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I know for some reason Canadians really believe this to be true, but it has not been my experience at all.
It comes and goes. The maple leaf flag strategy began during or after the Vietnam War. It depends on what American foreign policy is engaged in, in any given era.
He's right about the little Canadian flags on the backpacks and jackets though. You must have done something to make your friendly Canadian neighbours not want to be mistaken for American.
Interesting article I just found, apparently this has been going on for quite a while.
Well, the Germans annexed Austria in the late 30s for starters . Still, I don't see Austrians wearing Austrian flags to prevent being mistaken for German. No, there is really something going on between Canadians and Americans that you are not telling us.
Yes there is. Canadians have a "Not American" complex. They spend their lives trying to differentiate themselves and not to do it like is done in the States. Sadly for them, Canada is more like the US than any country in the world and for some, it eat their guts out.
I feel badly for most travelling Americans as they are grouped as a nation and anti-Americanism is always in fashion no matter where you go just some times more than others. The US foreign policy is always being reflected upon the traveller and totally unfairly.
In Canada it's extremely common almost to the point of being the norm that when a Canadians is travelling outside Canada or the US, they have something on the baggage signifying that they are Canadians. It's not that they want to shove Canada down anyone's throat but rather they don't want to be confused as being an Americans. Americans are uniformly are the least welcomed and worse treated people no matter where they go. When someone finds out you are Canadian and not American overseas you get a totally different reaction from the locals. The Canadian could be a dick and the American super-nice but that doesn't matter, the American will be treated much worse.
Don't waste your pity on this American who travels often outside the US. I have lived in Europe and traveled throughout Europe and Asia and have literally never had a problem or negative experience based on me being American. Oh wait, I take that back - ONE time about 25 years ago, I forgot to allow a German woman in behind me in a pay toilet and she had to dig out 10 pfennigs to pay and she called me a "stupidiche Amerikaner." Believe me, I didn't take that to heart too much, and definitely did not leave there considering myself to be stupid. Heck, she should try visiting the US where she may be delighted to realize she rarely, if ever, has to pay to use a public restroom!
Personally, not that it's ever happened to me, but if anyone overseas ever mistook me for a Canadian, I would very quickly correct this misconception and let them know I'm American. Since I've shared my nationality with scores of people overseas for decades and had literally ONE negative response (see above), I'm not at all worried about possible ramifications.
Nearly all my interactions with folks overseas have been not only polite, but quite enjoyable and pleasant.
I can understand that if Canadian is to be recognized on the street for being a foreigner, why should they not care to be identified as Canadian rather than American? That makes sense to me. Having people assume you are from the United States all the time, when you are not, would certainly be tiresome.
But as corroborated by the article in Mr. Joshua's post, there is an undercurrent in the travelling Canadian's mentality that to be Canadian is to be loved, and to be American is to be despised. But that is only if you encounter drro.
I know for some reason Canadians really believe this to be true, but it has not been my experience at all.
It has happened to me. As a Canadian travelling I've met people who had CDN flags stickers on their luggage. When I asked where in Canada they were from, they confessed to me they weren't.
I've also posted in other threads how I've a couple of people who judged me thinking I was American and changed their attitude when they found out I was not. I found those experiences
repugnant, and felt it was wrong.
In my travels, I have defended Americans as individuals by dispelling some of the myths that people have.
It has happened to me. As a Canadian travelling I've met people who had CDN flags stickers on their luggage. When I asked where in Canada they were from, they confessed to me they weren't.
I don't believe you. There's been countless threads since the beginning of the internet about this urban legend and I don't ever remember anybody saying that they have actually seen this. You're the first. Canadians bearing maple leafs to differentiate themselves from Americans, yes. Americans pretending to be Canadians, no.
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. Still, I don't see Austrians wearing Austrian flags to prevent being mistaken for German. No, there is really something going on between Canadians and Americans that you are not telling us.
