In what is quite possibly the most absurd tweet ever sent from an official government account, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs' official account tweeted a reminder that people who aren't attractive in the U.S. probably still aren't attractive overseas, and that if a person pays attention to you, they're probably just trying to rob you.
Well then.
While it's certainly a good idea to stay alert while traveling anywhere--be it Grand Forks, North Dakota or Cancun, Mexico--there are certainly kinder ways to remind people of this than implying that people are only paying attention to someone because they want to rob them.
When called out for the (relatively obvious, in my opinion) sexism, the authors of the account stated that there was no sexist intent and that both genders needed to be vigilant while traveling.
@gonicholasgo We made no mention of gender. This can happen to anyone unfortunately.
— Travel - State Dept (@TravelGov) March 30, 2016
Twitter was quick to crack jokes at the ridiculousness of the tweet:
I like to think that due to the exchange rate I’m actually a 13.5 in Canada.https://t.co/FAR0kitxyn
— Christine Rousselle (@crousselle) March 30, 2016
lol all u non-10s are so mad at this https://t.co/zJ7An1HY2L
— andy levy (@andylevy) March 30, 2016
rude RT @TravelGov: You're too fat for that bikini. #springbreakingbadly
— Caitlin Kelly (@caitlin__kelly) March 30, 2016
what are conditions like for US citizens who would like to travel to... the doghouse https://t.co/X47H7llp2V
— Erin Gloria Ryan (@morninggloria) March 30, 2016
State Dept: You're ugly and nobody likes you. Trust no one. #springbreakingbadly
— Christopher Coleman (@ccineastnash) March 30, 2016
Don’t let them see you with a 6—always only take selfies with 8s and up. #springbreakingbadly https://t.co/l8rZ9dgSxh
— easter explainer (@hannahgais) March 30, 2016
"New foreign friend says he wants to date you? Beware, he could be a murderer. Or worse, a '5'." #springbreakingbadly
— Logan Rhoades (@LoganRhoades) March 30, 2016
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UPDATE: The account has apologized for the earlier tweets and deleted the original tweet.
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