This article shows how scewed the foreign policy for the U.S is. A friend of mine went to South Korea and he said people in the street would spit on you(usually mock you and i guess swear in korean) if you wore the American Flag anwhere on your clothing. He said they hate the fact that there are 40,000 troops located in their country. What was more astonishing was that the people he worked for said not to mention being american to anyone. This is getting more and more common. I'm not just talking about Arab people hating on the U.S, its more than that. I'm glad i'm Canadian. though the U.S needs to change its image? http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/12/07/canada.tshirts.ap/index.html Company lets U.S. travelers 'Go Canadian' ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) -- An American T-shirt company has a solution for their fellow citizens who want to vacation in Europe without having to answer questions about U.S. politics -- pose as Canadians. For $24.95, T-shirtKing.com offers the "Go Canadian" package, full of just the kind of things an American traveler needs to leave their country and its politics behind. There's a Canadian flag T-shirt, a Canadian flag lapel pin and a Canadian patch for luggage or a backpack. There's also a quick reference guide -- "How to Speak Canadian, Eh?" -- on answering questions about Canada. It's the brainchild of employees at the Mountainair, New Mexico-based company known for novelty T-shirts it sells worldwide on the Internet. "It's not meant as a slight against the United States or Canada," explained T-shirtKing.com President Bill Broadbent. "It was meant as something Republicans could give their Democrat friends to say 'C'est la vie.' ... But maybe not c'est la vie because that's a French word." The "Go Canadian" idea sprouted after one of Broadbent's colleagues heard of someone being harassed about U.S. politics during a recent overseas trip. Some people might not mind, but others "just want to be on vacation," Broadbent said. "So we were joking that they could just go as Canadians, and that just kind of evolved." The package went up on T-shirtKing.com's Web site November 12 and the company had sold a couple hundred in the first two weeks or so. Many of the out-of-state buyers were in Michigan, Illinois, and the Seattle area, Broadbent said. When lifelong Democrat Dani Delaney saw the package, she was immediately sold. After the general election, she said, "if I could move to Canada, I would." "I admire their liberal, progressive stand on things," said the 57-year-old, part-time writing instructor at the University of New Mexico. "And I thought, 'Well, that's a good way to peacefully protest.'" Sylvia Dawson's boyfriend has been joking that she needed to find him a Canadian flag for an upcoming trip to Spain. That's after his daughter, who is studying there, warned that he might be questioned about politics when he comes to visit. So she bought a package. "I said, 'What are you going to do if someone asks you about the prime minister of Canada?' And he said, 'I'll study up,"' Dawson said. Such questions are the reason for the package's quick reference guide, which offers tips in case an American in disguise gets quizzed on Canada. When it comes to sports, the guide suggests: "This is easy to remember. There is only one real sport in Canada and it is called hockey. Regardless of any trivia question, the answer is 'Wayne Gretzky."' If a Canadian says he had to "deke out of a meeting," it means he avoided the meeting. If someone is headed to "Hogtown," that's Canadian for Toronto. A trip to "Cowtown" means the person is going to Calgary. And in all cases, the guide advises: "If your vacation is to be stress free, leave those heavy politics behind and travel with a light heart and quick wit, Canadian style."
This is just silly. When I toured Europe for several months in '71, I told people I was a Texan. I was beloved by almost everyone, especially the opposite sex! You don't have to say you are a Canadian... not that there's anything wrong with that! Keep D&D Civil!!
blasphemy it should be noted the reaction described in korea is among the younger generations. those around when n korea rolled through are decidedly pro-american.
and if n. korea decided to roll through again, the younger generation would be decidedly pro-american very quickly.
Nope. It's America's 2004 method of travelling safely outside of the United States without at least 20 bodyguards.
I agree with TJ. Don't denounce your citizenship. Instead be a good example and show that not all Americans are like out President, and his cabinet. Show that there are thoughtful Americans, and try to uphold the nation's honor. Don't hide it. As for Korea, Hayes it absolutely correct. The older generation who lived through the Korean war is happy that our troops are there, and very pro-American(sometimes blindly so.) N. Korea would like to unify the country. They have a million man army. They have kidnapped Koreans, and Japanese on multiple occasions. They are nuke capable. Our troops are a strong deterrent to them.
Playing on people's preconceptions has been going on long before George sobered up. If you want to save money...tell 'em you're dutch -- they're notoriously cheap (my kinda people ). If you want someone to buy you a beer...tell 'em you're an Aussie -- they'll assume you're on a pub crawl (and they'd probably be right). And don't defend US policy....unless your VERY good at it. And even then...sometimes it's best to simply smile . Travelling is fun. Forget grad school, XBox, and 401K's, kids...get yourselves a backpack and a plane ticket and be off...
While I agree with you that we should be proud of our citizenship why do you say it was the left's idea to claim to be Canadian? I didn't see that anywhere. I think we should be proud to be American but ashamed of our administration.
As a Korean-American who lived in Korea for two years during my high school life, and as a person who visits quite frequently, I'd just like to give my 2 cents. About 65% of the Americans I have met living in Korea are a horrible misrepresentation of the general public. Well, first most normal people generally don't LIVE in a country where they can't even really speak the language. I know I'm generalizing here, but just about all of that 65% are some of the rudest, disrespectful, obnoxious people you would meet. And they get away with it in Korea. They commonly teach English as their main occupation, and quite frankly, probably couldn't get a better life elsewhere. The pay for teaching English is quite ridiculous (some places pay upwards of $30/hour), and the cost of living is very low. As for the Americans living at the Army bases, (I have been to several) the good half is usually misrepresented by the worse half, who are usually disgruntled about being stationed in Korea. Also, the nicer Americans are often afraid of interaction with Koreans (unless of course they have learned the language) so the majority of interaction you commonly get from Americans is that of the bad/obnoxious variety.
agreed. likewise, while the election was going on, i readily admitted, to those who didn't know, that i was a texan. my fellow new yorkers would almost invariably make a bush/texas comment. i would look them in the eye and say to not confuse the two. bush and i have in common that we're texan and american but that is about it. i have and will argue the same with any european.
It is questionable whether Bush is even Texan. He just like to play like he's one. He's from conn. or ME. I can't remember.
Fuzzybear just wondering how long ago that was. if you don't mind me asking? i've lived in a lot of countries. and travelled like a nut, there is a lot of hatred towards americans. its usually not in the open. most countries the people will treat you well when you say your american because they don't have a problem with the people its the GOV. they don't like. Deckard, yes u are lucky like that
It does sound fun, but how is this accomplished with no money? I'm asking seriously, 'cause I'd like to do it.
It's not as expensive as you might think! Aussies tend to travel for a year or more at a time!!! And they're not particularly rich. Get yourself a Lonely Planet book, or Let's Go, pick a destination that's not too expensive (Central America, Turkey, Morocco, South America -- Even Europe) and away you go! Be prepared to take the bus, and possibly sleep in hostles or dorms, but sitting in the square of some colonial city is the same whether you're staying at a local pension (which can be very good even though they're cheap) or a holiday inn express. How I long for the days when i was broke and could afford to travel. (and leave your Bush/Chaney '04 buttons at home!).
VinceCarter- It has been about 5-6 years. I've been back there every other major break since then and the number of Americans there has increased quite a bit recently. Where before I would be surprised to run into anyone who wasn't Korean, I run into at least a few/week there when I visit now. The obnoxious/rude ones I really didn't notice until about four years ago, and until now have seen at least one group of them/trip.
