Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As with most things in life, the anti-american brainwashing to which we are subjected during most of our childhood gets overturned pretty quickly by experience and reality of the States.
I agree that most people with firsthand experience of the US have a more nuanced view of it, but who is "we" above? You make it sound like anti-americanism is rooted in people with a political agenda when it's really just dumb people who don't know anything and therefore hide behind generalizations to conceal that fact.
People often have overly simplified priors about what they don't know, be it the US or refugees or Muslims or First Nations or Evangelicals. I don't see a conspiracy theory in that.
I agree that most people with firsthand experience of the US have a more nuanced view of it, but who is "we" above? You make it sound like anti-americanism is rooted in people with a political agenda when it's really just dumb people who don't know anything and therefore hide behind generalizations to conceal that fact.
Some are hardly ignorant. Some such as Pierre Trudeau a/k/a Trudeau the Smarter even went to law school Stateside. He milked anti-Americanism for political purposes. I don't know if Paul Martin ever went to school in the states but he was a frequent visitor. His ads showed a Canadian flag morphing into an American flag if Harper was elected. I consider that lying or, let's be charitable and call it cynicism.
Quote:
Originally Posted by barneyg
People often have overly simplified priors about what they don't know, be it the US or refugees or Muslims or First Nations or Evangelicals. I don't see a conspiracy theory in that.
Overall, where there's smoke, there's fire. In the case of Muslims there are plenty that are decent, but do nothing to out the militants or outright murderers. Jews have stereotypes of being smart and financially savvy. I am a proud Jew but will admit that when I hear about a financial fraud I know that there will be lots of Jewish names involved.
In the case of the U.S. even though I am a proud U.S. citizen I'll admit that we are brassier and more jingoistic. A friend of mine from Winnipeg calls us the "Excited States of America." Most stereotypes have some basis in fact.
Some are hardly ignorant. Some such as Pierre Trudeau a/k/a Trudeau the Smarter even went to law school Stateside. He milked anti-Americanism for political purposes. I don't know if Paul Martin ever went to school in the states but he was a frequent visitor. His ads showed a Canadian flag morphing into an American flag if Harper was elected. I consider that lying or, let's be charitable and call it cynicism.
Overall, where there's smoke, there's fire. In the case of Muslims there are plenty that are decent, but do nothing to out the militants or outright murderers. Jews have stereotypes of being smart and financially savvy. I am a proud Jew but will admit that when I hear about a financial fraud I know that there will be lots of Jewish names involved.
In the case of the U.S. even though I am a proud U.S. citizen I'll admit that we are brassier and more jingoistic. A friend of mine from Winnipeg calls us the "Excited States of America." Most stereotypes have some basis in fact.
The same could be said of Buddhism. Currently Buddhist monks are slaughtering Muslims in Myanmar.
I agree that most people with firsthand experience of the US have a more nuanced view of it, but who is "we" above? You make it sound like anti-americanism is rooted in people with a political agenda when it's really just dumb people who don't know anything and therefore hide behind generalizations to conceal that fact.
People often have overly simplified priors about what they don't know, be it the US or refugees or Muslims or First Nations or Evangelicals. I don't see a conspiracy theory in that.
I don't know if you've ever lived in Anglo-Canada (I know you're from Quebec City and have lived in the U.S. I think), but there is IMO an undercurrent of anti-Americanism there that is quite a bit stronger than what you find in Quebec.
What lookyhere described is pretty much what I experienced growing up (outside Quebec).
There is anti-Americanism all over the world for sure.
But what exists in Anglo-Canada goes beyond marching down the street in Montreal (or Barcelona or wherever) against Bush's war in Iraq.
It cuts a lot closer to the bone given that Anglo-Canada sees the U.S. and (what it thinks is) its real face up close like no one else in the world does.
It's the difference between your neighbours who've never been in your house criticizing you, and being criticized by neighbours who have a 24-hour CCTV view of every room in your house.
Some are hardly ignorant. Some such as Pierre Trudeau a/k/a Trudeau the Smarter even went to law school Stateside. He milked anti-Americanism for political purposes. I don't know if Paul Martin ever went to school in the states but he was a frequent visitor. His ads showed a Canadian flag morphing into an American flag if Harper was elected. I consider that lying or, let's be charitable and call it cynicism.
Overall, where there's smoke, there's fire. In the case of Muslims there are plenty that are decent, but do nothing to out the militants or outright murderers. Jews have stereotypes of being smart and financially savvy. I am a proud Jew but will admit that when I hear about a financial fraud I know that there will be lots of Jewish names involved.
In the case of the U.S. even though I am a proud U.S. citizen I'll admit that we are brassier and more jingoistic. A friend of mine from Winnipeg calls us the "Excited States of America." Most stereotypes have some basis in fact.
