Swirlie

Just trying to get a general consensus of how our American neighbours (and really, any other folks from any other country) feel about us..... not in the personal sense, but in a political or general (as in a country) sense.

I read a lot of message boards on a regular basis, and the general consenus lately seems to be more of a general disadain (and I'm not even sure disdain is the right word...) for Canada. I'm not sure why this is. Lately, it seems, we (Canadians) have started to assert ourselves and become more patriotic (as our American brethren are) and this seems to be a problem... as Canadians, it seems we are supposed to be the polite country that knows it's place, accepts the slings and barbs, and are just happy being... well... Canadian.

I don't mean this to be inflammatory... I'm just generally curious. I would appreciate honest, non flame-worthy responses...

Thanks folks.

S

JJRousseau

Interesting question Swirlie. If we really are becoming more patriotic, I'm glad for it. I like to see us take a stand that hasn't been thought out by someone else. But I don't see the disdain that you do. My European friends have nothing but good things to say about Canada. Most of my American friends barely know that there is a country to the North of them - but they always have good things to say about the Canadian people.

Carno

Ummm, Canada is fine.. I feel the same way about Canada as I do any other country.

Just like any other country there are some assholes and some idiots, but most Canadians I've met were good people. I don't really like Canadian accents though.. It's that damn stereotypical "aboot" thing again.

scott_p_1

Is the "Aboot" thing really that common? As a Canadian, I've never really run into it lot, and know that I pronounce it properly.

billege

I think you're okay. Not great, not bad, just okay.
I've been on a couple vacations, in Canada, and that's not much to judge a whole country on, you know? I mean, I'm hardley qualified to judge you, but, you asked!

I thought London was a very pretty city. Your population seems very polite, and kind. Your businesses seemed to close very early. That annoyed me.

You eat at restaurants differently. My wife and I thought the service sucked ass, bad, until we realized it kept happening. Canadians eat out at a more relaxed pace than we do, at least compared to Michigan's society. We kept waiting for the damn bill to come so we could leave....when we realized either every place we ate at in 3 cities sucked, or it was a cultural differance, we figured it out. You rush less, I think.

Niagra Falls. Hm... this left me wondering about Canadians. My wife and I were treated less well than other, single race, couples sitting at tables next to us. At $150 for dinner for two, I'd expect the service to be good no matter what. Neither she, nor I, like to "play the race card" so to speak. But, it was hard to ignore the difference in treatment. However, I can't judge Canada by this, but just the people we were in contact with. They sucked.

I think that Candians are cool, and I'd like to visit your land again. It's beautiful. The Highways are boring as fuck, but very scenic.

You make great beer, I'm enjoying my 4th Moosehead right now. Thank you.

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radioguy

i've got no problems with canada or canadians. canada is the one country i would actually visit if i chose to travel outside the USA. i just wish the canadian hockey players would come back so the nhl could start up....those damn greedy players

Swirlie

AhHAH! Remember... it was the OWNERS that locked the players out...

although both sides are to blame... the owners want to punish the players because the owners could not practice self restraint.

Lockjaw

I guess I could sum up my feelings towards Canada as feelings of indifference. I have no strong feelings either way about the country. It's not my bag persay(I'm a warm weather kind of person) but at the same time it's doesn't have much negative to say about it. It's right around Iowa on my places to visit list. But the people seem nice enough so no complaints there but most folks online no matter where they are from seem to be nice.

rUn-gUn

im canadian yeaaarrrr looving it, canadians are chill and we love teh reefer!!!111

lurkette

I look at Canadians with slight envy. I would love to live in a country that had the essential freedoms that the U.S. enjoys (and more, at this point, given the state of health care and recent decisions about gay marriage), but without the "My Country Right or Wrong!!" jingoism and the schizoid Jesus-freakness/rampant individualism that seems to be pervading our culture at this point. And since I grew up in MinnesOHta, I already have a head start on the accent

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william

Truth be honest - the right wingers won't admit that they are against Canada because they wouldn't stand w/Bush and his war w/Iraq (Can't blame them - it's a quagmire that will extend Bushies term). Those that said they'd leave (w/Bush re-ellected)didn't mean it (where can they go to live w/the technology and advancements?). Personally - I think Canadians are great. I hope to visit your country in the summer. My basic philosophy is - don't fuck w/me, I won't fuck w/you. The people of your country just seem to want to get along. Can't argue w/that.

vox_rox

Although a bit overstated, this is exactly how I feel. As a Canadian, I fear for our country for being so close to the U.S. beacuse you guys, through the very things mentioned in Lurkette's rant, have become a lightning rod for every freak on the planet.

And, beacuse I know so many Americans who I like and respect, I fear for the popualtion of the U.S. as well who have no way of getting off the roller-coaster.

