Canadian Flag Tag on Luggage
 

There was a recent article in the New York Times concerning American being overly sensitive to the fact that Canadians have those damn Canadian flag tags on their luggage and the perception that this is done so that Canadians are clearly identified as 'non-American'. I am curious to know how many of us actually have these flag tags and why. Personally I have had a Canadian flag of some sort on my luggage and a lapel pin over my heart since the early 70's. I do so for two reasons. One...when off continent it is easier to find my luggage on the turnstile amongst all the other black bags of equal size. Second...so people know I am Canadian not necessarily so they know I am non-American. There is a sterotype of the ugly American (boorish, centre of the universe, loud) out there which sometimes initiates a negative response to my presence or inquiry. If I am approaching an individual in another country they may assume I am that stereotypical American the Canadian flag lets them know otherwise.

It seems to me that many Canadians, such as yourself, wear maple leave pins and use other identifiers such as baggage tags, not so much from national pride, but from fear of being taken for Americans. In fact, that may well be a stereotypical Canadian attitude, to define one's nationality as being non-American.

If, as you say, the stereotypical American is boorish, loud and regards the U.S. as the centre of the universe, all you need to do distinguish yourself from these barbarian hordes is to behave differently (which I am sure that you do!)

In my experience, however, most Americans abroad do not fit that stereotype, and are respectful of and interested in learning about the countries they are visiting. We have all seen the loud and ignorant, and I can certainly give a few choice examples, but I must say that is not a characteristic confined to Americans abroad. (Have you ever seen English football fans?).

When I travel, I don't feel a need to advertise my nationality. If anyone asks, I'll certainly own up to being a Canadian. However, I've never plastered my luggage with maple leaves or worn maple leaf badges, except for those which I wore with pride on my uniform.

I am an American who saw many of those Canadian flags on backpacks/luggage when traveling through Europe for 2 months. My boyfriend and I kept joking that it must be a requirement to have one on your bag before leaving Canada. Actually, once in Mexico I saw a woman who had her nails airbrushed with the flag! Truth be told, I have had a Canadian flag on my backpack for years now. Just because I love Canada and think its a great country. But I am probably the only one in Boston with one so its harmless. I did not, however, bring that bag abroad. I actually wondered if there was a resurgent of pride in Canada due to the Quebecois threat of secession. Maybe Canadians felt hurt at Quebecers attitude that Canada was nothing? I don't know. But feel proud to be Canadian, its a great country!

I think that there is a resurgence of pride in Canada because we have lately discovered how wonderful and beautiful this country really is!! A lot of us feel that we are very lucky to live here, and we want to shout our joy from the rooftops!!
While travelling in eastern Europe I was very amused to find that the saying for having a good life was "living as in Canada"!!!
If people from any other country are disturbed by our patriotism, that is THEIR problem. I would never criticize anyone else including Americans for their patriotism (which IMHO is more conspicuous than ours, and probably has something to do with numbers - the US has nearly 10 times the number of people that Canada does).
Be proud of who you are, but don't put anyone else down for being proud of who they are.
Live and let live.

Borealis: I thought that JJDave's point was that he was proud of being who he is isn't, i.e. an American.

I don't have any luggage tags, but I do have a maple leaf tatoo on my leg. I love my country, I am proud to be a part of it. When I travel, it is probibly not even noticable to others but I know it is there, and a little piece of home.

I am an American and even before September 11th, I did not carry flags or wear them on my clothes or luggage.
None of my European friends wear country symbols on their clothes or luggage either.
My son mentioned this to me one day when he was flying in from Japan and wondered about seeing so many Canadian flags everywhere outside of Canada. He had been told that it was so Canadians would not be mistaken for Americans.
I see from this thread that not much has changed.
Has anyone wondered if a person might hide behind a Canadian flag to feel safe when traveling, then might terrorists think the same thing and that flag might bring unwanted attention to Canadians also?

I'm an American and I visit Canada at least annually -- even enjoying Canada Day festivities in Ottawa a couple of times. From Halifax to Vancouver and everywhere in between, I've always met a lot of nice people and had a great time. I have a couple of Canadian flag baggage tags that I picked up as souvenirs and using them has resulted in meeting a number of Canadians in my travels elsewhere. While there are times and places where an American flag might prove to be a lightening rod for some, it is not nearly as likely to be case with the maple leaf. There may be some value to that at times and to the extent that it might tend to mislead someone who chooses to make assumptions without knowing anything about me, that is just fine. I'm not embarrassed to be an American in the slightest. I just don't advertise it to strangers when I'm abroad, as a matter of prudence.

