Opinion of "IBM" in Europe?
 

I hope I'm not too paranoid in asking this, but my wife and I will be in London and then Spain for a week in early April. I have a useful backpack I plan to use during the day. However, it has the &quot;IBM&quot; emblem prominently displayed which I cannot remove. I know IBM is a multinational company with branches in Europe, but I'm concerned the logo will scream &quot;American&quot; and make my wife and I a target of any ill will or possibly violence towards Americans. True, the chances are small, but why take chances. <BR><BR>So the question is, should I cover the IBM logo, or would Europeans not think anything of it, since IBM has a presence there?<BR><BR>Thanks

Considering where you are going, I think you are really worrying way too much. Both the UK and Spain have aligned themselves with the US. IBM doesn't scream American. I bet there are other things you have that you don't even know you have that speak American more loudly!

As you said &quot;IBM, Is a multi national Organisation&quot;.<BR>I have a bag with Panasonic on it ...does it mean I am Japanese??<BR><BR>Don't worry stop looking for reasons to worry.<BR><BR>Relax and enjoy your trip, I can assure you that you won't be the only Americans to be seen in these places, most people don't give a hoot and just go about their business.<BR>If you really don't want to show up as american just keep your mouth shut...lol<BR><BR>Have fun<BR><BR>Muck

<BR><BR>IBM has a huge presence in the UK . . can't speak to Spain.

Well, to be fair, the government of UK and Spain aligned themselves with the US, not the citizens of those countries. Opinions polls in those countries run about 75% (IIRC) against current US actions.<BR><BR>I am curious as to what other traits would readily identify me or my wife as American citizens. We try to dress as Europeans do, e.g. no shorts or sneakers. And we're not overweight at all. We even try to speak the language where we can. BTW, we've always done this, even before the threat of war, so as to show the locals that not all Americans are &quot;ugly&quot;.<BR><BR>

Austai, Get real. You are not American. &quot;we're not overweight at all&quot;???<BR><BR>You are not fooling anyone. Don't forget to wear that maple leaf on everything.

Personally I would ditch the IBM thing regardless.<BR><BR>IBM screams money and regardless if you are an executive at IBM or are not even employed ny them...it still screams $$$ as in hostage!<BR><BR>Just my humble opinion.<BR><BR>US

In our trip to Europe last May, I purposely did not take my IBM wind breaker. I just don't think company-wear shows much class when you are traveling out of your country.<BR>I also did not take my SF 49ers jacket or tee shirts, or my San Francisco Giants stuff.<BR><BR>Curious

Austai,<BR><BR>With all due respect - GET A GRIP!<BR><BR>You'll be fine with or without that backpack. And you can certainly wear shorts in Spain... weather permitting ;-)<BR><BR>Have a great trip - I'm headed to NYC in April (live in Switzerland) - now THAT makes me a little jittery!<BR><BR>Andre

Hi Austis<BR> Some of the traits that will identify you as Americans are:<BR><BR>The way you look (your physiognomy)<BR>The way you walk<BR>The way you speak<BR>The way you smile<BR>The distance between you and someone else when you converse<BR>The way you eat<BR>Your clothes <BR>Your shoes<BR>The way you interact with your wife

That was my other concern, what US hit on, which was that thieves will think I'm carrying a laptop. Well, it is a laptop backpack, but I'm using it to carry a camera and tripod. (big camera, small tripod)<BR><BR>Guess it doesn't matter - anyone watching me will see soon enough that I have a camera inside, IBM logo or not.

Jor, I don't think Ira was bashing Americans. I think she (he?) is just saying we all carry ourselves differently and give out clues to the culture we come from, if anyone is watching closely enough.

IBM is a huge international presence with about 20,000 business partners and alliances worldwide. They are in practically every country. I do business with IBM all over Europe, and even in Saudi Arabia (not that you should find that comforting). Business is business &amp; IBM provides a tremendous amount of support for the arts, charities, and scholarships. Their employees and associates travel extensively and contribute in a huge way to the travel sector. Take the bag and don't think about it for a second. Just keep an eye on it as you would any of your valuables.

Many American icon logos, especially sports and College stuff is popular 'cool'wear around the world even in virulently anti-american places in the Muslim world. Ira is absolutely correct though that your body language is the real key to your nationality. and because Canadians have virtually the same body language, albeit with a slightly different accent, Americans find it easy to pose as Canadians.<BR><BR>But speaking as a Canadian I believe that if I was an American I would feel I was dising my country if I posed as a Canadian. Be proud of who you are, be polite and courteous and accepting of differant cultures and you will be a great ambassador of the USA.

Why would want to go aboat speaking like a Canaydiun, eh?<BR><BR>US

As a former IBMer I totally concur with Ellen. IBM is truly an international company--hence the name--and they have as many employees outside the USA as within. Forget the logo and have fun.

Should not be a problem--I don't think an IBM logo is a problem. If I saw someone with an IBM logo on a daypack, I'd figure they got it from IBM at a conference (my husband has daypacks and nylon briefcases from several different hi-tech vendors--Novell, Microsoft, etc.) <BR>On the topic of American logos, some German or Austrian guy on my recent flight to Vienna wore a cap with the FBI logo, a t-shirt with the FBI logo and a nylon jacket with the FBI logo. It looked just like the real thing.<BR><BR>Could he have gotten away with that in the U.S.? He thought it was a great joke.

And I think Austai is a troll.<BR><BR>What would I think if I saw an IBM logo? <BR><BR>IBM – a big company whose local headquarters are about 10 kilometres from me.<BR><BR>IBM - a big company my sister-in-law used to work for.<BR><BR>IBM – something to do with technology.

Austai wrote,<BR>&gt;I don't think Ira was bashing Americans. I think he is just saying we all ...give out clues to the culture we come from, if anyone is watching closely enough. &lt;<BR><BR> Correct. It is very difficult to be something you are not.<BR>

I suppose an IBM bag would be better than a Microsoft one&lt;g&gt;.<BR><BR>The people likely to do the kind of thing you are afraid of are not likely to spend time and effort seeking out individuals to target, let alone engage in the kind of reasoning you envisage in order to do so. They would simply plant a bomb somewhere and not care who gets hurt. They would probably wrap it up in their old 'Harvard University' T-shirt, put it in an IBM bag and run away as fast as their Nike trainers could carry them.<BR><BR>I don't want to be too rude, but I am reminded of the old Victorian advice to the little girl worrying about how she looked in her party frock 'Don't fret, dear, nobody will be looking at you anyway'.