American and Abroad

Anti-Americanism. It's strange that I've only been moved to address this topic now, after so many months living here in Berlin. I'm not sure whether I've simply become more sensitive to it recently, after an unpleasant encounter on the street, or whether it really has become more undeniable due to changes in socio-political and economic conditions worldwide. Last week was the annual Fulbright Conference in Berlin, which brought together Fulbrighters from across Germany and Europe together for panel discussions, presentations, and "networking". I met up with a couple Vassar grads, which was very comforting. It's really a pleasure to meet with so many like-minded people, especially when it can be so difficult to find in daily life.

After the party on the last night of the conference we were grabbing curry wurst and fries from the Imbiss (street food/fast food vender) under the Eberswalderstr. U-Bahn. We were in the process of picking up and paying for our food when this tall, hippy-like guy elbows through and orders as though we weren't there. Hearing us speaking English, he pulled the food we'd ordered off the counter and started muttering "I hate Americans, stupid Americans, I hate you. I hate Obama..." and so forth. Jeanette, a Vassar girl, countered his odious ejaculations by ostentatiously saying how happy it made her that when people visit the US they are treated with respect and treated to good American hospitality. Surely, this was the most positive response one could make. I however, was seriously peeved by this jerk's sense of entitlement, and I did not appreciate how he pushed me when I tried to save my friends' victuals. So I pushed him back and told him in his own language to take off. My reaction may not have been so peaceable, but I couldn't just let him push me around. Was my or Jeanette's effort productive? Probably not. Perhaps one of the most surprising things about the incident (other than the fact that he said he hated Obama, who everyone I've encountered in Germany loves, and didn't mention the president everyone loves to hate) was that this sort of encounter is not all that unusual. All the Fulbrighters present had previously experienced similar bile. They weren't even that upset by it. It has become frighteningly commonplace.

In the days since the street encounter the blatant stereotypes I've heard about Americans (that we don't cook and only eat fast food, that we're uninformed and unintelligent, you know the drill) have become harder to ignore. Patricia tells me I just need to let it slide off my back. In some ways I know she's right. As the civil rights activist Amelia Boynton Robinson said at a speech she gave at my school here in Berlin, hate hurts the haters more than the hated. They have to live with it inside them, and hate is corrosive. I can turn my back on them and walk away from their hatred, they carry it wherever they go.

Perhaps this is why it is other manifestations of Anti-Americanism that bother me even more. The other day I talked with a British man about music, saying that I thought it was in modern music that the British and Americans have had their greatest collaborations. He immediately got defensive, disavowing any American influence on British music. Of course this is patently ridiculous. After all, both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones got their start as bands playing covers of American Blues and Rock music. To say their music was not influenced by this is just plain silly. Also, my argument was that the influence goes both ways. Still, the idea that there was any collaboration involved between great modern American and British musicians was abhorrent to this guy. Collaboration and cooperation should be among the highest goals of any two nations in their dealings with each other, and yet, people are utterly turned off by it when you bring it up.

When I talk to people from all over the world who revel in the problems the US is currently facing, declaring gleefully that America is a nation on the decline, their Schadenfreude burns me. They savor the suffering and tribulations of the American people in a way that deeply disheartens me. And somehow, this sort of attitude is acceptable, and even encouraged by the way America is portrayed in the news media. I understand, that what often lies below these feelings is simply resentment of the strength of the American presence worldwide. And yet, people everywhere keep buying our music, our movies, our pop culture, even (regrettably) our fast food. They love our cultural production, and resent it at the same time. Untangling these sorts of complicated love-hate feelings seems nearly impossible sometimes. But as Patricia reminds me, all we can do as individuals is be the examples of that which we hope our nation represents, be accepting, critical, well-informed, and hopeful in the face of great challenges. Of course, I am also acutely aware of the failings of my nation's government, and the ignorance and sometimes arrogance of many of its people. I am aware of how far we have yet to go, how the ideal of working to create "a more perfect union" is threatened by an unjust war, propaganda of fear, and personal political agendas. It is hard to be an American living abroad, but while it presents the greatest personal trials, it also presents the greatest opportunity to smash apart the ignorant and pervasive stereotypes about Americans, so that people can begin to form more complicated, well-rounded and realistic impressions. This is why the sweetest sound to my ears, is to hear someone say, I didn't think Americans were like you.

----------------
Now playing: Air - Universal Traveler
via FoxyTunes