Canadian flag on the backback myth

On Mon, 31 May 2004 23:14:46 +0000, Xomicron wrote:

I was just wondering, is it really true that most Canadian's believe the
myth that people in the rest of the world will treat them better if they
know they are Canadian. I've had some people tell me this and I can't
believe that intelligent Canadians fall for that bunk. I've traveled a
lot and most of the world sees one rich foreigner as pretty much the same
as another rich foreigner.

One Canadian woman in Turkey told me Canadian flags ensured better
treatment, and I noticed Turkish men were in the habit of coming up to
her and grabbing her tits in the street (she wore 2 Canadian flags), and a
guy in Beijing who was being threatened by a cab driver who wanted $50 US
for a 10 minute cab ride (he had a big plastic Canadian flag on his back).

Whenever I ask a Canadian about this every one has held that it is true.
One English teacher said there was some famous Canadian comedian that
Chinese knew. I pointed out that the most popular person on Earth was an
American. He repeated with total conviction that anywhere in China
average people will treat you better if they know you are Canadian.

Is this some kind of Canadian folk legend and if so is it true that most
people believe it. Where does this strange belief (that a rich foreigner
who is Canadian is more your friend then an American) come from? Is it a
little misplaced nationalism (entirely harmless) or is it from a deeper
desire to make up for Canadian inferiority?


Actually, I suspect nowadays it's just that most Canadians would feel
embarrassed to be taken to be Americans. I suspect masny Americans are
just as embarrassed by the reputation that their government has been
getting them.

But no, Canadians typically don't approve of torturing prisoners. Or
invading sovereign countries for apparently no sensible reason that one
can fathom.