Friday, November 5, 2004FailureIt's 3:42 AM and for some awful reason I'm awake trying to get work done in a compressed timeline beyond my control. Firstly I wonder if that's an altogether true statement. Secondly, I wonder what absolute failure feels like. posted @ 03:40 AM PST [link] Wednesday, November 3, 2004Lion EvangelismThere was an article today on a Taiwanese man who tries to convert a zoo lion and (surprise surprise) gets bitten. Here's the full article: TAIPEI (Reuters) - A man leaped into a lion's den at the Taipei Zoo on Wednesday to try to convert the king of beasts to Christianity, but was bitten in the leg for his efforts. "Jesus will save you!" the 46-year-old man shouted at two African lions lounging under a tree a few meters away. "Come bite me!" he said with both hands raised, television footage showed. One of the lions, a large male with a shaggy mane, bit the man in his right leg before zoo workers drove it off with water hoses and tranquilizer guns. Newspapers said that the lions had been fed earlier in the day, otherwise the man might have been more seriously hurt ... or worse. posted @ 11:18 PM PST [link] Comments comments There were a few comments posted on the subject of Ugly Americans that I'd like to respond to: DTC states: > To say that the person who wrote the original piece about Ugly Americans is engaging in character assassination would make far more sense if the person was actually European. Why? He's talking about a specific subgroup of Americans of which he feels he's not a part of. It's no different than being African-American and disparaging the "Uncle Tom" or parody'ing the African-American crack addict. Or being Japanese and writing a disparaging critique on the materialistic whims of Japanese youth. Again, these people are characterizing a particular subgroup of their population (of which they are not a part of) as "bad." > Ugly Americans is a real phenomenon, and while I was in London, I was quite dismayed as Saiwing and I kept encountering the same tour group from Baton Rouge, LA. Loud, boorish, overweight - members of this group insisted on making constant comments about the metric system (how exotic!), how America is great for having dollar bills instead of dollar coins (insulting the local currency - brilliant), and joking about afternoon tea. Idiocy and naivete abound. I don't believe the author drove this point home at all otherwise it would just be Ugly Idiots. Instead he tried to equate accepting inferior service and attitudes as being reprehensible and an Ugly American. Refuting this was the point of my original post. I was incensed mostly by the "take it or leave it attitude" that he equated with being in the non-Ugly American cateogry. He expected people to simply accept inferior goods and service and inhospitable behavior as "part of the experience." Poor service and inferior goods is not a reflection on the traveller but a reflection on the location. If they served me food with feces, am I to accept it as a "great" place to visit or suffer the branding of "Ugly American"? > Part of the problem here is that you, Steve, are not the typical American nor are you exposed to typical Americans. No the problem, like I described above, is that Europe has inferior service and hospitality relative to other areas I've mentioned. Regardless of culture, their service industry has been brought up with a socialist economy that de-emphasizes working hard for "extra cash." More specifically, low expectations on getting paid extra for "good" service has resulted in an inferior restaurant/tourist product." Jenny writes: >Caribbean and Southeast asian islands are places where you go to get treated like loyality. But as far as culture concern, WHAT CULTURE? Everything they do, they do it to cater and entertain the tourist There is a great wealth of culture in the Carribbean and Southeast Asian Islands which unfortunately is rarely the primary focus of vacationers in those areas (those that wish to write about Ugly Americans here should definitely chime in). I definitely agree with what Jenny says in her post. Relatively speaking, the tourist industry is well honed in these islands as compared to Europe, which in my mind makes its location more ideal to visit-- this doesn't warrant branding me an Ugly American, but rather an American who has money and feels like Europe not on par with other countries in terms of its tourist trade. John writes: >If people don't like the way they're treated in other countries, it's up to them not to go rather than the other countries to change. If that results in such a drastic blow to their economy, as it has in places like Egypt, they will change and people there will resent America even more than before. I agree wholeheartedly. I'm merely posing that Ugly Americanism has nothing to do with accepting inferior shoddy service and that while culturally rich, that Europe is not a great place to visit if you're expecting hospitality and friendliness towards foreigners. But again that saying Europe's tourism industry sucks, doesn't make anyone an Ugly American. Being upset if their air conditioner broke and hotel management doesn't fix it, does not make you an Ugly American-- after all you paid for that service. > That doesn't necessarily mean placating people who are rude or confrontational, but it does mean accepting that other cultures may place a higher value on social welfare than economic efficiency. The attitude that our prioritization of these ideals is the correct one and that others should adopt it is exactly the type of ethnocentrism that motivates the term in the first place. I'm not saying that social welfare is "wrong". What I'm saying is that Europe's tourism trade and restaranteerism/service industry are inferior from other countries because of it-- and that it doesn't make me an Ugly American to point it out, but rather a logical one. It's simple wage-labor economics, if you offer more incentives for waiters (e.g. service tips) as standard practice which can constitute up to 20% of the tab, then maybe you'll get better service. Having a wonderful social welfare program in Europe coupled with the lack of service tips has resulted in crap service. posted @ 12:49 PM PST [link] Lazy, Unfriendly Europeans DTC sent an article today about "Ugly Americans" going to Europe. http://www.ricksteves.com/pressroom/uglyamericans.htm I read sections of the article and felt pressed to present my own opinions on the matter: Europe is overrated. Compare it to places where they value tourism (e.g. Tahiti, Hawaii, Thailand, Mexico, Jamaica) Or countries where there's a modicum of hospitality (e.g. Japan/China/Taiwan etc). You'll find that European countries (well I've only visited Paris and England) have too much culture and too little of anything else (courtesy, efficiency, cleanliness etc.). Just think in California (or any of the places listed above), if you're AC breaks down-- the hotel manager does a lot for you. The author of the article above is bent on character assassination of Americans that do not have a "good time in Europe" and personifies Americans as boorish and "ugly". He goes on to contrast that a "good" experience/American in Europe consists of being respectful and tolerant of European culture and inefficiency (breakdown of AC is ok?). While I agree that tolerance of other cultures is great, I have no sympathy for a country that is inefficient to fixing issues related to hospitality/service and unresponsive to requests for help. IMO, it's indicative of a society that's become lax and inept due to crippling socialism and of a people that suffer from a narcisstic view of their own culture. They forget that as tourists, we are consumers of their economy and surveyors of their culture. As consumers, we deserve efficient and friendly service and hospitality; and as tourists, we expect tolerance and assistance as "guests" to their country. I don't think "Ugly Americans" have anything to do with the bad experience I had in Europe. Instead, I think it had more to do with "Lazy, Unfriendly Europeans." posted @ 08:43 AM PST [link] |
Here: Photos Archives Friends: wendylu duke spicysquid supremeboba dko magsyeh jen27g dtc rflxgrl ahlwoonie Literature: Memoirs of a Geisha Effective C++ Mastering RegEx Chess Music: Scientist Good Riddance Background I Fall in Love Too Easily |