Hi JJDave:

I am Canadian & all of my bags have Canadian flags on them.

While I have always been very proud to be a Canadian I do want to ensure that I'm not mistaken for an American.

As a huge Red Sox (& baseball in general) fan, I have a large collection of team t-shirts & hats - in Bali one day I wore a Red Sox shirt & in Nairobi I wore a D'Backs one (had Boston & Arizona printed on the front) and in both cases I was approached by people expressing anti-American feelings.

While neither situation was serious & ended quickly when I said I was Canadian (& showed my Canadian flag, in each situation the person who approached me had a friend who lived in Canada). So now when I pack for an international trip I leave any t-shirt/hat that references anything American at home. As no sense bringing extra attention to myself.

Later,

Z

I do have a Canadian flag luggage tag which I bought before one of my trips a few years ago. I didn't buy it because it was a Canadian flag, I just thought I should have something other than the paper ones that the airlines provide. My bags are the usual navy bag - like 50% of the bags on the flights.

One thing I have noticed in the US is the large number of people who fly the US flag outside their homes. That always seems odd to me, although I have to say I'm not sure why I find it odd! I rarely see the Canadian flag flown here in Canada outside a private home.

I am a Canadian and we travel extensively. We do not usually use lapel pins or Canada tags on our luggage. There are two exceptions-travel to Holland and travel to China.
In these two countries it truly can make a difference thought it has absolutely nothing to do with not wanting to be confused as being of another nationality.

I have proudly worn a Canadian flag pin when travelling for over 20 years. I have seen Americans wearing American flag pins. I have seen Australians wearing Australian flag patches on back packs. I have seen French wearing French flag pins. I have seen Belgians wearing Belgian flag patches and many others wearing pins or patches or other items identifying their nationalities. In my youth hostelling days trading pins or t-shirts or patches was a fun thing we did with new friends - I still have a great New Zealand flag patch. I REALLY do not undertstand why it is OK for Americans to want to identify themselves or show love of country or whatever but somehow it is suspect and wrong for other nationalities to do the same thing.

We have a Canadian Flag Tag on all our luggage. It is a lot easier to identify your luggage in a sea of black bags for one. The other reason is that we are proud Canadians. In general, I don't believe we are a nation of "Flag Wavers", but rather we do it unobtrusively, vis a vis our lapel pins and luggage tags. We have always been that way.

It's too bad that some American's are overly sensitive to us being proud of who we are, but I'm sure the majority are not like that.

P.S., I think its great that they are noticing our flag though, at least they won't be flying it upside:-)

We used to wear Canadian flag lapel pins when we travelled, but we noticed it tended to make it more difficult to bargain or price-haggle, so we quit. We wore the pins as a "goodwill ambassador" thing - just a "Hi, we're from Canada and are loving your country" sentiment. Besides, I got tired of explaining that Cnada had more places in it than Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, which seem to be all the cities a lot of people have heard of.

Here's a thought:
My Canadian boyfriend went to Europe last year (this was all before Sept. 11th, so would not be related to any of the recent developments in iraq, etc.).

Anyway, he & his friends, all about 18 years old, were in McDonald's, I belileve it was in France, where they were receiving glares from another group of guys. This group of guys were obviously none too happy to see them and were glaring at them cruelly. They felt uncomfortable.

Anyway, I can't recall how it came about, but my boyfriend mentioned that they were from Canada. All of a sudden the group smiled and said something to the like of, "Oh hey! How's it going! sorry, we thought you were americans!"

How terrible... but it does seem to be true.. My boyfriend made sure to affix canadian flags to all of his things. Otherwise, they would just assume he was American, while I guess he was treated better as a Canadian.

Sad, but seems to be true. Hopefully the American image can someday be restored.

peter519, your story doesn't ring true. Also, if your boyfriend went to Europe last year that was 2003. The attacks of September 11th were in 2001 well before his trip.

How many Canadians will now be dangling Tim Horton mugs on their backpacks?

I personally am going to replace my Canadian flag patches with Conan O'Brian patches.

I was rummaging through some old threads and I came across this one which both humors and annoys me.

It seems that mostly Canadians have responded to this thread, so let me give an American point of view -- you know we have opinions on everything. ;^)

I don't think many Americans would say that national pride is bad to express, but what it comes down to is the motivation behind that expression. National pride? Fine. Knee-jerk jingoism? Bad. To deflect bigotry? Bad.

