# Are Canadians kinder than Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 29, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106 "2006-01-29T19:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/41 "2006-01-31T18:30:47Z")
Given that it was Vancouver traffic that set his flight of fancy off, we can only be thankful he wasn’t jay walking in Montreal. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/42 "2006-01-31T18:40:12Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > Given that it was Vancouver traffic that set his flight of fancy off, we can only be thankful he wasn’t jay walking in Montreal. It must be a BC thing. But then they think 90Km/hour is an acceptable speed limit, too. :rolleyes: I know in Calgary people aren’t that kindly. There’d be some jackass trying to use a merge lane to get as far ahead in line as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/43 "2006-01-31T18:49:35Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I wanted to add one more point: Spider Robinson has long been a jackass. Yep. Not the best yardstick in the world, seeing as how he fancies himself the next Robert Heinlein. He’s one of my favorite authors, but Robert A. Heinlein he ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/44 "2006-01-31T18:50:51Z")
Oh, and Yemen drivers attitude is that if anything happens while they are driving it is Allah’s will that it occurs. So, they don’t use seatbelts because that would mean they don’t trust God. This explains why they will pass in the middle of a dust cloud kicked up by the vehicle in front of them. I’m quite glad I’m not one of the safety guys who has had to clean up the results of passing in dust. People have also been pulled over by the police who ask them if they have been speeding - why else would they be wearing their seatbelts unless you were going to do something illegal? I kid you not. They also have this idea that if you use your headlights then you will wear out the battery. I’ve also seen cars driving against traffic on major divided roads. Stopping at a light (the few that exist in Sana’a) is cause to have 7 vehicles in 3 lanes. There is also a strange rule that if you are praying at the time an accident occurs you can’t be held accountable for it. Don’t ask my why you’d be praying while you are driving… Actually, I **can** understand why you’d be praying while driving there! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/45 "2006-01-31T18:52:30Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Yep. Not the best yardstick in the world, seeing as how he fancies himself the next Robert Heinlein. He’s one of my favorite authors, but Robert A. Heinlein he ain’t. Maybe not – but he is the only living author still writing Robert Heinlein novels! [http://www.spiderrobinson.com/books.htm](http://www.spiderrobinson.com/books.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/46 "2006-01-31T19:43:56Z")
Don’t forget, Spider comes from Jersey. 😛 In my few days in Toronto I noticed that the people, when they heard I was from Texas, suddenly lit up like Christmas trees. “Have you ever been to Canada before? No?! Oh man, you have GOT to go to (X store/Y street/Z restaurant). How long are you staying? Welcome to Canada!” This in the line at the bookstore, mind. I noticed the garbage/recycling bins, reflecting that back home, each bag would be filled with the contents belonging in the other two. Possibly with garbage that “just missed” strewn below. I was curious about the bus/subway transit system. “Why don’t we have to get a ticket when we enter the subway system, just because we gave the ticket to the bus driver? Nobody’s asking to look at my transfer.” “Well, it’s because you came through the bus entrance.” “Couldn’t people… like, walk to the bus entrance?” “I _guess_ they could…” It’s underhanded and cheating, but it struck me as something a hungry college student might do. But everyone was trusted not to do it, and they didn’t break the rules. I also remember getting shoved like a maniac to get onto the bus going to Canada’s Wonderland, but that was one of only two bad experiences in Toronto (the other bad experience was on the bus ride back). But most of this stuff fell into two categories for me: people following the rules and people being generally polite. And while the former is not always the case anywhere I’ve lived, I wouldn’t call your average Toronto resident more friendly than an average Austinite. YMMV, of course, but even the “giving a perfect stranger crashspace” is not uncommon down here depending on the company you keep. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/47 "2006-02-01T19:03:21Z")
I know exactly what he is speaking of regarding merging on to the Lion’s Gate. I comment on it every time we are in Vancouver - that would never, ever happen where I live. It would turn into a giant, angry traffic jam. Every day. All day. I live in Calgary, one province over. