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May 26, 2004, 08:43 am
| #1 (permalink) (top) |
| Igneous Magma Posts: 156 | Canadians should be careful not to appear "boastful" to Americans, who are insecure because of the war in Iraq and admit they are annoyed by northerners showing off the red maple leaf on their luggage when they travel, a recent federal report warns. In focus groups held this fall in four U.S. cities where the federal government is opening consulates, Americans acknowledged they don't know much about Canadians and have low awareness that the country had not supported the U.S. in the war in Iraq. "Some participants expressed a certain amount of annoyance at what is perceived as a systematic attempt by Canadians to make the statement that they are not Americans by sporting the maple leaf," said the recently released report. "This underscores the American sensitivity at feeling rejected by the rest of the world . . . ." A front-page story in the New York Times this week, which declared that Canada's stance on social issues is opening rifts with the U.S., is unwittingly confirmed with the earlier findings of the report. Canadian comedian Rick Mercer said at a recent Toronto show that being attached to America is like "being in a pen with a wounded bull," joking that between gay marriage and pot smoking, "it's a wonder there is not a giant deck of cards out there with all our faces on it." The report says even Americans who blame the Bush administration to some extent for the country's poor relations with the world do not seem to understand why friendly countries and neighbours such as Canada would want to distance themselves from Americans. For instance, an American from San Diego is quoted saying: "What bugs me about Canadians, if I may, is that they wear that damn patch on their bags, the Canadian flag patch. That way, they differentiate themselves from us." Another one from Raleigh, North Carolina, notes that Canadians are "very patriotic," freely acknowledging they are from Canada while abroad. "Americans will tend to not even want to tell people because they think they'll get bad vibes from them," added the participant. The report is based on eight focus groups conducted in September by Millward Brown Goldfarb in San Diego, Raleigh, Denver and Houston where Canadian consulates are in the process of opening. Pierre Bechard, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, said Millward Brown Goldfarb was paid $49,543 for the October report and focus groups. He said the findings will act as a baseline for the consulates to work to understand how much Americans understand about Canada and how they feel about their relationship with their northern neighbours. From the findings, federal employees opening the consulates will have their work cut out for them. Most participants said they were "shocked" by a fact sheet about Canada that they were presented during the focus groups. "A few express some concern over the U.S.'s implied dependence on Canada for energy . . . However, Canada should be careful not to appear "boastful," which could backfire, as Americans do not like to be reminded of any kind of dependence on another country," the report warned. It says while there is definitely some resentment at Canada's refusal to join the Americans in the war with Iraq, it is currently tempered by "a feeling of uncertainty as to whether the war should have been waged at all. "Also, unlike France, which is viewed as having forcefully opposed the States, Canada is viewed more as having stayed on sidelines. This suggests that, as long as there are no more harsh and strong criticisms of the U.S. by Canadian officials (there was one mention of the incident where U.S. President George W. Bush was called a "moron" by an aide to Prime Minister Jean Chretien), the American public will not bear a strong grudge against Canada," said the report. It says most participants felt the current Chretien government has been somewhat hostile but they surmise "that it does not reflect the opinion of the majority of Canadians -- especially Western Canada, which they see as closer to the U.S. in terms of values." NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 C. The Russians used a pencil. |
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May 26, 2004, 09:41 am
| #3 (permalink) (top) |
| Igneous Magma Posts: 156 | What do you mean by commentary? You want me to bring some football commentators from Sky Sports? NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 C. The Russians used a pencil. |
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May 26, 2004, 09:44 am
| #4 (permalink) (top) |
| Navy Veteran  Location: Texas Posts: 6,031 | He wants you to add your thoughts to the discussion and not let the words of others be the entire debate I think. Einstein's "Theory of Relativity" is still being challenged to this day, but by consensus Global Warming is a fact... that's REAL science at work, why didn't Albert just go that route? |
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May 26, 2004, 09:48 am
| #5 (permalink) (top) |
| Igneous Magma Posts: 156 | Well, I agree with it all. Us people from countries who behave and follow international law are not afraid to go abroad and tell people what countries we are from. Unlike Americans who would never tell anyone that they are American. They tell everyone that they are Canadian instead. NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 C. The Russians used a pencil. |
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May 26, 2004, 10:01 am
| #6 (permalink) (top) | ||
| Playful  Location: Groningen, the Netherlands Posts: 805 | Quote:
Quote:
furthermore I don't like generalizing everyone in a country of ~250 million people. <!--QuoteBegin-BaconButty@ are not afraid to go abroad and tell people what countries we are from. Unlike Americans who would never tell anyone that they are American. [/quote]As advised. And this is not always true, when Americans travel to Europe they tell they are Americans. btw, why not say it? you can tell if they are Americans by hearing them talk, so there is no point in hiding it. Only when they travel to dangerous countries it is advised to hide your country of origin. <!--QuoteBegin-BaconButty They tell everyone that they are Canadian instead. [/quote]I would consider that smart, in these times. But you do realize you are achieving nothing by stating such things? Only responses from nationalistic Americans which will argue how great everything is in America and how jealous everyone is of them. And how, because of envy, they are now forced to resort to such things. And you know what, they might partly be right. Regardless of the truth, the preconception of what an American is, works against them, even though they might be the nicest persons in the world. Some I know even are. | ||
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May 26, 2004, 03:04 pm
| #8 (permalink) (top) |
  Neo Moderator  Location: England Posts: 5,469 | pointless thread War is Peace Freedom is Slavery Ignorance is strength Harness the power of Ingsoc, then you can capture someone killed the year before |
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