Remember the Ugly American? He has a new face!

Everyone knows who the Ugly American is.  The uncouth and ill traveled person who goes to other countries and criticizes what he sees.  Of course he knows little of the culture he so freely castigates, making his ugliness not only more abhorrent, but totally ignorant.

Well, if we believe that a "social utility" like Facebook is a community, the same formula can be applied.  Everyone has their own page on Facebook and should be free to express their opinion.  I would not have it any other way.

But it is getting tedious to see Europeans , who know little to nothing about America and Americans,  post their ugliness and their ignorance all over the feed of Facebook.

If one were to believe these posts, often buoyed by Americans themselves who have no more knowledge than their European counter parts, one would come to the conclusion that Europeans as a whole are smarter, kinder, better read and better traveled than  Americans as a whole.  That is not true, and time spent either in Europe or on Facebook quickly proves out the fallacies.

Time after time over the last few years, I have read posts by my European (English, French, Swedish, etc. etc.) and ex-pat  Facebook friends attesting to how selfish Americans are in protesting Obamacare,  as well as  universal health care.  But to do so is to ignore the basic character  of many, if not most,  Americans.  We are not willing to "tax" many more people than a law helps, we are not willing to give up freedom of choice for a little security, and we do not believe a President who has lied many times before when he is lying again. And again. And again.  Apparently our neighbors across the pond are as delusional as our home grown "bots" and do not see the forest from the trees, or the reality from the imagined and hoped for.

Similarly, the posts that point to how ill read, ill traveled Americans are crumble under the weight of applied interrogation.  Claims about these nuances of American life are easily deflected when a little research is applied to the subject. 

So my criticism, based on a good knowledge of American habits as well as a good deal of time spent (voluntarily and happily)  in Europe, is ensconced  in my belief that if one is going to be disparaging of another country, one really needs to come equipped with the facts.  Further, while it is your page to write on what you wish, please know that Facebook is also a community.  Participants are community members.  If you are going to criticize, specifically, the neighborhood some of us live in; please understand that we like living here and do not take kindly to your words.  We especially do not take kindly when you have no idea what you are talking about.

The Ugly American has turned into the Ugly European.  Ugly is ugly.