No backpack
No flags

"And i would never wear an American flag abroad or at home either - i'm not a flag waver and when i see Canadians/Canadiens abroad wearing them i actually take offense that they are saying "we're not Americans" - makes me want to vomit actually - same when i see Yanks wearing American flags."

Personally I have no idea why it is offensive to some when people wear lapel pins or flag patches. I did it when I travelled as a young person some years ago AND so did many other young people. It was a GREAT conversation starter at Youth Hostels and we frequently traded pins and patches. I still have a small Swedish flag patch and a really pretty French flag pin.

As a Canadian living in Europe, I am sometimes asked by first time travellers if they should put on a flag patch. I say fer sure eh, I am more likely to tap you on the shoulder and ask if you need help if I see a fellow countryman in a strange land. But other than that and being a topic of conversation with other travellers, I have never seen any advantage to it.

But anyway it is a common question and the OP shouldn't be flamed for asking. Such is the purpose of forums like this.

Liked the Canadian test! But am stumped on allophone and dépanneur?! And shouldn't there be a question on ski-doos and Hortons?

Was the Hip song Fireworks?

llamalady - as a former westerner the terms pogey and bush party were famalier words to us. actually I might have been a bit too famalier with the term bush party during my younger days!!

Wouldn't the real canadian test be something like:

What would you do on a two weeks holiday in Flin Flon???

How tell the difference between an Aussie and a Canadian?

An Aussie woudl never wear a "Roots Canada" T-shirt!

After this thread, I think I'm going to put my state flag on my backpack and see what responses I get.

actually most Roots clothing I see in Europe is worn by locals who have visited Canada(or a relative of someone who has)

as for Flin Flon, one could head to Saskatchewan of course. Maybe do some shopping for genuine seal-skin bindings(obscure Super Dave reference from my childhood).

One truly can never tell where another is from. I have two friends who traveled to Italy for their honeymoon. They returned having had a bad time and wanting never to return(don't ask and don't harass - I didn't say I had a bad time). One complaint was that the individuals in the service industry were quite rude in Rome. My friend's explanation was that they all must have known my friends were American. Ironically, she is Russian (now an American citizen, but definitely Russian born), he is from Montreal and really doesn't look a bit American - neither of them do! I didn't have the heart to point this out to her.

adwinn
in Europe may be - in Oz I think not

adwinn, I might have overestimated the reach of allophone and dépanneur. The former is usually used in the Quebec media for someone whose mother tongue is neither English nor French. The word does appear fairly frequently outside Quebec, but usually in an article or discussion about Quebec.

Dépanneur? A corner store in Quebec, but the word in used in northern New Brunswick and Ottawa, and by a lot of anglos who have ever spent any time in or near Quebec. (I was in Beijing with my Montreal-born nephew last month and he referred to the little store where we bought water and beer as a dépanneur.)

I should have added something about Tim's, but I can't stand the stuff. (I know, it's a national addiction.)

Anselm

Allophone?

I thought Allophone was a telephone in Quebec.

As in "Allo statue". Which translates into "Hello is that you", when someone answers the phone in Quebec.

Only kidding, eh.

;-)

"makes me want to vomit actually" Wow that's pretty extreme isn't it? I usually like to know where tourists are from.

I hope I didn't leave a wave of vomiting tourists after looking at my Tongan flag!

I'm a Canadian, proud of it, and always wear a small Canadian flag lapel pin - wherever I am. It's not for anyone else, it's for me. I feel good wearing it.

But a funny story - My husband is very proud of his Irish heritage. On our last visit to Ireland he purchased a car decal with the Irish flag which he dutifully put on our vehicle when we returned home.

I was walking out of the supermarket one day when I looked towards our car to see this little old lady and man gesturing wildly at my bewildered husband. As I got closer, it appeared they were berating him for displaying the Irish flag instead of a Canadian one. In their opinion, he wasn't being loyal to his own country.

Go figure.

I can't for the life of me understand why Americans would want to try to pass themselves off as citizens of another country.

I can understand Canadians displaying maple leaf flags because they are proud of their country, but I suspect that many of them are trying to send the message,"Look at me, I'm not an American!" For that I have no sympathy at all.

