The Rudest Place in America

[ICantSpellDawg]

NYC is hell's butt hole. I live in Nassau and work half of my week in the city.

The people aren't evil, but the sheer number of them and their overall demeanor is: negative and rude. Plus, they tend to be pretentious know-it-alls.

I've lived in:
Ann Arbor, MI
Lyle, IL
Kingwood, TX
East Northport, NY
Hicksville, NY

I came from America's Heartland to America's athletic cup to America's over sized colon.
For some reason I keep getting closer and closer to the worst place on earth (other than the whole of European Russia)

[Craterus]

I'd say New Hampshire. Felt like an unfriendly place from the moment I crossed the border. Just before actually, you can see their welcoming slogan on plenty of signs just before you get there.

[Bijo]

How can you objectively declare a phenomenon that is, by definition, subjective? I'm not saying that people weren't rude, I'm just saying that I think you might have to lose your license to use the word "objective" for a while. Felony malapropism!

Well, that is all well and good as you invite fortification to my words.

What I was meaning is that they were indeed rude, negative, and so on. It is fact that most of them were. Then I provide this fact to you/others. Is ignoring a person when you shouldn't, cursing a person out for no apparant reason, being psychologically aggressive, and looking/staring at someone in dirty ways, not rude? We know more or less what is rude and what is not, we have more or less defined it and given it values and recognitions. Those examples I named ARE examples of general rudeness which we can all agree upon, unless you LIKE being cursed out and such? Subjectivity? Meh.... Consistency? Oh yes, baby.

I say that especially to Geoffrey who still seems to be assuming I applied this fact to the WHOLE nation, while in fact I stated that BECAUSE of the fact AND other unnamed reasons I started disliking the nation, NOT saying that the WHOLE nation is rude, bad, or negative just based on some rude populations I detected. It was a nice twist but ineffective. I give those who performed in it credit for fallacy skill!

[Fragony]

Ever considered that you just are not a very social person? Had a great time in NY, it's not rude it's constantly moving. Same with Paris, it's not rude you should just take a little more time, we dutchies are a bit stuck between that. When you have a little feel for the place both are awesome. The only places I would consider rude are the scandinavian countries and Denmark in particular contempt behind a smile.

Edit, gosh I forgot Belgium. They may be nice people but not if you are dutch.

[ICantSpellDawg]

Ever considered that you just are not a very social person? Had a great time in NY, it's not rude it's constantly moving. Same with Paris, it's not rude you should just take a little more time, we dutchies are a bit stuck between that. When you have a little feel for the place both are awesome. The only places I would consider rude are the scandinavian countries and Denmark in particular contempt behind a smile.

Edit, gosh I forgot Belgium. They may be nice people but not if you are dutch.

I loved Paris. People were so much more helpful than you would expect. London and NYC don't hold a candle to Paris.


Frag - i loved MI, IL and TX. I also love East Northport. People are great.

The closer you get to the city the worse people get.

[Lemur]

Bijo, I think maybe you just had particularly bad luck, or, as some suggest, it's possible your manner somehow set off the locals.

I have lived in the following places:

Iowa, Hawaii, Memphis, Virginia Beach, Kentucky, Chicago, Boston, Madrid, New York and (finally) Wisconsin. I've seen and experienced more of the U.S.A. than the average lemur. And I gotta say, New Yorkers are far from the rudest people you're gonna find. In a hurry? Yup. Self-obsessed? Sure. But rude? Not particularly.

I forget the comedian's name, but I liked his summation of New York, something along the lines of, You're making the same decision constantly: Do I look at the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, or do I look at the craziest man I've ever seen?

Never forget that being a straight male in NYC is paradise. Because of the fashion industry, media industry and finance industry, beautiful women flock there in mighty droves. And there is a disproportionate gay population. You see where this is going, right? In a town like Chicago, single straight males (gainfully employed) are thick on the ground. In NYC, by contrast, you're a hot commodity. It's sort of like the demographics of Alaska, but in reverse.

Any straight male who doesn't find wonderful female companionship in NYC is just plain unlucky.

[Fragony]

Any straight male who doesn't find wonderful female companionship in NYC is just plain unlucky.

*ahum* I'll just throw it on the two days I was there.

[Vladimir]

Ever considered that you just are not a very social person?

Bingo! If you start off every conversation with "Hey, stupid colonial, I have a question for you" you may get punched in the face. I'm not saying that's a bad thing as some people need that but there is a causal relationship there.