Personally, I think Canada is a fantastic country and I'd be proud to be Canadian if I was born there. The US couldn't have a better neighbor, IMO. My last boyfriend was a Canadian living here in Massachusetts. Actually, one of my favorite weekends in Provincetown is the July 4th/Canada Day weekend since so many friendly Canadians are around. Given all the great things about Canada, particularly her people, Canadians *should* be proud of what they've got. Wearing a lapel pin with that in mind is perfectly understandable.

What annoys me, as an American, is when a Canadian *only* wears a lapel pin or maple leaf patch to announce to the world, "Don't hate *me*. Don't mistreat *me*. I am not an ugly American! Spit in his soup, not mine!" That kind of Candian lapel pin is both an insult to Americans and demeaning to your country.

It is not lost on me that being an American is a negative in some lands, but I could never fathom the mentality of some who *hate* people from someplace else just because of their government's policies or because of the perceived ignorance of some of its tourists. I dislike the mullahs ruling Iran, but it is completely against my nature to not be kind to an Iranian seeking my help. The stereotype of the German tourist is to be notoriously difficult, but I would never show disrespect to a German asking me directions. Heck, I dislike Bush, but would I mistreat a tourist from a red state?? Get real.

My point behind all this is that the people who mistreat others because of where they're from are the ones with the problem. If you only wear a Canadian pin to distinguish yourself as a non-American, you're not exactly standing up to bigotry. If anything, you're just deflecting it onto others.

Here are my guesses of the top reasons why people attach a maple leaf to their luggage:

1. It is always fun to run into other Canadians, or people interested in Canada, and the flag catches attention and starts up conversations.

2. Celebration of travel and a bit of "abassadorship". Australians are big patch users as well. I don't think Europeans bother so much, as they are all so used to international travel. For Americans, Canadians and Australians and Kiwis, international travel is a big deal. It is a bit like the nationality stickers on cars. It lets people know you aren't "from around here".

2. Lack of fear in letting others know your nationality. I think a lot more Americans would do the same if they felt comfortable that they could without drawing the "wrong kind" of attention.

3. You don't want to be mistaken as an American. This doesn't mean you loathe the idea, or hate Americans! Hardly anyone outside of North American can distinguish an American accent from a Canadian one. Having people always assume you are something you aren't can be tiresome.

4. It is tradition. Canadian kids have been sewing patches on their back packs for years!

5. It is a nice looking flag, and pretty flashy looking, so helps you identify your bags.

I have always had a Canadain flag on my bags, but am having second thoughts since my last trip. I found that it encouraged WAYYY too much US bashing. Everyone we met just wouldn't shut up about George W Bush, and Americans in general.

Most Americans who travel internationally seem to be very open minded and respectful. It is so unfortunate for them to be discriminated about or seen as "ugly americans". Maybe more Americans SHOULD wear flag patches, it might draw some attention to the fact that there are very nice, friendly and polite Americans!!

I find Americans to be among the most decent travellers. Maybe a bit loud, but not mean or pushy or unfriendly - which can't be said for many nationalities!!

A few months ago I ran into a couple in a bar (in America). After sriking up a conversation with them I saw she had a Canadian flag patch sewn on her backpack. Having some friends from Toronto, and thinking she may be Candian so we could swap the usual have you been so and so stories, I asked her where she was from. She replied that she was not Canadian and in fact was American. She said she was in China the previous summer and had gotten mugged while there, so she put the patch on so she wouldn't get into any more trouble. I looked at her incrediously and asked if she really believed that a mugger is going to stop and consider her nationality. She just looked at me blankly without any recognition of what I meant.

I don't have any issues with Canadians putting their patches on as a custom of theirs. I do have issues with Americans doing it to "hide" though. Be proud of where you are from, don't hide from it. I know the argument for many will be, "Well I don't support the current government so I not proud of where I am from right now." In my opinion that is part of why you should be proud, that democracy works here and you can have an effect on changing the government. Use the oportunity to help change ignorant attitudes about Amreicans and our government. Then maybe the misconceptions will begin to dissapear.

Gurgs may be right that people should be happy for where they come from, but I feel this is just an issue of common sense. Everyone knows that Americans don't currently have the best reputation around the world, and while stereotyping based on one's government or generalizing based on only a handful of "ugly" Americans may be repugnant, it does nevertheless happen. If Canadians, Americans or whomever want to avoid what may be annoyances about being perceived as an Americans, and feel that they could do so by putting on a maple leaf flag, then by all means, they should do so. The example of McDonalds in France only displays ignorance and lack on class on behalf of the French kids, but isn't it better to feel as comfortable as you can on vacation?

