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.
What useful purpose did you expect your initial post to achieve might I ask? Did you expect we'd just take your word for it and issue a carte-blanche agreement that Canadian ESL students are dissing on America while teaching Asians? An apology perhaps? Really?
For the THIRD time, it is in my experience a minority of young Canadians who engage in such things. And I'm pretty sure every Canadian I've ever met (including countless from Ontario) more or less concurs with my analysis of the varying degrees of anti-Americanism in Canada amongst the regions/provinces. Do you disagree?
So so sorry for airing some dirty Canadian laundry here. And no, I don't want an apology. I actually posted this because this type of behavior is damaging to my country, and even more damaging to Canada.
It actually reminds me of the relationship between Korea and Japan (of course totally different history). Koreans as well-liked as they are personally, have a negative reputation for wearing their own inferiority complex on their shoulder by slagging the ever graceful Japanese. It does them no good, and the anti-American strain in the Canadian psyche does Canada no good.
I think a lot of Canadians are simply mistaken for something else when they travel abroad and most likely it is being an American. This immediately gets your back up and you kind of make a proclamation that no, I'm not American i'm Canadian. Similarities yes but also differences. I'm not so sure it is an inferiority complex as much as it is a defense mechanism for our own culture and values and really our own identity.
When I travel (I don't shame the U.S) but if I am mistaken as American I will state that I am not. I think Americans need to have some empathy in the sense that if you travelled and were mistaken as Canadian or something else- you too would defend your own national identity. It wouldn't be to slight Canada, just to set the record straight about who you are as representative of your country. Additionally, and I think it needs to be said - rightly or wrongly or perhaps somewhere in between, the U.S doesn't have a fantastic reputation in many countries around the world and we as Canadians know this, thus making proclamations that we are not American and are different is possibly a wise move depending on the country you are visiting. Believe me, I don't need to start a conversation about America with many people in distant lands - once they know you are not American they quickly can open up about the disdain they have for elements of Americana. This is something that the U.S needs to address and not Canada.
Beyond all that, if Canadians are intentionally slighting the U.S and engaging in nationalistic superiority than I agree with your comments. I just find you are probably embellishing things and making a mountain out of a mole hill with respect to how Canadians portray the U.S.. I really think at its root - its just to differentiate ourselves from another country which is fair really. You may have an amusing and ironic tale, but by and large I think it is an outlier example and not the norm.
Yeah , yeah with your patronizing "Canada is awesome but all those young Canadian ESL teachers who diss on the U.S. .......and further "I've talked to many Asians who confirm this for me" stuff. Now it's me who is obsessing over America.
S-E-N-S-I-T-I-V-E is the person who noticed this while teaching in Asia and thought to mention it here as a problem for the masses to consider. Couldn't just write it off as an anomaly not worth dealing with, could you? But we're sensitive?
You eptiomize the American who thinks the world is standing on the brink holding their collective breath waiting for that little positive acknowledgement from an American "I think you guys are awesome but......".
We get that you've zeroed in on Canadians as the major culprits and now narrowed it down even further to Ontarians; nice compartmentalization thingy you got going there.
You show up and criticize Canadians and now especially Ontarians and it's us that is being obsessive when we, or I in this case, disagree and further hypothesize I've got decades of experience of the exact same behaviour being practised by the whole spectrum of age groups of Americans while they travel abroad.
I can match you story for story of anecdotal crud I've experienced in countries all over the world of Americans dissing on many other countries, even their host country, and Canada has not escaped their derision unscathed.
What useful purpose did you expect your initial post to achieve might I ask? Did you expect we'd just take your word for it and issue a carte-blanche agreement that Canadian ESL students are dissing on America while teaching Asians? An apology perhaps? Really?
For the THIRD time, it is in my experience a minority of young Canadians who engage in such things. And I'm pretty sure every Canadian I've ever met (including countless from Ontario) more or less concurs with my analysis of the varying degrees of anti-Americanism in Canada amongst the regions/provinces. Do you disagree?
So so sorry for airing some dirty Canadian laundry here. And no, I don't want an apology. I actually posted this because this type of behavior is damaging to my country, and even more damaging to Canada.
It actually reminds me of the relationship between Korea and Japan (of course totally different history). Koreans as well-liked as they are personally, have a negative reputation for wearing their own inferiority complex on their shoulder by slagging the ever graceful Japanese. It does them no good, and the anti-American strain in the Canadian psyche does Canada no good.
Oh alrighty; you're striking a somewhat conciliatory tone now. I can certainly dial it back a tad.
