> The author starts off with a seemingly disconnected claim about prejudice I think you are misreading that. What I take that is that the author is lamenting

> The author starts off with a seemingly disconnected claim about prejudice I think you are misreading that. What I take that is that the author is lamenting that people are so prejudiced against Americans that they remove necessary hygiene systems for fear of offending American sensibilities. (Could you imagine hearing that a hotel had been "<ethnicity>-ized" by removing the sinks, on the assumption that people would take offense at the suggestion they should wash their hands?)