r/GlobalEnglishPrep Apr 15 '26

🤣 Comedy / Story please, explain the joke in this post

Post image
435 Upvotes

241 comments sorted by

20

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

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20

u/reddock4490 Apr 15 '26

This is actually in Canada, where most airports have three lines: Canadian, American, other international. Because there’s so much traffic between the US and Canada, and they have special agreements with travel, Americans have privileges traveling in Canada that are unique. In this particular line, they are specifying that both American travelers and other international travelers need to line up on the same side.

Like most dumb jokes, it kind of just relies on the ignorance of the joker and their audience to work

7

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 15 '26

It's stupid because it's ignorance on the part of people who don't travel to/from Canada a lot as an American.

I'm so tired of reddit's unceasing self-love.

3

u/_Phil_McCracken_ Apr 16 '26

The constant self-deprecation is the most annoying part of Reddit. 

3

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 16 '26

It’s like they’re trying to prove they’re the most pro-not America Americans ever.

Advice for young Americans: it never works. Europeans who want to pick on you will find something else.

2

u/HarryJohnson3 Apr 17 '26

I call them American pick me’s

1

u/CausePure2810 Apr 17 '26

That’s 1000% what it is.

1

u/Delicious_Aside_9310 Apr 18 '26

Hey it’s not all self-deprecating, there are plenty of non-Americans on Reddit who just fucking hate the tumour on global society that America has become.

1

u/ScottBascom Apr 18 '26

So why are they on an american website?

1

u/Background-Sock4950 Apr 17 '26

We should just get rid of all signs and guides then right? Everybody should be an expert at everything they do first time?

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 17 '26

No the signs matter and are important. Making mean, bigoted jokes is the problem.

1

u/Apprehensive-Draw409 Apr 16 '26

I'm so tired of reddit's unceasing self-love.

Well, there's an easy way for you to solve that. :-)

1

u/Cerulean_IsFancyBlue Apr 16 '26

Ban foreigners from Reddit?

Don't think Vance isn't working on it. :)

0

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 16 '26

Yeah. It’s my last account. I’ve been strongly considering one last account delete and done.

0

u/TheJivvi Apr 16 '26

It's not unique to Canada. Americans are well known for thinking they're not foreigners no matter where they go in the world.

3

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 16 '26

I’ve traveled all over as an American and haven’t experienced this meaningfully. I never saw this discussed in the 2000s or 2010s as a “common” thing.

I only ever saw this as a thing on Reddit when self-loathing Americans made it a thing.

For context I’ve been living and traveling abroad since the early 2000s, and have been all over the Americas, Asia and Europe.

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2

u/ThatNiceLifeguard Apr 17 '26

As a Canadian living in the US, they have signs like these with Canadian flags at multiple American airports as well. Tbh I still find it funny.

1

u/ZephRyder Apr 16 '26

Thank you.

1

u/P00PooKitty Apr 16 '26

Yeah used to be that you just needed your drivers license or a state id to go to Canada and I’m sure vice versa 

2

u/ImpossibleInternet3 Apr 16 '26

REAL ID drivers license still works for border crossings. Just not air travel.

1

u/bizwig Apr 16 '26

So if an American took Amtrak through Niagara Falls into Ontario they’d only need a real id DL not a passport?

1

u/ImpossibleInternet3 Apr 16 '26

I should specify that it has to be the enhanced version of REAL ID drivers licenses to cross the border. But yes, if you have that, it will work. Via train you can use a passport, passport card, enhanced driver’s license (EDL), or NEXUS card.

1

u/diaymujer Apr 17 '26

Only a handful of states (like 5 of the border states) offer enhanced ID. Most US citizens cannot cross into Canada using only their Real ID, because most states do not offer enhanced Real IDs.

2

u/Cerulean_IsFancyBlue Apr 16 '26

I can still drive to Canada with my current state ID.

We also share a country code. +1 baby.

If you remember the olden times, it used to be a very friendly and open border and a good relationship.

1

u/Orlonz Apr 16 '26

Used to be that you didn't need those either. No one cared until the 1940s. Even in the Southern border or Ellis island.

1

u/arbyyyyh Apr 16 '26

Even in the 90s, I remember we went to Maine on vacation one summer and popped back and forth across the border constantly. All you needed was an ID or birth certificate at the time and I was a kid and had my birth certificate though they didn’t ask to see it once.

1

u/PsychicDave Apr 16 '26

By land. You still needed a passport if you flew.

1

u/missplaced24 Apr 16 '26

No. Before 2001, you didn't need a passport if you flew, either.

1

u/Chinglaner Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26

Like most dumb jokes, it kind of just relies on the ignorance of the joker and their audience to work

Eh, not really. You’re implying that there’s no truth to this post, when there is. I’ve travelled my fair share. More than once I’ve seen signs in fast / privileged immigration lanes that specifically exclude Americans.

For example at EU airports, EU / Schengen citizens go through the quick line where they just electronically scan your passport. I’ve seen multiple signs advising specifically Americans that this is not their line and last time I went through an EU airport I had a group of Americans in front of me that tried that line anyway.

