Hey
Americans Abroad, Pt. III
...a continuing series on people, perceptions, and stereotypes discovered on the road
Israelis have a bad reputation -- moreso than Americans -- they are known to be rude, argumentative, cheap, and all around difficult. But difficult is a gentle word.
In Bangkok, in the Khoa San Rd area, a few hotels have signs posted in the reception area that state, "No Israelis Allowed." In Cambodia, we were advised to say we were Israeli to ward off the unwanted advances of touts. It worked, too. The touts would clear away from us as if the ghost of Pol Pot had just appeared by our sides. In India and Vietnam, the locals screwed their faces up into grimaces at the mention of the "I" word. The Chinese might have if they could converse with us. The Indonesians (at least in Bali and Lombok) were too nice to say anything negative about anyone. It remains to be seen how the Laos and Myanmar people feel about them...
It may be a stereotype, but the thing about stereotypes is that they're based on some truth -- some characteristic or trait that is common enough to notice it. We all know that surfers and skateboarders really do say "dude" a lot, for instance.
We've seen plenty of argumentative and difficult Israelis in our travels. Often the scene looks like this: irate customer berating sales clerk -- names like liar or evil man may be thrown around -- voice is raised, fists clenched in determination -- the vision is like a pitbull with a child's arm clenched in its jaw: unrelenting and vicious. And this, all over the price of a cup of coffee.
We've traveled with Israelis -- a couple we met in China -- and so I must say that all Israelis are not alike. It's common sense, really. We (should) all know that we can't classify an entire group of people as being this way or that. It's not fair or accurate. The Israelis we traveled with were fun to be around, had interesting things to say, and were all around good people. They freely admitted to the Israeli tendency to be aggressive and yes, rude. In fact, they pointed out that Americans and English are too polite, we 'play be the rules'. In Israel, it's the way of things to be out for one's self, they told us. "Fuck them before they fuck you," is the attitude, they explained. Incidentally, this attitude must make travel in India a joy for our Israeli friends... next time I go to India, I'm going with Israelis.
So... while Americans may have a bad global image, Israelis have the worst reputation. It's something to take comfort in, in this world of stereotypes -- the same way it's comforting to know you are not the slowest runner in gym class, the least paid employee at your workplace, the ugliest girl or boy in town... or the world for that matter. And for this, I thank the Israelis: thank you for taking the heat off of me.
Israelis have a bad reputation -- moreso than Americans -- they are known to be rude, argumentative, cheap, and all around difficult. But difficult is a gentle word.
In Bangkok, in the Khoa San Rd area, a few hotels have signs posted in the reception area that state, "No Israelis Allowed." In Cambodia, we were advised to say we were Israeli to ward off the unwanted advances of touts. It worked, too. The touts would clear away from us as if the ghost of Pol Pot had just appeared by our sides. In India and Vietnam, the locals screwed their faces up into grimaces at the mention of the "I" word. The Chinese might have if they could converse with us. The Indonesians (at least in Bali and Lombok) were too nice to say anything negative about anyone. It remains to be seen how the Laos and Myanmar people feel about them...
It may be a stereotype, but the thing about stereotypes is that they're based on some truth -- some characteristic or trait that is common enough to notice it. We all know that surfers and skateboarders really do say "dude" a lot, for instance.
We've seen plenty of argumentative and difficult Israelis in our travels. Often the scene looks like this: irate customer berating sales clerk -- names like liar or evil man may be thrown around -- voice is raised, fists clenched in determination -- the vision is like a pitbull with a child's arm clenched in its jaw: unrelenting and vicious. And this, all over the price of a cup of coffee.
We've traveled with Israelis -- a couple we met in China -- and so I must say that all Israelis are not alike. It's common sense, really. We (should) all know that we can't classify an entire group of people as being this way or that. It's not fair or accurate. The Israelis we traveled with were fun to be around, had interesting things to say, and were all around good people. They freely admitted to the Israeli tendency to be aggressive and yes, rude. In fact, they pointed out that Americans and English are too polite, we 'play be the rules'. In Israel, it's the way of things to be out for one's self, they told us. "Fuck them before they fuck you," is the attitude, they explained. Incidentally, this attitude must make travel in India a joy for our Israeli friends... next time I go to India, I'm going with Israelis.
So... while Americans may have a bad global image, Israelis have the worst reputation. It's something to take comfort in, in this world of stereotypes -- the same way it's comforting to know you are not the slowest runner in gym class, the least paid employee at your workplace, the ugliest girl or boy in town... or the world for that matter. And for this, I thank the Israelis: thank you for taking the heat off of me.
posted by Cheryn at 11:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home