Only in Canada
Bob and Doug Mackenzie--Canadian stereotypes brought to life."You're Canadian? That's weird. I always thought Canadians were nice people."
"If I went to Canada, would people understand me if I spoke only English?"
"You Canadians think you're so much better than us. But you guys club baby seals to death."
"Why are you wearing your winter coat? It's 5 degrees celsius outside. You're Canadian...you should be used to the cold."
"You have no concept of politics because you're Canadian and your government does all your thinking."
These are just some of the many misconceptions people have about me when they find out I'm Canadian. The only one I haven't heard is that we're chronic complainers. Maybe that's because it's not a misconception. It's actually true.
We do complain a lot and we don't even realize it. I never realized it till I moved here. Canadians back home and expats I meet here complain about the obscene wait times in banks...spending 10 minutes in a lineup was unacceptable and evidence of a country rife with bureaucracy. Canadian women have complained about the audacity of public servants calling them "Mrs" instead of the customary "Ms" when their marital status hasn't been divulged. We're even encouraged to complain. A morning radio show rewarded listeners with cash for reporting the largest pothole in the road they'd seen that day so that it could be reported to the Department of Transportation for repairs.
So it comes as no surprise to me today when I read that the Premier of Canada's oil-rich province, (Saudi) Alberta, was giving every Albertan a $400 refund, they complained. Premier Ralph Klein decided to share the wealth amongst his province's residents and will be disbursing $1.4 billion within a couple of weeks. Most other nationalities would be thrilled to get money FROM the government instead of paying them. Not Albertans. Nope. Parents are complaining that their kids will only blow the cash on iPods or clothes they don't need. Even though I'm a complaining Canadian myself, I find this all a bit much.
I think a couple of months living in Moldova or Bangladesh might be the cure for our innate desire to complain.
"You're Canadian? That's weird. I always thought Canadians were nice people."
I'm guessing that comment came from one of the many people you've thrown out of your stores - just a guess!
As for those people in Alberta, I think they should just be beaten with a big stick until they stop complaining and/or die.
OR they could donate their unwanted money to charity instead. Yup, liking plan B better. They should do that.
Posted by
Anonymous |
29/12/05 19:46
Ellas...When I read the article, I thought the same thing...why not give the money to charity if they have such a problem with their kids buying things. As for the comment about my (lack of) niceness...yes, that comment I hear at the stores. LOL
Ethno...I really don't know where that tolerance tag came from. We really aren't that tolerant when it comes to rude or impolite behaviour. For instance, my home city is actually two cities joined together by two bridges. Every day at rush hour, the traffic towards the bridges is heavy. If someone were to cut me off on one of the many sidestreets leading to the main lane onramp of the bridge...someone will have a fit with that offending driver even if I don't. If I'm laughing at a Newfie joke (sort of like Pontios jokes here) another person who overhears it will inform the joke teller that it's not right to make fun of Newfies...even though my mother, who is a Newfie, is laughing too and not the least bit offended.But you're right...many Canadians feel superior to Americans and they do verbalize it...usually in the form of backhanded compliments like this:
Most Americans are great people even if they're not as educated as we are. LOL
Scruff...I thought Canadian Bacon and South Park are too funny. My fave scene in Canadian Bacon is when the truck Candy's driving has anti-Canadian graffiti sprayed all over it and the cop pulls him over. Thinking that he's about to be ticketed for the graffiti, he starts to apologize but the cop lets him know that Canada is bilingual so he must spray paint the graffiti in French as well as English. :-)
Posted by
The SeaWitch |
30/12/05 05:15
Ethno...I guess I should add that our tolerance usually refers to our tolerance of other people. We just don't tolerate 'bad' behaviour. I think I mentioned in another Canada post that we don't really need cops because we rat each other out anyway. LOL
Posted by
The SeaWitch |
30/12/05 05:17
"You're Canadian? That's weird. I always thought Canadians were nice people."
How could anyone not see you as nice?
Posted by
Anonymous |
30/12/05 10:52
Niko...flattery will get you everywhere. LOL I've asked myself how such a rumour circulated about my un-niceness and when I find the culprit, I'll fix his little red wagon. LOL
Scruff...now where did you get the idea that Canadians were lacking in self-confidence. Only Canadians would laugh at a song devoted to blaming them. Imagine if it was "Blame Greece" or "Blame France". What a stink that would be. LOL
Posted by
The SeaWitch |
30/12/05 15:29
NEWFIES ARE BETTER THEN ALBERTA PEOPLE!!!!!!!! IM NEWFIE B`Y
Posted by
Anonymous |
27/8/07 10:56
ALBERTA PEOPLE ONLY MAKES FUN OF US CUZ WE GETS JOBS IN ALBERTA THEY CANT GET JOBS CUZ THERE TOO LAZY NEWFIES ARE BETTER GO DIE IN A HOLE ALBERTA PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by
Anonymous |
27/8/07 10:58