There is a phrase that was all the rage at the turn of the last century — Jingo. In essence it describes “a person who professes his or her patriotism loudly and excessively, favoring vigilant preparedness for war and an aggressive foreign policy.” For whatever reason, over the last 100-ish years that phrase has fallen out of service to describe someone. That’s a shame because we can’t think of a better word to describe the Americans involved in an incident that happened in Cancun during spring break this year.
American revelers — or American jingoists, if you will — made an über patriotic/ massively ironic / hugely idiotic ruckus aboard the Captain Hook pirate ship in Cancun when they broke out into an old sea chanty. Their verse was not merry or convivial, it was kinda baffling in a really, really disappointing sort of way. The Americans took over the end of a pirate show and drowned it out by chanting “Build That Wall!” over and over again.
Given that the passengers paid anywhere from $70 to $102 to take the cruise, that seems like a lot to spend just to piss people off in their own country.
According to the Yucatan Times, the locals on board implored the chanters to stop, “but the Americans did not stop at all and continued singing the racist hymn.” All of which the paper says has piled onto an already fraught spring break for locals where a “growing number of complaints from tourism sector workers, who point out that in recent days many Spring Breakers have been offensive, rude and haughty towards Mexican people.” Ron Burgundy would be so ashamed.
Without getting into the asininity of a border wall, the sheer lack of un-ironic and aggressive patriotism on display for an American to go all the way to Mexico to chant ‘build that wall’ at Mexicans (their hosts) is astounding, even by jingoistic standards. Mexico has already got them there to spend money on food, lodging, drinks, and entertainment. It kinda feels like Mexico already won on that count. Then we Americans fly back to the US — which, by the way, is how over 40 percent of migrants arrive in America, by flying. See, asinine.
(Via Fusion)
