Ah, MrBlue92, you’ve restored my faith in you. It sounds as if you do know a little, and that you won’t embarrass yourself if you ever get into a conversation with a Canadian.
But Kyla is right–we don’t need a lot of this sniping and baiting.
True, and I’ve noticed this also while travelling through the USA. But I don’t really blame them; as I’ve said previously, most of our news seems to be political in nature, and probably incomprehensible to outsiders. (Heck, it’s occasionally incomprehensible to us too!)
There are small bits of Canadian news sometimes on the Buffalo TV stations that we get (I’m in Toronto), and they also show the weather map for the western New York and southern Ontario region. But usually such news is local (somebody from Buffalo is in a car accident in Fort Erie, or vice versa).
One interesting thing is that they do wish their Canadian viewers such things as “Happy Thanksgiving” on Canadian Thanksgiving, and “Happy Canada Day.” That’s a nice touch, but for some reason, our stations don’t seem to usually reciprocate for uniquely US holidays.
But that’s Buffalo, which is right smack on the border. We can’t really expect the same from a place that isn’t.
Because then we’d have to figure out what “Lite” actually means–fewer calories or less alcohol? Not to mention having to get used to sometimes hearing “Etats-Unis Legere.” (Sorry I cannot figure out how to put the proper accents in.)
No, probably better to leave things as they are for now.
You know, you have a point there. I hear quite often US stations saying something like “And a Happy Canada Day to our neighbors” or thanksgiving, yadda, yadda. I do not very regularly hear it go the other way though. I never even thought of that before.
I agree, and I hope you don’t think I was doing either. I do know a little bit about Canada, but I’m probably a bit more intellectually curious than the average American. I was under the impression the OP was addressing general American perception, so I thought my personal knowledge was irrelevant.
Like I said, I think many Americans are equal opportunity snubbers: it doesn’t matter what country you come from, they’ll find something wrong with it. Because we’re neighbors, any insults or ignorance about each other are blown out of proportion. If it’s any consolation, I think we insult other Americans with more vitrol (and are much more serious about it) than Canadians.
And the war of words goes on between Canadians and Americans…
I have met ignorant Americans who haven’t got clue one about Canada and that’s understandable. What goes on here is of little interest to most Americans. The ones who actually think we live in Igloos or use dogsleds crack me up. No… I am not an Eskimo.
Most Canadians realize that when you live next to Satan you should pay attention to what Satan is up to, hence our knowledge of America…
Whoever said that ALL Canadians have an inferiority complex is deserving of the Canadian Bitch Slap.
Wasn’t it Trudeau who said something like “living next to the USA is like being in bed with an elephant. You have to keep one eye open in case he decides to roll over.”? Logically, that means that Satan is an elephant…
I DONT say ‘aboot’. I swear to god, the next person that tells me I say aboot will get a kick in the head! Thats like saying all americans say ‘y’all’!
And there is a BIT more to New Brunswick that ‘its square’.
The whole thin g is simple - canadians know lots about the States because ALL the decent movies, TV, and books are set in the states. The US had cowboys - which is why I could draw a map oof Nevada in my sleep. They ran cattle fom Texas to Montana, they ran the Mississippi in riverboats!
Of course I know the geography of the US, I would have to be illiterate not to!!
WHY on earth should the US have more than a rudimentary knowledge of Canada?
BUT: we only have 10 provinces, 3 territories, so it wouldnt take long to learn a bit about the place.
Well, I don’t think that the US has a lot of reason to learn much about Canada. That doesn’t pick my butt, so to speak. What gets me is that I generally pick up so much information about the US like:
State: capitols, mottos, nicknames, heck, even state flowers, etc.
US history: presidents, vice presidents, elections, civil war, etc.
And so on and so forth…
I can’t do a crossword puzzle, play a game of jeopardy, watch tv, or read a book without jamming my brain with more US facts. I think the fact that we live next to a culturally overwhelming giant who doesn’t know (generally speaking) crap about my country can be a little unsettling. I thought if I saw ONE MORE WORD about Bill Clinton and the whole Monica thing, I was going to puke! I don’t live there! I don’t care if he got blowjobs from the every single Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. Really!
Sometimes I just wish there was some way TO be ignorant of the US… I think that most Canadians get huffy about the US being ignorant of us because we are constantly inundated with US culture, and it’s definitely a one way street. We don’t generally get upset if someone from Norway doesn’t know anything about us because we are constantly overwhelmed by Norwegian culture.
PS. Max the Immortal - Hey, we live in the same city! Nice to meet you.
I really, really hate it when Americans assume that I’m American because I’m on the net. I’ve been to a lot of message boards where you don’t seem to exist if you aren’t American. It’s just assumed that if you speak English and have access to a computer, you are a US citizen. Oh, and don’t get me started on free speech. I don’t have your constitution, so I really don’t care about your rights as an American citizen.
This is what I like at the SDMB. The American-centric attitude does not seem to prevail. People here are very open, don’t assume that every is American, and really seem to have a healthy respect for others, as well as the country that they live in.
There are a hell of a lot of Americans who shared these sentiments.
I understand what you’re saying about the lack of knowledge of Americans about Canada. But it’s not our fault! It’s the media’s fault! The American media in general reports far more news about Russia and Israel than about any other countries. Go and rag on them.
Well, I know where Halifax is! How could I not, as it’s home to the most terrible punster currently operating in the English language? (Spider Robinson, BTW, an excellent author–American by birth, and Nova Scotian because the rent was cheap)
I’ve been there, and no, there isn’t.
It only takes a few minutes to look at Saint John harbor and say, “Wow, those tides sure are high! OK, let’s get back on the road to Nova Scotia.”
Halifax! Spider Robinson! I love knowing silly stuff like that and having it validated!
I’m from Michigan. All my life Canada has been easier to get to than Ohio. I know about as much about Canada as I do about the US. Internal boundries, capitals, and I don’t care about politics above the local level.
I propose that we split North America East and West instead of North and South.
Let’s draw a line through the middle of Canada and the U.S. Everyone on the East side is in one country, and everyone on the West side is in the other. Put the split right around Manitoba.
I know the people of Alberta have a lot more in common with the people of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, etc. than they do with the people in Toronto or New York. On the other hand, Torontonians and New Yorkers would probably get along famously, as would the people of Maine and PEI.
Vancouver and Seattle might as well be sister cities, and they’d all be right at home with Californians, too.
You gotta hand it to Trudeau – he made the United States more conscious of Canada than anyone before or since. He made the United States and the world sit up and take notice of Canada. He was one of a kind.
(Sorry I cannot figure out how to put the proper accents in.)