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/48 "2006-02-01T19:58:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Americans say they believe, above all, in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I’m alive, I’m free, and I can do what makes me happy! Does that sound like a proud boast to you? It once did to me. Okay, that’s just silly. It’s a phrase adapted by Jefferson from John Locke’s treatises on government. Locke was the friggin’ _Father of Liberalism_, ferchrissakes. Sure, Jefferson rewrote it to suit him, but we’re talking about a guy who rewrote the Bible to suit him. Anyway, Locke was an Englishman. Go pick on them. > [@](#): > > It sounds childish to me now. Even oafish. “You’re unkind, you fucking dumbass!” Got it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/49 "2006-02-01T20:09:30Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Okay, that’s just silly. It’s a phrase adapted by Jefferson from John Locke’s treatises on government. Locke was the friggin’ _Father of Liberalism_, ferchrissakes. Sure, Jefferson rewrote it to suit him, but we’re talking about a guy who rewrote the Bible to suit him. Anyway, Locke was an Englishman. Go pick on them. So what? Of course “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is not an official national motto or anything, but are you denying it is an important, even central, phrase/concept in American political culture and discourse? **That’s** just silly. > [@pravnik](#): > > “You’re unkind, you fucking dumbass!” Got it. :rolleyes: And that’s even sillier. If you want to defend the value of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (its value **relative** to "peace, order and good government), then defend it. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/50 "2006-02-03T01:16:58Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > So what? Of course “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is not an official national motto or anything, but are you denying it is an important, even central, phrase/concept in American political culture and discourse? **That’s** just silly. No, I’m denying that Lockean philosophy is specific to Americans. There are many, many examples of maddening yeehaw jingoism in American culture, but that’s just plain not one of them. It’s a statement of the Natural Law theory of government embraced by political philosphers in the 17th and 18th century. That’s it. It has absolutely zero bearing on some sort of differing mindset or driving habits modern Americans have in comparison with Canadians. It’s like saying only Americans would coin a phrase like “A Time to Kill” to use as a movie title, or only Americans would glorify such base human emotions as “Pride and Prejudice.” > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And that’s even sillier. If you want to defend the value of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (its value **relative** to "peace, order and good government), then defend it. Well, I would, had that been what I was talking about. What _I_ was talking about was the irony calling someone unkind in the same breath that one insults them. Debating the various strengths and weaknesses of various non-exclusive virtues certain nationalities may or may not collectively possess is not only something I’m not interested in doing, it’s the exact same false dilemna/attack on a position not held/gross misunderstanding on the historical context of a philosophical phrase that I’m complaining about. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/51 "2006-02-03T02:19:27Z")
Maybe Canadians are “kinder” in traffic north of the border, but I can’t say that “kindness” is the word that comes to mind when trying to share the road with those big-ass Canadian RVs on American highways. From the glurge in the OP: _“It’s a rural attitude, I think. If our neighbours want to have sex in a different manner than we do, we tend to mind our business.”_ Anybody else read this and think of the Tom Lehrer line, “He majored in animal husbandry - until they caught him at it one day.”? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/52 "2006-02-03T05:20:49Z")
I also live in Calgary, and I also think Spider Robinson is extrapolating further than the data would support. If he was going to base his glurge on Calgary driving, he would call Canadians a bunch of incompetent, road-raging, entitled assholes. Some other points that came up as I read the thread; Toronto’s issue with guns has NOT made it a federal issue. The Gun Registry is the most hated policy to come out of the east since the NEP. PET as the greatest Canadian politician? I’ll give you most well-known. Canadians kinder than Americans? I honestly don’t know. From what I’ve seen on these boards, we definitely aren’t as much for telling it like it is, regardless of how other people feel. American - “You’re full of shit.” Canadian - “I don’t agree with that statement.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/53 "2006-02-06T18:40:53Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Some other points that came up as I read the thread; Toronto’s issue with guns has NOT made it a federal issue. The Gun Registry is the most hated policy to come out of the east since the NEP. Hated by whom? (And what is the NEP?) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/54 "2006-02-16T20:08:38Z")
If ever the acronym “YMMV” was appropriate, it’s here. I’ve lived most of my life in the U.S. and have spent a good chunk of time in Canada. Are Canadians, as a group, kinder than Americans? I don’t think so. You will find wonderful human beings and absolutely evil scum of the earth on both sides of our shared border, probably in about equal amounts per capita. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106/55 "2006-02-16T20:35:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Hated by whom? (And what is the NEP?) The National Energy Program, back in the '80s. Among other things, it restricted foreign ownership of oil companies doing business in Canada, increased the percentage of oil profits that went to the national government, and artificially lowered oil prices. It really pissed the West off, obviously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-canadians-kinder-than-americans/342106.md?page=2)