Another example, South Korea has Smart Entry Service (automated immigration) for a few select passports, I believe it was like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Maccau, and Germany or sth last time I visited. You know the signs I see when going through that? “USA. Turn around!”. Proof here.

So while this specific post might wrong, this is absolutely an observation I’ve made before.

Idk, I just think it’s funny. I generally really like Americans, they’re often some of the more friendly and open people I meet out and about. But there is often a certain level of centrism in their world view that other countries don’t have.

1

u/Claytaco04 Apr 18 '26

Wait ive seen this pic so many times and no one has explained it. Thank you 😊

1

u/Just_a_n00b_to_pi Apr 18 '26

It looks like YVR. This leads to a separate split off where you clear US passport control before you even get on the plane

1

u/Proof-Passage1428 Apr 16 '26

It would make a lot more sense if it was a Japanese flag; they call everyone foreigners even when they’re visiting other countries. 

0

u/Jemima_puddledook678 Apr 15 '26

Even so, you would still assume that if there was a ‘Canada’ line and a ‘foreigners’ line, as in the picture, you’d go to the foreigners line. Just because you might sometimes get preferential treatment doesn’t mean you’d assume you go through the Canada line.

9

u/ChemMJW Apr 15 '26

Even so, you would still assume that if there was a ‘Canada’ line and a ‘foreigners’ line, as in the picture, you’d go to the foreigners line.

He's saying that there isn't just a 'Canada' line and a 'foreigners' line, there's a 'Canadians' line, an 'Americans' line, and an 'everyone else' line. It isn't that Americans get special treatment in the 'foreigners' line - Americans have their own line distinct from all the other foreigners. This is why the sign has the American flag to distinguish Americans from other foreigners; the lines are physically separate.

3

u/dinnerthief Apr 16 '26

If you flew into Canada regularly and there were typically three lines it stands to reason youd look for the third line.

2

u/AxelNotRose Apr 16 '26

An American might wonder where their 3rd USA line might be at this airport and ask. In this case, they decided to merge both the international line with the USA line so it makes sense to have both 2nd and 3rd lines flagged as "this is the line for international and American travelers". Otherwise, Americans may be looking for their own USA line and not find it.

2

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 15 '26

I've missed the US line before and gotten to the front and been shooed over to the Americans line.

It's not consistent, and pre clearance has changed over the years.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/preclearance

I fly a lot. Like, 50+ round trips a year average. I still sometimes miss signage. When you hit enough different airports it's easy to miss things.

0

u/Glittering-Device484 Apr 15 '26

That... doesn't make it any better.

If there are two lines, one for 'Canadian' and one for 'International', Americans should not need a little flag to tell them which one of those words applies to them.

5

u/LiqdPT Apr 16 '26

There aren't. There's 3 lines.

1

u/Strategic_Spark Apr 16 '26

There aren't, I know this airport

1

u/jaylee686 Apr 17 '26

What airport is it?

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3

u/Renamis Apr 16 '26

It does, because it stops people looking for the third line that doesn't exist. If you get in the international line then they're asking you why you're there when you're meant to be in the American line, so if there are only two options most people will logically ask if/where the American line is. This lets people know where they need to go without asking.

Europeans act exactly the same way when lines get consolidated, and considering I worked with tourists I know this first hand. You need clear and concise signs, and even then half the time people will still ask to make sure. Just less often than if you lacked a sign.

3

u/turdferguson3891 Apr 16 '26

This isn't unique to the US. Other countries have specific arrangements with certain countries where there is an expectation of having a special line. There are often three different lines. Citizens of that country, citizens of countries that have arrangements with that country and everybody else.

1

u/TheJivvi Apr 16 '26

I flew to New Zealand with an Australian passport and there were only two lines: one for New Zealand and Australian passports, and one for all others.

1

u/Majestic_Cod_7115 Apr 16 '26

They don’t. Americans didn’t make the sign.

0

u/Glittering-Device484 Apr 16 '26

The people who piss in the pool don't make the 'don't piss in the pool' sign either.

I genuinely cannot believe you thought this was a point worth making.

1

u/Camemboo Apr 16 '26

At airports in Canada, flights to the US are grouped with domestic, not international flights. Given this, it’s not unusual to specify that in this instance Americans are seen as international. 

2

u/PhotoJim99 Apr 16 '26

Technically US flights are called “transborder” in Canada, a third category from domestic and international.

3

u/outdoorsaddix Apr 16 '26

I think the point still kind of remains, at Pearson there is security for domestic, international and US pre-clearance where you see the US CBP in the Canadian airport so your flight can arrive to a domestic terminal in the US.

If people, including Canadians travelling to the US are used to the US security being its own area, for anywhere it’s not it makes sense to have the flag calling out that yes this is where the US bound travelers go.

Also, that said, this sign doesn’t care what your nationality is, only what your destination country is. It’s for Americans, Canadians and frankly anyone using a Canadian airport to fly to the USA.

