Company selling "Canada" Kit to Americans

[RACooper]

T-shirt company helps Americans relax on vacation - by posing as Canadians

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...us_cda_t_shirt

Tue Dec 7, 5:07 PM ET


LESLIE HOFFMAN

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - An American T-shirt company has a solution for fellow citizens who want to vacation in Europe without having to answer questions about U.S. politics: pose as Canadians.



For $24.95 US (about $30 Cdn), T-shirtKing.com offers the "Go Canadian" package, full of just the kind of things an American traveller needs to leave home 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, N.M.-based company known for novelty T-shirts it sells worldwide on the Internet.

The Go Canadian idea sprouted after one of company president Bill 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 the company website Nov. 12, and sold a couple hundred within weeks.

Sylvia Dawson's boyfriend has been joking that she needed to find him a Canadian flag for a coming 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."

- Okay aside from the patriotic issues involving this whole thing -
I have one concern (as a Canadian)... if this is acknowledged as such a "common" practice then perhaps 'Canadians' abroad might become targets because they may be US citizens mascarading as 'Canadians'?

Not a comforting thought for me at all...

[Lady Pi Phi]

Originally posted by RACooper
...- Okay aside from the patriotic issues involving this whole thing -
I have one concern (as a Canadian)... if this is acknowledged as such a "common" practice then perhaps 'Canadians' abroad might become targets because they may be US citizens mascarading as 'Canadians'?

Not a comforting thought for me at all...

I was thinking the same thing. If you can't travel as your own person from your own country then maybe it's time to rethink your behaviour.

[DeltAlum]

Dumb idea.

As much as I respect Canada and its citizens, I'm happy and proud to be a US Citizen.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
I was thinking the same thing. If you can't travel as your own person from your own country then maybe it's time to rethink your behaviour.

We can travel as our own person from our own country. If some people feel they can't, they can always become Canadian.

-Rudey

[KSigkid]

Pretty ridiculous idea - Canada's ok, but I'm proud of being a citizen of the U.S. and wouldn't think of passing myself off as Canadian or anything else.

Like Rudey said - if you want to be Canadian, move to Canada.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Dumb idea.

As much as I respect Canada and its citizens, I'm happy and proud to be a US Citizen.

Ditto!

[Lady Pi Phi]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Dumb idea.

As much as I respect Canada and its citizens, I'm happy and proud to be a US Citizen.

And that's really the whole point. One should be proud of where they're from and if they aren't it's time to find out why and change something.

[Kevin]

Originally posted by KSigkid
Pretty ridiculous idea - Canada's ok, but I'm proud of being a citizen of the U.S. and wouldn't think of passing myself off as Canadian or anything else.

Like Rudey said - if you want to be Canadian, move to Canada.

I concur. If travelling abroad in the next 4 years, I'll of course be happy to tell them that I voted for Bush. My money's still green though (or whatever color their money is).

[Optimist Prime]

I love Canadians, the same way I love people from other states in our Union. But I would look forward to dicussing politics, because one of the coolest things about being an American, if not the coolest, is that we can openly discuss how we feel and not suffer any gov't sanctioned conesquenses because of it. I can go anywhere in the world and say, "no, not all Americans support Bush." And I love that about my country, which is why I wouldn't pose as a Canadian. I would pose as either Bohemian or Luxembourgian though, just for the hell of it. I also think pretending to be from another country is an easy way out. You should have an opinion about the things you're country is doing. That makes the whole country look bad if you're like "who cares what my gov't is doing" People need more self confidance.

To alelevate RACoopers fear, I don't think people attack americans because of politics, at least not in a physichal sense. Plus, if a European or whatever started a fight with a Canadian, and I didn't like the way it was going, I would jump in on the Canadian side. North America is too cool of a continent not to be united like that.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
I was thinking the same thing. If you can't travel as your own person from your own country then maybe it's time to rethink your behaviour.

Exactly...just don't behave like the awful people (i.e. Jonathan) from THE AMAZING RACE and everything should be fine.

Originally posted by ktsnake
If travelling abroad in the next 4 years, I'll of course be happy to tell them that I voted for Bush.

Um yeah...I'm thinking that this sentiment will last until around Day #2 of your vacation.
Ugly sentiments sting American tourists

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by ktsnake
I concur. If travelling abroad in the next 4 years, I'll of course be happy to tell them that I voted for Bush. My money's still green though (or whatever color their money is).

It should be interesting when my fiancee and I go on our honeymoon - both of us are supporters of the President.

[DeltAlum]

It's interesting to me that, in this thread, this has become a "Bush" issue as oppossed to an "American" one -- ie "The Ugly American" syndrome.

While this is only an opinion, it says two things to me. First, that the perceived "division" in the country is deemed to be real by non Americans; and second, that the man is perceived to be bigger than the office and the country itself.

I don't think either of those is good.

[Kevin]

Originally posted by KSigkid
It should be interesting when my fiancee and I go on our honeymoon - both of us are supporters of the President.

You're a Bush-voter in Boston... I'd say you're probably used to being around people that disagree with your political stances by now.

[texas*princess]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
I was thinking the same thing. If you can't travel as your own person from your own country then maybe it's time to rethink your behaviour.

Am I the only one who finds this amusing? The "Go Canadian" thing was started off when someone jokingly said they'll pretend to be Canadians so they don't have to deal with political BS on their vacation. It started off as a joke.. chill out people. I hardly doubt real Canadians will start getting harrassed in Europe. Maybe I don't know this because I live in Texas (which is pretty far from Canada ) but seriously -- how many Canadians would seriously walk all around Europe with the flag plastered everywhere? I would think that Canadians - like most other people wear regular clothes on an everyday basis.

Remember that "Marry an American" thing? (http://www.marryanamerican.ca/) that started off as a joke too.


People joke about America all the time ... we just roll with it.

As far as "rethinking" our behavior -- I am a productive citizen. I don't have a crimial record, I pay taxes, and all that jazz...but I'm only one person. There's not much I can do to change the way thousands of other countries' citizens feel about my country or their generalizations of my fellow Americans.

/soapbox

[Taualumna]

Originally posted by texas*princess
but seriously -- how many Canadians would seriously walk all around Europe with the flag plastered everywhere? I would think that Canadians - like most other people wear regular clothes on an everyday basis.




/soapbox

I own a Roots backpack with a Canadian flag patch on it. At Queen's University, it's common to see students with Canadian flag patches sewn on their faculty jackets (i.e. arts and science, engineering (aka applied science), education, nursing, music, etc) along with their major, "pass crest" (cannot be on the jacket until one completes first year courses) and graduation year.