I tend to be non-PC in this way as well. In most of North America it's not a popular way to be these days. Including about 75% of Canada!
The same could be said of Buddhism. Currently Buddhist monks are slaughtering Muslims in Myanmar.
I would love to know the back-story on this, and whether the Buddhists are in retaliation mode. It would not shock me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
I don't know if you've ever lived in Anglo-Canada (I know you're from Quebec City and have lived in the U.S. I think), but there is IMO an undercurrent of anti-Americanism there that is quite a bit stronger than what you find in Quebec.
I don't find that much say from Barrie on north in Ontario (not sure of Ottawa though), Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta. I think those areas and the Atlantics are rather warm to the U.S. I think your hotbed of anti-Americanism is Montreal through Windsor and the Left Coast.
I would love to know the back-story on this, and whether the Buddhists are in retaliation mode. It would not shock me.
The Guardian has been following the story for awhile. Here is their latest article:
Quote:
Ahmed said teenagers and adults were shot with rifles, while babies and toddlers, including his youngest daughter, six-month old Hasina, were thrown into the water.
Ahmed cried as he described seeing his wife and children die, meticulously naming and counting them on both hands until he ran out of fingers.
More than 160,000 of Myanmar’s 1.1 million ethnic Rohingya minority have fled to Bangladesh, bringing with them stories that they say describe ethnic cleansing.
I don't find that much say from Barrie on north in Ontario (not sure of Ottawa though), Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta. I think those areas and the Atlantics are rather warm to the U.S. I think your hotbed of anti-Americanism is Montreal through Windsor and the Left Coast.
Maybe the anglophone minority in Montreal are like this but most francophones don't really care about such things and frankly are a bit insular when it comes to affairs elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.
Sure, most people here think Trump is a dick or a clown but it doesn't go much beyond that.
In Quebec, the U.S. isn't seen as an embarrassing, rogue relative like it is in the rest of the country.
If anything Quebec is probably the place in the country where you are most likely to occasionally meet very pro-USA people, and see people sporting USA t-shirts and the like. This admiration of the U.S. is admittedly very superficial and based on shiny object imagery, but it's still noticeable.
It's one of the first things I noticed when I moved to Quebec from Ontario: cars and trucks with "America" replacement front licence plates, USA t-shirts and other clothing. It's not something you see all the time of course, but more often than elsewhere in Canada where you NEVER see this.
To many people in Quebec the U.S. is very alluring because it's truly foreign. You don't get that much in the rest of Canada because things are too close for comfort.
Maybe the anglophone minority in Montreal are like this but most francophones don't really care about such things and frankly are a bit insular when it comes to affairs elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.
Sure, most people here think Trump is a dick or a clown but it doesn't go much beyond that.
In Quebec, the U.S. isn't seen as an embarrassing, rogue relative like it is in the rest of the country.
If anything Quebec is probably the place in the country where you are most likely to occasionally meet very pro-USA people, and see people sporting USA t-shirts and the like. This admiration of the U.S. is admittedly very superficial and based on shiny object imagery, but it's still noticeable.
It's one of the first things I noticed when I moved to Quebec from Ontario: cars and trucks with "America" replacement front licence plates, USA t-shirts and other clothing. It's not something you see all the time of course, but more often than elsewhere in Canada where you NEVER see this.
To many people in Quebec the U.S. is very alluring because it's truly foreign. You don't get that much in the rest of Canada because things are too close for comfort.
Is it true that in Quebec at one point in time there was a sliver of a movement advocating joining the US??
Maybe the anglophone minority in Montreal are like this but most francophones don't really care about such things and frankly are a bit insular when it comes to affairs elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.
Sure, most people here think Trump is a dick or a clown but it doesn't go much beyond that.
In Quebec, the U.S. isn't seen as an embarrassing, rogue relative like it is in the rest of the country.
If anything Quebec is probably the place in the country where you are most likely to occasionally meet very pro-USA people, and see people sporting USA t-shirts and the like. This admiration of the U.S. is admittedly very superficial and based on shiny object imagery, but it's still noticeable.
It's one of the first things I noticed when I moved to Quebec from Ontario: cars and trucks with "America" replacement front licence plates, USA t-shirts and other clothing. It's not something you see all the time of course, but more often than elsewhere in Canada where you NEVER see this.
To many people in Quebec the U.S. is very alluring because it's truly foreign. You don't get that much in the rest of Canada because things are too close for comfort.
I'd be careful about "NEVER" ...."more often than elsewhere" sounds reasonable but
stating never and even using capital letters...not too sure about that, you've been everywhere in
Anglo Canada and can confidently state that....like my old high school math teacher liked to say
"beware of absolutes"
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
