Canadians are not a hateful people

[kool maudit]

a thread about english canada maybe or maybe not "hating" quebec was just closed, and with good reason. you can only imagine what we might have gotten up to in there.

in my experience, canadians are not an outwardly hateful people. canadians do not hate quebec, they do not hate alberta, and they do not hate america.

canadians hate feeling unimportant and uninteresting.

while they may employ props like quebec or america in order to provide (when necessary) a reasonable counterfeit of what some people call passion, they essentially don't care about the thing itself.

they just don't want to feel slighted, or be ignored.

so while we may be insecure, resentful, suspicious, angst-ridden, or in need of emotional release, we are not, at the heart of our collective, a hateful people.

we're just a petty one.

[rousseau]

Liar!

[Procrastinational]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

a thread about english canada maybe or maybe not "hating" quebec was just closed, and with good reason. you can only imagine what we might have gotten up to in there.

in my experience, canadians are not an outwardly hateful people. canadians do not hate quebec, they do not hate alberta, and they do not hate america.

canadians hate feeling unimportant and uninteresting.

while they may employ props like quebec or america in order to provide (when necessary) a reasonable counterfeit of what some people call passion, they essentially don't care about the thing itself.

they just don't want to feel slighted, or be ignored.

so while we may be insecure, resentful, suspicious, angst-ridden, or in need of emotional release, we are not, at the heart of our collective, a hateful people.

we're just a petty one.

I certainly wouldn't describe Canadians as hateful.

I know there are people in other parts of Canada that disagree with Alberta's politics, but they don't hate Alberta by any means. Same thing goes for the States. We certainly like to boast that we have better social services (*Healthcare*) than the States, but I think that's a function of feeling like we are under America's shadow in terms of how the world sees us, and has nothing to do with "hate". I know plenty of people from other countries that just assumed Canada was just an extension of the US.

As far as Quebec goes, I think it's a little more nuanced... Some Anglo Canadians don't have the highest opinion of Quebec, but I think that is more of a result of some hostility from Quebec towards the English part of the country in the first place. I think the notion that French Canadians have a very special culture that is "superior" to that of the rest of Canadians and should be given special status above other cultures in the country just rubs some people the wrong way.

On the whole though I don't think we are hateful at all.
Maybe a little bit of resentment is all.

[kwoldtimer]

Canadians are only allowed to hate Toronto and the weather. Anything else would not be polite.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

I've travelled through the Balkans. Beautiful place. Very interesting people. As someone who now lives there, you likely have a much clearer idea of what 'hate' actually means and how it can manifest itself. We just don't have it in us.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Canadians are only allowed to hate Toronto and the weather. Anything else would not be polite.

Not even the oil sands?

That's a very very short list...

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Canadians are only allowed to hate Toronto and the weather. Anything else would not be polite.

The horrid 40+ humidity of summer is something I'm sure every sane person can agree to hate.

[MTLskyline]

The most unbearable place I've been in the summer is Venice. I visited last year and the regular temperature was only around 32C, but the humidex made it feel like 47 or 48C. That kind of heat and humidity is oppressive. Budapest had a much drier heat of 38C which was much more tolerable.

Montreal gets a few days each year with a humidex over 40, but it is not the norm. Summers here are just about right, although I wouldn't complain if they were less humid.

[TriWolf]

I live in Alberta, it's very different here, so many rednecks :s

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Liar!

This. I hate winter, economy cars, and Koalas.

[Razor]

No we are not hateful, but what we can be is pompous and self righteous..I shudder when I see how some Canadians act towards especially Americans in a social setting..You can almost predict the topics..Iraq, our Healthcare, supposed better education, etc.

The Ugly (non hateful though) Canadian.

[HomeInMyShoes]

There are lots of things I hate.

[Vaillant]

Canadians like to bring us down! Next referendum and I will stand and vote YES!

[SignalHillHiker]

Not hateful, but certainly self-righteous. There seems to be a striking and growing blend of arrogance and ignorance, the latter of which bothers me more. (EDIT: I mean this to apply to use too, by the way).

Specifically for Newfoundlanders, I don't think we're especially hateful either. We're very stubborn, and seem to have made a tradition out of being defiant when there is absolutely no justification or benefit in doing so. But not hateful the point of not being able to talk about what grieves us.

Whether it's our political (not personal) relationship with Quebec, Confederation, Joey Smallwood, Anglican/Catholic, Urban/Rural, Federal/Provincial... none of the dividing lines in our society are strong enough that a friendly debate is impossible across them today.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Razor

No we are not hateful, but what we can be is pompous and self righteous..I shudder when I see how some Canadians act towards especially Americans in a social setting..You can almost predict the topics..Iraq, our Healthcare, supposed better education, etc.

The Ugly (non hateful though) Canadian.

I shudder because I keep seeing variations of this in the forum, although more often about how Canadians from one region allegedly behave badly in their interactions with other Canadians.

I think you need to start associating with a better class of people!

[GreatTallNorth2]

I always thought Canadians were polite and kind because that is what I was told all my life. The fact is that we are nice face to face and we say sorry to everyone, but put us behind the wheel of a car and people show their true colours. Despite the fact that we have loads of space and massive roads, we hate each other if someone does the slightest thing wrong in a car. Contrast this with the British. I've never seen such polite drivers who despite having little space are very gracious behind the wheel.

[mr.John]

Originally Posted by Vaillant

Canadians like to bring us down! Next referendum and I will stand and vote YES!

Do your parents know your using the computer?

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by mr.John

Do your parents know your using the computer?

Have you seen his photos? He can post whatever he wants!

[Antigonish]

Originally Posted by Vaillant

Canadians like to bring us down! Next referendum and I will stand and vote YES!

Good luck with that.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Vaillant

Canadians like to bring us down! Next referendum and I will stand and vote YES!

I'm with you - not because I feel Canada is keeping us down, but just because this federation is too large with too many competing interests to succeed. Right now, I'm closer to Rome, Italy, than Victoria, B.C. It's ridiculous that my federal government has to balance the views in Victoria with mine and everyone's in between. Especially when enough of those voters are choosing a conservative ideology and path for the federation that has little support here.

Quebec's independence will almost certainly expedite the process of finding a less frustrating solution, whatever it may be. I'm not necessarily opposed to some form of surviving political union, but not a federation with so much control over us based in Ottawa. This isn't some battle between good and evil, or some poetic liberation. It's just not working. In the end, there will be things that were better under the federation, and things that improved with its end. But it'll be our own doing, at least.

So, go Quebec!