I do wear a maple leaf pin and have Canadian flag baggage tags on my luggage. I could use a ribbon or paint, so obviously I've chosen to display my flag. Partly it is that we have a flag. I'm old enough to remember when we flew the Union Jack. I remember the debates, the competitions and the legislation in the '60's. Having a Canadian flag is still a big deal to me. So, I'm pleased that we have our own flag. That's one reason.
It's still more than that. I'm not British, not American (the two countries I'm most likely to be assumed to be from); I'm Canadian. When I travel on big group tours or cruises, I'm always in the minority. In May, I was the only non American in the group! The quick reference ("Oh, you're Canadian!) from Americans often provides a conversation starter. I like being able to talk to Americans, British, Australians about my country. I'm glad when someone notices the pin or tag. Makes for good conversations with anyone who wants to talk about Canada with me. I'm ashamed that I can't speak the languages as Europeans do, but at least a few will speak English to me when they see the pin. They want to know about Canada. I like to talk about Canada. It's that easy. And that's the second reason I wear the Canadian flag.

I really think the one major reason Canadians love to put the flag on their luggage is because we haven't had our own flag for that long. It's a matter of pride that we have a flag that people recognize as truly Canadian. And Canadians do fly their flag outside their doors,windows,boats,cars all over the place. In my town,there is a house that has a flag painted the full size on their garage!!!. People might want to emphasize that they are Canadian because we are mistaken for Americans so often and believe it not we are different. Not better,not worse just different!!!

Americans never question why other Americans plaster our poor shopworn flag over everything, including some of the most monstrous gas guzzeling machines ever deviesd. When I was an American in Paris I had a Canadian friend who didn't speak a word of France, whereas I am (or was!) fluent. When they learned he was Canadian, they gushed...and he would ask me to translate. This was 1977! I can only imagine what it must be like now. I hope dear Tyler Schmidt has learned a few words of French since then, but I know the world has not learned to love Americans as much as they think they should be loved. And so, as soon as I can get some of those Maple Leaf tags, I'm going to put them on my bags. Beats being taken for an American in 2005, and I know Tyler would forgive me.

As an American-born citizen who has lived in Canada for nearly 10 years, I always find this topic frustrating, if not somewhat amusing.

My Canadian friends always remark how "the Americans" fly their flag everywhere and put their flag on everything, and then I hear from Americans (though not as often -- probably because they don't think about Canada as much, though I know that's a whole 'nother issue!) about how Canadians put their flag on their backpack and luggage.

My opinion? If it's not your flag, you notice it more. If you're Canadian and you go to the U.S., you notice the U.S. flag everywhere 'cause you're not used to it. If you're Amerian and you come to Canada, you notice the Canadian flag everywhere 'cause you're not used to it.

Basically, I think Canadians AND Americans should feel free to fly their flag whenever they want to, without anyone criticizing or second-guessing their motives.

As for which flag I put on my backpack? Easy. None. But that's my personal preference, and I'm not about to second-guess anyone else's.

Wow considering the volatile nature of this post everyone has remained quite politically correct! I'll change that!

For sure the reason Canadians wear Canadian Kak is definitely to distinguish the fact we are not Americans, Moreover Canadians have the added bonus of being considered harmless peacemakers like the swiss. This is a plus when travelling.

I'll tell you a funny story, when I travel in France I always speak English, despite my mother tongue being French, Many Montrealers are inpercievably bilingual (IE you cant tell whether we are English or French).

Invariably I am mistaken for an American in the hotel, and get to overhear some rude Ass making negative comments about me in French!

Once I was in an elevator and the BellBoy commented on how much luggage my wife had packed and how over the top all American women are. My wife had a good laugh, especially as she took great pleasure in correcting his French.

I'll say he was a deep ruby red when that conversation was over!!!!

I used to travel with a maple leaf on all my luggage - in the 70's and 80's - now I make it a point not to.

Our families are in Europe so most of our travelling is there. I took offense at the constant high handed, snobbish anti American attitudes. A few general conversations taught me quite quickly that Canadians - previously liked for their friendliness- are now more often liked because they are not AMerican. (Esp. by the younger set). They don't really care that we are Canadian at all. In fact, being Canadian has become almost irrelevant internationally. News coverage of Canada in the European countries that we have visited or have relatives and friends in - is nil.

