I was embarrassed when a year ago today Turkey banned access to youtube.
I was dismayed when they banned richarddawkins.net based on the ravings of an indicted criminal lunatic.
I was in disbelief when they banned several blogging sites owned by google, and free website hosting domains such as geocities.
I was in shock when they made themselves out to be Islamic fundamentalists at the recent NATO submit over a complaint about free speech in Denmark.
But in recent memory I haven't been truly ashamed of my country as much as I was in the days following the THY crash at Schipol. The entire Turkish media made the pilots out to be heroes based on the most ridiculous "evidence" just hours after the accident. The government and THY lied shamelessly and the overwhelmingly ignorant Turkish public lapped it all up.
So yes, when I hear of an accident involving Turks my immediate reaction is to wonder which idiot caused it and how, whereas I give civilized Westerners the benefit of the doubt.