YankAbroad

Incidentally, as one of those queers myself, I wouldn't call Martin a boon to gays. His position on marriage right up to the Supreme Court's ruling was that civil unions would suffice -- pretty much the same as Harper (which is why all the dissembling was so dishonest). The same Canada-watchers screaming with alarm from the USA about how the pending Conservative government represents the end of gay rights in Canada were busy in 2004 endorsing a candidate -- John Kerry -- whose own views on gay equality under the law was considerably to "the right" of both Harper and Martin alike. Agh, if only people would think for themselves. . . we humans are a strange breed.

I don't think Canadians have anything to be ashamed of -- naked bigotry against groups of people to win votes is something I dimply recall happening in the USA as well! The important thing is that Canadians uphold the values of tolerance which they say they hold. . . demonstrating that commitment. I just wanted to point out why, from a Yankee perspective, such comments are hurtful. You guys do know that, outside the bluff and bluster of America's "public face to the world," we do harbor a fondness for the Dominion -- it's one reason we care about what's said and why the PM's using one's nationality as a perjorative is a sting.

I would, but you wouldn't like the answer much, because as someone who is a Yank but has also lived in Canada and Britain (and unlike most Canadians, speaks fluent Québecois), I have a few things to point out about Canada which the average latté-swiller on Bloor Street or moose-hunter in Medicine Hat wouldn't want to hear either.

How retarded is it to get into a big debate about something Tucker Carlson or Ann Coulter say? Both of them are in the same bucket as most senior Canadian government officials, the Bush administration, the Chirac government in France, the Labour Party in Britain, etc., etc., etc. -- i.e. assholes and idiots. Think for yourselves, rather than looking for some reason to justify your smug and unjustifiable sense of superiority because you popped out of mom's uterus 50 miles north or south of some arbitrary line. Egads. Americans and Canadians bitching at each other and pointing out how different and superior they are is like a Brooklynite arguing with someone from Queens over the same topic. To the entire universe outside of the debate, they're all the same anyway.

The fact he didn't include his own town's name in that declaration only proves that the popular Canadian pretention to be "smarter and better educated" than Americans is largely misplaced. I generally agree with the rest of your posting (except in a couple of minor areas). The only thing I'd add is that the USA is generally far more bilingual in daily practice than Canada -- while official Canada is bilingual and there is French on cereal boxes, government policy has largely ghettoized French into Quebec and a couple of isolated enclaves -- while Spanish is on the rise all across the USA (despite not being an "official" language).

Well, speaking personally, the worst racism I ever saw was in Canada when I lived there -- a black African friend of mine and I went for a road trip across Ontario from TO to Thunder Bay. Once we got west of London, people started "looking at us funny." (She's black and from Zimbabwe, I'm white and male). Some guy started warning us that "we'd better be careful, couples like you can get in trouble around here." When I explained I was gay, and she was just a friend, he scowled and walked off. We went into a hotel in rural Ontario and the innkeeper made a point to tell us he would only give us separate beds and would NOT under any circumstances give us a double room. I don't know what was more offensive -- the idea that we were a couple simply because we were mixed-gender, or the idea that we were a couple but an interracial couple shouldn't sleep together. I drove through the deep South and encountered racism here and there (blacks being waited on after whites despite being in front of the line), but never to the degree of what I saw in Canada. YMMV. . .

I normally don't get too upset with knee-jerk anti-Americanism. When you've been around the world as I have, it's easy to get accustomed to stupid people who are ready to pre-judge you based upon your nationality, gender, accent, sexual orientation or other characteristics. But I really must admit, as a US national who lived for several years in Canada, I am taken aback by Paul Martin's latest advertising. That some people in Canada don't like Americans because they are American is nothing new -- the "Council of Canadians" being one big example (imagine a "Council of Americans" whose sole policy position was to take the piss out of Canucks every few days!) But I read about the Liberal Party ads and decided to listen for myself. Here's are some text snippets of the ones which struck me the most: "Canada may elect the most pro-American leader in the Western world. . . a Harper victory will put a smile on George W. Bush's face." "This is what Stephen Harper told his American friends" (said with "American" being emphasized as a perjorative) "Who paid for Stephen Harper's rise to the top? We don't know. He refuses to reveal his donors. What do you suppose he's hiding? We do know he's *very* popular with right-wingers in the US. *They* have money." I have to admit the hatred was jaw-dropping. I mean, here is a party governing a country where 1 in 30 residents is a US citizen, either through birth or migration, preaching hatred against Americans just because they're Americans. But rather than go into a lengthy description of why this is hatred, just take a look at what a single word substitution does to these Liberal Party ads. The hatred sorta jumps out when the "American" is changed to another nationality, ethnicity, etc. "Canada may elect the most PRO-JEWISH leader in the Western world. . . a Harper victory will put a smile on Ariel Sharon's face." "This is what Stephen Harper told his GAY friends!" "Who paid for Stephen Harper's rise to the top? We don't know. He refuses to reveal his donors. What do you suppose he's hiding? We do know he's *very* popular with JEWS in the US. *They* have money." Hmmmm. . . I'm not a fan of Harper, but I don't think a conservative government will do Canada any harm. It certainly won't hurt Canada one bit to reject the sort of hate speech that is going for political advertising in the election at the moment.