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pahunkboy -> RE: Are the British more law abiding than Americans? (1/4/2011 6:37:01 AM)
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ORIGINAL: Aynne88
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ORIGINAL: RapierFugue
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ORIGINAL: Aneirin
Yes, sadly tourists are victims of the scum in our country, but that because of the fact that they are likely to be clueless and carrying expensive items as well as cash and the means to get it, the same here as tourists anywhere in the world, but here, the plod act when a tourist is attacked, as tourist protection is a number one priority due to the fact that tourists we depend on and need not frighten away. But the plod can't be everywhere all of the time, as the citizens of the country know full well so crime sadly is a fact of life, the trick here as anywhere in the world, is not make yourself attractive to the scum in society, have responsibility for your own actions.
I was in Amsterdam a good few years ago, sitting outside a "coffee" shop one mid-morning and relaxing in the spring sunshine. In Amsterdam, most of these “coffee” shops were in or near the red light area, giving it what used to be a pleasantly bohemian atmosphere, although it was also clearly the sort of area where you wouldn’t parade your wealth. I used to just wear my black leather biking jacket and jeans, not shave for a day or two, and people left me pretty much alone.
The bar chap returned with my coffee just as a bloke walked past. Now I try not to stereotype, but this bloke could have been lifted from the pages of "Stereotypical American Tourist Monthly"; dreadful plaid trousers, fat as butter, booming voice, small, shrill wife ... and four (count em, four!) cameras round his neck, and all of them Canon. I'm a pretty keen photographer, so I recognised not one, but two Canon A1 bodies, one with a stock 50mm and one with a medium tele lens fitted, an AE-1 with what looked like a wide angle, and something else Canon flavoured I couldn’t quite see well enough to tell what it was ... bear in mind that, at the time, the A1 was about as pricey as amateur photography got, and the AE-1 wasn’t exactly cheap either. He had a gold Rolex on, and she was absolutely dripping with gold jewellery too.
They waddled past the “coffee” shop, nodding politely to the bartender and myself as we gazed in amazement, we waved in return, and they toddled on their merry way.
The barman looked at me, I looked at the barman, we both laughed, and he said “I bet any money you like they won’t have a good day”. I didn't take that bet.
RF, travelled to the US much? We do the same thing where I live. It's quite a snotty posh WASPY area here, lots of sailboats, old money, blue blood veins that run back to the Mayflower and 8,000 plus s.f. summer homes, whose owners have surnames like Stewart ( as in Martha) the DuPonts, Rockefellers, Kennedy's, etc. When the cheap, and slovenly attired "eurotrash" roll into town in the summer, the seer sucker brigade has to bite their tongue as well, while looking askance at their inappropriate attire and boorish behavior.
You really musn't get all of your ideas about American tourists from Chevy Chase movies, and my neighbors here on the coast might stop referring to those unfortunate misbehaving eurotrash, it really serves neither side does it?
Egads Aynne88, those uppidity type drive me nuts! They think their shit dont stink and the best part of life is how manicured the lawn is. I will take the red necks any day of the week.
Parts of Chicago have that same type- and it sure kills a hard on.
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