Should I be putting a Canadian Flag on my backpack

[bruney4]

Being Canadian, and hearing from others, I have always been told putting a Canadian fag on your Backpack is a safe thing to do because Canadians are viewed a friendly, peace-keeping nation.

But recently we entered the war in Iraq and are no longer peace-keeping, we are now in fact at war. So I was wondering if I should still wear a Canadian flag, or should I put some other flag on it like maybe Luxembourg or something. (Luxembourg seems like a neutral country)

anyways I will be traveling to France, Britain, Germany, Prague, Italy, and Spain, OH and Switzerland.


Thanks for all your help!

[LHR02]

A flag on your backpack, to me at least, should represent pride in your homeland. Rather than 'pretend' to be something you are not, why not just skip the flag altogether? If you're worried about saying who you are, just leave that part of your 'persona' off entirely.

No one is supposedly more hated that 'we'...Americans. Yet that is who I am, proud of it, and yes, there is a flag on mine. It's a personal choice and I've yet to encounter any problems because of it. It would simply never occur to me to use another country's flag to try and 'disguise' who I am.

ging

[WillTravel]

If you put a Luxembourg flag on your backpack, and then someone asks you about Luxembourg, what will you do then?

For some reason, Norway flags seemed to be popular on what seemed to be Italians' backpacks when I was in Rome.

[Eagle]

bruney4, my philosophy on this matter is pretty much the same as that posted by Dustoffmom. One should display a flag because they are proud of their country and proud to be a citizen of that country, regardless of whether their country is popular or unpopular on the world stage.

I sometimes wonder if most Canadians display the flag for the "wrong reasons" when they travel? This debate has been going on for a long time (perhaps from the '60s if my memory is correct?), and many seem to think that it's a good idea to display the Flag so they are identified quickly as Canadians (and therefore are supposedly less likely to be "hassled" by the locals). The other reason is because the Flag serves as a "beacon" to identify and meet other Canadians in far off lands.

My preference is to travel without any markings on my Pack, as people can usually tell where I'm from as soon as I start talking. I'd prefer that they judge me on my demeanor and behaviour as a guest in their country, rather than beginning with pre-conceived notions based on my country of origin. However, I also like to have "all the bases covered" so I have a Velcro attachment point for a Flag if necessary on both my main Pack and Daypack (similar to the practise used on some uniforms). I also have a couple of Canadian Flag pins which can be attached to left hand chest pocket area if desired (we have an awesome shop in this area that stocks all kinds of Canadian stuff like that, and they do a thriving business with the tourists).

I also agree with Willtravel, in that putting the Flag of another country on your Pack will probably elicit some degree of contempt from the locals, should they discover that you're a "fake" and not actually from that country.

we entered the war in Iraq and are no longer peace-keeping, we are now in fact at war

A bit of further clarification is required on the status of Canada's involvement in the middle east.

Canada DID NOT ever enter the war in Iraq and currently does NOT have any troops stationed there (aside from perhaps isolated cases where individuals are on "exchange" with U.S. or British forces).

In my estimation we are also NOT at war with anyone. Canadians are currently engaged in a very robust mission in Afghanistan and in fact a Canadian General is presently in charge of the multi-national force. We have taken some casualties (including the four recently) in carrying out this mission, something which was unfortunately predicted by our Chief of Defense Staff, General Hillier.

From the limited information I have, I think it would be fair to say that our mission in Afghanistan is defined more as a "nation building" exercise rather than a "war" or "peace keeping" in the traditional sense. There is strong emphasis on "reconstruction teams", whose purpose is to rebuild Hospitals, Schools and other infrastructure in order to get the Afghan people "back on their feet" after the destructive reign of their previous government. However, it's also quite clear that our combat forces are heavily involved and their rules of engagement allow them to defend themselves quite strongly if necessary using all avalable means (the support provided by U.S. air power such as the mighty WartHog is a big help!). The recent cowardly attack on one of our Officers (at a supposedly "protected meeting" with local tribal leaders) by an axe-wielding "insurgent" demonstrates the depravity and evil tactics employed by those who want to return to the previous status quo.

Whether you decide to display a Flag on your Pack or not, hopefully you're as proud of being Canadian as I am! Good luck and happy travels!!!