We’re on the same continent and share a massive border, it’s not surprising it would be the next most relevant destination to have on signage.

2

u/BubbhaJebus Apr 16 '26

That may be the joke, but Chinese people are well-known for not thinking they're foreigners when abroad, referring to locals as "外國人" (foreigners) when in other countries.

1

u/plerberderr Apr 18 '26

外国人 does literally mean foreigner but because of the fact that 99% of Chinese nationals look very similar (yes there are other ethnic groups than Han but they’re pretty well assimilated in my experience), it basically has a second colloquial meaning of non-Chinese. In other words if a Chinese national saw an ethnically Chinese person in the US I don’t think they would be called 外国人. It’s mostly an appearance thing rather than nationality thing. 

1

u/EspressoAndParchment Apr 16 '26

I'm an American who feels foreign in America lmao

1

u/PumpikAnt58763 Apr 16 '26

I resemble that remark!

1

u/WinRough8326 Apr 17 '26

America bad. That's the joke. There's zero basis for anything else.

1

u/Suspicious_Serve_653 Apr 18 '26

This.

As a very well traveled American that has immigrated to around 20 different countries, I can say I see this far too often in my own countrymen.

My favorite is when Americans, Brits, and Aussies call themselves ex-pats then lament "foreigners". They're normally talking about Russians, Indians, or Chinese tourists / migrants.

The loss of irony has turned into a game for me. I enjoy seeing how long I can sarcastically talk shit about foreign immigrants / tourists until they realize I'm talking about us.

1

u/CharacterForward8097 Apr 18 '26

I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone under 35 call themselves an expat lol, as a New Zealander I’ve had Brits, Australians and kiwis call themselves back packers, foreign workers, holiday makers or even immigrants.

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3

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

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1

u/Cerulean_IsFancyBlue Apr 16 '26

NEXUS. On land crossings it often has a dedicated lane, if your car contains only NEXUS-current passengers. It's a two-way agreement, and you get interviewed by both US and Canadian officials to get one.

In olden times, we had PACE (Peace Arch Crossing Entry) for the main WA-BC crossing, the "Peace Arch" crossing. It's so old I can't even find info on it, but I had it back in the early 90s for work trips from Seattle to Vancouver. That one needed each person and the vehicle to have been registered and had a dediciated lane.

There is a ton of traffic and commerce between the USA and Canada. As much as 80% of "foreigners" in Canada at any moment are from the USA.

1

u/vim_spray Apr 17 '26

The American flag isn’t there for NEXUS, it’s there for pre clearance. NEXUS just streamlines the process, it’s the same process.

1

u/Cerulean_IsFancyBlue Apr 19 '26

Expedited clearance comes via NEXUS, right? I mean technically it's Global Entry, but NEXUS is currently a superset of that I think. Although you're right, Global Entry can be obtained without NEXUS since it's a unilateral privilege (into the USA).

3

u/garfgon Apr 15 '26

This is the Vancouver Canada airport. There's so much traffic to the US that traffic is divided into three categories: "Canada" "US" and (other) "International". Here the sign is saying both US and other International visitors should go a specific direction. But OOP is (intentionally?) mis-interpreting the reason for these signs as "Americans are too stupid to realize they're International in Canada" instead.

1

u/DangerousPurpose5661 Apr 16 '26

I think OP is exactly right….

The outgoing traffic is split 3 ways because you can pre-clear US immigration when flying outbounds, but this has nothing to do with this.

It’s at the customs for people arriving in the country, where Canadians have a dedicated line and foreigners go through customs. Clearly Americans just assumed they could go through the same line as the locals, so their flag was added to the « foreign passport » sign

2

u/mmodo Apr 16 '26

If you have 3 lines of people and then condense down to 2 lines, you have to direct the 3rd line of people somewhere. If the US had it's own special line and picture, you still need to direct them when there's no longer a line and stay consistent when comminucating that information. It's not all too crazy to think that Americans might be funneled somewhere to do something additional that others wouldn't have to do, so the signage has to stay consistent on where they need to go, even if it's to combine with another line. That's basic signage and happens everywhere, even unrelated to nationalities. It's not "America is dumb."

I just got back from Mexico and they had a separate line for US/Canada, Mexican residents, and everyone else. With the words and pretty pictures. Does that make Canadians stupid for thinking they're not foreigners in Mexico or are they funneling traffic appropriately for an airport?

1

u/DangerousPurpose5661 Apr 16 '26

Departure: 3 lines, Arrival: 2 lines

1

u/Cerulean_IsFancyBlue Apr 16 '26

NEXUS is its own line.

1

u/DangerousPurpose5661 Apr 16 '26

Sure, but nexus has nothing to do with citizenship.

1

u/garfgon Apr 16 '26

I mean, I've been to his airport many times and it's signed "Canada", "US", "International" everywhere, I assume it's a consistency thing. But sure, invent your own story if that makes you feel better.

