Standard Canadian after encounter with Canadian Health care System
Posted on 12/07/2004 5:13:47 AM PST by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
Albuquerque, New Mexico - An American T-shirt company has a solution for their fellow citizens who want to vacation in Europe without having to answer questions about United States politics - pose as Canadians.
For $24.95, T-shirtKing.com offers the "Go Canadian" package, full of just the kind of things an American traveller needs to leave their country 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, New Mexico-based company known for novelty T-shirts it sells worldwide on the internet.
Offers tips
"It's not meant as a slight against the United States or Canada," explained T-shirtKing.com President Bill Broadbent. "It was meant as something Republicans could give their Democrat friends to say 'C'est la vie.' ... But maybe not c'est la vie because that's a French word."
The "Go Canadian" idea sprouted after one of Broadbent's colleagues heard of someone being harassed about US 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 T-shirtKing.com's website November 12 and the company had sold a couple hundred in the first two weeks or so. Many of the out-of-state buyers were in Michigan, Illinois, and the Seattle area, Broadbent said.
The package's quick reference guide 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."'
I'd rather pose as Osama than a damned canadian.
Brush up on Queen's English - and throw in a little Francois lingo in there. No one will know you're an ugly American.
Mountainair! BWAHAHAH! The ultimate NM 4-way stop on the road to nowhere!
I can't imagine why any American would want to go to Europe just now anyway, given the high euro.
What a great Capitalist idea.
I'm mad I didn't think of it. ~All those blue staters and all that money just for novelty items.
Pretend I'm Canadian?
You mean learn to blather on endlessly about multiculturalism and the superiority of the Parliamentary sysem until everyone else leaves the room?
'Just pretend you're Canadian'
I can't do it. I don't drink, I think hockey is boring, and socialism doesn't work.
I have nothing against Canadians. Hell, the Freedominion.com folks are as conservative as Freepers. But I won't pretend I'm a Canadian while abroad because I'm not ashamed of America.
Considering this was during slick willie's administration, the dislike for Americans has nothing at all to do with President Bush......as some in the media would have us believe.
Standard Canadian after encounter with Canadian Health care System
This is not a new tactic. When I lived in Europe in the mid to late 80's, in the height of Reagan (my hero) this was a common practice of the lefty American tourists from CA, the west coast and other crunchy places.
Me, I'd have tattooed the American flag across my forehead....
Cowards to the end...
The soccer hooligans don't care if you're a lefty or a righty......but my son was a soldier and listened to the advice but NEVER pretended to be anything other than a proud American.
Wow, that sounds like a creative idea! Why haven't we heard this before? When outside of your home country, stigmatize yourself with a screamingly overt symbol of a national identity at every available opporunity. That way, you'll be able to convince others that despite sharing nearly-identical characteristics with a certain group of people, you should be excluded and given special treatment whenever possible. Fitting in while abroad will be a snap thanks to companies like this one!
Well then, that says a lot about you, doesn't it?
Poop in my drawers?... Sorry, no pretending I'm Canadian until I'm over 100 and am no longer in control of my bodily functions.
If the idiot can't even tell the difference between a word and a phrase, then there's no way he's going to pass as anything other than a public-school "educated" American.
From your statement, I'd have to say you've already lost control.
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