More subtle ways to advertise one's self as a Canadian (at least to other Canadians) is to carry a MEC bag or pack. The Tim's cup (as featured in that sappy advertisement) is another way. Roots accoutrements will also do the trick, but most of them are pretty obvious.

However, for those who do wish to pass themselves off as Canadians, here are some further questions to the ones that AnselmeAdorne posed.

What's a double-double?

What's a two-four blue?

Can you competently use all eight categories of the interrogative "Eh?"

Can you distinguish a loonie from a toonie? Without looking?

Who is Stompin' Tom and what is his connection with hockey?

Who has more hair--Lloyd Robertson or Peter Mansbridge? For a bonus, name two of Peter's wives.

Answer these and you can put the Maple Leaf on your backpack with pride.

cantstayhome,
allo, statue?
"He is from Montreal & doesn't look a bit American". What you mean by dat? eh? Does he have poutine stains on his tee shirt?

Oh, oh. I have to turn in my citizenship. Peter Mansbridge had two wives? Sequentially, I trust. Wendy Mesley and ?

Got all the others.

Anselm

My husband *is* Canadian, but probably can't answer any of those questions. So it's probably a good thing he doesn't have the slightest inclination to carry a backpack in the first place, much less stick a Canadian flag on it.

You should wear a Brazilian flag. Everybody knows it's the coolest flag in the world anyway.

Jules

Anselm: Peter has had three--one in his younger days, then Wendy, and now the lovely and talented Cynthia Dale.

I have to confess, the topic of Canadian lapel pins, etc. really gets me going.

I'm an American and I could never imagine denying my nationality abroad. I mean, maybe if I was being held hostage by Peruvian separatists, but there are only ever a small handful of Peruvian separatists riding the London Eye and wandering through the Christmas markets in Germany.

As for Canadians who wear the maple leaf... it is fine to have pride in one's country. If you publicize your Canadian-ness expecting better treatment from the locals, you are feeding into a stereotype. If you have a maple leaf patch on your bag to express your national pride, please do not be so smug when you see some "stupid", "provincial" American with a Boston Red Sox hat or an American flag sticker on his backpack.

Another Urban Myth hits the dust :)

FWIW, I was just in London two weeks ago and only saw one maple leaf emblem on a backpack my entire time there. I saw plenty of American tourists, so cigalechanta (sp) is probably right, that another urban travel myth bites the dust! *LOL

what is your problem with the maple leaf anyway?
not your country
not your symbol
not imposed on anyone

Ya know, when I was living in France in the early '70's, this was a very popular custom with Canadians. Don't know if it was because of the Vietnam War or whatever, but I'll say at least back then, you'd do way better in France with a U.S. flag on your backpack than a Union Jack, lol.

how is Union Jack related to the Canadian flag?

We came across 4 teens with Canadian flags on their lapels sitting in Gare de Lyon. We went over and talked with them for quite awhile so it was all good.
We have come across many visitors in Toronto displaying their country - the Union Jack T shirt was quite popular for awhile - somehow. It has often been a reason or conversation... even if they are Yankee fans.
My Toronto Blue Jays baseball cap got plenty of attention in Japan.
Holland was a country that noticed our Canadian pins, it was June 2005.
Canadians are not usually known to be flag wavers so those reactions were interesting to me.

Even the difference between a English Canadian tourist and a French Canadian tourist can be funny. When in Paris, on a walking tour through Montmartre, one of the tourist in my group was a Montreal francophone. She was okay except that she did get a little bit more smug whenever the tour guide would ask what certain phrases meant; and even more smug when the tour guide asked us who the statue at the Montmartre cemetary was - oh she was going on about how Dalida was so loved in Quebec back home, and smugly said and the rest of Canada, of course, never heard of her. So it's funny these little things between neighbourhood and stuff like that.

nbujic,

Canada used to fly the Union Jack until we got our own flag, the Maple Leaf.

It's pretty self-centred of Americans who think that the only reason a Canadian might wear a maple leaf pin or have a flag on their backpack is so they won't be mistaken for Americans.