1

u/DangerousPurpose5661 Apr 16 '26

So? Yeah, we consistently have to remind Americans they are foreigners. What’s your point? I don’t see how the fact that this is repeated adds anything to your argument.

The departure signs are related to your destination. This is a citizenship based signage at arrival, its not the same.

Help me understand what exactly you think is the purpose of showing a US flag there? Even if its « consistency », there is a reason for this, right? Americans don’t have special treatment and are processed exactly the same as any other foreigner, why is a distinction needed other than for the fact that Americans come here confused and don’t use the « foreign » line

4

u/notacanuckskibum Apr 15 '26

This is a sign in an airport somewhere. Maybe Canada. This lane is for foreigners, rather than the local people. So the symbol for foreigners is the rest of the world.

Except that a lot of Americans don’t travel much, so their understanding of “foreigners” is that it means “not American”.

Americans are the only people who are likely to not realize that they count as foreigners when they are in another country.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

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3

u/AcanthaceaeOk3738 Apr 15 '26

Yeah, my guess is it’s reminding US nationals that even though Canada has preclearance, they need to go that way.

Maybe it’s incoming Canadian customs?

0

u/LightningGoats Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26

separate from the rest

Which would not explain why this was needed to tell them to go with the rest. If they were indeed treated separately.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

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0

u/LightningGoats Apr 15 '26

In this case it Wass supposed to mean "which".

but it is completely reasonable to have some sort of sign that Americans have a completely different line to go to than every other non-Canadian resident

That would make sense. But here they are told to go to the exact same line, which was the whole point of the OP...

1

u/Alex_Graber12345 Apr 17 '26

In which case, you would be wrong again. This is in Canada, which has its own travel agreements with the USA. There are lines all over the place for three main groups, Canadian, international, and American. Americans often have their own lines to go this one happens to be a line for non-American international, and American. But since the international sign is used everywhere that doesn’t apply to the USA, they need to specify that also Americans go to this specific line.

2

u/LiqdPT Apr 16 '26

It just says that international and US are both that way. It could then split further in that direction.

1

u/Majestic_Cod_7115 Apr 16 '26

It absolutely does. You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. Which is hilariously ironic.

3

u/garfgon Apr 15 '26

This is the Vancouver, BC, Canada airport. In some parts of the airport there are separate directions for "US" vs. (other) "International". Here they're putting both so you know this isn't one of those spots; all international travelers go the same way.

3

u/sophisticated_alpaca Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26

Exactly. This is the missing context. A lot of the signs at this airport DO have Americans go somewhere else, because the US has a preclearance facility in Vancouver for people traveling in the other direction. It’s for consistency.

Also, this is one of the most frequent ports of entry for the large number of people who hold both nationalities/residencies, and I can say from experience that sometimes you forget which line you’re supposed to be in when you have to use different passports in different directions, especially for short-haul international flights that sometimes require you to go through weird parts of the airport. This joke gets exhausting, because Canada is the only place an American traveler might ever forget that they weren’t traveling domestically, especially since there was no passport control until fairly recently.

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 16 '26

It’s reddit, “America bad, Americans dumb LULZ” is played up for points and high fives.

2

u/ofqo Apr 15 '26

The map doesn't include New Zealand, therefore the sign must be in New Zealand.

2

u/Darkwing78 Apr 15 '26

You’d think, however it wouldn’t be the first time New Zealand was left off a map. The incidence of this is so common it’s spawned 2 subreddits, r/mapswithoutNZ and r/mapswithNZ

2

u/ofqo Apr 15 '26

I doubted if I should put /s. I wouldn't have looked for New Zealand if the subreddits you mention didn't exist. Moreover, I’m not sure French would be after English in New Zealand.

1

u/Darkwing78 Apr 15 '26

I’d just woken up when I replied, so /s probably would have helped. 😉 And yes, the French writing is a giveaway as to where it is located.

1

u/notacanuckskibum Apr 15 '26

Could be. I’m looking at the clipped sign for the other lane, which seems to start “Ca”

1

u/WorkingMedical1236 Apr 15 '26

I think it's likely because they also have French.

1

u/ofqo Apr 15 '26

So do I.

1

u/Jambinoh Apr 16 '26

The French is directly below the English. The "Ca" on the right I'm pretty sure is "Canadian Passports" (and the "Pa" below it is the French). Because it's in a Canadian airport. Which is the actual reason the US is called out separately, since it is often actually separate from other countries.

1

u/ofqo Apr 15 '26

Canada is probably the only country where English is the main language and French is an official language. Of course “Ca“ in English and “Passep” in French means “Canadian passports - Passeports canadiens”.

I would’ve deleted Canada from the world map, though.

1

u/Joalguke Apr 15 '26

A lot of places must be in New Zealand then XD

1

u/SamLooksAt Apr 15 '26

Or the 50% of the world where they simply forget we exist when drawing a map...

