I do have a different opinion of terrorist targets, yes, very different.

I'm quite proud to be an American and would never want to pretend I'm not, but I certainly don't wrap myself in the flag while traveling. I honestly think it is hard to avoid both being an American and a tourist. Certainly our accents, attire and cameras mark us out. I've lived in the UK for about 18 months and I still get called out as an American from people across the room who have never met me!

I speak a little french but as soon as I open my mouth the jig is up!!!! LOL If someone asks me if I'm an American I have no problem saying yes. My friend and I were in a shop under the Louve and one of the sales girls asked us if we were American. Turns out so was she. She was from San Francisco, married to a Frenchman, and had been living in Paris for about 10 years. I was originally from the Bay Area, and my friend still lives there, and turns out they had gone to the same middle school..different times. We had a great chat, I of course asked her all kinds of questions about her life in Paris, and the shop wasn't terribly busy so we had a great chat for about half an hour. If I said I was Canadian I would have missed having that great talk.

<<,"How do I dress/act/appear/behave/, etc. so that one cannot tell that I am American?>>

Again, I have read plenty of posts that discuss how to dress/ act/ appear/ behave apppropriately...
however it is the addition of the <<so that one cannot tell that I am American?>> that I see seldom if it all.

This interpretation of the question leads to the bashing and flag waving. The desire to do these things appropriately is common in all kinds of situations, even in our home country.

I am an American, I am proud of it and I don't think I could fool anyone. I try to learn the customs and polite interactions of other countries when I visit because that is the right thing to do.

I have been asked my nationality many times in different countries. I always reply that I am from the US and that generally leads to a very nice discussion of activites and places to go in the US. Unfortunately it is usually someone from Europe who wants to go to Las Vegas so they can see America. NO!!!!! I love Las Vegas but that is not what the typical American town is like.

Anyway, I also sort of laugh at people who want to go to tourist locations and not be seen as a tourist. Of course I am a tourist, I have on comfortable shoes (not sneakers) I have a guide boook and a camera. What else would I be? I don't care what I am wearing I will look like a tourist because that is what I am. Thank you for letting me visit your country so I can see the sites and I look forward to you coming to my country and hope everyone treats you well. Just don't think Las Vegas is America, please.

Reading threads like this one could be forgiven for thinking that there are only two types of people in any given part of the world: "locals", and American tourists. Also that Americans are the only people targeted by thieves, despite the presence of so many affluent Japanese, British, Canadian, Australian, etc., tourists.

As for terrorism, to the London example I would add the 2002 bombings in Bali, which killed 202 people, including 89 Australians and many Balinese. If anyone was specifically targeted it was Australians, not Americans, and whether the relatively few Americans in the vicinity plastered themselves with the Stars and Stripes, maple leaves or anything else would have made no difference.

A number of participants in this discussion have said that they are proud to be American.

Why? Is there something special about being American that gives one a reason for pride? Are Americans better than the rest of us?

That's an odd way to ask the question Padraig. I don't think anyone implied that we, as Americans, think we are any better than anyone else. I'm not going to take it any further because too many threads these days tend to go in a direction probably not intended by the OP. As the OP posted, why should I hide my nationality?

You don't have to, crefloors, not at all But I understand Padraig question, I use to hear (not only at this forum) a lot more americans saying "I'm proud to be american" than any european saying "I'm proud to be whatever". I'm not critisizing it..it's just that I'm not used to hear that round here

I absolutely do not think Americans or better or special or whatever term you want to use. I'm just saying that I'm not ashamed of it. I also think that there is a tendency for self-loathing Americans to pretend they are another nationality (i.e. Canadian) in a way that no other nationalities would do. Would you ever see an Englishman/woman pretend to be Irish when they travel?

"Reading threads like this one could be forgiven for thinking that there are only two types of people in any given part of the world: "locals", and American tourists. Also that Americans are the only people targeted by thieves, despite the presence of so many affluent Japanese, British, Canadian, Australian, etc., tourists."
It seems that most participants here are American so sooner or later, it becomes a topic of conversation
It would be interesting to know the number of American versus Canadians, Australians, etc. who contribute to the post.

I think that a discussion like this is exactly what the OP had in mind. It had to lead to this bashing and flag waving.
We have seen the same question posed before lead to the same result. What we haven't seen is any post that said:
<<,"How do I dress/act/appear/behave/, etc. so that one cannot tell that I am American?>>
Leslie, if I am wrong, please point us to these posts...