[Fragony]

Obviousy there is a scipt somehwere there, somehow. Our very own Borat.

[Husar]

Best tourists, americans and germans, always polite always calm.

Are you sure about Germans? What i hear is they drink a lot, reserve the best places in the sun hours before the sun comes up etc.
And no, I'm not a german tourist, I hardly ever get out of here.

[Geoffrey S]

I say that especially to Geoffrey who still seems to be assuming I applied this fact to the WHOLE nation, while in fact I stated that BECAUSE of the fact AND other unnamed reasons I started disliking the nation, NOT saying that the WHOLE nation is rude, bad, or negative just based on some rude populations I detected. It was a nice twist but ineffective. I give those who performed in it credit for fallacy skill!

In fact, any place in America I visited seemed to be full of rude, dishonest, manipulative, evil, selfish people regardless of colour, race, class, etc. I ain't just talking they're in a hurry, no: they are plain RUDE and NASTY. The reason for this... I don't know in detail, but the fact stands.

Now, fellow people of the ORG, THAT... is one of the reasons I dislike that country.

Uh-huh. Your 'fact' is that the places you visited were... no, sorry, seemed to be full of rude and nasty people. From which you draw the conclusion that you dislike the US. Maybe it is just me, but I find positing your own opinion of the people you saw/met in the US as fact rather curious. Sure, a fact it may well be that that is your opinion, but what does that mean in any case?

That, and I find the line between you saying that "any place in America I visited seemed to be full of rude, dishonest, manipulative, evil, selfish people regardless of colour, race, class, etc." and actually coming out and replacing "seemed to be" with "is" (which, a little later you do with "they are plain RUDE and NASTY") extremely thin in this case indeed. So I feel justified in finding your opinion quite objectionable.

[Zim]

Since this has gone to a conversation about tourists, I'd like to mention an interesting magazine article I read the other day. They polled members of the hospitality industry in a bunch of different countries and asked them questions about tourists. I was surprised to find that Americans ranked the second best tourists in the world based on criteria like willingness to use the language and how well they dressed, as well as politeness. Going by sterotypes I would never have expected that.

Most of the tourists here in the State's I've met have been fairly nice, although my wife has had bad experiences with Japanese tourists when she worked at a tailor's in California. The me used to snap their fingers at her when they wanted her attention.

I remember an old story I heard/read. Sadly I don't remember it well, so won't be able to tell it well, but I'll try.

A man was traveling and came to a city. He asked one of the locals what the people there were like and was asked in return how he found them in most of the places he'd been. The man said everywhere he'd been people were rude and untelligent. The local said they were the same in the city and he'd probably best move on.

Another man traveled to the city with the same question. When asked about his experiences elsewhere he said the people were always friendly and hospitable. The local said they were the same in the city and welcomed him in.

In my experience traveling in and out of my own country, people generally treat you the way you treat them, and you get as much out of traveling abroad as you expect to.

[TruePraetorian]

I have been in much ruder, meaner places than NYC. Try Detroit, or example. Try Gary, Indiana. Seend the night in East St. Louis, if you dare.

New York doesn't even rate among the most rude, evil, dangerous cities in America.

Ha, I live in Michigan about 30 miles North of Detroit in a little town called Romeo (it's within Washington Township, but somehow it's its own town) and have been to Detroit regularly, about 7 or 8 times a month. Visit there if you want, it isn't the worst city in the US for nothing...

[CrossLOPER]

For some reason I keep getting closer and closer to the worst place on earth (other than the whole of European Russia)

Oh, come now.

[ajaxfetish]

Best tourists, americans and germans, always polite always calm.

That's surprising to me. My impression both personally and through the stories of others is that the 'American Tourist' is clueless, self-centered, and loud. However, most of our members impressions seem to be that their own countrymen make the worst tourists. Perhaps we're just a little self-conscious about how our nations represent themselves to others in the world?

For Geoffrey's sake,

It is fact that most of them were. Then I provide this fact to you/others. Is
ignoring a person when you shouldn't, subjective: when should you?
cursing a person out for no apparant reason, subjective: perhaps they have a reason?
being psychologically aggressive, very subjective
and looking/staring at someone in dirty ways, subjective: what is a dirty way?
not rude? We know more or less what is rude and what is not, we have more or less defined it and given it values and recognitions. Those examples I named ARE examples of general rudeness which we can all agree upon, unless you LIKE being cursed out and such? Subjectivity? Meh....

