Ugly American(s)

Go back 150 years ago or more and caretakers would hire out a hammer and chisel to visitors to put their mark on many monuments. Photographing it might have been a bit more involved. Times change.

In the Netherlands we have a saying: “Gekken en dwazen schrijven hun namen op muren en glazen” to translate as: Nuts and fools write their names on walls and window-glasses. Btw they come from everywhere don´t have to be particularly Ugly Americans. It´s more the downside of tourism that historic places are seen more as historic entertainment, with lesser respect for it. And of course some “have” to prove to have been there.

As said above it is not just Americans, it is everybody. There is Roman graffiti in Egypt and Greece from two thousand years ago for a start...

Here some Ugly Dutch damaging the fountain near the Spanish Steps a few weeks ago :)
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/19/feyenoord-fans-arrested-rome-europa-league-match-roma

In Hagia Sophia in Istanbul there is runic graphiti left by the Vikings. "Halfdan was here." Amazing.

With the advent of archeology and art history as disciplines, there is no excuse for defacing or stealing artifacts or artwork. These things are our connection to the past, a link in the continuity of human development, and should be cherished.

Put the perps on a no-fly list for a few years.

Stupid is as stupid does.

How many bridges have been defaced by all those damn locks from all over the world?

We may be more embarrassed when one of our own does something like this, but this kind of behavior isn't limited to any one nationality.

How about the Russians who were recently caught making a porno flic in Egypt near the Sphinx.

Now for my rant about this topic.

There are other ways to deface precious art and artifacts. I can't count the number of times I have seen international "no flash" signs on walls in museums and people STILL take pictures using the flash on their camera or phone. They have no "I didn't understand the language" excuse. I shared a shake of the head with the museum guard in the room with the Guernica over that when a hoard of a tourist group came into the room, cameras a-blazing. She was one person and there was nothing she could really do when that many people fill up the room.

I can't believe they didn't see and understand the signs. I can believe that they thought that the prohibition did not apply to them. They were neither from the Americas nor Europe, but I've seen it happen with people on some of the small tours I've personally been on. I would like to be generous and say that such people simply don't understand the damage multiple flash pictures day after day can do to works of art, but surely they can understand that the place they are in doesn't want them to use a flash and that they should respect that.

I heard a very interesting discussion on NPR yesterday about the banishment of selfie sticks from many places. Part of it centered on the seeming need of some people to concentrate on themselves rather than on what they are seeing. The analysis was that it's all about them being there, and not about where they are. I won't go into the report that followed shortly after about a study on the increasing level of narcissism and decreasing level of empathy in college students over the past 30 years. Googling provides lots of references for that.

I hope the women who defaced the Colosseum get a hefty fine. Here's a link to a Guardian article about the crime: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/08/us-tourists-caught-carving-names-into-colosseum-rome.

Generally speaking I find American tourists to be quite respectful and unobtrusive here in Europe. Not wanting to stereotype certain nations, but there are at least three or four other countries that spring to mind first when I think of "ugly tourists". In fact Americans don't spring to mind at all. It may have been true once, particularly in the decades after the Second World War when Europe was lagging far behind the US in terms of standard of living and mass tourism was somewhat of a novelty. In fact I've noticed that the worst behaved tourists often come from countries that didn't used to send many tourists abroad until recently, it's as if being a respectful tourist is something that a nation as a whole needs to learn over a period of time! (not that that excuses bad manners in the first place).

There is ancient graffiti on the walls of the university buildings in Salamanca, Spain, as well.

Lo , I thought your post was terrific ! For many years , I have noticed the steady increase in the level of narcissism in many aspects of society . It recalls the prescience of Ray Bradbury in the film version of " Fahrenheit 451 " ( 1966 ) when it comes to self attention , a society that neither reads , nor engages in personal conversation , among other symptoms of our current day civilization . Small consolation , as it is , I have been aware , In the last twenty , or so , years that many art museums have taken steps to reduce the damage to fine paintings . Years ago , it was fairly common to see oil paintings framed with no protective filter over the actual work . While watercolor and tempera works were , generally under glass , oils were largely unprotected . I now find it common to see virtually all paintings , including oils , protected by UV resistant and oftentimes non - glare glass . While it would be better that the flash prohibition were respected , fortunately the institutions have been active in limiting the damage .

Wil,

The American version of your statement that I learned from my Mom is: "Fools names and fools faces are always found in public places." I first heard it when the restroom at a gas station had all sorts of names and pictures on the walls.

It seems that we humans are very good at being stupid fools. Some are just more obvious than others of us.

Hope we don't have too many more of this sort of stupid foolishness though.

Lo, they should go on the no-fly list, too.

Really JG? Do you really need to start on my home state, I sure hope they're from Nor Cal!!

