Sometimes I wonder if it's a bit a product of canadian history. We have a long, unfortunate history of almost being annexed to the United States (war of 1812 anyone? XD). Plus, we're a relatively small middle-power country that depends financially on an economic giant to the south of us. It doesn't help that most of our major media comes from the US. It's almost a bit by default that canadians construct for themselves a not!american view of their identity.
That doesn't make it right though. And it's sort of fundamentally problematic. What's a canadian? not an american! ... so, it's an itallian? XD
Plus, I get a little miffy when canadians go on and on about social/economic/cultural problems in the US (because we get a surprising amount of american news in Canada). Hello, but it's none of our damn business! Stupid people creating false pedestals for themselves.
There's a lot of good done by americans too. Sometimes I want to shake people a little over that. I mean, it wasn't the CANADIAN GOVERNMENT that sent people to the moon. Where the hell would science and medicine be without the US? I mean, seriously people. :p
To be fair to my countrymen, I don't think that canadians think that americans are bad people. Like, they wouldn't walk up to you on the street and be like: pfft, american? You clearly eat children.
It's just that they buy into the stereotypes more than they should. Michael Moore movies do incredibly well in Canada. Why should we care if there's a problem with gun trafficking in the US? (Well, partially because most illegal firearms in Canada funnel in through Philadelphia but that's not the point! XD). I'm sure you see what I mean.
I take the view that people who are jerks happen to be jerks. I've met a lot of canadians who deserve a good kick in the teeth. As much as canadians LOVE to say - oh, we don't do that - we're CANADIAN. We're SOCIALIST. We're MULTICULTURAL -- it's not like the 49th parallel somehow divides us into a shiny utopia of moral rightness. XD
But, I have a pet theory that this is starting to change in Canada. I think that within the next 50 years there's going to be a quiet buyback of canadian identity to something that's more, well, legitimate.
(This only really applies to english canadians though. French canadians already had their cultural revolution. XD)
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Re: *couldn't keep quiet*
Date: 2008-03-14 01:32 am (UTC)That doesn't make it right though. And it's sort of fundamentally problematic. What's a canadian? not an american! ... so, it's an itallian? XD
Plus, I get a little miffy when canadians go on and on about social/economic/cultural problems in the US (because we get a surprising amount of american news in Canada). Hello, but it's none of our damn business! Stupid people creating false pedestals for themselves.
There's a lot of good done by americans too. Sometimes I want to shake people a little over that. I mean, it wasn't the CANADIAN GOVERNMENT that sent people to the moon. Where the hell would science and medicine be without the US? I mean, seriously people. :p
To be fair to my countrymen, I don't think that canadians think that americans are bad people. Like, they wouldn't walk up to you on the street and be like: pfft, american? You clearly eat children.
It's just that they buy into the stereotypes more than they should. Michael Moore movies do incredibly well in Canada. Why should we care if there's a problem with gun trafficking in the US? (Well, partially because most illegal firearms in Canada funnel in through Philadelphia but that's not the point! XD). I'm sure you see what I mean.
I take the view that people who are jerks happen to be jerks. I've met a lot of canadians who deserve a good kick in the teeth. As much as canadians LOVE to say - oh, we don't do that - we're CANADIAN. We're SOCIALIST. We're MULTICULTURAL -- it's not like the 49th parallel somehow divides us into a shiny utopia of moral rightness. XD
But, I have a pet theory that this is starting to change in Canada. I think that within the next 50 years there's going to be a quiet buyback of canadian identity to something that's more, well, legitimate.
(This only really applies to english canadians though. French canadians already had their cultural revolution. XD)
Oh, I do so babble on.
-T. pirate