I’m back from my vacation down in the United States, and will return to blogging with regularity as soon as possible.
To celebrate my return to this frigid, yet comparatively sane country, I felt it worthwhile to relay a list of five items which I saw during my travels which the locals thought was perfectly normal (I presume), but which freaked the heck out of me as a Canadian.
#5
A trucking company which hauls all manner of freight throughout the deep south of the U.S. which calls itself a “Christian company” (the very idea of which seems as bizarre to me as a “Christian dog”) and which requires that its trucks to carry religious and political messages. The messages I saw included:
It’s not a choice, it’s a child
and
God loved us so that he gave his only son.
#4
A breakfast creation in upstate New York called “Stuffed French Toast”. What does “Stuffed French Toast” entail, you naïve non-American might ask? It’s French Toast (which, keep in mind is cooked in butter) stuffed with bacon, eggs and processed cheese (which they proudly call ‘American processed cheese’, I presume, to distinguish it from real cheese which could, after all, be French and/or offer unAmerican nutritional content). But here’s the kicker: on top of your “Stuffed French Toast” cooked in butter, you will find… a square of butter.
#3
A massive billboard in South Carolina just outside of Georgia which read:
“Victory is great, but honor is greater. Defend your Southern heritage.”
#2
A letter to the editor pasted proudly on a business door in Key Marathon, Florida by the business owner discussing how immigrants today are a disgrace to immigrants from the start of the 20th Century. The letter details how people need to read history because in 1901, when the business owner’s grandfather came to the country, he didn’t ask for any government handouts like modern immigrants are asking for. So modern, non-English-speaking immigrants are greedier than the immigrants from 100 years ago and thus do not recognize the value of hard work and don’t appreciate why America is great. (I’m not concocting a straw man here, this is, as best as I can recall, the structure of the argument). Apparently, nobody told the letter-writer that in 1901 NOBODY got government handouts (other than cheap land which WAS aimed at immigrants) because there weren’t significant government social programs until after World War II.
I guess the purpose of the letter was for other people to read history, not for the letter writer to read history.
#1
Casa D’ice, a restaurant located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which features political messages as their signature claim to fame. Among the political messages they put up under their restaurant’s name and proudly reproduced on their website include:
Wow, makes me glad I can’t go there without first trying to get a waiver. Why bother?
As an American, all five bother me greatly as well. Well, not so much the French Stuffed Toast bit. I’ve seen worse on the menus of the dives in my area. But the Casa D’Ice boards…they’re enough to make me want to move to Sweden. I’d rather live in another country than share this one with closed-minded bigots. Or maybe the rational Americans should just make them move to another country…
Agree with Cody. Many Americans are ashamed and angry at the way the loud-mouth right gets all the attention overseas, so everyone thinks the whole country is as redneck, bigoted and stupid as the casadice sign-maker.
About #3: I believe that one’s called The Coronary Triple-bypass Special.
Ah, free speech. That’s what makes America great. BTW you missed the point of #2. His grandfather was a legal immigrant and worked hard on his own to make it. Today, you have to offer spanish services because today’s illegal immigrant think they are entitled to come here and have us cater and give everything to them. Americans are tired of trying to buy something but can’t understand the clerk because they don’t speak english. No other country requires it’s citizens to conform to illegal immigrants customs instead of required the illegals to conform to the countrys customs. It’s gotten so bad an english speaking only cheesesteak eatery owner got sued because he requested all orders be made in english.
Re: #5: Some American’s are very vocal about their supposed personal relationship with Jesus, get over it. Most of us think they are freaks too.
Re #4: “poutine”. Nuff said.
Re #3: You need to understand that the “traditional” South has a _huge_ chip on its shoulder regarding that little dust-up in the late 19th century. They have been taking shit from the North and West for more than a century (rightly so I think) and respond by a retreat to faux-nationalism. Consider a true son of the South to be something akin to a Quebecois, but at least the rest of us are not forced to pretend their linguistic eccentricities are anything more than another reason to laugh at them :)
Re #2 & #1: Yeah, we have assholes down here. Plenty to go around. Want us to share a few with you? I would happily duct-tape the case d’ice guy and throw him over the border if you want him..
