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 Editorials | Opinions | February 2008 
Obnoxious Americans
 Jen Vogelsong - YorkBlog
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Have you ever been traveling in another country and found yourself ashamed to be American because of the behavior of some fellow countryman (or woman)?
I have.
I was on a ferry from Cozumel back to Cancun while in Mexico for my friend's wedding in April. Around me were mostly Mexicans. They were quiet, stayed in their seats and minded their own buisness.
Then, two men dressed in cut-off jean shorts, T-shirts with beer advertisements and bright white sneakers climbed to the upper deck, swaying back and forth for reasons other than a lack of firm ground beneath them. They were loud, used four-letter words with abandon and wondered to each other where their b*****s were - if they didn't show up soon, the ferry would leave without them.
Sure enough, the wives/girlfriends/whatever climbed aboard just as the motor was starting. They carried a neon tubes of alcohol in their hands and played with the beads around their necks as if they had just returned from Mardi Gras. They cavorted rambunctiously the whole trip back, much to the visible amazement and curiousity of the Mexicans seated around me.
I wanted to shrink into my seat and do whatever I could to disassociate myself from these people. I didn't want the Mexicans to think that just because I have pale skin, red hair and carry an American passport that I'm like them. |
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