Wanna Be Americano
Back to Chihuahua for the annual physical inventory. Yes, it's about as exciting as it sounds. We arrived last night which meant we missed the Wolves game. Fortunately the hotel has cable so I was able to catch the highlights. Looking forward to watching Friday's game down here. The locals seem to have no love lost for the Lakers (a lot of Spurs fans here) so the Timberwolves should have their support.
Speaking of support, despite Barbara Boxer's clams to the contrary, I have not detected any particular animosity towards Americans here because of the Abu Ghraib abuse. In fact the attitude of most of the Mexicans that I've spoken with toward the war in Iraq is detached indifference. They're much more concerned with their political imbroglios involving the mayor of Mexico City than anything happening in Iraq or the United States.
The idea that the abuses at Abu Ghraib have somehow soiled the "American brand" and will hurt American business overseas is ridiculous. People understand that individual Americans do not represent the policies of the American government, much less the actions of some idiots who abused prisoners in Iraq. I believe that in most areas of the world they are able to separate their feelings toward American policy from American business and products. Looking for proof? Check out France, where McDonald's sales are stronger than almost anywhere else in Europe, and the French teenagers mimic the clothes and style of their counterparts across the Atlantic.
They might not always like us, where us represents the policies and actions of the U.S. government. But they usually like us, where us is individual Americans traveling overseas. And they really like us, when us represents our stuff.
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