zzyyxx wrote in message ...
Why do they insist on putting their flags onto their backpacks and
whatnot?
I'm an American who's done quite a bit of traveling in Europe in the last
couple years and haven't experienced any problems with people disliking or
being rude to me. So why do they feel the need to proclaim that they're
not
American?

Is this why they do it? It never occurred to me.

Like you wouldn't be able to tell from their accents!

You and I can tell the difference. The average non-first-language
english speaker cannot. If I tell my colleagues the nationality
of an english speaking foreigner, they ask how I can possibly
tell the difference. (And yes, this seems strange to me as well)

It's kind of
insulting to me too, because they don't want to be mistaken for an
American,
like there's something wrong with being American.

Presumably the paranoia that has caused you to believe this
is the reason, is what is wrong.

tim