THE RANT THREAD!

[thalassa]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I mean, yeah - I've met some pretty shitty Americans traveling. And I'll admit - when I see a group of slightly overweight, middleaged white people looking at maps, I'm like "Oh god, the American tourists are here" and I usually try to leave, but it's groups like that (and businessmen assholes) that gave you the bad rap traveling.

What's funny is that the most obnoxious tourists I've met tend to be German or French. Although. I've seen some jerk Americans abroad as well.

Lots of Americans are descended from German immigrants...

And, this one time, I met a guy from the UAE and he was just a total arsebag.



....its a human failing, lol

(I had to redeem myself in the rant thread)

[Almost_lost]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

My teeth hurt. A lot.

[Yorin]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I prefer to think of it as we are ALL perfect--perfectly flawed, and I am no better than anyone else. Because we are all perfectly flawed, I fail others, in their perception, just as often as they fail me in mine. If I hate everyone for being human, then I hate myself. And, I happen to think that I'm pretty awesome...so, instead, I try to expect excellence of others, and I'm usually rewarded, because I go looking for it. Sometimes, sure, I don't get it...but if I let it get to me, that is my failing, not theirs. Because we are all beautifully, wonderfully, perfectly flawed. If we weren't, life would be meaningless--there would be no struggle, and with no struggle...there would be no triumph.

Oh, crud...I just realized this was the rant thread!

Ummmm. Guess I gave ya'll something to rant about!! (Effing happy people in the rant thread! GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!)

If you can manage to hold out hope for the human race as a whole-more power to you. But from my experience when the phrase "getting stabbed in the back" stops being a metaphor for betrayal....and starts being literal I've had people try to stab me in the back-I tend to lean towards being the cynic and give the people around me a healthy bucket of mistrust until they earn it. Its safer that way.

[thalassa]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

If you can manage to hold out hope for the human race as a whole-more power to you. But from my experience when the phrase "getting stabbed in the back" stops being a metaphor for betrayal....and starts being literal I've had people try to stab me in the back-I tend to lean towards being the cynic and give the people around me a healthy bucket of mistrust until they earn it. Its safer that way.

I'm old and I have a lot of mileage. I've just found its more productive to forgive people for being human, and in doing so, forgive myself.
I used to be jaded, but I discovered that when you expect to get screwed, that's what usually happens. Mostly because you are looking to get screwed--the attitude involved makes it easy for people to justify accommodating you.

[thalassa]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I haz rant.

Toxicity is based on a probable DOSE ABSORBED that causes negative effects, not on mere presence. Just because (bad thing) is in (product) doesn't mean its going to kill you/make you sick/whatever. What it usually really means is that when scientists gave massive amounts of it to a rat, half the rats in the study died sooner than the other rats.

[Medusa]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Took my night dose of Zantac an hour before eating like directed. Then ate PIZZA and took my night dose of Metformin and Glibizide. Started feeling iffy again. Two hours later my sugar is 91 and dropping and I'm not hungry. THIS SUCKS. New rule. When I go to bed at night I'm skipping my Metformin.

[Malflick]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

vaguebooking rant:

So many things went wrong today. Still so much work to do and its 2:15 AM. Want to go to sleep but can't. Insert curse words. Long sigh. Okay, done.

[Maria de Luna]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Oh, crud...I just realized this was the rant thread!

Ummmm. Guess I gave ya'll something to rant about!! (Effing happy people in the rant thread! GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!)

Yeah! WTF Thal! Quit raining happy on my pissyness!

[MoonRaven]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

As an international traveler who isn't American but gets mistaken for one by people abroad, I can't believe the bad rap you guys get worldwide.

I mean, yeah - I've met some pretty shitty Americans traveling. And I'll admit - when I see a group of slightly overweight, middleaged white people looking at maps, I'm like "Oh god, the American tourists are here" and I usually try to leave, but it's groups like that (and businessmen assholes) that gave you the bad rap traveling.

Most people when they find out I'm Canadian, try to buy me a beer and tell me how polite Canadians are. It's just crazy.