I think the term "Ugly American" became popular after the 1958 novel of the same name, written about southeast Asia, not Europe. Interesting.

I don't think we're so ugly anymore. Look at some of the more recent additions to the tourist hordes in Europe.

Every country has its travelling oafs and thugs.

Voila (what Norma said).

I think the term Ugly American should be deleted from the Lexicon.
We're not any uglier than anyone else, anymore--in fact, I think our behavior is more beautiful than many. If you look here, on this forum, you will find American and Canadian travelers who are trying to be sensitive and decent travelers to Europe.
And I feel that Rick and his many employees have helped me to be a better traveler who tries to be more sensitive to the places and cultures that we visit.
I think each of us here should give ourselves a little pat on the back for that.

Totally agree with Kent. Ugly tourists come from many countries!

"Ugly Americans" vandalizing sites happens all the time right here in the USA. Remember the insane lady spray painting the Lincoln Memorial green a couple of Summers ago? It's sad, but definitely not new or unique. What about the Taliban with mortars blasting away the ancient rock carvings in Afghanistan years ago to remove images for the sake of their religious beliefs? The pieta got hammered in Italy back in the seventies. The human race has always been a mess. A great big pot of stew stirred together for better and worse.

Yes, Barb, it's a hard world out there.
Maybe the best solution is to keep looking for the good.
Otherwise we would lose hope.

"If you look here, on this forum, you will find American and Canadian travelers who are trying to be sensitive and decent travelers to Europe."

Yes, Kent I agree. It's unfortunate that we are such a minuscule percentage of the American tourists in Europe (and elsewhere). Talking about this subject here is pretty much preaching to the choir. Too bad the word hasn't gotten out to those who need to hear it most. It's sad to say but I have encountered 'ugly Americans' and 'ugly tourists' of many nationalities on each of my trips to Europe over the last 20 years. Thank goodness they are very much in the minority.

Hey JG! 4th generation Californian here! American as apple pie!

I am amazed at the speed with which the OP's comment about idiots defacing a monument elicited religious bigotry from one responder, specifically anti-Christian bigotry. I think religious bigotry is particularly irresponsible a time when tens of thousands (Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, and other religious minorities) are being driven from their homes and/or killed because of their faith.

The comment is also surprising given that responder's repeated reminders of how well traveled she is and the sophistocated elegance she demands in those travels. Perhaps historical background isn't a part of her travels. And if history isn't of interest, perhaps current events would be--that responder may want to search today's news for words like Mosul, Ninevah, and Nimrud.

First off.. its not specifically ugly americans.. its more like stupid young kids( although one of the girls was 25 which is pushing the young limits ..

The rudest tourist I ever encountered was a Brit.. he was ranting and raving ( his wife was literally cringing in embarrassment) because he had been waiting in security line at St Chapelle in Paris without a ticket and got redirected to get in ticket line .. he was yelling " dam stupid frogs can't do anything right" and such.. he was so mad.. but the worst part was there were other tourists right behind me in line who spoke English but were French and they had to listen to the bigoted a&* Now that's an ugly tourist.

I agree some nationalities have different ideas about "personal space" and "taking turns" or "getting in line" but at least that's more because of cultural differences and ignorance.. not deliberate rudeness .

The rudest tourist I saw was an American man at Giglio Rosso near SMN at Firenze. It was this recent September, nice day, lunchtime. He had stepped outside to smoke, but had Not paid for his lunch, the dishes left on the table. The young waittress went to the door and asked him to come back inside to pay. He refused, arguing with her. She insisted, he came back in fighting mad, cussing at her, calling her names, blowing smoke in her face. She finished the payment at his table, and he left.

She came over to me, and asked if that's how Americans act. I lied and said No, and then emptied all the Euro coins from my coin purse into her hands. I paid my tip and that man's tip and more. She laughed at my antics and took the money. I didn't know what else to do. The tip distracted her enough to where we could talk. I told her I was watching and would Not have tolerated his touching her. I had to weigh options of when to intervene with a violent man. I did Not want to escalate him.

I still don't know if I should have said something to him.

Every culture has examples of rude people, America no more than others. No less either, I am sure. For the most part, I think tourists I see on my trips are not rude and try to be polite. I don't consider dressing differently (white shoes, baseball cap, whatever) to be rude or ugly unless the person is knowingly dressing in a way unacceptable to the culture they are visiting. I also don't consider mistakes that come from not knowing to be rude. The original example and the example above about the yelling smoking man are definitely examples of extreme rudeness, but that certainly isn't typical American behavior, or typical any cultural behavior.

