ozweepay

Clearing security at ZRH Friday; I had yet to pass thru the metal detector when another American came stomping back thru toward me. "You are all a bunch of f*cking idiots!" he yelled at a security screener. "Excuse me sir?" she replied.

"I don't think this is funny!" he replied, "you didn't tell me I had to take my computer out." She said nothing.

He passed thru with no problems on the second try and stormed off to his gate. I was next.

The lady asked me if I had a computer in my bag, and I smiled and pointed to it: it was already taken out and lying in a separate bin. "I'm sorry about that guy," I said, "it embarrassing to see another American behave so poorly."

---

Later, in the boarding area, I saw the guy again. He was just sitting and staring at the floor, waiting for his flight to Nuremberg to board. I guess he was in a hurry "on principal"?

PhlyingRPh

Yes, definitely.

Snoopy

You are absolutely right that even a misunderstanding at a security checkpoint is no excuse for foul language. Hoewever, I have also been known to lose my cool (albeit without becoming abusive) at Frankfurt. Why do they need to be so physical with their "pat down" when they have metal detectors in their hands? Last time I was asked to leave my passport in the plastic bin with my coat. I really don't like doing that because then the passport sits exposed while they decide to pat you down. I asked why and I was told that I could hide something in it!!! Hide something in my passport? Like what exactly? That has got to be the most feeble attempt at a justification for an absolutely nonsensical regulation (if it is indeed one) that I have ever heard. And, yes, I get angry when someone insults my intelligence.....

BearX220

Rudeness is universal. There are plenty of ugly Americans but ugly Britons, ugly Chinese, ugly Indians too... there's no point in trying to parse it by ethnicity. I was at MSP last week waiting to rebook owing to a snow delay and an Indian gentleman ran his rollaboard over my toes and almost knocked me down elbowing his way to the front of the line while everyone else stood by placidly... the next day it'll be a guy from California, or Liverpool, or Manila... I am embarrassed for the rudeness of flying humans in general sometimes, not my countrymen in particular.

oliver2002

flying in general brings the strangest behaviour out of people... just be yourself and don't waste time thinking about the others...

bah

Rudness is not universal !, some nations are more polite, other are less polite.

Americans, in general, are nice people, but they are extremely loud.
try to tell them to lower their voice in a restaurant, aeroplane, or in the business lounge... and see how rude they get !

However, since many of them are indeed vocal and rude, some are often also fat and ugly.
Yes, there are also Britons, Chinese and Indians that are rude or ugly, but it is a case of proportion:
how many out of 1000 chinese or japanese are rude and or ugly?
and how many of them are loud, vocal, and unpleasant?

Don't be surprised if you'll find to your amazement that the ratio between ugly Americans and ugly Indians, or between rude Americans v.s. rude Britons is 10:1 and... probably 50:1 in case of Japanese.

Yes. let me emphasise the ratio: 10 Americans to 1 of any other western nation, and a much higher ratio for eastern nations.

BearX220

I honestly don't want to go down this road, but when transatlantic flights are diverted to drop off drunken lunatics, they are usually Britons, hardly ever Americans. A fight for seats at an Italian train station is a fists-out, flat-out, march-over-your-grandmother melee. The mobs scuffling for position at Delhi airport or anywhere in China are something to behold.

Yes, Americans can be loud and many are not very well-traveled. But there are plenty of nationalities that contribute louts, pigs and dolts to the global pigpile.

How many fatal soccer riots have been recorded in the United States?

No more posts from me on this topic.

jmj9905

bah:
You qoute a lot of "statistics", however you don't provide any evidence to support them!
JMJ

chuckd

Yeah, great fact-finding there.
To answer the original question, no. Alot of other people are idiots, and empathy is not one of my strong points. If someone is being a jackass their nationality isn't that important.

Rambuster

SOCCER in the US ? I believe riots can only happen if there is more than 1 spectator !


...best not to comment on the post by bah....probably a violation of FT posting rules too...

FtlAOI

The post by bah is rubbish... Never seen someone here on FT who is writing about people in such a immature way!
I think so too like Rambuster that this against any FT rules..

Volasia

There are rude people as well as great people everywhere.......

BAH's statement is unbelievable! I don't want to argue here, I think it is just a shame that some American might read this thread. Sorry guys....

PhlyingRPh

I think many non-Americans confuse assertiveness, confidence, a carefree spirit and a sunny disposition, which can be exhibited by a loud, happy voice, loquaciousness and a confident step, with rudeness. Of course, by exhibiting these traits, Americans don't mean to be rude.

It might be annoying to be loud, but it's not rude if the person being loud does not mean to be rude. This should be considered a cultural difference and should be respected.

I wouldn't embarass an American by telling him/her to quiet down in a lounge unless I knew they were deliberately trying to annoy me.

Viking547

To get back on topic, yes ozweepay, it's a shame to encounter this. It's this arrogant and rude behavior which creates tension with other individuals and gives an impression of poor manners and subsequently causes poor stereotypes for society.

Something to think about next time one's on the go!

Cheers~

Daktari

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