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indie55
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indie55
608 posts
Nomad

As an American I have often wondered what other people thought of it. I've always been curious about how this country is viewed by people in other countries and see how they feel about it.

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wolf1991
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wolf1991
3,437 posts
Farmer

Well, it isn't culture in a traditional sense. There's no real ground work for it. We just sorta showed up hundreds of years ago and took the Americas one piece at a time, then said, "Come to Canada and America! We'll take your culture and make it our own!"

I know a lot of Europeans don't see a difference between a Canadian and an American, and it's easy to see why sometimes (calm down Britain I know you still love us XD).

The things that seperates Canada from America are actually really interesting. Well, at least to me.

1. Canadians have more of a group mindset. Our politics, and policies reflect this. We look out for ourselves, yes, but we also try to look out for others.

2. Winter. Where I live is actually further south than many northern states, but the rest of Canada, well it's cold. It's very cold in the winter. Except BC, that's very temperate. But the point is, this does define us. Our growing seasons are shorter, a lot of Canadians aren't afraid of the cold. I acutally mock people who are

3. Britain. Unlike America Canadians didn't rise in revolt. Mainly because we're just passive in such a way it's eerie. America revolts and Canada waits almost another hundred years. Also, we're still close with the Brits. For godsake the minute the Queen decides to visit the media has a frenzy! Most sane people don't care, but, our reporters are all over it.

4. We have a lot of land and a population count lower than the state of California. Most people live in Ontario and Quebec. We're spread out, and it kind of relates to the whole look out for each other mentality a lot of Canadians have.

5. We still deal with the French. Quebec still wants to separate. Or at least the crazies do. There's still that crazy gene floating around. We have a freaking plotical party DEDICATED to Quebec!

Map. Not the southern part of Ontario. It's in THAT region I live. Please also note how it is further south than a lot of other states in the north. This is important, I once had met a couple from Minnesota while in Niagara Falls, the wanted to know why there was snow on the ground, it was July.

sprooschicken
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sprooschicken
1,143 posts
Nomad

i think your wrong about the global perception of canada, most people look on cananda favourably, i see it in many ways as what america could have been

wolf1991
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wolf1991
3,437 posts
Farmer

i think your wrong about the global perception of canada, most people look on cananda favourably,


Oh, don't get me wrong, I know the global perception of Canada. But, while I was in France a few years ago, people confused me for an American despite my Canadian key chain I carried. When I explained to them I wasn't American they became nicer, though I admit it was insulting.

Belgium and the Netherlands love Canadians. Belgiums especially. Canada liberated them in WWII and they're a people who don't easily forget their history.
sprooschicken
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sprooschicken
1,143 posts
Nomad

@armed blade

see^^ thats what i eman by america being hated people dont want to socialise with americans as they have a very very poor world image where as the canadians (in europe at leats) is very complimentary

Avorne
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Avorne
3,085 posts
Nomad

I can really take or leave the USA, it has its good points and its bad ones just like any other nation and I feel that Americans can be somewhat overbearing and blinded to the goings on in the rest of the world, I do love Canadia though <3

Armed_Blade
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Armed_Blade
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Shepherd

1. Canadians have more of a group mindset.

Right and we don't have people pushing for healthcare, a universal, group effort.

2. Winter


Born in houston, you can keep your pack ice

3. Britain. Unlike America Canadians didn't rise in revolt

I'd say lots of people are proud of that. We started a spur of revolutions around us.

We have a freaking plotical party DEDICATED to Quebec!

They're the 32nd largest economy in the world if they secede, and their culture, religion, and language is a lot different. I don't see why that's an issue, even though I suppose the party would be a little sectionalist and not as dedicated to an entire country.

as nearly all Americans don't have passports and have never and will never leave there own borders, which is frankly shameful!

Nearly all?
37% of us do. [Or numbers relatively close to that amount]
And I think it's stupid when people make that argument.
Our Nation is huge. I've been to a lot of states. Much like a European may have traveled a lot in Europe. The only international roaming I've done in my life [quite a lot of it ] is in Pakistan because my family goes there to visit, otherwise, I doubt I'd have a passport. Our lack of 'internationalism' is something that disgusts Europeans, but it's kind of obvious.
Our nation's foreign policy started out as isolationist, kind of like China's. Also, we're an Ocean across from much of the rest of the Western world.
I have been to Canada, though. Toronto is nice, well, the nice part of it . It's a bit of an old city. Driving there was fun there's this insane highway called Qew or something and if there's one thing I learned about Canadians and all the extra land they have -- they speed like hell. Lol
Anyway, yeah, besides Mexico or Canada, not many people would spend 4,000 USD for a vacation in Europe just to be more international. I mean, Europeans have cultural ties to other nations. They find it socially and livingly acceptable to 'have to see paris' at least once in their life or something like that. I don't see why that's an issue if we like our own states. I mean, traveling to Alaska is just as much of adventure for some people in Pittsburgh as Germany may be to a person in the UK.

but the thing that really irritates people are three little letters, EST! people hate these,


I've met people from all sorts of places that say 'my spot's the best'!. I don't think anyone really means it, and I don't think any sane person means it in a way to express pissing all over the rest of the globe.

Look at Chinese people [that aren't involved in business] -- many of THEM don't leave their own borders. Their nation is BIG, too.
Heck, Russia even has an INTERNAL passport.

