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Tourists behaving badly

Seem tourists from far away are having trouble with the concept of Boston, at least based on incidents at Democracy Brewing downtown and Table Mercato in the North End.

Some out of stater visited Democracy Brewing on Temple Place and was so put out about how they asked him put on a mask he went away in a huff and then, as one does, wrote a negative review on Google:

The second we stepped through the door we were greeted with "masks please". They have a beer named after the famous American rabble-rouser Ebenezer Mackintosh but they cower at the feet of an un-American mask mandate, to afraid to stand for freedom. I refuse to let a tyrant force unneeded compliance. I think a past Boston resident said it best:

“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you.
-Samual Adams

Based on his other reviews, dude lives in some Tennessee burg on the Kentucky line, so perhaps he's not familiar with the rules north of the Mason-Dixon line that are aimed at letting the locals enjoy freedom without getting infected by some unvaccinated out-of-towner, but the pub tries to educate him:

In accordance with the city of Boston mandate, all guests are required to wear a face mask unless actively eating and drinking. We stand by our staff who kindly asked you at the door to follow this mandate in order for us to continue to operate business during the global pandemic. If you'd like to dine with us (or any restaurant in the city of Boston) without a mask, you are welcome to enjoy our outdoor seating or we are happy to help you order take out.

Meanwhile, at Table Boston on Hanover Street, owner Jen Royle had to deal with a family unfamiliar with the idea that sometimes it gets cold in Boston in October:

Worst encounter in the history of our restaurant. Family from Texas [Ed note: Royle later updated they were from Illinois]… Woman pissed she booked an outdoor table, abusive to my server. Upset she wasn’t given a blanket. Started videotaping me. Her husband got in my face! Another diner stepped in. Says she’s posting. Can’t wait.

She added:

I called her a fucking bitch and told her and her family to leave or I’ll have the fire department across the street physically remove them.

I did not open a restaurant to have my staff treated like dog shit. I have enough of that at home.

Oh, really, the fire department? Really, she replies:

Seriously. Those guys always say to me… If you need anything, you come get us. If anybody’s bothering you, you come get us. If you have anybody you need to kick out of your restaurant, You come get us.

Those are our boys!

Because of the interaction, she's shut her outdoor table service until the spring.

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Comments

Never, never, never understood assholes who are rude to the people handling their food. Even before covid, it seemed like you were playing with fire. Nowadays when everybody in food service is fed the fuck up? Unreal.

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Stories like this make my blood boil. But it isn't just people from "far away". Uncouth acting suburbanites that trek into Boston for their twice annual trips "in town" whether it's for the Patriots' Parade or similar event, treat the city like their private recreation area. Or worse. I'm not sure they'd urinate and vomit in the middle of their own private rec area.

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Outsiders! Them! Those From Away!

Glad to see everyone's annoying Aunt has put up their talking points.

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I appreciate your contrarian take here generally but you’re just plain wrong on this. It’s like Sunday drivers swerving across three lanes in the central artery or tying up intersections because they have no idea where they’re going.

If you live in town and go out regularly, you know how everything works and how to play along. I think the mask rules for restaurants are illogical and unscientific, but I follow them as a sign of respect to the workers who are probably just as tired of them as most of us are. If you want to argue the point, take it up with the BPHC or the mayor’s office.

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...there's a definite "I'm on vacation/at my annual Red Sox game/etc. and I'm gonna do whatever I want" mindset that many people get into when they're not in their little cabbage patch. Living near Fenway, I witnessed plenty of it, and I've seen it in many other tourist and resort areas as well. By no means every tourist, but there's a percentage that think of these areas as some kind of special place where the rules of ordinary decent conduct are suspended. And yes, being "from away" is always, 100% a necessary factor in this mindset. It isn't by any means exclusive to Boston vs. its suburbs, and there are gradations (a lot will make much more noise than they would in their own communities, for example, but public urination is a bridge too far), but it's very much alive and well in the many Boston locations that attract hoot-and-holler tourism.

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It's kind of a fascinating phenomenon. People get in vacation mode and literally forget that in a city, most other people around them aren't on vacation. People will block paths in train stations, standing around with a huge map out and their luggage spread all over, then are shocked that people coming up behind them are impatient and want them to move over because they have to get to work/school/appointments.

In the before-times, I'd run into this with my kids who take classes at the various museums. Groups of obviously-tourists, stopping blocking an entire pathway to look at something and ignoring the first four "excuse me"s, then when they finally notice, turning around and thinking you're wanting to chat with them. "Hi, just trying to walk past; trying not to be late for a class" and you can see the progression of facial expressions as it clicks that some folks in the space are employees or students, and aren't in time-free vacation mode.

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But people from Massachusetts don’t go to Kentucky and yell at them about their local laws and act like they know local history better than Kentuckians. Sarah Palin pulled the same crap here with her “knowledge” of Paul Revere. Conservatives from red states have no education or decency.

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But people from Massachusetts don’t go to Kentucky and yell at them about their local laws and act like they know local history better than Kentuckians.

I’ll take your word for it re Kentucky but I can Guarantee that ppl from Mass. absolutely do that in The Carolinas and in Florida.

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Is smart indeed. The idea of people from any state getting declared as polite across the board is hilarious.

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People, who live in Boston, would never do that! (eye roll)

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Agreed. We're not called Massholes by our neighbors for no reason.

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It's envy. They hate us for our driving skills freedoms. Also our tendency to be more concerned with our resident's health and well-being than their states manage to be. They want that, but can't seem to do what it takes to get it.

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Get out of our city before our T escalators kick your ass.

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It's too late for us, but you can still save yourselves!

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regardless of where they're from, who treats restaurant staff rudely. That hateful boorishness is one big reason restaurants are struggling to attract staff these days. Your parents raised you badly and should be ashamed of themselves and you.

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