Also, what used to be a distinction by country is slowly turning into a distinction of North American or native English speaking in general.

I agree with one of the previous posts who said something to the effect that because of the distances - travel for North Americans and Australians is a bigger adventure and meeting/sharing is easier when others know where we are from. If I were still a student - I might do it for those reasons. (I imagine many a good party starts with 'hey I'm from Canada too!).

AT this point in my life, travel isn't about where I'm from - it's about where I am. Luckily, people generally like me w/o knowing where I come from. I don't want them to like me for my nationality or because of who I'm not.

I replied to the OP back in 2003, so perhaps it's time for an update.

Judging from many of the replies, I was unfortunately correct in stating that many Canadians wear maple leaf insignia for fear of being taken for Americans. They define themselves as being non-American, which I think is a sign of immature nationalism.

Now I broke my rule of not wearing maple leaf pins and such on my most recent trip to Europe. A friend and I accompanied a couple of World War 2 veterans to the Netherlands this past May for the commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of VE Day. We wore maple leaf pins along with Dutch flags, and were proud to do so. It was an experience of a lifetime to see some 2,000 Canadian veterans parade through the streets of Apeldoorn lined with what was estimated as up to 400,000 Dutch citizens of all ages who wished to pay tribute to the liberators of their country.

I really must take exception to chrisoneill's remark that Canadians are regarded as "harmless peacemakers". Tell that to the Dutch, who tend the graves of thousands of Canadians who died in the liberation of their country, or to my friends in Normandy who are well aware of the sacrifies made by Canadians to free them from Nazi tyranny. Or tell that to any of the Canadian soldiers now in Kandahar in Afghanistan.

I'm more appalled at Americans who try to disguise their nationality by wearing Canadian insignia. Americans have much to be proud of--it's no disgrace to show it.

I am the OP for this thread (had to register again when I forgot my password).

The reason I originally started putting a Canadian flag on my luggage was when I hitchhiked around Europe in 1970 along with the other hundreds of hippies from all over the world. I wanted my fellow travellers in the hostels to know where I was from as a kind of ice breaker. It was when I got to Holland that I first realized the high regard felt for Canadians. On more than one occasion a car would stop to offer us a ride even though we didn't have our thumb out. A women and young daughter picked us up, brought to their home for lunch and then took us out to watch the harvesting of the tulip bulbs. They then fed us dinner and gave us a room over the barn for the night. Seldom would we have to buy a second beer once the locals saw the flag on our knapsacks. We listened to many a story of how the Canadians saved them from cruelty and starvation. I learned more about my countries' involvement in WWII from these thankful Dutch citizens then I was ever taught at school. I was suddenly and for the first time as an adult, proud to be Canadian, proud that my father fought in that war and proud of my new flag (it was only adopted in February 1965).

Since then I have had a Canadian flag on my luggage. In some 35 years of travel, to over 30 countries, I find it still serves as a fine ice-breaker.

With the number of people travelling today with the same type of luggage it also has the practical purpose of making it easier to find mine.

This is the most interesting post. I've seen Canadian flags on luggage and assumed it was just because the people were proud to be Canadian. Now I find out it's because they don't want to be mistaken for Americans (US).

So the most interesting thing about this is that all this time I also thought all those US flags on luggage were done out of patriotism. Now I know the real reason. Using the same logic, I now realize they are all there to show they aren't Canadians. Who would have guessed?

Patrick, your logic is crazy but I don't think you were interested in a meaningful discussion were you?

Patrick - LOL :-)) !!!!

And right on!!

I used to have a flag tag address tag on my suitcase (because I needed one and it was free) but it recently got crunched to death on a carousel and now I'll probably replace it with a plain one. I don't wear a flag pin when I travel but if anyone asks, of course I say I'm Canadian because I am one, not because I don't want to be mistaken for an American. If I chose to wear a pin, it would be for that reason as well.

But I've lived and travelled extensively in the US and have to say that Americans are the most overtly patriotic people I've ever met. Enormous flags are everywhere and regular-sized flags hang in front of people's homes and businesses all year round. They have such pride in their country! The only time I ever see flags in front of Canadian houses is on Canada Day and then it's usually the tiny one they give out at events. It's not that we're not patriotic, it's just that we do it differently.