Subjectivity? Yes. A lot. Plus you still gave no specific examples. Who was psychologically aggressive? What did they do that you considered psychologically aggressive? What interaction had you had with them prior to their 'psychological aggressiveness?' Etc.

In my experience traveling in and out of my own country, people generally treat you the way you treat them, and you get as much out of traveling abroad as you expect to.

That may be your answer, Bijo. There's a lot of truth in those words.

Ajax

[Peasant Phill]

Edit, gosh I forgot Belgium. They may be nice people but not if you are dutch.

Oh come on, that's the way you like it. Besides it's not like you can pretend that you're from another country.

And Fragony, make one joke about the Dutch and you'll be treated like a king.

[Fragony]

Oh come on, that's the way you like it. Besides it's not like you can pretend that you're from another country.

And Fragony, make one joke about the Dutch and you'll be treated like a king.

We kinda owe it to ourselves, was in Ieperen a a few weeks back and the people were great, go to Antwerp or Gent and it's quite the difference. Rule number one when abroad (in a non tourist area these guys know better then that), being dutch is the coolest thing ever. People will love you just because of that. No such advantage in Belgium.

[MiniMe]

Most Americans take pride in their directness, which can be alien to those of us from more "subtle" Europe.

do they? From my expiriense, Americans are very polite people and not as direct as Germans or French or Italians.

Americans (just as Arabs) have quite the opposit nasty habit, however, and that habit is saying something in fact rude choosing polite words and hiding behind a polite smile. Very nasty habit, I say. If you want to insult somebody, don't hide behind your polite smile then.

So true. No surprise we dutchies avoid eachother when abroad. Best tourists, americans and germans, always polite always calm. Worst, brits, dutch, russians.

so true... our chavers make me feel embarrassed when I see them
Seeing them on vacation couple of times is the reason why I'll never travel to Turkey or Egypt - their favourite leisure grounds.

[mrdun]

I have been to America once, school skiing trip to Lake Tahoe. People there were all friendly especially in the skiing resort.

[Louis VI the Fat]

In my experience, Americans are very polite and friendly. Both the tourists over here and in America. I've never understood where the stereotype of the rude American comes from. In fact, the difference in general courteousness compared with Europeans is so great that it is simply embarrassing.

The one stereotype that is perhaps true is that Americans are loud. They talk louder, with bigger gestures and with more extensive facial expressions. But it is not obnoxious, simply the way they comunicate.

Entirely subjective and not based on any extensive travelling: LA was the worst, North Carolina the friendliest.

[JimBob]

I have been in much ruder, meaner places than NYC. Try Detroit, or example. Try Gary, Indiana. Seend the night in East St. Louis, if you dare.

New York doesn't even rate among the most rude, evil, dangerous cities in America.

Damn straight. Gary and to a lesser extant Indianapolis are two of the most miserable cities anywhere. To the Europeans, skip 'em. Come to Chicago. We're nice people.

[macsen rufus]

It's easy to misinterpret different habits and customs in light of what it would mean in our own culture. The directness and - yes, loudness - of many Americans is direct conflict with the British way of doing/speaking. We still have the stiff upper lip, more reserved in expressing enthusiasm, tend to be a lot quieter and more circumspect. One of the LOUDEST people I ever knew was a friend from Boston, ex-navy guy, profanest mouth west of the Atlantic A typical greeting would be "Hey, dumb , what the you doing here?" which translated as something like " Hi, there, long-lost drinking buddy. So pleasant to have you around". It was his way, and purely affectionate, but a lot of people misunderstood him. If any Brit spoke to me that way there'd be trouble, cos you'd know they meant something by it. I'm afraid to say the rudest people I ever met were Parisians (but of course I could just be misintrepeting through my own cultural bias.... )

[Odin]

It's easy to misinterpret different habits and customs in light of what it would mean in our own culture. The directness and - yes, loudness - of many Americans is direct conflict with the British way of doing/speaking. We still have the stiff upper lip, more reserved in expressing enthusiasm, tend to be a lot quieter and more circumspect. One of the LOUDEST people I ever knew was a friend from Boston, ex-navy guy, profanest mouth west of the Atlantic A typical greeting would be "Hey, dumb , what the you doing here?" which translated as something like " Hi, there, long-lost drinking buddy. So pleasant to have you around". It was his way, and purely affectionate, but a lot of people misunderstood him. If any Brit spoke to me that way there'd be trouble, cos you'd know they meant something by it. I'm afraid to say the rudest people I ever met were Parisians (but of course I could just be misintrepeting through my own cultural bias.... )

A bostonian with a profane mouth? No way?