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Originally Posted by billege
Granted, Canada has a smaller total population number as there are uninsured Americans. So, we're not talking about equivialent size populations by a longshot.
From what I've seen in my trips through Canada, it's also not as diverse population as the US. But, on that point, I have no statistics, and may be horribley wrong. Please correct me with data I'm too lazy to look up, if indeed I am. I'm relating that while in London, Niagra Falls, and Toronto (great city, BTW) the only non-whites I saw (besides my wife) were in Toronto. I also got some odd looks when I requested my meat cooked medium rare. In Canada it seems, they ain't down with that. You'd have thought I asked the waitress for anal sex right there at the table from her response to my reqeust for a rare steak. The fucker came medium well, btw. One strike for Canada there...
I spent some time while up there watching Canadian news channels, and I got the distinct impression Canadians look upon the US from a "slightly smarter big brother" kind of view point. Like, "oh look at what our big dumb little brother did today! isn't he cute? dumb, but we love him." That's what I sorta picked up on, I'd be interested in honest unpolished Canadian views on the real Canadian attitude towards the US.
I think comparing the Canadian to the American socieity is a stupid-on-its-face comparison. There is no way to directly compare thier society with ours. I mean, sure there are places where a comparison can be made, but the two countries are very different. One is the worlds dominant superpower, with all the shit that comes with that. The other is not the worlds dominant superpower. The two countries are very close, sure, and carry a lot of similarities, but give it a rest. Deciding that another country is a better place for you to live, is a valid decision. Deciding to flee your home country for another, because you erroniously belive they've got it all figured out...that's what you get from not really considering the reality of the situation.
Absconding to Canada because one does not like the way the US is heading, is cowardace, and a kind of treason.
(Remember, you're free in the USA to HAVE your opinion, and so am I. I say fleeing is a shitty opinion. So say I. So shall it be.)
Rats flee a sinking ship.
Heros fix the hole in the ship, pump out the water, get the crew to help fix the sails and rudder, then go off into the sunset to fuck the prom queen!!
Long live the USA! Battered, bruised, and twisting herself through an evolution in society she may be, but she's not out of it, and damn those who abandon her as if she is!!
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I have to agree with you on your sentiments, as it does seem to be rather fruitless to be comparing our two societies ad nauseum, to the point of trying to make one better than the other. I think that the distinction is too fine to make. I was born here, and I love my country.
My heritage is not of this country, but in this I am also typically canadian. My parents are from China, but both my grandfathers were Canadian citizens, and helped to build the National Dream (thanks to the Late Pierre Berton and his book on the railroad).
But I still go into restaurants in towns like London, Kingston, Whitby, where people openly gape at me because i look chinese. It is only in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal that I actually feel anonymous in my skin. Did you ever see a western movie where the gunslinger walks into a saloon, and the music stops? everybody turns and looks at him? This is literally what has happened to me (recently at the Denny's in Whitby) sans the piano player tho. So while we are a hugely multicultural country, make no mistake, the majority is white. You only have to drive for an hour to get to it. Yet, the tolerance here is incredible when stacked up against international standards (turks in Germany, blacks in china, whites in Japan, women just about everywhere).
Oh, i like my steak like my sushi (Tartar...) but i order blue rare, and usually get it. I've orderd Filet Mignon Pittsburgh style, and usually get it done correctly.
ps.. Vox, you were on track until that crack about the 49th parallel... I live at the 42 parallel dude. lol but seriously, Bilg has a point in his rebuttal....