“South Park” DIDN’T make fun of Canada, you oversensitive Bozo!
The hilarious “South Park” like the stupid-boring-waste-of time “Canadian Bacon” were anti-AMERICAN movies! The whole point of both films was that Americans are so eager to blame their problems on somebody else, they’ll even go to war with an innocuous country like Canada.
Apart from those two examples, WHERE do you see Americans making fun of Canada? If anything, the silliest comic stereotypes of Canadians are created by other Canadians! It was Canadians (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) who made up Bob and Dougf “How’s it going, eh?” McKenzie!
I’d go with “friendly rivalry” or “continental-sibing rivalry,” myself. I’m not sure what the issue is. I hear enough Canadian radio (haven’t seen Canadian TV for 20 years) to know that there is quite a bit of the same sort of humor aimed at your southern (northern if you live in Windsor) neighbor.
You can find the same thing going on here, on this MB. There are a lot of jokes made at the expense of Canada. On the other hand, there were so many anti-U.S. jibes coming out of Canada for a while, that WallyM7 started nailing his fellow Canadians in the Pit on the subject.
People make fun of people. Each of our countries is close enough (and similar enough) to make good targets. Outside a few idiots on both sides of the St. Lawrence or the 49th Parallel, most people don’t mean anything by it.
One place I see a lot of Canadian jibes is on the show Who’s Line Is It Anyway? They’re always making fun of Colin Mochrie for being Canadian, usually whenever he does something odd. But it’s all in friendly jest… the same way they make fun of Drew’s show, Ryan’s shoes, Clive’s hairline, etc. On the British program, they were constantly making fun of American’s not understanding British terms (like jelly for Jello, etc.), so I don’t think Canada is necessarily being singled out.
One reason it’s easy to make fun of Canada is that there’s nothing wrong really with Canada, which make most, if not all, jokes pretty safe.
It’s just good-natured ribbing… and the best way to fight back is to make fun of Americans and how stupid their Canadian jokes are (“I knew an American who’s Canadian joke was so dumb…”).
Skott
P.S. Anybody who takes themselves seriously should seriously be made fun of :}
Americans may poke good-natured fun at Canadians, but Canadians actively dislike Americans. I know which I prefer.
I’m Canadian, and I have spent my life listening to my family, neighbors, and fellow students rant about how awful the U.S. is (and often attacking the people themselves, as opposed to U.S. government policy).
You have to understand that Canadians have a huge inferiority complex. We think we’re better than Americans, but you Americans have the gall to not listen to us.
Admittedly, this attitude is beginning to fade away, because our cultures are blending together. We have basketball teams, you have expanded hockey. We have Free Trade, and so many Canadians have moved to the U.S. that most families have relatives who are now U.S. citizens. But when I was in College back in the cold war days of the 1970’s - 80’s, campus conversation just dripped disdain and even hatred of the U.S.
I don’t know why. I love the U.S. and people are people. I’ll judge someone after I get to know them, and not before.
I’m Canadian. And personally, I think the dumb Canadian jokes are funny.
In fact, whenever I visit the States, I deliberately try to enforce the Canadian stereotype, like saying “aboot” (wherever the hell that came from) and “eh?” as often in conversation as possible. Hey, got me (and a friend of mine from New Jersey) to the top of the World Trade Centre for FREE!
To Max, I say: Patience, brother. Let the American fools have their little jokes. Then, while they are helpless with laughter, we strike!
It always bothers me when people use the term American to mean Citizen of the United States of America. I know that is rather unwieldy, but it is accurate. Also, Canadians are Americans. They live on a continent called “North America” and therefore don’t really have a choice in the matter. American is a broad term that cover the inhabitants of two continents.
Feel free to disagree, almost everyone I have ever met does.
Canada is more similar to Europe than to most of America, at least as far as their public systems (traffic signs, roads, etc.) and linguistics (if it bilingual in America, it’s usually English and Spanish so all the illegal Mexicans can read it). I think of Canada as being what the 13 Colonies would have become if that little unpleasantness in 1776-1781 had gone the other way. Anyway, from my experience, we Americans think of Canada as being that rather large country to the north with socialist systems and all the threat of your average chipmunk (sorry, I just thought of a chipmunk dressed as a mountie), with their money (c’mon, loonies and toonies? That’s what we call crazies and cartoons, respectively) and that odd metric system (Which we all have an aversion to because elementary school was meters and kilograms while real life is feet and pounds, giving us not one reason to actually learn it, just to suffer through it. Never thought I’d relive the word problems of seventh grade, but here I am complaining about them. Damn your base-ten measurements that make logical sense! :D) which you insist on using, making our brags about going 100 in our old car all of a sudden seem about as exciting as putting the hammer down in a Yugo. This is turning into a rant, but I lived in Minnesota (Worthington, extreme southwest corner) for a year and it’s the same experience, substituting the British elements for Scandanavian ones and replacing the metric system with jello salads. Lots of jello salads. Ah well, I’d rather live near Lutherans than Catholics. Less emphasis on sacrafice and more jello salads.