So, really, come on up whenever you want, but do your homework. Read the thread in the Canada forum about the 5 things you don't know about Canada. Learn to relax a bit because we do things sometimes much slower, and sometimes not all. Our politics are just as strange and often frustrating, just much less dangerous.

The doors are open, just try to blend a bit. And forget about the "aboot" thing, no one I know or have met pronounces any word remotely like that, I'm not sure where it comes form. We do put the letter "U" in some words that you don't, we pronounce the last letter as "zed" and we use "cheques" not "checks." basically, we just haven't fucked up the English language as badly.

Peace,

Pierre

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There is no such thing as strong coffee - only weak people.
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HeAtHeN

The best thing this country did was to say NO to Bush when he wanted us to got and invade Iraq. We don't have the military resources to do it anyways....

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Blackthorn

I worked in Detroit for two and half years and the best part about that was it's cose proximity to Windsor Ontario, Canada. That's not just a comment about the Windsor Ballet either! The people there were friendly and I always felt safer in the streets of Canada than I ever did in Detroit. I've only been to a two other cities in Canada, Montreal and Toronto, and found them to be equally as friendly.

Canada as a neighbor to this U.S. citizen... damn glad you're there and thanks for the hospitality when I've visited.

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OFKU0

Canada is more secular regarding hardcore religion/fanatics etc. The church always pops up at the notion of gay marriage and spurts its tired verbal diahhrea ad nauseum but that is to be expected. If I were part of an institution that was declining in support for decades, I would try my hardest to keep it going too.

Most Canadians appear to be open minded regarding many issues. The typical associations do exist, that being people that no matter what, will never try and see the other side of things, but I believe they are the minority who like to bitch because it's easier than actually doing something about such causes.

A good example was last week when President Bush was in Ottawa. Protesters galore. To me a better protest would be to start with ones own government than another countries however,...but that would assume a follow up,.. and work,... and effort,... and well,....it's just easier to bitch about another country then go home and watch American t.v.

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" In Canada, you can tell the most blatant lie in a calm voice, and people will believe you over someone who's a little passionate about the truth." David Warren, Western Standard.

Daoust

I think I said this in another thread, but I feel that the main reason we had so many protesters during Bush's visit is because according to the American television feeds we get from the US ( East and West Coast, anti-Bush networks) you guys don't like Bush, and he's a warmonger and an idiot. Also, it's cool to protest againsts war because REM and Bruce Springsteen are also against war. THere were a few legitimately angry protesters who had something to protest, but I think they were in the minority.

Obviously Bush's foreign policy has an effect on us. Some people don't like his aggressive stance and war on terrorism. But truly, Canadians want to make a friend out of Bush. We need him, and we'll kiss his ass when the chips are down.

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Suave

Okay, I HAVE to clear one thing up. The so-called "Canadian" accent is not Canadian. It's almost exclusively Eastern. Thick in the Maritimes, and then thinning out through Ontario and Manitoba, and almost non-existent by the time you hit Saskatchewan. Most Albertans and BCians that I've talked to have an accent very similar to someone from Manhattan, for example.

Janey

ditto. I never hear aboot, just the normal 'about' like 'abowt' . It seems that i only hear 'aboot' when Americans try to mimic us... They however, tend to say about like this: 'abahwt'. so maybe its all relative displacement.

As for patriotic, I think that we went through a generation of relatively less patriotism, and now that the 'me generations' have fed throughthe system, and issues are more global, we are starting to re-assert ourselves. It seems that through my schooling, that patriotism was fairly strong in the early parts of the 20th century, which is how we got out from under the British yoke...

vox_rox

I have to agree with Janey, it seems as though a lot of people, especially around University age and a bit older, are now WAY more aware of global issues because they are affecting so many people now. As a strange off-shoot of that is a new wave patriotism that is more of "let's be a really good global human-rights advocate as Canadians" rathre than "let's be great Canadaians." I may be a little off here, but I kind of hang around predominately left-wing folk, as I am myself, so mabe my view is somewhat skewed.

still, I'm sure I see some of that.

Peace,

Pierre

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There is no such thing as strong coffee - only weak people.
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isis

Usually whenever I run into Americans, I find that I'm asking THEM silly questions about their accents. I work in a restaraunt and this oilman from Texas came in with a bunch of people from his comany. They were all from the south and their accents KILLED me! We all had a great laugh together about the social stigmas from being from the south, or of course, Canada. They said that I myself have an accent, but they never heard anyone else in the restaraunt who did. Just because I say "melk" and "pellow" doesn't mean I have an accent!

We all had a good laugh though. I'm glad that the stigmas about aboot go both ways - I don't think the lady from Alabama thought I was serious when I asked if she had alligators in her back yard.

badcock

Canadians for the most part are no different than Americans. I'm sure the people of Canada are great. I'm not a fan of their politicians or politics. Of course they feel the same way about our Republican politicians and American political views as a whole, the media has made that well known.

But we can just agree to disagree on politics.


O yeah... and I hate cold weather.