# I'm an old Canadian and America is starting to freak me out **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 3, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546 "2016-11-03T18:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/121 "2016-11-06T05:59:41Z")
Everyone else knows who we are, but we don’t. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/122 "2016-11-06T06:20:41Z")
To be fair, we just read the tea leaves, it’s you guys who make and drink the tea. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/123 "2016-11-06T06:21:30Z")
_Due South_, a Canadian TV show, remarked on Canadian/American perceptions from time to time. In the pilot, Mountie Benton Fraser is doing some detective work: > [@](#): > > Herb Lantrell: You’re sure they were Americans, eh? > > Benton Fraser: They were all wearing new boots, they were driving a Jeep Wrangler, and they carried big guns. > > Herb Lantrell: Americans it is. ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/124 "2016-11-06T13:11:17Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Everyone else knows who we are, but we don’t. What are we elucidator? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/125 "2016-11-06T13:27:13Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > What are we elucidator? He doesn’t know, of course. Says so right in his post. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/126 "2016-11-06T15:01:06Z")
Used to know. Way back when I was but a lad, I knew. I knew that all around the world, wherever there were the hopeless, the fearful, the poor and oppressed…that when they heard the glad news…“The Americans are coming!”… they knew that the greatest military power in human history was coming to break their chains and gladden their hearts. Nothing wrong with that, except that it just wasn’t so. “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.” - Bob Seegar ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/127 "2016-11-06T19:36:05Z")
> [@Neo-Calredic](#): > > People keep saying this, but we’re talking about a man who has no understanding of how the government is supposed to operate, much less any trace of respect for anything that keeps him from getting what he wants the instant he wants it – and he’s backed by millions of frothing-at-the-mouth crazies. > > If you think Donald Trump is going to respect any check or balance that impedes one of his harebrained whims, you’re kidding yourself – and if the Republicans retain control of Congress and the House, they will be all too eager to assist him in tearing down the system. They know they are losing the culture war, and this could be their last chance to forcefully cling to any meaningful power and influence. They WILL cooperate with him, if it comes to that. > > This is not hyperbole. Look at Nazi Germany. Look at the Iranian Revolution of the 1970s – Iran went from one of the more progressive countries in the Middle East to a backwards, fundamentalist hellhole very quickly. Anyone who thinks it can’t happen here is a fool. Trump getting elected could easily be the first domino in a chain that leads this country to some very, very dark and ugly places. You do know that Iran was majorly unstable and the Shah was absolutely loathed by the population. And while Iran may have been progressive, its government was not – the Shah was basically a dictator in all but name. Not to mention that the U.S. and the U.K. had been behind a [previous coupe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat) to reinstate the him, after he had been kicked out and a democratic government put into place. Same with Nazi Germany – the Weimar Republic was a hot mess. So unless Trump has outside help, we’re NOT going to see Muslims herded into concentration camps, people. Relax. I’m not saying he won’t utterly suck as a president, because he will. The guy totally makes me think of Richard Nixon and Michael Pence creeps me out. But all this OH MY GOD, NUCLEAR WAR THE WORLD WILL END! is bullshit. Perspective here, people. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/128 "2016-11-06T19:57:48Z")
It’s just that the election is so close, and so close. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/129 "2016-11-06T20:29:13Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > It’s just that the election is so close, and so close. I don’t believe it’s anywhere near close; Clinton is going to have a large majority. Remember that it’s in the press’s interest to portray the contest as close. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/130 "2016-11-06T20:33:35Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > You do know that Iran was majorly unstable and the Shah was absolutely loathed by the population. I have been given to understand that the Shah was hated by lower socio-economic class, zealous religious people. Upper middle class, educated, less religious people liked him. Much had to do with his being pro Western. The poor naturally resented his wealthy life style. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/131 "2016-11-07T04:27:54Z")
I’m a 65 year old American, and like **the Flying Dutchman** said, I am also worried about America. Yes, I sure as Hell wanted the Vietnam War to end and fought for racial equality. It does surprise me that some of my “baby boom” generation has become conservative. (Actually, some _were_ conservative even back then. Students would argue with me for being against the Vietnam War. So, I’d ask them - “why don’t you give up YOUR student deferment”??? Yes, it is so easy to be an “armchair patriot” and an “anybody but me soldier”.) What really bothers me about America now is the fact that “creationism” is becoming so popular. :mad: I grew up during the “race for space” and the Cold War. Now being intelligent and educated is nerdy and it seems Americans have been given permission to become stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/132 "2016-11-07T05:16:40Z")
