March 19, 2006
NICE
We went to Prague today.
Golly, I just love Europe.
MORE TO GROK:
Pertinent link: 17% of Americans view the US negatively
Anyway, I was just being snarky with my photo. However, I will say that my husband and I are two of the stingiest people you'll ever meet, which is part of the reason we hardly ever travel. So it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when we spend money to go to another country and have to see crap like this. We also went to the Museum of Communism, and while we were happy to see them tell communism like it is, I was extremely disheartened to see that some of the stuff in the gift shop made fun of the US and George Bush. This just doesn't seem very appropriate to me, nor did the other poster that said something like "Remember when the US stood for freedom?" I don't see why that kind of "joke" has a place in the Museum of Communism.
Posted by Sarah at March 19, 2006 09:32 PM | TrackBack
LOL...I freakin' hate Prague.
Posted by: Erin at March 19, 2006 10:01 PMHmmm, maybe that's why my ancestor's left there in the l880's.
Posted by: Mary*Ann at March 19, 2006 10:51 PMNumber of similarly defaced phones in the US = ?
Posted by: Amritas at March 19, 2006 10:56 PMMaybe I'm just being naive (or pretending like the world is a pretty and happy place...ha!) but I thought Prague was pretty okay with Americans. I went there a few times and was always treated very well...that picture is very disappointing!
"I thought Prague was pretty okay with Americans."
Maybe it is. There is no way to know who wrote that. It could have been an American.
Posted by: Amritas at March 20, 2006 01:47 AMJust because they hate what our government does doesn't mean that they hate the average American.
Posted by: Pericles at March 20, 2006 01:53 AMHate to tell you this Sarah, but phones around the world look like that, in cities all over, from Seattle to Vancouver to Nashville.
Posted by: Will Somerset at March 20, 2006 05:11 AMWhile I don't doubt that there's graffiti in the States aimed at Pres Bush, I'm not sure I'd believe an American phone would say "Fuck off USA" unless I saw it with my own eyes.
Posted by: Sarah at March 20, 2006 06:51 AMI have to chime in here with some of the others commenting here and say that the "anti-Americanism" I see in Europe is very similar to that what I see in the US, although people in the US tend to shy away from saying "Fuck the US" most probably because they don't see themselves as being part of the problem.
I have been known to have a choice words for France, although I am sure that there are many French people not worthy of my rants, I still generalize.
I would say that many Europeans tend to have a negative comments about Americans, but I honestly don't find them to be in excess of the percentage I find back home. I mean, when I go back to the US, I am shocked about some of the verbal self-flagellation I hear...not to mention read in the papers.
I do however think that "Fuck the US" is the new mating call of left-leaners, replacing "Viva la Revolucion."
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at March 20, 2006 09:27 AMI didn't actually notice the 'fuck off usa' part when I wrote my previous comment. No, I'd agree that there isn't any of that in the U.S. Wouldn't make much sense, would it?
Posted by: Will Somerset at March 21, 2006 12:29 AMI don't use public phones anymore, have a cellphone in pocket. But a long time ago, I remember the scribble in the booths said things like, "For a good time - Call Flo 713-*****".
I didn't believe that either.