Get over yourselves. Sometimes people just want to be recognized for their own nationality, not as a reaction to yours. Sheesh!

(And I didn't get all the answers to the Canadian quiz. Do I have to turn in my ookpik?)

yes, I know. It was about 40 years ago.

I was only wondering why someone mentioned it talking about Canadians in Europe in the 70s.

We are in Italy now and we just heard a Canadian couple talking about all the maple leafs and Canadian flags on the backpacks.. I haven't personally noticed, but there is so much to see than other people's backpacks.

robjame - The DUtch hold the Canadians in high esteem, for their help in WW2 and after and in 2005 you would have been seen as part of the 60 years since liberation celebrations. Every year a (diminishing) group of Canadian veterans come to Holland in May for liberation day.
Don't forget the Canada offered a home to Princess Juliana and her children during the war.

hdm, if you have an ookpik, you don't even need to take the test.

Anselm

National flags could be compared to coporate brands - what do people think when they first see a flag on a backpack -

What is the first thought that would cross an American's mind if they saw a Union Jack in say NYC?

How would any stereotyping differ from other nations?

As a Canadian citizen I respect that our neighbors to the south feel proud to be American and I would hope that they in turn, respect that we are just as proud to be Canadian.

<<It's pretty self-centred of Americans who think that the only reason a Canadian might wear a maple leaf pin or have a flag on their backpack is so they won't be mistaken for Americans.

Get over yourselves. Sometimes people just want to be recognized for their own nationality, not as a reaction to yours. Sheesh!>>

I have absolutely no problem with people who proudly wear the maple leaf b/c they're proud of being Canadian and want to be identified as such. There's much to be proud of. However, I think the OP was talking about people who don the maple leaf in order to not be taken for Americans.

Anyone (whether Canadian or American) who *only* wears a maple leaf because s/he does not want to be identified as an American is someone I shake my head at.

But the fault would be with Americans who are posing as Canadians (and personally, I don't know anyone who does this -- I've only ever heard about it here). Canadians who carry the Canadian flag, for whatever reason they wish, are at least being honest about their citizenship. There seems to be a censure here for Canadians carrying their own flag.

<<What is the first thought that would cross an American's mind if they saw a Union Jack in say NYC?>>

You mean like those shorts the drummer from Def Leppard used to wear? *LOL

Frankly, I don't think many Americans would see a Union Jack and automatically think "Brit tourist" or conjure up a negative thought (even if the American in question knew what the Union Jack was!! *LOL). Americans wear Union Jacks, too -- my daughter's favorite beach shirt has a Union Jack on it.

As with Europeans, lots of Americans can identify a European tourist in other ways (shoes being a key one, eyeglasses, hairstyles, body language). Frankly, on the East Coast of the US, the only way you can tell a foreign tourist from an immigrant is that he's doing tourist activities. Either way, most Americans would treat a tourist the same, whether she's from Rotterdam or Houston.

<<But the fault would be with Americans who are posing as Canadians (and personally, I don't know anyone who does this -- I've only ever heard about it here). Canadians who carry the Canadian flag, for whatever reason they wish, are at least being honest about their citizenship. There seems to be a censure here for Canadians carrying their own flag.>>

For me, it's all about intent. I apply the same standard: IMO, absolutely no American should wear another country's emblem if he does so solely to deflect anti-Americanism. Likewise, if the sole purpose of a Candian's wearing his national emblem is to deflect "anti-Americanism", I think it's wrong.

IMO, patches should be worn to express pride, love, or admiration of a country (whether one's own or not), or to identify fellow countrymen. Wearing one to solely seek preferential treatment and to distance oneself from another nationality isn't right, IMO.

<IMO, patches should be worn to express pride, love, or admiration of a country (whether one's own or not), or to identify fellow countrymen. Wearing one to solely seek preferential treatment and to distance oneself from another nationality isn't right, IMO.>

I agree, Liam, that that's the best of all possible reasons. However, as I said above, at least they're telling the truth about their citizenship.

If you heard a Canadian responding to the question 'Are you American' by saying 'No, I'm Canadian', would your assumption be that they were denying Americanism? Why would a visual statement cause you to believe that more than a verbal statement?