It's also interesting to me that Americans put so much informatiion about themselves on their cars. We're in the southern US a lot and just driving behind someone on the highway, I might know which political party and candidate he supports, whether he's for or against the war in Iraq, if his kid is an honour student and at which high school, if he's a Christian, if he has a son or daughter in the armed services, where he vacations, and what his job and/or hobby is, along with a variety of 'ribbons' supporting various causes. This is something I never see at home.

None of my many American friends or relatives try to pass as Canadians when they're travelling. They're proud to be Americans and so far none of them has had any problems abroad that I'm aware of.

If you behave well (ie not boorish and loud) when you travel, no one will even concern themselves with your nationality. If you're American and you choose to discuss political issues when you travel, you'd best be prepared to deal with dissenting views. Personally, if I were an American, I'd probably put a US flag tag on my luggage just for the hell of it.

We don't travel with the Maple Leaf plastered on our belongings and absolutely do rely on our behaviour as a touchstone for distinguishing us from any stereotypical ugly tourist (regardless of nationality!).

However, one of the earlierposts struck a chord with me because it reminded me of a thought I had while driving into work last week. I live in the country and drive past many, many driveways on my way down country roads. I've always noticed how few Canadians fly the Canadian flag relative to a same area in any place in the US that we have travelled. However, I think that 9/11 substantively changed that. Many, many of our neighbours and friends started to fly the American Stars and Stripes after 9/11 to show support/sympathy for all the victims of the horror. I think that, at some point, it started to become apparent that we were displaying far more American flags than our own - which somehow didn't seem quite right either. Consequently, many many folks who had never overtly displayed this symbol of patriotism before (who needed to? we were home where everyone knew who we were!) ran up the Maple Leaf as well. That actually looked and felt pretty darn good! So - it has continued. I see so many more Canadian flags on properties now on my drive to work that it's very very noticeable!

Thoughts from other Canadians?

Dan, what's wrong with my logic?
If people assume Canadians use Canadian flags to prove they're not American, isn't it LOGICAL to assume that US travelers put US flags on their luggage to prove they're not Canadian?

What's so illogical about my reasoning?

The only lack of logic I see is the assumption that if someone puts a flag on his luggage it ISN'T because he's proud of his country. It would be much more LOGICAL to assume that he uses it to show who he IS, not who he ISN'T.

Now that, Patrick is axactly why I proclaim my Canadianism. I really, honestly, truly - never thought of it as showing who I wasn't. In fact, until this post occured it never occured to me that i might - even sublimily (sp?), be doing that. But after a total introspection I can honestly say that I advertise my being Canadian to show who I am, not who I'm not.

I'm American and I first heard the "rumor" that Canadians wore their flag on their back packs so they weren't mistaken as Americans during my first experience traveling to Europe (as a young college student --10 years ago). I remember my friends and I thought it was funny b/c the impression we got was that the Canadians were afraid to stand up to the "mean" Europeans who were trashing us (their close/good neighbors). But then we thought if the Canadians are afraid of the Europeans (mainly the French) then maybe we should really be scared of the French b/c of all the anti-American stuff we had heard. Then my friend suggested that we put the Canadian flag on our back packs when we were in France b/c she was nervous that everyone was going to mistreat us. We were young, totally clueless and scared of an entire country of people we hadn't even met. We didn't do it, but in hindsight I can't believe we actually considered it. When we got to France everyone treated us exceptionally well and many people were surprised that we were American. Same in Italy. People were telling us that we didn't fit the stereo-type. This is a great example of how encouraging a stereo-type can have a chilling effect on many people including, younger adults and first time travelers. I may not agree with the politics of some coutries, but I will always defend the goodness of the people who live there. Especially against those who have never traveled out side of the US.

Patrick, you are comparing Apples with Carrots. First, you must look at the situation. Arguably, America doesn't really have the greatest reputation in Europe right now; this isn't a problem for Canada. I don't believe that many, if any, Canadians affix American flags to their luggage, whereas some, if not many, Americans do affix Canadian flags to their luggage, specifically to not be identified as Americans. And besides, Canada is so irrelevant to so many Americans, I doubt they bother to think about this country when they plan a trip to Europe.

OK, Patrick, you're just having a little fun with us, right? Because even you can't be so egotistical as to think that people around the world are flying and carrying their nation's flag just so they won't be mistaken for Americans. Yes, yes, we know the world revolves on an axis that runs right through the US but still some of us actually are happy and proud to live where we do. Amazing, isn't it?

Well put hdm!