The above comment about Christians defacing non-Christian sites is a pretty large generalization that omitted detail. Truth is that power goes to the winner in a conflict, and it's the winner who decides which religion will dominate. All peoples install their religions on top of the sites occupied by the previous winners. So a church becomes a mosque in Istanbul, while a mosque has a church built inside it in Cordoba. This is power politics. It's also irrelevant to tourists degrading universally shared cultural heritage in today's world, as is pre-modern graffiti, which has become part of the historical record.

The British Museum has noticed a general deterioration of the behaviour of visitors over the last 30 years, to the extent that they may need to remodel to put much more under inaccessible glass and have already erected screens in the worst sections. The biggest problem is in the Egypt area, where the current exhibition dates from the 1980s with all but a few objects in the open air. In recent years there has been increasing issues from visitors ranging from simple touching to clambering over the artefacts, and dumping their rubbish into any convenient sarcophagus.

I'm pretty sure Europeans don't perceive Americans as "ugly" because more often than not when one asks me if I'm American (with a big expectant smile) and I say no, Canadian, they shuffle away disappointed and the conversation ends.

On 03/10/15 Terri Lynn wrote,
"It isn't just Americans. European Christians have defaced and destroyed non-Christian sites for over 1,000. Check out what Napoleon and his men did in Egypt. Christians in particular have tried to deface and destroy any competition by tearing down anything that isn't Christian and building something Christian over it sort of like how a dog will urinate on another dog's previous urination just to show who's top dog. It is disgraceful when this is done. We all lose a lot."

I know she is making a statement about tearing down shrines and building a new one in its place to show dominance, but this practice is not confined to conquering Christians. Conquerors of all religions and nationalities have done this, all through history. Bets said it best.

Marco's post reminded me. There was an American tourist on this RS website who came here for advice on his trip to London. He started a thread, a day-by-day trip report. He wrote that one day he had visited a museum and touched a medieval painting, and that a chip of paint came off in his hand. He kept it as a souvenir. He reported that then there was a very small hole and an indentation where he had poked his finger. What is wrong with someone who does this? Totally thoughtless.

Have to agree with Bets and Rebecca. Just as the victors get to write the history, victors get to construct their own monuments, sometimes destroying the previous victors' monuments. Sic transit gloria.

"medieval painting, and that a chip of paint came off in his hand. He kept it as a souvenir. He reported that then there was a very small hole and an indentation where he had poked his finger. What is wrong with someone who does this? Totally thoughtless. "

Rebecca, It's possible that this was untrue boasting as medieval art was on board/wood, not canvas, and wouldn't have left an indentation, much less a hole. If it had chipped, it would have been tempura. Oil paint and canvas weren't in use until after the medieval period. Either that or anything older than the 19th C. was medieval to this poster.

Bets, you are right! Perhaps he was just posting this to get attention. Or to get a reaction from some of us here. Very true, of course, that medieval paintings were/are on boards instead of canvas. Good catch, Bets. "Either that or anything older than the 19th C. was medieval to this poster." Also possible, and very likely.

I'm calling BS on the whole story. Ever see what happens in a European museum when someone tries to touch a painting? They get a stern rebuke from the attendant before their hand even makes contact. If this guy really did manage to damage a painting, he would have quickly been escorted out of the room, fined and possibly even faced criminal charges.

Bets is right. Additionally, using older buildings for new structures is not historically considered defacement (although I wish the Barberini hadn't raided the Pantheon for that bronze) - there are hundreds of churches in Europe built over pagan temples, partly because of the location and habit of the people to recognize these spaces as having religious significance. This is an excerpt from Pope Gregory to a bishop in Britain in the 7th century: “...what I have, upon mature deliberation of the affair of the English, determined upon, viz., that the temples of the idols in those nations ought not to be destroyed; but let the idols that are in them be destroyed; let holy water be made and sprinkled in the said temples, let altars be erected, and relics placed.

For if those temples are well built, it is requisite that they be converted from the worship of devils to the service of the true God; that the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed …may the more familiarly resort to the places to which they are accustomed.”

About four years ago at the Rijksmuseum, I witnessed two older women admiring one of the priceless Vermeers on display. One of them had her finger close to the painting describing some features to her friend. A guard came over and told her to keep her hands to her side. When the guard walked away she proceeded to do the same thing. Moments later a security team arrived and escorted the two ladies out of the building.

I wish they would start doing that at the Metropolitan Museum .

Photo Flash is horrible for paintings. I caught my own husband unwittingly doing this. Just buy the art book instead.

I have a confession to make:

When they were expanding the patio behind the new-ish museum at Ostia Antica
I mucked around in the excavation area (really just being cleared by construction people,
not excavated by archaeologists) at an hour when nobody is around
until I found what I believed to be a couple of tesserae from a floor mosaic long since chewed up.
They're sitting on my coffee table beside some souvenirs from the cat sanctuary gift shop in Largo Argentina.

