I post stuff on my store’s FB account because the main company wants a strong social media presence, and FB is all I know in that realm. We are a fairly new-to-the-US company but they’ve been a big player in a niche market in Canada for almost 50 years (actually, the US side of things is technically a new company but an offshoot of the original … that doesn’t really matter).
Anyway, my store has been open about 3 weeks now and so I posted a bit of an intro thing, sharing a news piece written for a Canadian news outlet. The second comment posted was “Not a fan of a Canadian owned business”
WTF?
I’ve heard similar comments, and I just DO NOT get it.
This is a family owned company who bought the lease when the previous company there (that I also worked for and also with a 50 yr history) went out of business thanks to Private Equity standard bullshit. And who exactly is untrustworthy here??
Just a rant, and I’m pretty sure the real reason is MAGA crap - I live in SC
Also, don’t discount the possibility of bot accounts or other foreign disinformation efforts. There’s a fair amount of evidence that many such comments are left by those, potentially even a majority on some platforms
The US is in a trade war with Canada. Like any country at war (even if they started it), there are people who consider every aspect of the other side to be the enemy.
Possibly a bot, but I doubt it. She appears to be part of the local niche community that the store serves. But I bet dollars to donuts that she consumes an awful lot of bot fare.
Yes, that’s EXACTLY it! Your Canadian imports are robbing hard working Americans of their jobs! The fact that we hardly make anything anymore so there are no jobs to steal is irrelevant to those people.
You read one post on your site, and you’ve “heard” similar comments? I think you need to develop a thicker skin. Just my opinion, of course, but if you allow yourself to be negatively affected by such a small sample of human stupidity, you are preparing yourself to be continually miserable.
Just wait until you are discovered by “influencers.”
I’m baffled. Canada is fantastic, as are Canadians. Never had a bad interaction in the US or Canada.
Even sat next to a Canadian retiree for a seven hour plane flight. Ended up with an invitation for our family to go visit his at their Ontario lake house.
I think FDR said it best:
I read in a newspaper that I was to be received with all the honors customarily rendered to a foreign ruler. I am grateful for the honors; but something within me rebelled at that word ‘foreign’. I say this because when I have been in Canada, I have never heard a Canadian refer to an American as a ‘foreigner’. He is just an ‘American’. And, in the same way, in the United States, Canadians are not ‘foreigners’, they are ‘Canadians’. That simple little distinction illustrates to me better than anything else the relationship between our two countries
Speaking of bots (but it applies to real people as well), set your facebook page so people can only comment on it if they’ve been a follower for at least X (minutes/hours/days). That will slow down the drive-by commenters.
Maybe they’ve been watching the South Park movie a bit too much? For those not familiar, it’s a movie from the early days of South Park that features the townspeople getting riled up and threatening to invade Canada.
The joke with South Park is they intentionally chose the most unimaginable country in the world for the United States to become hostile to.
Twenty-five years later, thanks to Donald Trump, the American government actually is hostile to Canada. Donald Trump: Turning the stupidest ideas into reality.
That said, this is superficial. Outside of Trump and his cult, Americans are not hostile to Canada. We know who’s at fault here.
Rather, given the number of posters who have worked hard and done their research to qualify for Canadian citizenship as large chunks of the USA goes off into right-wing nuttery, I think a lot of people are flat out envious of Canada right now.
In addition to Trump’s trade war with Canada, recall that he has also repeatedly indicated that he wants the U.S. to annex Canada, and make it the 51st state.
(So, yeah, the “hate” is all MAGA and trolling bot posts.)
