I spent the better part of September wandering around Europe and, let me tell you something, they aren't too big on George Walker Bush over there. Or Americans in general. I tried my best to pass for Canadian but I just couldn't pull off the long "o"s and ending every sentence with an "eh". I could bore you for hours with tales of hostile hotel clerks, sneering British expats in Munich, hate-filled waiters, "TSK!"-ing baristas in Venice and one indifferent French rail clerk that botched our reservations so badly that we were forced to spend the night on the floor of a train bound for Germany. I tried to be humble, calm, polite and as well behaved as possible (without actually bothering to learn their language). My efforts did not subvert their wrath. Does this go for everyone I encountered across a desk or carrying dishes? No, but I'd put the figure at a good 72%.

How I longed to explain to all of them that I hailed from a far away place called Portland, Oregon- a city so liberal that its citizens would make them all look like Blackwater stockholders. That, I too, am not a flag-waving fan of US geopolitics circa 2001 - present. In addition, that I also work in the service industry, deal with clueless people 40+ hours a week, hate my job and would rather spend my days sneering and smoking rolled cigarettes while dressed in tight designer clothing. Would they have listened? No, because I didn't know their language and they only had a slim grasp on mine.

Plus, I had and still have the sneaking suspicion that the entire European continent is fueled by a collective disdain for humanity. Maybe it wasn't me. Maybe 72% of everyone who works in the service industry over there really is an asshole. If only I could pull off the same sort of exploits at my workplace. If only I could get away with an attitude that screams, "Sorry, dickface. I'm too busy text messaging my girlfriend to help you. Come back and bug me in ten minutes and I'll help you if I feel like it."

Anyway, here's a series of photos covering a good portion of all the anti-Bush displays I encountered as I made my way from London to Rome and back again:

Two ads for a talk radio station outside a train station in Amsterdam:

One of several anti-Bush shirts in a shop near Piccadilly Circus:

Spotted in Pisa:

Or at least I think that's supposed to be Bush. He's saying, "We fight to return. We return to fight." These next two are much more straight-forward:

Spotted in Rome:

I found this sitting in a large display window in the middle of a tourist district in Munich:

According to Babel Fish, this roughly translates to: "We bring with us democracy, liberty and Burger King. Leave our hive secure." Hive? Secure? Yeaaaaaah....I have no idea what that's all about but I have a good idea of what they're getting at.

UPDATE: A reader named Morgan chimed in to set the record straight:

"I know you posted this a while ago but your babelfish German translation was a bit off. Buergerkrieg is civil war. And that last part translates to "lets get the booty" as in pirate booty not sweet ass.

I'm bored at work at thought there might be the slightest of chances that you care."

So let me try that again. Bush is saying, "We bring with us democracy, liberty and civil war. Let's get the booty!"

Finally, I saw this in a Paris gift rack alongside a treasure trove of sexy postcards. I'm sorry to say there were no idyllic postcards featuring a Brawny Man-esque GW.

The amount of political graffiti I saw relating to local politics? Surprisingly little outside of Pisa, where the stuff covered every blank wall. There's a lot of anarchists in that town.

Labels: fer-en-ers