Note that I am, indeed, a Californian.

Take care to warn your children and other wards appropriately. Don't let them end up like me.

INSTANT KARMA WIN

Last year, I'm in an art museum in a large European city. I spot a twenty something female tourist taking photos with her cell phone. Very carefully, acting as though she is playing a game. No flash involved. It grated on my nerves though as she and I seemed to be always at the same place on the audio tour. Finally, I could stand it no longer and I pointed her out to the guard at the entrance to the next gallery. There was a very quick change-up of personnel -- workers and supervisors appeared out of nowhere. If felt like being in a spy movie! Instead of confronting the tourist, a worker and a supervisor simply shadowed her so closely she could not take another photo without being obvious. I enjoyed the rest of the audio tour along with Operation Tourist Tail.

Later, in the gift shop, I spotted the same tourist. She had been to the restroom. Her cute short skirt was stuck up in the back of her cute black tights, revealing her panties. I didn't say a word. That karma ... she's good sometimes.

I hope the tourists who defaced the Coliseum get time in an Italian jail. Six months to a year should about do it.

I can't stand it when people put their finger three inches way from a painting. They deserve to get escorted out for that move.

Closer to home, I have seen people getting their pictures taken with their arm around this sculpture http://cantorcollections.stanford.edu/Obj9815?sid=18405&x=25456&port=1216 on more than one occasion. Argh!

Just an fyi, the tale of Napoleon shooting off the sphinx's nose is untrue. His soldiers may have peppered it though.

When I visited historical sights like castle ruins and such, I like to take a small pebble or rock-nothing from a wall, mind you, but from somewhere nearby.

And my worst experience was trying to see the Rosetta stone. The Asian tourists must've been trying to re-decipher it. They would not budge for a very long time. Good thing I am tall. At least I can look at a picture of what I could not see up close myself.
This is the reason I probably shall never see the Mona Lisa unless I have Beyonce/P Daddy money and get tongo past the barriers that stop us plebes... ;)

well what do you know - this thread has reached the Big Five O.

Long before Christians defaced others worship sites Rome covered over Christ's Tomb and put a Temple to one of their gods on top of it. (100 to 200 CE probably) This was so pilgrims couldn't (or wouldn't) visit the site. But what this means is that the site was preserved and so we know that The Church there in Jerusalem that claims to be over it is really in the right place.

This does not make it okay for others to do so.

It is interesting to note that because of problems between Christian denominations about when who can use the Church it is cared for a couple of Muslim families.

I'm thinking about the graffiti on the Pont du Gard in France - I think one of them that I took a pic of was 1898. And the 'graffiti' carved on the walls from the prisoners kept in the tower of London. Obviously it's frowned upon now (as it should be) - but everyone seems to like to leave their mark (and don't get me started on those dang love locks...sigh)...

Look carefully at the glass in the windows upstairs in Shakespeare's Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. The panes are covered with etched graffiti from the 1820s, 1830s and 1840s.

Photo here.

This is, unfortunately, human nature. Not "American" nature, not "Christian" nature -- human nature, and as in so many other areas of life it needs to be subject to a measure of self-control and responsibility in order for us to all get along.

The prisoners who carved the walls in the Tower of London, I will give them a pass. Most of them probably did not meet a pleasant end, and after a couple hundred years graffiti becomes part of the history in this case anyway. Pont du Gard graffiti seems more just old vandalism.

... and the graffiti all around Jim Morrison's grave.

Who is this Shiva person who seems to be all over the place from Rome to Florence,

Translation of some of the 2000 year-old graffiti at Pompeii is downright hysterical.

Unfortunately, I follow rules and can't stand it when other people don't. My Sistine Chapel experience was a very frustrating and very unpleasant. I couldn't even focus on the art because all I could hear was "no photo", "no photo", and all I could see was people all around me taking photos! It made me so angry I couldn't enjoy myself. I told people around me to stop taking photos and even tried to get in the way of their cameras, but there was no stopping them. It seems so selfish!

As we descended on the escalator to the Sistene Chapel, there was a recording being played in about 12 languages telling visitors that this was a holy place and we should all be quiet and respectful. When we reached the Chapel and dispersed a woman started yelling, and I do mean yelling, "Mortie! Mortie! I'm over here!" There is nothing to be done about people like that except to cringe and distance oneself.

News Flash to all of you out there:

My brother, an eminent art historian so he's in the know, recently told us that either the EU or UNESCO (can't remember which) has put forth a policy that photos sans flash should be allowed in all museums. Many venues are slow to take down their prohibition signs; but when we asked, they did say that non-flash photography was o.k. Also, special exhibitions seem to be exempt from the new policy.