# Some American tourists are flagjacking; Canadians are not amused **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [September 23, 2025, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323 "2025-09-23T02:33:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/61 "2025-09-24T04:42:28Z")
Isn’t Greenland part of Denmark? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/62 "2025-09-24T04:54:56Z")
I used to travel quite a bit all over the world. In Western Europe the people I saw pitching the biggest fits had Canadian flag patches which was crazy because all of the rest of the Canadians I encountered were nothing but lovely. It occurred to me eventually that they probably really were Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/63 "2025-09-24T05:05:47Z")
Why do people go around in public pitching fits and wanting to see managers, all the time. Do people not have manners or know how to act in public? Whatever country you’re in. Really, tho’ I find it hilarious that grown up adults are buying maple leafed items and Canadian flags just to travel overseas. Just act right and people should treat you right. Wherever you’re from. If you find it doesn’t work, then have your conniption fit. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/64 "2025-09-24T06:23:00Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Just act right and people should treat you right. Wherever you’re from. Sounds ideal, but that’s just not how humans, who look at race, nationality, religion, gender, etc. treat people. Well, not how a lot do. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/65 "2025-09-24T06:33:10Z")
Yeah, I kinda know it’s a pipe dream. But one has hope in their heart. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/66 "2025-09-24T07:53:45Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I wonder if the American accent is enough to instantly betray a U.S. person in Canada. It would depend where the American is from. When I worked for a multinational based in Toronto, we used to host our people from our worldwide offices. The British sounded English (unless they were from Scotland), the Australians sounded Australian, the folks from Chile, Argentina, and Mexico spoke English well, but with a North American Spanish accent. Maybe there are differences in all, but I’m not sharp enough to pick them up. However, the Americans were interesting, especially since we get so much American TV and movies, and are quite familiar with American accents. My main contact in Texas spoke with a Texan drawl. My Massachusetts contact had a tinge of “Pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd,” just enough that you knew she was from Boston. My contact from Georgia sounded like someone in “Gone with the Wind.” My Chicago contacts had the flat Midwestern accent that we speak in Toronto. I’d suggest that there is no single American accent, but the Midwestern one is what everybody can understand, so that’s what is used in national, and often local, newscasts. Use that one in Canada, and you’ll pass unnoticed. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/67 "2025-09-24T08:11:02Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > used to travel quite a bit all over the world. In Western Europe the people I saw pitching the biggest fits How often do people " pitch fits" in general, anywhere? I sometimes watch youtube clips of “karens” acting crazy in public places, but I’ve almost never seen one in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/68 "2025-09-24T08:19:27Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > What about gutters that are between a street and the kerb, rather than high on the side of a building? That’s exactly what a gutter is: the area between a street and a curb (note the spelling). Yes, some of my questions would be easily answerable to Canadians of a certain generation, but some would not be to Americans of any generation. (Yes, Coffee Crisp comes from an old commercial for a candy bar that is not sold in the United States.) Point is, that there are some questions that only Canadians can answer correctly. The Americans in Greece who claimed they were from Ontario—well, where? Ontario is huge; it takes 24 to 30 hours to cross it, from Kenora to Ottawa in a car. The south is great farmland; the north is rugged Canadian Shield un-arable granite. Any Americans who say, “We’re from Ontario” will invariably be hit with, “Yeah, but where exactly?” Thunder Bay is certainly not Toronto, which is not North Bay, which is not Kenora, which is not Windsor, which is not Kingston. I’m originally from Ontario, and when I encounter people who say that they’re from there, my next question is usually, “Where in Ontario?” ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/69 "2025-09-24T10:54:55Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I imagine real MAGAs would be assholes where ever they are. And most would be shitting yellow bricks over the thought of leaving the US. Someone upthread mentioned they’re ashamed of being American. The actions of the current administration are certainly shameful but why should I be ashamed and want to hide behind another country to escape scrutiny while abroad. Face it embrace it be bold let your actions and words speak to your character. Don’t apologize either, I didn’t vote for the fool. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/70 "2025-09-24T11:52:27Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > “Imitation is the sincerest form of plagiarism.” > _Oscar Wilde_ Like the meaning of many things, it all depends on the context. If you’re talking about creative works, inventions, etc, then YES. If you are talking about hair styles, clothes and the like, then it is indeed flattery. In this particular instance, it’s so pathetic that it makes me laugh. Some of our super duper fabulous Americans from the “greatest country in the world” feel they actually have to disguise themselves so that they are not recognized as being from “the greatest country in the world”. So much for “Making America Great Again”. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/71 "2025-09-24T13:52:59Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Isn’t Greenland part of Denmark? It’s an autonomous territory of Denmark, working towards independence. The people are ethnically different from the Danes. I suppose they learned English from Danes, though. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/72 "2025-09-24T17:22:34Z")
I don’t understand this. Are you saying that when an American apologizes for Trump, that means he didn’t vote for Harris? Because that’s certainly not necessarily true. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/73 "2025-09-24T17:29:28Z")
Are there, or have been there, in fact, _Canadians_ who adorn their backpacks with the Canadian flag? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/74 "2025-09-24T17:30:33Z")
They also speak a different language. It’s as if someone noticed that Puerto Ricans speak German with an American accent. Only a lot more people travel back and forth between Puerto Rico and the US, and Puerto Rico is more likely to become a state than to become independent. Or… It was, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/75 "2025-09-24T17:32:07Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Americans who say (and have said to me) “My apologies, I didn’t vote for Trump” are being disingenuous. They aren’t saying “I voted for Harris.”. None would say “My apologies, I voted Libertarian.” Not only did i vote for Harris, i spent a couple weeks on the ground canvassing for her, trying to drum up additional voters. But when i apologize to foreigners, i think I’m more likely to say i didn’t vote for Trump, fwiw. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/76 "2025-09-24T17:33:02Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > Are there, or have been there, in fact, _Canadians_ who adorn their backpacks with the Canadian flag? My first solo trip to Europe I had a fanny pack with the Canadian flag. No idea what current practices are. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/77 "2025-09-24T17:56:37Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Not including bowling alleys, what is a gutter? > > 2. An eavestrough. I think you’ve got this one backwards. “Eavestrough” is the more typically Canadian term, while “gutter” is more typically American. Of course, actual usage of both terms straddles the border, and many people use and/or understand both of them. (Though at least in my case I knew only “eavestrough” and had no idea that “gutter” was a synonym well into adulthood.) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/78 "2025-09-24T18:16:48Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Some of our super duper fabulous Americans from the “greatest country in the world” feel they actually have to disguise themselves so that they are not recognized as being from “the greatest country in the world”. > > So much for “Making America Great Again”. 🤣 Again, the Americans who are doing the disguising are probably not the same Americans who think in MAGA terms. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/79 "2025-09-24T18:18:39Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > > [@SCAdian](#): > > > > What about gutters that are between a street and the kerb, rather than high on the side of a building? > > That’s exactly what a gutter is: the area between a street and a curb (note the spelling). But you said it’s called > [@Spoons](#): > > An eavestrough. The only eaves I know of are part of a building’s roof. Or do you have a different definition? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323/80 "2025-09-24T18:57:38Z")
I read folks in Greenland speak a lot of Danish. It’s not the official language (that’s unspellable w/o looking up, which I’m not gonna do) I imagine a bunch of Danes live there. Maybe your friend was a transplant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-american-tourists-are-flagjacking-canadians-are-not-amused/1023323.md?page=5)