…oops, I mean number 4!
I have lived in upstate NY all my life (35 years) and have never, ever heard of that french toast thing…
just pointing out it’s not like this is what New Yorkers always eat for breakfast, just some diner, I assume, that was shooting for the ‘worst breakfast’ award or something…
Seriously? A Canadian complaining about *our* grease-laden food?? Have you looked at your own cuisine lately?
#5 – I’ve seen those trucks. It’s a privately owned company, if they want to put religious messages on their truck why is that any worse than Yosemite Sam on the mudflaps, or the old clunker covered with Wicca and Veganism stickers.
#4 – Yeah, that fried stuff is gross everywhere, even at McDonalds. Solution is to be willing to pay more than $3 for a meal so they can hire a decent staff and buy things like vegetables.
#3 – I see nothing wrong with Southern Heritage, or Northern for that matter. Let people be proud of their NASCAR and bow hunting and maybe they will tolerate your ice hockey in return.
#2 – Dang man, you found some silly letter to the editor by some random dude and that’s what you find #2 most wrong with the entire country? Holy cow. I can find better stuff wrong than one person’s opinion.
#1 – Those marquee signs are pretty funny. At least you know not to eat there, right?
It aint good Stuffed French Toast unless it’s also been deep fried.
Oh my god, I live in Pittsburgh and am hiding my head in shame over those awful Casa D’racism billboards! I want you all to know that those views are not the views of many us who live and work in Pittsburgh.
Bitching about Mexicans at a place called Casa? That’s just how stupid the jingoists are in the U.S.
Dr. Bennett,
What you don’t seem to understand here is a concept called “Hate Speach”. In Canada if one would publicly say the things that were posted on that billboard, there would be serious legal concequences. It comes down to the old saying;
“Your right to extend your arm ends at the tip of my nose”
IE, say what you want, but if you advocate violence towards a group of people based on sex, religion, sexual orientation, medical disability or nationality you have committed a crime. We take that kind of thing pretty seriously here, so you simply wouldn’t see it.
I have heard all the “Free Speach” arguments but comming from ANYONE in the US at the moment they all sound pretty lame. From what I can see on the news your government is arresting people for simply protesting, as is there right (The US firefighter who keeps getting stopped at the boarder and being asked by US boarder guards about his letters to the editor comes directly to mind).
As for the trucks.. well that would freak me out as well. How is Christian fundimentalism any different from any other religious fundimentalism? They all are completely intollerant of anyone else’s views and therefore dangerous. They can say what they want as long as they don’t hurt anyone, or advocate anyone else doing so; however, it is time for you Americans to wake up and realize that in the rest of the western world such religious extremeism is looked upon in a very dim light. Such signs on a comercial vehicle wouldn’t just freak out Canadians, but it would freak out most of the population of the west!
The letter about immigrants on the other hand I am ashamed to say is something that we are dealing with in Canada right now in Quebec. We are hardly perfect, we just don’t try and twist our imperfections somehow into a distorted virtue.
As for “Canadian Cuisine”… we don’t have any. However I can go down the street and get food from every courner of the world, made with better quality produce in any city and town in Canada. There are advantages to having over 10% of our population borned NOT in Canada. That means that a significant portion of the people here are recent immigrants. How would rants agaist immigrants but the desendents of immigrants NOT freak out a person from a multicultural country??
The US has completly forgotten what America is and until you can regain the dream, you first have to admit that there is something wrong.