I find it particularly interesting you chose Korea and Japan as your two comparators and further you once again mentioned "inferiority complex" while attributing "the ever graceful Japanese" to Japan.
I take it you're at least passing familiar with the history of the two countries? You are confusing "inferiority complex" to unbridled loathing generated from not just mere decades of mistreatment of Koreans at the hands of the, up until recent history, warmongering Japanese.
While Wiki is never the authoritative source one would desire, it does lend some insight:
The Japanese people are generally reviled by older Koreans and as in every other country where the history suggests it, especially in the far east, that is passed down to the younger generations.
in consideration of the health and well-being of the Canadian posters here...I thought I'd post something written by a Canadian. Less stressful than hearing it from an American.
For the THIRD time, it is in my experience a minority of young Canadians who engage in such things. And I'm pretty sure every Canadian I've ever met (including countless from Ontario) more or less concurs with my analysis of the varying degrees of anti-Americanism in Canada amongst the regions/provinces. Do you disagree?
So so sorry for airing some dirty Canadian laundry here. And no, I don't want an apology. I actually posted this because this type of behavior is damaging to my country, and even more damaging to Canada.
It actually reminds me of the relationship between Korea and Japan (of course totally different history). Koreans as well-liked as they are personally, have a negative reputation for wearing their own inferiority complex on their shoulder by slagging the ever graceful Japanese. It does them no good, and the anti-American strain in the Canadian psyche does Canada no good.
Third time?
You did say "I had a dollar for every time I've been told by Koreans, Japanese, Chinese that they had a Canadian ESL teacher who said bad things about my country, I could have retired by now."
Which doesn't indicate to me that we are talking about a small group.
You mentioned " minority" once when you posted
"My lord, I've called Canada awesome in this thread, and pointed out that it is a minority of young Canadian ESL teachers who behave in this manner...and look at the hornet's nest I stirred up"
However in this thread you never did say it was a minority, until then.
So if it is a minority of ESL teachers…why the fuss?
I don't dislike Americans but I'm not fond of some of their attitudes towards our healthcare, military and accent. Some Americans (not all) seem to look down on us almost as though we're not as important.
I've come to the conclusion that if a few Americans seem to look down on us as being less important than them it's not important what those particular Americans think. It's not worth stressing out over it because there's nothing I can say or do that's going to change their minds anyway and why should I try when they aren't important enough to me for it to make any difference? It's just the way a few of them are and their misconceptions are their loss, not mine. Not all Americans are like that, it's only a few of them are like that and they are the ones who like to jerk other people's chains. So don't let them jerk your chains and don't respond, because they are not important and their opinions are of no consequence. Chain jerkers come from all nationalities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxie89
American's don't like to be criticized is something else I notice.
Nobody likes to be criticized. It doesn't matter what country people live in, nobody likes to be criticized. Everyone wants to be well thought of. It's easy for people to be critical of other people when the criticizers are hiding behind the anonymity of internet. If you want to jerk their own chains then just ignore them because criticizers hate to be ignored.
No matter what the feelings "on the surface". I think a lot of the population in any society has a little bit of sympathy for the "outlaw"; by that, I don't mean outright criminals, but that segment of the population which is willing to "bend and test" society's norms and restrictions just a bit further. And it's here that the United States, a nation founded and developed by the misfits and outcsts of Europe, and later on, willing to assimilate people from every culture, possibly holds an unrecognized advantage. With regard to the opinion of Canadians, I suspect there's a great deal of variation depending upon the circumstances of the individual.
It's been noted many times that the American and Canadian economies are so deeply intertwined that a separation is impossible; and as the scenario of globalization and interdepence has unfolded, Canada is going to be drawn into that votex whether she wants it or not, simply due to the necessity of her interdependence with the ecoNOmic power which is expected to add the greatest element of stability as the world'S economies equilibriate.
To cite one examole, it's my understanding that the long-term financing for residential mortgages, which was a prime component of the 2007 economic meltdown, has also been slowly intensifying "north of the border" for many years as a younger population, and one with a higher percentage of foreign-born citizenry, makes its influence felt in Canada. With its own central banking system, Canada need not. for example, subject itself to the perils which came to light due to the excesses fof the American Federal Reserve. But exaclly how "a line might be drawn" is a subject for someone more familiar with the mechanism.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 02-03-2014 at 07:07 PM..
So if it is a minority of ESL teachers…why the fuss?
Even if it is just a minority, teachers often teach hundreds if not thousands of students a year, especially in the large English academies in places like Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai. And there are tens of thousands of Canadian ESL teachers in Asia and around the world, maybe even 100,000? even if only 10% indulge a little slagging on America, the audience for such would be in the millions.
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.