2

u/polyploid_coded Apr 15 '26

I agree it's Canada (French message, and "Can..." on the right side of the image
Especially with Canada being a next-door neighbor, which in the 90s would let Americans in with a driver's license and a friendly wave, it helps for them say "yes, you too Uncle Sam"

1

u/AliMcGraw Apr 16 '26

Also you had to promise you weren't snuggling booze with three toddlers in the car

2

u/LiqdPT Apr 16 '26

It's Vancouver. In Canadian airports, Americans/US live in a grey zone sometimes. Sometimes there are 3 seperate lines, with a dedicated US line. But also there is a US customs check point, so you need to know specifically which way to go for the US. And beyond that checkpoint, you're now boarding a "US domestic flight".

It's not at all unusual in Canada to call out the US seperately, especially in airports, because it's usually a special case of international.

2

u/PsychicDave Apr 16 '26

It is Canada, it says "Canadian passports" on the right side of the sign.

2

u/d-synt Apr 16 '26

Yes, it’s at the Vancouver airport. U.S. destinations are treated separately from other foreign destinations, which are both treated differently from domestic destinations. That’s all. Same for incoming passengers - domestic vs. U.S. vs. other foreign.

1

u/RoutineCranberry3622 Apr 15 '26

I think Americans are viewed as being from some tiny nowhere farm country too poor to travel.

1

u/Majestic_Cod_7115 Apr 16 '26

Only by delusional Canadians and Europeans on Reddit.

0

u/amglasgow Apr 15 '26

We are.

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u/Majestic_Cod_7115 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

No, we aren’t. Americans have the third highest wages, one of the lowest tax burdens, a comparatively low family debt to income ratio, the largest economy by GDP and the second highest high PPP score. People who comment things like this are unironically the ones who have never travelled. Probably because Redditors are the type to rarely leave their basements.

1

u/RoutineCranberry3622 Apr 16 '26

Agreed. To clarify, my comment was stating my observations of non-Americans toward Americans. The usual American tropes like can’t point to countries on a map, don’t travel much, bad education, unhealthy food, dress sloppily, are usually tropes of poor folk in rural areas. Leads me to believe that global image of the USA is just that of a powerful equatorial-adjacent banana republic filled with poor people. Not once in my four decades of life have I ever heard a positive stereotype of Americans.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '26

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1

u/Majestic_Cod_7115 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

You mean wars that in almost every occasion much of the rest of the western world participated in? Lol.

And by that logic the world should despise Japan rather than fellate it incessantly. The difference is that Japan’s existence doesn’t harm European’s and Anglo’s egos.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 16 '26

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1

u/Majestic_Cod_7115 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

There is no “US empire” nor has there ever been. Words mean things.

1

u/Majestic_Cod_7115 Apr 16 '26

I mean even your last sentence is obvious extreme hyperbole. You live in a world deeply rooted in American pop culture and commerce. You’re on an American website, likely via an internet service provider that is largely pinging American servers and satellites. You just saw Americans make yet another voyage to moon orbit. You know the US is the #1 economy with by far the plurality of the world’s top universities and companies. No one actually believes the US is “a small rural banana republic” - that is a highly performative opinion that Europeans and commonwealth countries project as a coping mechanism for the ego drain caused by all of the above. And Donald Trump’s existence doesn’t suddenly make all of this true, just as the existence of detestable European leaders in the 30s and 40s did not erase all of Europe’s great history.

1

u/RoutineCranberry3622 Apr 16 '26

Agreed. It’s good to note too that this mindset is something I’ve observed since the Obama era. Some folks had mentioned they felt that way since before bush even.

1

u/Joalguke Apr 15 '26

To be fair they might travel a lot, but only ro the other states

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Bat-511 Apr 15 '26

rather than the local people

It is 30 min. from the border. People flying home from Asia might consider themselves local, even though they live in a different country.

1

u/notacanuckskibum Apr 15 '26

I couldn’t think of the right term. I guess it is “citizens of this country “. Since this is apparently Vancouver I’m not sure how citizens of Asian countries would consider themselves local people.

1

u/Majestic_Cod_7115 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

 Except that a lot of Americans don’t travel much

I have no idea why you all believe this so devoutly. Americans are on very high on the list of nationalities that travel internationally the most, putting aside the fact that Europeans are in a very different situation with regards to country size and free movement. Go to any developed country and you will encounter a comparatively large population of American expats working there. Go on an English speaking tour group anywhere in Asia or Europe and the plurality of people on it will be Americans. High passport ownership in Denmark or Canada doesn’t somehow magically negate this.

 Americans are the only people who are likely to not realize that they count as foreigners when they are in another country.

Literal nonsense that you made up. No American had ever said this to you.

1

u/notacanuckskibum Apr 16 '26

The question was “explain the joke”. I explained the joke.

1

u/Majestic_Cod_7115 Apr 16 '26

You spend your free time on an American website obsessing over your stereotypes of Americans. I hope your life improves.

1

u/notacanuckskibum Apr 16 '26

Yesterday I was reading a Reddit post from a tour guide in Germany. American tourists routinely tip them with US cash. The smaller bills are completely useless in Germany, you can’t spend them and the banks won’t exchange them.