As I said originally, I am new to this site and have seen more than once, "leave your caps, tank tops, shorts, & white tennis shoes at home or you will immediately be singled out as the American tourist" - I could not recall in what threads I read such things, but I know I have seen it more than once and frankly, I just honestly do not understand that-I mean that is exactly what I am, as one said here, probably standing in front of the Eiffel tower, so why on earth would I hope to appear as something I am not? I am so thrilled to be a tourist in any country in the world, not just Europe or England or Asia, and back home in Central Florida, we wear flip flops (okay, they cost about $100.00) and capris(ok, not tank tops or white tennis shoes for that matter)and love to be ourselves in our well put together casual outfits, so why try to hide it? I love all our tourists in my area and they all wear exactly the same thing-a sunburn- and we are grateful they are here and having a grand time and no one cares what they are wearing, as a matter of fact very little, remember the sunburn - so I just find the concept of wanting to blend in for the 3-1/2 days I am a guest, a tourist, a real bit odd - Buon Voyage to all - Leslie

"A number of participants in this discussion have said that they are proud to be American. Why? Is there something special about being American that gives one a reason for pride? Are Americans better than the rest of us?'

Odd question. Are you not proud of your own country?

I suppose that people want to blend in to avoid being targeted by pickpockets, various scam artists, and other shady characters.

Unfortunately, that is very difficult for my wife and me to accomplish.

Sometimes waitstaff members are not always sure who we are, but they know we are not from the local area.

In my experience in Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland, most of the waitstaffers pick up on our Engish right away, so there is no way we can disguise that.

In a few places I have been able to use my meager German to communicate, but even so, there is no way I can fool anybody.

In many instances people start speaking English to me before I open my mouth.

My wife was standing off to the side of a mountain trail in Switzerland admiring the scenery with her back to the trail itself. Another hiker came by and said in English, "Your pack is unfastened." He did not repeat his statement in another language nor could he have heard us talking because we were not saying anything. He just knew by appearance!!

In Vienna at the Volksoper, we walked in to collect our "will call" tickets. A young man was out front in the small lobby handing out the tickets to alleviate the line at the box office window. Before I could get close enough to him to say anything at all, he had reached in his folder, produced two tickets, and handed them to me and said in flawless English, "Enjoy the show, Mr. Brown."

He picked us out of the crowd just like that!

So I don't try to be something else because I would look like a phony trying to pull it off.

A Michigan friend of ours used to imitate a Southern accent. It was funny because his attempt was so ridiculous.
I don't think I ever could have coached him to say "Tennessee" properly.

And the harsh vocal edges he put on Magnolia when trying to sound like a Southerner were even greater cause for mirth.

So my conclusion is simple: I am not going to fool anybody. So why try?

>Odd question. Are you not proud of your own country?
No, being proud of a country is a rather bizzare concept, isn't it. You can be proud of things YOU achieved. It's totally strange to be proud of things, you didn't do a thing for. Those are given facts. If you feel you're somewhere where you must hide facts about your person, you shouldn't go there.

The statement "I'm proud to be ..." is somewhat equal to "I'm proud the sun has risen today". The answer some of your puzzled european listeners might have is: "In what way where you involved in the process?". However they won't take your statement seriously.

degas wrote: "Odd question. Are you not proud of your own country?"

There are different mindsets in operation here. logos999 seems to understand where I am coming from, and gave the sort of answer I might give.

I am neither proud nor ashamed of being Irish: it's not an achievement; it's a fact about my existence about which I had no choice. I like being Irish. The accident of birth and upbringing has given me many advantages in life.

While we are at it, let me share with you the view that many Europeans are put off by declarations of patriotism. It's a bit like pissing in public, only worse, because you need never be caught short by upswellings of patriotic sentiment.

Well, it may be bizarre, but it's an astonishingly widespread concept.

My Italian secretary used to take immense pride in the Alpine scenery we could see from our office window (E bella, l'Italia, no?&quot. My Romanian staff take huge pride in the quality of fruit and veg at the market down the road from our Bucharest office ("You don't have tomatoes like this in England, do you?&quot. Every Australian colleague I've ever had has basked in his or her country's sports teams' endless succession of world championships ("C'mon Aussie&quot.

And, you know, I feel pretty good about the medieval church next door and the fact that Elizabeth 1, 450 years ago, presided over a 50-year cultural transformation in England with fewer casualties than a busy afternoon in Paris or Prague. Even though my ancestors didn't even live here.

Lack of pride in your country is a modern illness - a variant of the anomie sociologists batter on about.

What's NOT universal, though, is this extraordinary need to proclaim pride so many Americans are burdened with. The rest of us see no need to drive round our country waving flags or sporting inane bumper stickers. Or to witter on about "I love my counttry but..." when gently pointing out a national politician might be morally or intellectually defective. Indeed, in countries with a real tradition of democracy, we regard criticising the government as the supreme patriotic duty.

Conversely, I'm not going to claim I'm Irish (though I suppose, technically, I could), and I can't imagine anyone else from England contemplating pretending to be something else.

" Indeed, in countries with a real tradition of democracy, we regard criticising the government as the supreme patriotic duty."

Well-said, Flanner, and a LOT of us here in the US CONTINUE to feel that way whether the ubernationalists want to call us "unpatriotic" or not.