[herrbert]

In most countries in Europe Canadians are regarded more friendly than Americans, but in the end it's all about who you are. Only prejudice people will ignore you because you have a flag (of any kind) on your backpack. But as you know a lot of people are prejudice (if not towards Americans, it's towards gays or coloured people).

I would never put a flag on a bag, because than I would need a flag of the world.

[paint]

I agree wholeheartedly with herrbert.

I have no need to identify my country of origin by putting a flag on my pack. My passport serves that purpose in the only situations where I had a need to declare my nationality: customs. I'd rather just be me.

Last year on my Europe trip I was eventually ditched by the European that I was visiting (your typical guy/gal disaster). My American roommate at the hostel convinced me to exlore with her rather than sulking in the room, and we were joined by two guys from Calgary that she had met in our hostel. After doing a tour of the Jewish quarter we had lunch at a hospoda, which more or less caters to locals rather than tourists, although they do have menus in English. After about 10 minutes an angry part of my brain was wishing that they two guys were wearing Canadian flags, because everyone near our table were convinced they were American. The guys were loudly complaining that people were speaking Czech, they were complaining about the food, and in general bashing the cultures of several other countries they had visited. I ate quickly, apologized to the disgruntled-looking waitress in Czech, paid, and then excused myself from my group. I found a park to stroll through and having time to think, calmed down, acknowledging that it really didn't matter where those guys were from, as they don't represent the sentiments and beliefs of their entire country. Similarly, my roommate and I didn't represent the sentiments and beliefs of the entire USA. Stereotyping in general is silly because within every country there are such widely varied schools of thoughts and values that conflict with each other. Lost in thought, I didn't notice the sky turning black, and I got caught in a hail storm at a place that offered no shelter whatsoever from the golf-ball sized pieces of ice. I protected my head with my arms, which bore the bruises for several days afterwards. Karma for my initial rash wish that the guys had been sporting their country's flags?

I mean no offense to anyone with this post (especially not all of you neighbors to the north - those guys were just general jerks regardless of where they were from). I actually tried to move to Vancouver but was denied a visa - not enough $$ :-(
Also I really didn't encounter much anti-American sentiment on my trip, which I had been worried about. My group encountered some at the hospoda, but the locals were provoked.

[Eagle]

paint, I enjoyed reading your post! You've raised some very good points, and your experience at the hospoda reminded me of my last trip to England. On that trip I encountered a fellow Canadian who spent about ten minutes bitching about the food, the language ("why can't they speak like us" - I presume she was having some trouble with some of the British accents, perhaps "Scouse"), which side of the road they drive on, etc. I was quite frankly ashamed to be in the same company as this cretinous and insensitive individual; I can only imagine what the other people at the gathering (several different nationalities) were thinking?

I most certainly agree with your opinion - there are good and "not so good" from all nations, and one should judge each individual on their own merits. However it's a bit upsetting to hear that you enountered such boorish behaviour from Canadians as that sort of thing reflects poorly on those of us that try to be respectful guests in another country. If this behaviour continues, I doubt that having the Canadian flag on a Backpack will guarantee any favourable response from Euro residents!

Sorry to hear that you had difficulties moving to Vancouver. I'm not sure what the rules for a Visa are at the moment, but perhaps you'll consider giving it another try. The financial aspect doesn't surprise me though, as Vancouver has become a VERY expensive city!

Cheers!!!

[paint]

Thanks Eagle

As for the visa for Canada, I had to prove that I had 6 times the average cost of living for a month in savings, which I didn't have. I don't think the "support yourself for 6 months" requirement applies for work visas or student visas, but I didn't qualify for either of those at the time.

Perhaps one day

[amusedcoconut]

I agree that Canadians are viewed much more favourably than Americans in Europe... much much! What harm if you're proud of your country? It might make a difference to some people's perceptions of you too, to non-English speakers there isn't a hope that they will be able to tell the difference. Actually I can't usually tell the difference!
I always find it funny, I've noticed it especially in France and Portugal, how much more welcoming people are to me when they find out I'm Irish and not English. I make a point of saying it at this point because they can go from being grumpy and uninterested to *so* friendly and chatty almost immediately! I mean what's the harm in making it known if it makes that much of a difference? It had never occurred to me to wear an Irish flag around though I must say and I don't think I will!