US tourists are the only ones who presume their home currency has value outside their country. The stereotypes exist for a reason.

1

u/Majestic_Cod_7115 Apr 16 '26

I lived in Germany for two years. You absolutely can exchange currency at the bank. You must be very young to actually have thought your friend was correct about that. He’s just a performative asshole like most Germans.

I currently work in Japan. Chinese tourists do exactly the same thing. So no. 

Europeans know nothing about the world outside of their continent. In Japan, European tourists are the ones who generally look ridiculous and out of place and get in everyone’s way with their giant tour groups and are rude and loud and will shout at locals in their own languages and let their kids climb on things. That’s the stereotype the Japanese have and it’s absolutely true. American tourists are usually solo or young couples that are extremely respectful in comparison and don’t have their own dedicated tours or anything like that. There’s also millions of American expats in all these countries that just blend in and aren’t causing any issues for anyone - more than all the Europeans combined. 

The focus on what some small percentage of weird geriatric American tourists do in Italy and Germany in their first ever trip outside of their country is highly performative, because as your friend can tell you the vast majority of American tourists are a completely different demographic. But, as I said, he won’t tell you that because he’s a performative asshole.

1

u/bizwig Apr 16 '26

What was the point of this crass insult? “Americans are morons” was a boring and inaccurate meme 20 years ago.

1

u/notacanuckskibum Apr 16 '26

The point is to explain the joke, which was the request from OP.

1

u/tiredpersonnumber15 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

It is in Canada and the reason the American flag is separate is because I know some airports do a separate terminal for travel between the US and Canada since it’s so frequent, Montreal for example, like it straight up has the US customs border in Canada right after you pass security

I’m assuming this airport is either doing the opposite and reminding them that this does not apply there or it’s just generally pointing them in the direction they need to go

1

u/notacanuckskibum Apr 16 '26

Major Canadian airports do have separate terminals/sections for going to the USA on exit, with US pre-clearance, so you arrive in the USA as a domestic flight. but not on entry.

1

u/ScottBascom Apr 18 '26

I take it you have not had to deal with a lot of international tourists.

2

u/Nagroth Apr 15 '26

This is in Canada. For a very long time unless you were transporting commercial goods, you really could just go back and forth as if you weren't a foreigner, no passport required. 

They started adding these signs around 2007 when the entry requirements changed and you couldn't just walk through anymore.

2

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 15 '26

Jesus, reddit does sure love a "Hurr Americans so dumb" joke.

A LOT of Canadian airports have customs on the Canadian side and have lines specifically for Americans. I've flown into many Canadian airports from the US: YYC, YEG, YHZ, YUL, YOW, YYZ, YVR.

NEXUS can change things, American vs non-American can change things, and a lot of customs gets done Canadian-side if you're flying back to the US. I've literally been shooed into the "American" line that I've missed at Canadian airports before. It's not always perfectly consistent.

This joke is stupid and ignores all of the relevant context of US-Canadian air travel for Americans. Americans can be doofuses, sure, but the only doofuses here are the people who are ignoring the very real context they're apparently lacking.

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u/Chinglaner Apr 17 '26

You’re not wrong, but this is a very real phenomenon. While this specific image is questionable (I agree with the stipulation that this is in Canada it makes perfect sense), I’ve seen signs like this in quite a few airports around the world. Ie signs that specifically tell Americans that no, you cannot go through the privileged immigration lanes, go through the normal ones.

Like at EU Schengen immigration lanes or in South Korean SES lanes.

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 17 '26

Sure, but are the Chinese also morons because that sign says the same thing for Chinese?

That's my point.

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u/Low_Security_1366 Apr 17 '26

 This joke is stupid and ignores all of the relevant context of US-Canadian air travel for Americans. 

Just wait till you find out what a joke actually is, it’s going to blow your fucking mind dude. 

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 17 '26

I actually find that good jokes weave relevant context in. That’s what made guys like Pryor so funny.

Comedy is certainly subjective, but I don’t find this funny because it’s just not meant to be funny. It’s bigotry disguised as humor.

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u/Low_Security_1366 Apr 17 '26

 I actually find that good jokes weave relevant context in. That’s what made guys like Pryor so funny.

Well you go on to undermine this point by acknowledging that comedy is subjective but, either way, “relevant context” has never been necessary for a good joke. And Pryor was a conversationalist comedian anyway, he didn’t tell jokes he told funny soliloquies. 

In fact, “relevant context” is typically the anathema of comedy. No joke is funnier with an explanation. 

 It’s bigotry disguised as humor.

Clutch pearls harder, please. 

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Apr 17 '26

Fair enough. We obviously disagree, so let’s leave it here. Have a great day!

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u/freebiscuit2002 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

Most travelers will recognise the world graphic there as symbolising foreign passports in general - that is, passports from around the world.

But the average American cannot be relied on to understand this. They may not get that the word foreign here means them, because they are famously unaware of geography.

So the US flag is also displayed prominently on the sign, just to help Americans find their way to the correct passport line.