Well, pretty much anywhere I work or go to school, as soon as it is discovered that I am a Canadian (at work, it wasn’t until I had visa issues) the jokes start. Ok. Once in a while, fine. But it gets so repetitive as to be quite annoying. And where the !@#$ does “aboot” come from? Suddenly, although they’ve never heard me say it before, they’re looking for it every time I ask about something? And then there’s “eh” and the perenial “Canada isn’t a real country” or the new South Park induced “Blame Canada”.
I mean, I have a sense of humour, but it gets a little repetitious…
While fishing in and around International Falls, MN, I heard enough “aboot” to make a guy batty. However, it was pronounced that way by people on both sides of the border. (See Fargo) That accent is a regional thing and doesn’t seem to give a damn about our sovereign nations.
Are you nuts??? Those bastards bombed the Baldwins. I do not call that innocuos.
I hear this A LOT. I will not disagree with you, because it is true. But I think for one, it is nitpicking, and two, there is no better term for “Americans”. What do you suggest?? United States of American? Too long, too dumb. USAnian Hell no!
Besides, Canadians may be North Americans but they are not Americans. Until there is a better term I will go on calling myself American, and Calling you freaks Canadian.
I’ve heard it explained that Canadian views of the US are much like that of a younger to an older sister. The younger accuses the older of simultaneously ignoring her and running her life.
So consider it this way. All the jokes mean we are no longer ignoring you.
Someone once said that the most striking thing about Canada is that it is not part of the USA. When I was growing up a lot of kids used to wonder why Canada never got mentioned in American sitcoms and movies. How it could be there and not be noticed. Maybe Canadians keep a low profile on purpose. They refuse to win medals at the Olympics, for instance, because they’re scared of losing their independence to the USA. And every time a new Children of the Korn movie comes out it just gets worse. Movies like that, maybe John Carpenter’s Vampires etc, give me faith in Americans as fearless defenders of the weak and oppressed. But maybe they just scare Canadians.
Of or relating to the United States of America or its people, language, or culture.
A citizen of the United States.
sure, it also covers the people and things in other parts of north america, but it is not incorrect to use it to refer to a USA citizen.
I never said it was incorrect to use it as a term for citizens of the United States of America. It would be foolish if it were any other way. I only meant to point out that saying things like, “Americans think Canadians are slow,” or, “Canadians hate Americans,” don’t make a hell of a lot of sense as Canadians are a subset of the larger set that includes all Americans.
I know some really stupid but funny Canadian jokes. Wanna hear them?
Oh, wait. I got racked the last time I made a Canadian joke. Well, actually it wasn’t a Canadian joke, it was about Americans but a bunch of dumb Canadians THOUGHT it was a Canadian joke and got all mad. I better skip it.
I know that southern americans will not appreciate this but,
mostly growing up I heard Americans referred to as “Yanks” -
which I beleive is also the term most used by the british.
Gee, I’ve never been called an oversensitive Bozo before…
Perhaps I should clarify a little. I'm not really offended by jokes about Canadians, just annoyed. There are two main causes of this annoyance. First, the jokes usually don't make any sense at all. Even the whole "eh" thing doesn't have much of a basis. I do not ever recall saying "eh" in a conversation, ever, and have only met ONE person who does (and she's from New Brunswick; she spoke that way due to being from the maritimes, not due to being from Canada). Second of all, the jokes don't observe the ettiquette that one shouldn't tell jokes making fun of other "groups" (sorta like how a comedian has to be jewish to make jokes about jews, and has to be black to make jokes about black people); it's just not cool.
By the way, if the South Park movie wanted to accurately make fun of americans using Canada as a scapegoat, it would have portrayed Canadians as totally normal people (execpt exceptionally intelligent and beautiful, of course :D), NOT flappy-headed and beady-eyed.
Besides, when Canadians make jokes about americans, they tend to have a basis in something real. For example *ahem*: "From a geographical perspective, it makes no sense that the united states are more powerful than Canada. Look at a map. We're bigger than them, and we're on top. If this were prison, america would be Canada's bitch!" That's at least based on something concrete, unlike stupid "aboot" jokes that many yanks seem to find so funny.
The term “Yanks” is on the same slightly derisive level as “Canucks”. They even have one sports team each. And, correct, Southerners don’t usually warm up to that designation.
Otherwise, I believe “aboot”, etc. comes from the Scottish influence which is stronger in Canada.
Btw, Max, the joke about the U.S. being Canada’s bitch is just plain bizarre.