So honestly, just because someone didn't take a tour of France, does not mean they are 'ignorant'.

see^^ thats what i eman by america being hated people dont want to socialise with americans as they have a very very poor world image where as the canadians (in europe at leats) is very complimentary


What on earth can I do if we have a bad global image? I just think it's wrong that you're putting the blame entirely on America. I don't know many Americans that just overtly express the glorification of this nation all across the globe. It might be an innate idea, I don't know, but just because some kid in France doesn't like me doesn't mean it's my fault. That's ridiculous. Our bad global perception could come from many reasons.

Also, wolf, I think it's funny how you say that people in Belgium love Canadians for their liberation, whilst the rest of Europe hates us and we were a contributing factor to the war. Did they just happen to remember a piece of history or what?
wolf1991
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wolf1991
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Farmer

Also, wolf, I think it's funny how you say that people in Belgium love Canadians for their liberation, whilst the rest of Europe hates us and we were a contributing factor to the war. Did they just happen to remember a piece of history or what?


Dude...I wasn't attacking America, I was pointing out our cultural differences...

No, that wasn't even what I was getting at...just... nevermind.
Maverick4
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Maverick4
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As the only super power left after the Cold War, we're the biggest and baddest at the table because we are the only people at the table.

We've got our flaws, but so does every nation.

Armed_Blade
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Armed_Blade
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Shepherd

Dude...I wasn't attacking America, I was pointing out our cultural differences...


Haha yeah I know. I was just trying to connect these things back to the thread seeing as I noticed a lot how people kept citing other good things that nations have done, yet they keep portraying America as some fat monster that glorifies itself.

and good comment, Maverick.
Darkroot
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Darkroot
2,763 posts
Peasant

As the only super power left after the Cold War, we're the biggest and baddest at the table because we are the only people at the table.


It's debatable and I don't see how that matters.

I read this a while ago on reddit.

The thing I love most is the patriotism. I moved here from the states and just never really felt or believed patriotism there. It's all "We're #1" just because we're America while all around me I saw anything but. Bush ran the place for 8 years, we constantly fell behind in education, got deeper in debt, went to war, and just did worse and worse as a country. Canada doesn't have that. They don't say their number #1, and when they do it's because they earned it. Take the Olympics. They didn't go in their assuming they'd win at everything. They knew they'd been lagging behind in previous ones and invested millions of dollars to train athletes and "own the podium" and were one of the most dominant countries at the Olympics. Even being outside Canada at that point it was amazing to watch.


Pretty interesting perspective from an American who visited Canada and seeing some comments it seems pretty true in general.
sprooschicken
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sprooschicken
1,143 posts
Nomad

i have never never never ever heard anyone but americans say that their country is the greates

hhhhm, fair copp about the passport, except russians do travel, all my frineds that have gone travelling have siad that russians are the people they see most travelling around asia and europe

oh and the reason why chinese people dont travel is because they cant!?! many are very very poor, i call moot point!

and no, you cant do anything about americas world image, the thing that gives us the stereotype are your spokespeople when ameriican politicians or media personalities visit they give a very poor representation of the us

Armed_Blade
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Armed_Blade
1,482 posts
Shepherd

i have never never never ever heard anyone but americans say that their country is the greates


Guess you'd have to talk to diff. people, I dunno..


oh and the reason why chinese people dont travel is because they cant!?! many are very very poor, i call moot point

I call insanity? They have more English speakers than the US and a federal budget that has a surplus and they're creditors of the American economy and you just assume they're all poor? That's freaky.

Infact, the Chinese can travel, with some restrictions, of course, from the international world, but they can, it's just that many of them travel a lot more in their own country, same thing with Russians. I'm sure they travel, when there's so much of Russia to see to begin with I'm sure if you ask a traveling Russian he'll tell you he's been to St. Petersburg, Moscow, etc, as well as wherever they are at that point.


your spokespeople when ameriican politicians or media personalities visit they give a very poor representation of the us


This, I can't disagree on
sprooschicken
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sprooschicken
1,143 posts
Nomad

and! yes their economy is good, but that doesnt benefit the avergae man in any way

Strop
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Strop
10,816 posts
Bard

All the way from page 2:

Being a Muslim, I can tell you one of the worst things about America is it's fake diversity. We always clamor around talking about all the Asians and Black people we have running around. But really, if they're not assimilated as one big block of American mass then they're excluded a lot.


This is an interesting comment to make, from a former US resident I heard this: "Everything in America is either black, or white. If you're Hispanic, you can be a black Hispanic or a white Hispanic. Nobody really knows where the Asians fit into that."

Thing is, I wouldn't necessarily call this a charge worse than everywhere else. After all Britain and Germany have both recently declared themselves diversity failures: "multicultralism is dead". Australia, arguably the most multicultural of countries (and most lacking in any one identity), is always finding a new ethnic group to make trouble with (in the last decade, Vietnamese, Lebanese and Syrian, Sudanese, even Indian!) Refreshingly, this year has been relatively free of race-war headlines as attention turns once more to the longstanding issue of illegal immigration and people smuggling!

From the same post:

Americans do have a lot to be proud it. We are symbolic of individualism and ever since the 1940's, we've been bosses. I don't see where they claim superiority in 'blind ignorance'. America's done a lot.


Let's grant this, and then further suggest that while America as a country means and has done a lot, that it stands now as a symbol of how not to run the world, and the unsustainability of the philosophy of life of the idea that founded it. Up to now its dominance has spoken for itself, now the results of it, and the constant speculation of its decline and allegely imminent irrelevance, also speaks for itself.
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