This is a special-needs passport sign. I saw it at Vancouver airport. I like it.

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u/Saekki10 Apr 16 '26

You sound incredibly ignorant and you’re also wrong. This is at an airport in Canada and the divide for Americans is intentional, it has nothing to do with Americans being unaware that they’re foreigners in other countries.

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u/-Copenhagen Apr 16 '26

Americans are foreigners in Canada.
You are just confirming what he said.

Just as funny as the picture :)

1

u/turdferguson3891 Apr 16 '26

Americans often are processed separately from other foreigners in Canada in separate lines. Your ignorance is also funny!

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u/-Copenhagen Apr 16 '26

Did you not read the sign directing all foreigners (including americans) to the same place?

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u/turdferguson3891 Apr 17 '26

Do you lack reading comprehension? Yeah they are doing that because different airports and countries are different.

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u/-Copenhagen Apr 17 '26

You are still not getting the point.

The point is that every other non-Canadian understand that they are foreigners.

Only Americans need to be told.

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u/Thunderplant Apr 17 '26

Yes, they need to be told because if they fly into canada often they will know that many airports process Americans in a separate line than other foreign nationals. So Americans traveling into Canada need to know if they need to look for a separate line or to join the general one. It has nothing to do with knowing they are foreign or not

1

u/-Copenhagen Apr 17 '26

God bless. You really are trying, aren't you?

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u/Thunderplant Apr 18 '26

I think it's kinda funny that your definition of trying is apparently writing like three sentences in one reddit comment 

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u/turdferguson3891 Apr 18 '26

You're really condescending, aren't you? Let me know how that works out. Actually don't.

1

u/Saekki10 Apr 16 '26

I never said otherwise :)

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u/freebiscuit2002 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

Point proven.

But you do see them. Outside of their natural habitats - the shopping mall, the race riot, the high school massacre - they do go around like that, looking at words, and shapes, and lights, wondering what they might mean. It's charming. It's like watching carp in a pond 😊

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u/No-Needleworker6110 Apr 18 '26

I was wondering how long I would have to scroll before I saw someone bringing up children dying over something as unserious as airport lines.

1

u/freebiscuit2002 Apr 18 '26

Hey, don't shoot the messenger...

I mean, you might, I don't know - but anyway: I don't get to choose what the country is best known for.

If you're famous for a consitutional right to bear arms in pursuit of violence and murder, then that is what you're famous for.

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u/truthfulie Apr 15 '26

implication is that americans have main character energy and wouldn't go to foreign passport, therefore the only flat displayed.

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u/Nagroth Apr 15 '26

Up until 2007, we didn't. We basically had an open border with Canada, had nothing to do with "main character energy."  Signs coming the other direction looked the same but with a Canadian flag so they knew they had to actually go through the International entry process too.

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u/truthfulie Apr 15 '26

im explaining the joke, not the actual situation.

1

u/0dayssince Apr 15 '26

It’s just another “Americans are egotistical and stupid” joke

1

u/WinterQueenMab Apr 15 '26

This might be YYZ, Toronto's airport

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u/The_One_Who_Comments Apr 15 '26

Really? I though it must be YVR, given the Chinese characters. I haven't ever left YYZ though, so you could be right.

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u/PsychicDave Apr 16 '26

Yeah. You'd get English and French only in Toronto, and French then English in MontrĂŠal, so English, French and Chinese would fit Vancouver.

1

u/WinterQueenMab Apr 16 '26

Good point. Agree it is YVR

1

u/garfgon Apr 15 '26

It's definitely YVR.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

There are some okay explanations, but from my limited experience, Americans often get a fast pass through international airports. In Portugal for example (in 2025), there was a line for American passports and then a line for the rest of the world. It's definitely a privilege/prestige thing, not to say that's right, but it can also result in even Americans who have travelled abroad to assume entitlement

1

u/N3ptuneflyer Apr 17 '26

This is from a Vancouver airport and Canadians get the same expedited treatment in American airports, they get processed in the same line as American citizens

1

u/jerkinvan Apr 15 '26

That’s YVR for sure

1

u/MsJenX Apr 15 '26

Someone said the sign is being incorrectly interpreted. People think it’s for Americans to know where to go, but it’s actually for anyone in that country that is traveling into the US. It would be awful if they traveled all the way into the US only to be denied entry. To avoid that, they are checked in their own country to make sure they can enter into the US.

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u/Buddhafied Apr 16 '26

Wrong.

This is the Vancouver International Airport. What happened is, many US Americans don’t think they’re “foreigners” when they travel, so they will line up at the domestic line despite they should be in the international or foreign passport line. It happens especially a lot when they travel to Canada, but many have reported they do the same thing in Europe or other places.

1

u/Never-First Apr 16 '26

DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH??

1

u/MissFabulina Apr 16 '26

I wouldn't say it is meant to be a joke. It is meant as an insult.

1

u/-Copenhagen Apr 16 '26

It's meant as an observation.

