Are You Out Of Your Minds? Us Think Canadiana Are Too Patriotic

The BBQ Pit
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As we speak, on CJAD (a local Montreal talk-show radio station) they are talking about a recent poll that came out.

Apparently AMERICANS think CANADIANS are too patriotic !!!

My thoughts are: WTF? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR TREES? That’s the pot calling the kettle black! IN SUCH A BIG WAY …

Apparently their (the Americans’) biggest problem with Canadians is that we have a Maple Leaf on our luggage/backpacks everywhere we go. Well I venture to say:"It’s because we don’t want to be mistaken as Americans!!!"

I think it has less to do about the pride we have in our own country and more to do with the shame we have of being associated with yours.

We don’t want to be associated with being the INSULAR, OBNOXIOUS, OVER-BEARING, POWER-HUNGRY bullies that Americans appear to be in other countries.

I’ll give an example: When the war with Iraq started, I was personally against it. But that’s just my opinion. I was a regular in a few chat rooms where I would see Americans DISSING Canadians for not being “in” with them. I always tried to show that LOTS of countries/people were not “in” with them, including Dr. Hans Blix. What response did I get?

“We are the BEST country. We are the MOST POWERFUL country. We are the RICHEST country. Our military is THE BEST.” And YOU are calling CANADIANS TOO patriotic?

I’m sorry!? Should we bow down and kiss your feet? Last time I checked, we’re a sovereign country with our own right to decide what world policies we agree/disagree with.

On top of it, my ancestors are French. So now, all the French suck. Well I’m sorry, but I don’t suck; my father doesn’t “suck”. My grandfather doesn’t “suck”. His father doesn’t “suck”. They’re SUPER COOL people. So if you have a problem with the French Government today, say you have a problem with the French Government. Not the FRENCH. My relatives have nothing to do with your gripes. Get off your fucking high horse. You with your stupid “freedom fries”. I guarantee you that you still wear the Givenchy perfume you love so much. Shove it up your ass.

When I get the old spiel about “What do Canadians do for us? You don’t even have a military! Who will you come running to?” Well forgive me for not having an extensive education in this milieu, but we DO have an Army (they’re the ones who relieved you in Afghanistan to go to Iraq ~ and some DID go to Iraq). And as for who we will come running to … Sorry, but I know it’s a foreign thought to you (pardon the pun) but we don’t piss people off like you do. Chances are if we do, you’ll be defending your own ass for the same fight.

Oh and btw … when 9/11 happened, surprise surprise! Montrealers caused a TRAFFIC JAM trying to get to Dorval airport. Why? Not to fetch their family who had landed safely. To fetch Americans who could not land in American territory because your airspace was closed off. Regular citizens were coming to pick up families/people they didn’t even know until they got there, to share their homes with them until they could get to their final destination.

We cried like you cried that day. The shivers up our spines were the same as yours. Telephone lines were JAMMED to give blood. Hema-Quebec and Canadian Red Cross couldn’t keep up. We SEARCHED for something we could do. Our own firefighters drove down to NYC/WTC on their vacation time, in their own cars, to see if there was something we could do. How fast you forget. Now we’re “independent shits”.

I always saw Canadians as the American Little Brother ~ until the war. You want my personal opinion on why there is war in Iraq right now? Mr. Bush hadn’t come up with Osama’s head on a silver platter. The one-year anniversary was coming up. Nothing but a classic New York City sidewalk game of bait and switch. Give them something “shinier” to look at and they’ll forget the first one.

You don’t fool us. We have a right to decide if we agree or disagree with you. Blair is kissing your asses because of the whole European Union situation. Don’t mistake our disagreement with “too patriotic”. I think Canadians have a LONG way to go before we’re patriotic ENOUGH. This is a GREAT country. I can’t stand our Prime Minister. Anything would be better.

But we’re proud to be defined as separate. Not because you went to war. But because of your attitude. As a country, I think we don’t sing our praises enough. Typical “little brother” behaviour, but I digress. Yes, you got that right. Behaviour with a “U”. Deal with it. We’re not too lazy to write it out properly.

xoxo PROUD but NOT PATRIOTIC ENOUGH Canadian

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Well, this should be fun.

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lol Alice … Don’t think I wasn’t thinking the same before I pressed SEND.

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“You, Sir, are a racist! Whats all this aboot, buddy? Can I finish? Can I finish?”

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Well, us think you thread title too hard to parse.

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Have you read the actual article? I finished the paper before heading onto the boards and the article in my paper wasn’t written as Americans vs. Canadians. It’s more of a matter of reporting the Americans’ views. There was none of “Canadians suck because they didn’t join is in the war.” There was none of “Canadians are better than us, so we hate them.” In fact, there the word “hate” wasn’t even mentioned at all.

Maybe you should turn the radio off and decide for yourself what the poll was about.

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YOOHOO? UpYours? Where did I say that the poll included saying Canadians suck for anything? INSTEAD OF TELLING ME TO READ THE PAPER, READ MY POST! I said that was my EXPERIENCE IN CHAT ROOMS. Furthermore, I never said that Americans thought Canadians were better than them for XYZ. Did you read my post or just skim it?

So according to you , “It’s more of a matter of reporting the Americans’ views” I take it that you agree with the poll. Great! Thanks for agreeing with the poll they reported. Makes it all the more valid.

