We have have previously discussed the destructive narcissism of tourists who write their names on historic locations or art, including the recent incident involving a Houston Rockets player. This includes the Chinese tourist who wrote on an ancient Egyptian temple or the Russian who carved his name intothe Colosseum. An unidentified 55-year-old man from Missouri snapped the finger off a 14th or 15th century marble masterpiecewhen he decided to measure it by grabbing the hand. Two California women (again strangely allowed to go unidentified) were arrested after carving their names into the Colosseum. Then there was a 126-year-old statue of Dom Sebastian that crashed to the ground and shattered after man climbed on top of its pedestal to take a selfie with the 16th century Portuguese King.
In this case, the Dasilvas were arrested at the Bangkok airport and each fined 5,000 baht ($154) for exposing their buttocks. The married couple is facing charges of public indecency and the United States is now expected to assist them. So these two certifiable juvenile delinquents travel the world showing utter contempt for historic and cultural sites, then, when they get into trouble, the United States spends money and time to try to secure their release from their well-deserved arrests. There must be an overwhelming temptation for our State Department personnel to simply tell them to kiss their well-photographed butts goodbye. Many people felt the same way when President Trump used part of his official trip to China to secure the release of UCLA college basketball players who decided to shoplift in an authoritarian country known for its lack of criminal justice.
The couple reportedly contacted San Diego officials for help with their case.
It remains a mystery why anyone over the age of 4 would find this “Traveling Butts” theme to be funny. Yet, their account had more than 14,000 followers before it was deleted. I find that following far more unsettling than the fact that two adults would engage in this type of offensive conduct. Friends say that the pictures are a form of artistic expression.