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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The thing that annoys me the most is my European relatives' condescending attitude and arrogance when it comes to the US.

They tilt their noses in the air and look down at Americans like we are some sort of sub-species and can NEVER be as fit, fashionable or intelligent as they are. They subtly criticize what we do, what we eat, how we live, you name it. NOTHING here is as good as in their country.

While some of this is true, and merits acknowledgement, which I admit, the fact remains that they don't hold up a critical mirror to themselves.

They are some of the most cold-hearted, judgmental skinflints on the planet. They live in a small town where the population has no diversity and consider it heaven on earth, despite all their b.s. about inclusiveness and tolerance.

I am especially galled when they like to criticize us, but then come here for a vacation and are more than happy to take advantage of our generosity.

One relative spent two weeks being wined, dined and entertained on our dime and never once offered to pick up the tab - despite their significant income and assets. Our cuisine is so awful but they had no problem scarfing all those free meals down especially at restaurants!

They have zero consideration for the sacrifices Americans made just one generation ago to save their asses. All those pretty white crosses with American boys' names in those European graveyards?  Yawn. Mention the Marshall Plan? They are expressionless.

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As someone who also has many European relatives, I feel this so much. They come over here, never contribute in any way while they take advantage of our hospitality and criticize everything about the US. You can't hand them a cup of coffee without them immediately explaining how much better coffee is in their country (spoiler alert: it's not).

I'm fit by any measure. The one time that a doctor talked to me about my weight, it was to advise me to gain weight. I've had a European woman who was 100 lbs overweight lecture me about how fat Americans are. They truly believe we are not worth even the most basic of courtesies.  It was this exchange that finally broke the camel's back, and I said, why are you saying this to me when I'm objectively quite slim and you're not? That seemed to work. More recently, I explained to a European relative that in America, it's considered horribly rude to go to a country and then criticize it openly to your hosts. This seemed to cause them to reflect because, actually, that is rude in every country.  [/quote]

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