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So why do you hate your country?

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You’re against the Prime Minister? Don’t you know that’s the moral equivalent of treason? Why don’t you want to be a good Canadian?

BTW, isn’t Chretien about to walk the plank?

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Maybe the Americans figured the Canadians were too patriotic because the Canucks didn’t spend all their time genuflecting to the American way of life.

“Geez, talking with Jack is tough! No matter how many times I asked him, he insisted Canada’s heath system was better than ours, that they had less violent crime than we do, that their voter participation was higher, yadda yadda yadda. He must be an ultra-patriotic Canadian if he’s going to ignore the innate superiority of the USA!” :wink:

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[quot]Apparently their (the Americans’) biggest problem with Canadians is that we have a Maple Leaf on our luggage/backpacks everywhere we go. Well I venture to say:“It’s because we don’t want to be mistaken as Americans!!!”

[/quote]

This is funny because this is why my luggage has the maple leaf sticker. I have less problems identifying as a Canadian when I travel.

No offense to Americans, but I’d rather travel as a Canadian (or Japanese). Most countries have a significant dislike of Americans.

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Can we have a link to this famous study?

I’m fucking tired of telling Canadians that I don’t think I’m superior because I’m an American. Lose the chip, my friends. I have seen this on the Straight Dope so many times, and it’s just plain insulting to non-morons. I’m not going to defend my country, my Canadian friends like GingerOfTheNorth, LaurAnge, and Elenfair know what’s what.

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TYM:

Not entirely sure what you mean by that. Yes, he is leaving. In disgrace? I haven’t heard anyone suggest that. He’s leaving after ten years in power, forty years in politics, and handing the leadership to another Liberal, to the apparent delight of Canadians, if you believe the papers.

I think he orchestrated his departure quite cleverly: we will remember him for not going to Iraq (hooray!) and for same-sex marriage and marijuana laws (not exactly his doing, and not exacly set in stone, but since when do facts matter when talking about a legacy?).

On Canadian flags while travelling: I bought one but never wore it, after I was mocked by some English people (I’m a bit sensitive.) I went through Europe and Brazil without it and if anyone mistook me for American they didn’t treat me badly because of it.

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Thanks, cowgirl. I was under the impression he was being forced out before he was ready.

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I’m a Canadian patriot; I also like America.

I like Canadian ways, and think they are better; maybe because I am used to them, and they suit me.

I suspect many Americans feel the same way about their country and its ways of doing things.

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I’ve never heard any of the attitudes expressed in the OP, even here in NY. The Americans I know don’t expect Canada to play an important role on the world stage because that’s not their style, they’re too thinly populated and self-effacing. But the bravery of Canadian soldiers (underfunded they may be) is widely known and appreciated. We also know about all the social upheaval that’s going on up there and know that quality of life issues are very, very important to the government, wherein here we expect individuals to shift more for themselves. Maybe too much, maybe not enough. I have relatives in Nova Scotia who come down to ‘the States’, succeed, make plenty of money like they really can’t in Canada with all those taxes and regulations (their words), and come back to lovely homes their US wages have built. Sounds nice to me. And the Honduran porter in my building is doing the same thing right now!

Sorry if you ran into some asshole Yanks, but I suspect it wasn’t quite as dramatic as you’ve painted it.

And oh yeah, since this is the Pit: the whole ‘freedom fries’ thing WAS A JOKE!! except for a very few humorless establishments that were covered in our media with a distinct, raised-eyebrow, look-at-those-rubes thing. Including the Congressional dining room, which quietly went right back to French fries soon after. Get a fuckin’ sense of humoUr, eh?

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**TYM]

Ha ! Quite the contrary. He’s been talking about leaving for a really really long time, and his successor has been lined up for just as long. We got tired of holding our breath, waiting for him to announce the date of his departure, sometime last summer. Jokes about our two Prime Ministers are old enough to be tiresome. He’s like that dotty old rich aunt that everyone is biting their tongues waiting for her to kick off, but can’t say “Enough already!” because they’re worried about being left out of the will.

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On this, I’ve travelled in Europe and the Middle East, never lied about my nationality and have never been treated poorly because I’m an American. Rule of thumb: don’t act like a dick and people won’t be dickish back. No matter what color your passport is. When I hear about Americans sewing maple leafs to their backpacks or something, I roll my eyes. Why not try being polite and gracious to help dispell the myth that all Americans are uncouth and rude rather than pretending to be something else?

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Nice rant. And I cringe at the idiots among some of my countrymen. Some USers just can’t control their penis wavings and ruin it for the rest of us.

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Why aren’t you tired of Americans who blow their superiority out of their asses, and you wouldn’t have that stereotype?

Sorry, I was cleaning my apartment while they were talking. I didn’t catch where they took this study from. Having listened to them for years, I know they’re not the type to pull it out of their asses.

Their names (and the show’s name) is: Trudie & Kevin. They’re a married couple with a talkshow weekdays from 1pm to 4pm on CJAD AM800 Montreal. If you would like further information on the subject, you can contact them at:
trudie.mason@cjad.com
kevin.holden@cjad.com

Honestly, if this is the first time you thought Canadians thought you were out to lunch, how wonderful was the sand your head’s been hiding in? Hate to break the news, we’re laughing at you.

Kisses, Montreal