As a young(er) Canadian I don’t think I agree that (most?) Trump voters are racially motivated… IMO they’re just willing to overlook an incredible amount to have the chance to stick it to “the man”. Kinda like Brexit, only I think they have more of an idea what they’re asking for this Tuesday. Like the OP I _am_ very worried about a lot of very non-trivial alliances, agreements and understandings, as well as some internal institutions I’ve always admired like NASA. I’ve never been sure if the 2-party American system encourages divisiveness, or if American politics was driven by society, but regardless of who wins it seems pretty clear that about 40% of Americans really disagree with the other 40%. Even if Hillary wins it seems to be that she’s got 4 years to be the president everyone though Obama could be, or 3rd-party candidate Trump wins it. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/133 "2016-11-07T14:00:44Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > What are we elucidator? We are Devo. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/134 "2016-11-07T15:16:55Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Another Boomer who would rather choke to death on her own vomit before voting for Trump. Please don’t generalize. You’re sure to be wrong. I’m not the only one generalizing: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2016/10/25/7d0c6a62-9aef-11e6-b3c9-f662adaa0048\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2016/10/25/7d0c6a62-9aef-11e6-b3c9-f662adaa0048_story.html) And yes, I know not all boomers are trump fans (never said that), but they are his base. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/135 "2016-11-07T21:37:06Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I’m not the only one generalizing: > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2016/10/25/7d0c6a62-9aef-11e6-b3c9-f662adaa0048\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2016/10/25/7d0c6a62-9aef-11e6-b3c9-f662adaa0048_story.html) > > And yes, I know not all boomers are trump fans (never said that), but they are his base. That’s complete bullshit, and Dana Milbank is a contrarian troll who shouldn’t be taken seriously. It’s not that “not all boomers are Trump fans”, it’s that there’s very little correlation there at all. One would have to be a complete moron to believe that boomers are “his base”. It’s true that old farts of the baby boomer variety are slightly more likely to be Trump supporters than snot-nosed kids, but it’s a weak correlation compared to much stronger demographic factors, like stupid uneducated white men of any age. More precisely, the _Atlantic_ breaks the Trump demographic down into these categories, taken directly from the article section headings: [ul] [li]They Didn’t Go to College[/li][li]They Don’t Think They Have a Political Voice[/li][li]They Want to Wage an Interior War Against Outsiders\*[/li][li]They Live in Parts of the Country With Racial Resentment[/li][/ul] \*Meaning they want an authoritarian style of government to deal with perceived issues like illegal immigrants and Muslims > **[Who Are Donald Trump's Supporters, Really?](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/who-are-donald-trumps-supporters-really/471714/)** > > Four theories to explain the front-runner’s rise to the top of the polls. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/136 "2016-11-07T22:06:54Z")
As I’ve said before, it is a ‘close the door after ME’ way of thinking and it is kind of Human Nature. I saw a lot of it in the martial arts. People get a ‘rank’ belt and then get the idea in their head that while they earned it, the people after them are inferior. People will jam themselves into a crowded sale or bus and then demand that the door be shut after them. Likewise, people move into an area and then don’t like it when people who look, believe or just belong to a different clan move in. When we drove up in northern Minnesota, there were a lot of Trump signs in bumfuck nowhere. In places like this, there is a steady stream of people moving out, as kids grow up, see nothing for them, or want different, and head off to the big city. The people who stay behind are those that inherited the family farm or business. Or just work in the same old places and never move because they have no great ambitions. So if, for example, 10,000 Icelanders were to suddenly show up, buying places, taking up low end jobs, starting businesses, there would be a lot of anger, because they’re competition and outsiders, and the locals don’t know their language or customs. ---
**Author:** ![KatTP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@KatTP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KatTP)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/137 "2016-11-07T22:59:13Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > So, if you’re Canadian and old, do you still have to shovel your own walk, or does the Government send a guy around to clear it for you? > > Asking for a friend. Funny story. I moved into a new town(southwestern ontario)as single mom with two kids and during the three winters I lived there someone shovelled my driveway almost every snowstorm. If I had to shovel my way out to get to work, by the time I came home it was completely cleared. Never did find out who it was. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/138 "2016-11-08T01:18:17Z")
> [@KatTP](#): > > Funny story. I moved into a new town(southwestern ontario)as single mom with two kids and during the three winters I lived there someone shovelled my driveway almost every snowstorm. If I had to shovel my way out to get to work, by the time I came home it was completely cleared. Never did find out who it was. Sounds like Arkansas. Mrs. Plant, (v.2.0) while bragging how she and other Northerners knew how to drive in snow got her van stuck in a light snowfall here. A guy couldn’t pull her out with his truck, and borrowed a very large truck to get her back on the road. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/139 "2016-11-08T02:02:50Z")
Southern snow is indecisive, hence treacherous. ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546/140 "2016-11-08T03:13:25Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Used to know. Way back when I was but a lad, I knew. I knew that all around the world, wherever there were the hopeless, the fearful, the poor and oppressed…that when they heard the glad news…“The Americans are coming!”… they knew that the greatest military power in human history was coming to break their chains and gladden their hearts. > > Nothing wrong with that, except that it just wasn’t so. > > “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.” > > - Bob Seegar You’re really good at never saying anything. And prose. Fuck do you have prose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-old-canadian-and-america-is-starting-to-freak-me-out/770546.md?page=8)