<Bites at the bait>
IMO...
The PERCEPTION of ALL Americans being rude and arrogant is common... yes.
But it, like all generalizations, is wrong.
More times than I can count, people have assumed I was an american but after talking with me or asking my nationality, they changed from cold and occasionally almost hostile, to very friendly, once they realized I was not.
It is not totally based on reality.
It is based on perception. Mostly due to political agendas and media then anything else.
I.E. You are not George Bush or Dennis Rodman so why should his actions reflect on you ?
Besides..even if every american but ONE was a jerk, NOT "ALL" would be.
Not all brits are soccer hooligans, not all americans are arrogant, not all <blank> are <blank> !
There IS a cultural "misunderstanding" involved.
When I run into people from large cities in my OWN country, they are generally more aggressive due to the environment they live in. They arrive in a smaller city and act like they do at home. They are not intentionally rude, but are perceived as rude. This is why people from Toronto are generalized as jerks by other Canadians.
As an example...
My friend from China has a different need for "personal space". In North America, if I stand very close to someone they get uncomfortable and it can be perceived as a challenge or threat in some situations.
My friend grew up in a place where there are so many people, you are used to strangers standing very close to you and it is not thought a problem. No intent, just a perception difference.
A person who is used to being agressive to enable him to be noticed by the bartender, when ordering a drink at home, can be considered a jerk when in a bar where there is no need to be aggressive. He probably won't understand why he is treated badly in this situation.
I think that most of these problems are based on lack of cultural/environmental understanding.
The people who run into these problems don't seem to take the differences into account.
If more people would think of WHERE they are, then this stuff would not happen.
When in Rome......
But since that doesn't always happen....
INTENT is the thing I try to understand.
Lack of understanding that, is what causes most problems.
Regards,
Snoopi
BTW -Good Job Australia !
-Yup. U.S. Olympic coverage sucked.
