Canuck Pride

If you have ever traveled abroad, you may have noticed a proliferation of maple leaf patches sewn to backpacks. I haven't asked any of them why they do it yet, but the rumor is that they don't want to be confused for Americans. This jabs at the part of my brain that makes me think people are stupid, for many reasons.

- I personally can't tell the difference between American and Canadian accents, but English, Irish, Scottish, Aussie, Kiwi, etc. are easy to pick out, right? Well over 90% of non-native English speakers can't pick out any accents.
- A good deal of the locals wouldn't know what the hell that leaf on your bag was. They're probably more likely to compliment you on your Timberland backpack.
- OK, maybe I can understand why they do it...I'm constantly getting socked in the jaw when I tell people I'm from the US.
- If you're not wearing it for the locals, then you must be wearing it for other travelers. Travelers, by nature, are open-minded and don't care where the hell you're from so long as you can drink a beer and have a laugh.
- I don't seem to see the Quebecois do it (like Samois, for example), probably because they don't want to be seen as Canadians. If the Quebecois don't do it, nobody should. We all know Quebecois are the creme de la creme de Canada.

Even worse, I hear that a lot of Americans do it, as well. I think only a British English word is appropriate for those folks: Wankers! Come on, I know you may not agree with the politics and all that, but America is a great country. If you like Canada so much, move there homeboy. Don't believe the hype on the travel warnings from the Department of State website. There is not much Anti-American sentiment to the point where you're going to get kidnapped in the middle of Warsaw and having to wait for Condoleeza to hand tax dollars over to the Warriors of the Fourth Reich or whatever, in exchange for your safe release.

Traveling is all about meeting people from other countries and experiencing and exchanging culture. You hardly EVER see any other flag patches except the maple leaves. Let's all get over this international tension, shall we? At least on the microcosmic level. Let the palm greasers squabble on the macro-scene.