I can't remember who it was exactly but last year a travel agency made a list over the worst nations to have as tourists. It was based on a questionaire handed out to hotel staff, waiters, flight attendants, people who worked in airport, trainstations etc., basically the people who are most likely to get in touch with tourists in a professional capacity. It also asked them why they found these specific nations to be bad. And the Americans can cheer up, you only came number two - you got beaten by the Russians. The bad news is that it was pretty much the same things that made Americans and Russians so bad; very demanding, no manners (no please and thank yous), and a general obnoxious behaviour. What made the Russians a tad worse was the fact that they never tipped, no matter how well off they were.
Speaking as someone who worked in the restaurant business in my early years at uni I can only confirm. One of the reasons Canadians are so preferred is that they ask for things, such as a specific beer or wine, rather than just demand it and then throw a tantrum when they are told that it isn't available even though it would be perfectly logical that it wasn't. (Such as demanding a very specific Californian wine while sitting in an Italian restaurant who were annoucing that they had food and drink from Italy only. Based on a personal experience.)

As for disguising themselves as Canadians when travelling abroad it doubt it works on experienced staff unless they change their behaviour too. But then, maybe it's the polite Americans who pretend to be Canadians since they can get away with it.

P.S. I know this is a gross generalisation. There are Americans who are polite and behaved, just as one can find Canadians who are obnoxiuous and demanding. I was speaking of the view of the group as a whole.

[Ophidia]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

I wonder if Americans seem demanding with no 'pleases' or 'thank yous' because we are generally uncomfortable with foreign languages?

I work with our PBX operators and early-morning Guest Services agents. Our dayshift PBX workers are little old white ladies for the most part. Our Guest Services agents are basically front desk clerks - mostly a younger crowd. A lot of them are Filipino and Mexican, and when they work in the back office, the GS agents often converse in Spanish or Tagalog (or this weird patois - Spangalog, maybe?). Doesn't phase me any - but our PBX operators get angry about it. If they're not talking about business, and not inconveniencing you by talking too loudly (no matter what the language), why get so pissed off?

I've asked a couple of them but they just get defensive and can't come up with anything beyond 'it's a distraction'.

[Willow]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Russians, like some other Slavic nations, don't tend to tip (as far as I've understood it anyway). Like at home, tips tend to be included in the check. Even if it's not, it's so commonly accepted that tipping just doesn't tend to happen. That's why when you go to Bled, the waiters only take care of the tourists who don't speak Slovene because they always tip.


I've found Americans in general (at least out here), are 99% of the time have very... aggressive behaviors. They're very expectant that people wait on them hand and foot, or move out of their way without a word, or generally assume people can read their minds and will always hand them whatever it is they want without any kind of real communication or listening skills. Sometimes people will flat ignore what you've said to them in lieu of what they want to hear and then scream at you for supposedly saying what they thought you said when reality doesn't work out in their favor. The fact that this kind of attitude is so common and widespread here makes me pretty convinced it's a cultural thing (or a locally cultural thing), rather than an individual basis thing. I often feel like the people here have totally lost what it means to really enjoy life for what it is, not what they can get out of it financially or materially.

[WinterTraditions]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

In Japan, they do not tip. From what I understand, it's offensive to tip? I could be wrong.

[Willow]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

Why is it so hard for my references to respond to the reference-request email? Even after I asked them if they would be references before I listed them. Even after 2 weeks, even after me hounding them, re-sending the emails multiple times, even after having one come to my house to complete it. One is lying about having sent it already and it seems like the others can't be asked.


-.- I'm back to using my sister and my university professor. Fan-freaking-tastic. Thanks guys, love you too. -.-

[Ophidia]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

In Japan, they do not tip. From what I understand, it's offensive to tip? I could be wrong.

Found a helpful infographic: To Tip or Not To Tip

It's complete & utter b.s., but here in the US, if you work in a 'tip-compliant' field, you're taxed on estimated tips that you may or may not actually receive. The IRS felt that income made through tips was under-reported and therefore under-taxed.

As a night auditor, I'm not tip-compliant, but I always, always over-tip any service people I deal with. My husband gets annoyed by it, but I'm like, "Hey, they pay taxes, too". And even when there's a line at the coffee shop, the baristas have my usual waiting for me before I even hit the register, so there are perks

[Willow]

Re: THE RANT THREAD!

In Japan, they do not tip. From what I understand, it's offensive to tip? I could be wrong.

Although when they flew into the airport my husband used to work in, they would pay him $10 if he lifted their bag off the conveyor belt for them.