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But I hope there aren't that many Canadians who'd rejoice in the ignorance of certain Europeans, even if there is kind of an indirect compliment for them buried somewhere in there.
I do enjoy correcting ignorance, no matter where it comes from, especially when that ignorance has created a hateful attitude towards someone.
My Hagen Daz story is an example of another type of ignorance that I enjoy correcting since the dutch guy had to rethink his own prejudice and perhaps open up his world a bit.
I do enjoy correcting ignorance, no matter where it comes from, especially when that ignorance has created a hateful attitude towards someone.
My Hagen Daz story is an example of another type of ignorance that I enjoy correcting since the dutch guy had to rethink his own prejudice and perhaps open up his world a bit.
I do enjoy correcting ignorance, no matter where it comes from, especially when that ignorance has created a hateful attitude towards someone.
My Hagen Daz story is an example of another type of ignorance that I enjoy correcting since the dutch guy had to rethink his own prejudice and perhaps open up his world a bit.
Just out of curiosity Nat, are these stories recent or from the distant past?
Just out of curiosity Nat, are these stories recent or from the distant past?
Fair question. Some were a long time ago in the early 1990's. Some as recent as 2008, in regards to the European stories. My US stories...well LOL they still happen since I travel there more frequently, and US tourists in Vancouver are plentiful. As I said in an earlier post though, I find things better now than before.
Perhaps the internet has helped, although some people still don't do any research before they travel, which is fine, as long as you aren't the type of person to stamp your feet and have a hissy fit because the country you are in does things differently. ( like the tourist I heard the other day demanding USD back from their USD )
EDIT: I should had that I really dislike snobbery. It generally comes from Europeans...I'm NOT saying all, since most are really great people, it's just that if I do encounter it, it is usually a European. You know the usual assumptions that in Canada and the US all we eat are hamburgers and that our cultures are just a thin veneer of plastic etc.
Which reminds me of another story! Not a snobbery story, but just ignorance. A friend from Australia was visiting in Vancouver. ( this was in the mid 1990's or so ). He had never been to the US, had no interest in the US. I was doing another road trip to L.A. He came along at my insistence. I knew from conversations that he didn't think the US has any nice small towns. ( I KNOW THIS IS ABOUT AS STUPID AS STUPID GETS ) My plan was to stop in Ashland, Oregon.
That changed his mind, so by the end of our trip he realized how wrong he was since we visited a lot of nice places. He now travels to California every few years and enjoys it immensely. Mission accomplished
My wife was in Tennesse last week and she asked a store clerk if such and such was valid in Canada? The clerk asked my wife,"what state is Canada in?" That would just never happen in Canada and we laugh because we run into things like that all the time in the USA. It's because the Canadian system of education is vastly superior than that of the USA. The public education is the same if you are from a working class area or from the richest area in the country. That illustrates another big difference between us. In Canada the division between the classes of society have been largely broken down. The kids of modest means really don't think the rich are any better or deserving than they are.
I'm not trying to bash the States here I'm just convinced after 56 years that Canada is light years ahead of the USA when it comes to social progress and humanism in the good sence.
I agree with you almost entirely, however I do wonder in which country you learned to spell "their". Must have been in the USA, right?
Fair question. Some were a long time ago in the early 1990's. Some as recent as 2008, in regards to the European stories. My US stories...well LOL they still happen since I travel there more frequently, and US tourists in Vancouver are plentiful. As I said in an earlier post though, I find things better now than before.
Perhaps the internet has helped, although some people still don't do any research before they travel, which is fine, as long as you aren't the type of person to stamp your feet and have a hissy fit because the country you are in does things differently. ( like the tourist I heard the other day demanding USD back from their USD )
EDIT: I should had that I really dislike snobbery. It generally comes from Europeans...I'm NOT saying all, since most are really great people, it's just that if I do encounter it, it is usually a European. You know the usual assumptions that in Canada and the US all we eat are hamburgers and that our cultures are just a thin veneer of plastic etc.
Which reminds me of another story! Not a snobbery story, but just ignorance. A friend from Australia was visiting in Vancouver. ( this was in the mid 1990's or so ). He had never been to the US, had no interest in the US. I was doing another road trip to L.A. He came along at my insistence. I knew from conversations that he didn't thing the US has any nice small towns. ( I KNOW THIS IS ABOUT AS STUPID AS STUPID GETS ) My plan was to stop in Ashland, Oregon.
That changed his mind, so by the end of our trip he realized how wrong he was since we visited a lot of nice places. He now travels to California every few years and enjoys it immensely. Mission accomplished
Good stuff, thanks for sharing. I am sure we all have these stories to share because these things do happen, but it is nice when you can straighten someone out and open their mind a bit.
Another reason why I asked that question is because I personally have noticed a change between the Bush vs Obama years. I remember I was in Madrid a few weeks after Obama was elected and was chatting with my cab driver. He kept saying "me gusta como Obama...El es el mejor presidente del mundo" or something to that effect. The guy was giving me high fives and everything over it. Cant say Bush induced the same reaction
I will say that currently, even with all the turmoil in the region I have been treated with nothing but respect when working/living in the Middle East. Of course I am not American, but when asked where I am from I say Boston, since that is where i reside currently. So despite my non american accent I am viewed as American unless people want to dig deeper.
Sorry folks, but a significant proportion of "Canadian pride" is based in finger-pointing at Americans.
I'm not sure where you get that this was "the most popular advertising campaign in Canadian history". Most Canadians I know have a little more sense than to go all googly-eyed for patriotic and/or edgy political statements found in beer commercials put on TV by American-owned brewing conglomerates.
I'm not sure where you get that this was "the most popular advertising campaign in Canadian history". Most Canadians I know have a little more sense than to go all googly-eyed for patriotic and/or edgy political statements found in beer commercials put on TV by American-owned brewing conglomerates.
Once again... ''We Canadians are *above* such things..."
Obviously you were never in a bar or at any type of gathering when that ad came on the tube back in the day.
I'm not sure where you get that this was "the most popular advertising campaign in Canadian history". Most Canadians I know have a little more sense than to go all googly-eyed for patriotic and/or edgy political statements found in beer commercials put on TV by American-owned brewing conglomerates.
Actually those ads were put on TV by a 100% Canadian owned company. They aired between 1994 and 2005.
P.S. Even post-merger, Molson Coors is not owned by Americans. It is jointly owned by Canadians and Americans, as it was a 50/50 merger of equals; the Chairman in fact is Mr. Molson, not Mr. Coors.
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As I said in an earlier post though, I find things better now than before. 