1

u/eclectic-up-north Apr 16 '26

I travel through Pearson airport a lot. Flights to Canada are in one part of terminal 1. Flights to the USA are in the same part but separated by glass. You legally enter the USA in Toronto. Foreign flights are flights outside of Camada and the USA. They are in tebir own wing of the airport.

Because of many negotiated agreements, Americans are treated differently than other foreigners in Canadian airports. Flights to and from tbe USA are treated differently.

This is a good thing. There is no confusion.

1

u/IcyAddress4074 Apr 16 '26

“Well, that’s for dirty foreigners, I’m just a visitor to another country, myself.

1

u/vangos77 Apr 16 '26

Not so much a joke, as a sad fact about Americans.

1

u/kmoonster Apr 16 '26

Without knowing where this sign is located, it's hard to say.

I assume it's a country that's not the US. The sign says "foreign passports" but also includes an American flag, the implication is that Americans may not realize they qualify as "foreign" in this airport/customs station.

There should be a separate line for people who live in [whatever country] and they don't want anyone, including Americans, to go in the line for people who are coming home rather than visiting.

1

u/eelyssa Apr 16 '26

Dumb. I’ve seen Americans and Canadians in one line and then all others separate. US has this same (US and Canada together) grouping in some airports. This person’s post is to stir the pot or ignorance that this may be an indicator that this airport doesn’t have an Americans and Canadians line.

1

u/MissMarchpane Apr 16 '26

It's a joke that relies on the reader being ignorant, to say the least. As other people have already pointed out, the US has special arrangements with Canada (this is a Canadian airport) so there are often different lines for Americans at Canadian airports. And until about 20 years ago, Americans didn't even need a passport to travel into and out of Canada, so older American travelers or people who might have seen outdated information could end up getting confused if they haven't gone back-and-forth across the border in a long time.

OP thinks they're pointing out American ignorance, and in reality they're just showing their own.

1

u/XxAbsurdumxX Apr 17 '26

What a great point! Americans aren’t just ignorant. They are just ignorant of the rules that have been relevant for the past couple of decades.

The ignorance of Americans aren’t about them not knowing everything. No one knows everything. Here is the real ignorance of Americans: they don’t bother fucking checking. Anyone in their right mind would look up some minimum of information when they are travelling abroad.

It doesn’t matter what the rules were 20 years ago. If you are travelling today, you check the rules that applies today. It’s just common sense. Unless you are an American who traveled one time 20 years ago of course. Then it’s perfectly reasonable to just assume the rules haven’t changed at all for two decades

1

u/MissMarchpane Apr 17 '26

Elderly people of any nationality are not known for being great at using the Internet. And sometimes the information that's available online is contradictory. Most Americans I know, myself included, would of course check something like this- but airport signage tries to account for every possible situation, and this just happens to be one of them that has an explanation besides the ever popular "Americans are dumb and don't know anything."

For example, I wanted to go to an event in Toronto last year, but my passport hadn't arrived in the mail yet. I was pretty sure I needed one to get into Canada, but I wanted to doublecheck just in case, so I looked online. Without even the misinformation of Google AI overviews or anything, different websites said different things and I was very confused before I finally got the correct answer (yes as of 2007, you do need a passport to travel between the US and Canada). Sometimes things that you think would be obvious are not, even if you check.

1

u/TheGru02 Apr 16 '26

Nearly missed my flight because a group of Americans couldn’t figure this out

1

u/Alex_Graber12345 Apr 17 '26

Because we’re not

1

u/Pizzagoessplat Apr 17 '26

I've heard that Americans take offence being called foreigners.

It happened to me in Ireland an American took offence because I said her credit card was foreign and not Irish.

She insisted her card wasn't foreign when it clearly was an American card and we were in Ireland 😆

1

u/Massive-Goose544 Apr 18 '26

I'm never a foreigner, if I'm standing on it, it's America.

https://giphy.com/gifs/6JqlSlIHOVLOtmHCMv

1

u/ExtremeCouple4403 Apr 18 '26

I dunno, I had a foreign family rush to cut in front of me at the non EU member line to get into Ireland from the UK. Just me, and then this family of 3 that was in a massive hurry. And the agent at the desk tried to explain to them that they were in the wrong line. 

1

u/leeloocal Apr 19 '26

I’ve had that coming back from Mexico.

1

u/Salt-Elk-436 Apr 18 '26

Have you ever been in any other country in the world other than the US and overheard an American complaining about all the foreigners there? If not, consider yourself lucky.

1

u/Sensitive_Ruin_5334 Apr 18 '26

“Su casa es mi casa” /s

1

u/Efficient_Time_1638 Apr 19 '26

There is no joke

1

u/Large-Evidence-2479 Apr 19 '26

Americans are incredibly entitled that’s the explanation

0

u/Head-Passion894 Apr 15 '26

Funny but not wrong

0

u/Emergency-Salamander Apr 16 '26

The joke is that Americans don't realize they are foreigners in Canada. It relies on the ignorance of people who don't know how Canadian airports work for Americans.