and we had a 5 min delay. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so close to murdering someone in my life as I was in that moment of desperation (and assphyxiation). 10-15 more minutes my terror lasted.

So in short, the best case was that that guy was a clueless tourist who didn’t do his homework on cultural norms before traveling. The worst case is that he was just the worlds biggest (and foulest) asshole.