PS. Sorry for the spelling =P
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_cheese
I really don’t understand the complaints about American cheese, that’s it’s name. It’s not like freedom/French fries.
you’re a smug judgmental prick. please don’t come back.
for the record, i’m a republican immigrant to the US who isn’t bothered by a trucking company business owner with religion in his heart and mind, have never eaten stuffed french toast, and also think that there is no need to accommodate to immigrants because my parents never took a dime and they’ve prosperous regardless.
also, your stupid little list of things that you pointed out and want to basically tar the rest of america with just reveals how small minded you are, not us.
It’s easy to believe all the stereotypes about America, but it’s also ignorant. In any nation, the closer in towards populated urban city areas, the average education level will increase. The further out in the sticks you go, the redneckitude will rise. This is in any part of the globe. Get over it.
French Toast is not cooked in butter, its battered in egg and then cooked in a pan, covered with maple syrup and sprinkled with powdered sugar. People may add butter to it afterwards, but your idea of French Toast is a little sensational.
The signs at the end are obviously in some far-right bible-belt area. If that sign were in any normal metropolitan city in America, it would be continually swiss-cheesed by rock-throwers.
In conclusion, sifting through American things to find the stupid/embarrassing/stereotypical parts is really getting old. People who fall for this are even stupider than those they are trying to portray. Take the film where they ask all the Americans about the map and get a bunch of stupid responses – if you honestly believe they didn’t edit the hell out of that to paint Americans as utter morons, then the joke is on you.
So you are freaked out by stuffed french toast?
What about Poutein, it’s pretty much considered a national treasure in Canada. It’s fries, covered with gravy and cheese curds! I mean, pot-kettle-black folks, if you’re freaked out by stuffed french toast.
My list of things I hate about Canada.
1) Poutine, what a way to ruin fries! ( Actually, I’d probably eat it, but since he dissed stuffed french toast w/o trying it, I get to do the same ).
2) It’s “About” not “Aboot”.
3) They continually whine about Americans.
JCY, your attitudes are an example of why the world is hostile toward the USA. Thankfully, there are lots of Americans who 1. would be offended by a commercial truck with religious nit-wittery plastered on it, 2. Think fast food is crap, 3. Don’t pick on immigrants 4. Don’t tell critics they can stay out of the USA.
i like american process cheese food. it melts evenly and without becoming greasy. oh and as far as greasy disgusting american food goes, allow me to bring up the New Brunswick NJ regional special the “Fat Cat” two burger patties, american cheese, fries, mozzarella sticks, lettuce, mayo, ketchup all on a long sub roll. drunk college kids eat them by the thousands. gotta love america.
The Casa signs are certainly highly offensive, but they are so outrageous and over the top that they are funny. Not against ‘camel jockeys’? That’s fine, the sign is a warning for sane people to stay away from the restaurant.
But you folks complaining about the privately owned trucks that have religious statements on them, you guys are incredibly intolerant of those with beliefs different from your own. Don’t you see that that makes YOU the fascists and bigots here? Well no, you don’t see that at all because you can only see things from one point of view – your own, which is dangerous to society, and every bit as frightening as those Casa signs.
“As for “Canadian Cuisine”… we don’t have any. However I can go down the street and get food from every courner of the world, made with better quality produce in any city and town in Canada. There are advantages to having over 10% of our population borned NOT in Canada. That means that a significant portion of the people here are recent immigrants. How would rants agaist immigrants but the desendents of immigrants NOT freak out a person from a multicultural country??”
Seriously? That is a silly argument I see all the time. For all the jacked up things we have in America, I am not sure at all why people keep trying to say this is one of them. I live in the middle of nowhere and I can get food from all over the world. I am totally baffled by this comment except to think that maybe people outside of the US have decided that our successfully exported fast food chains are all we eat here?
I love how reactionary Americans can be. You just *need* more people to call “morons that always whine about Americans” don’t you?
Reminds me of the joke:
“Guy is riding down the highway when he hears a warning on the radio that some crazy is driving the wrong side of the highway. He thinks to himself: one guy? They’re all fucking driving on the wrong side!”
And this applies to the people who go out in blaze of fury of “not all americans are…”. Well tough bitches. You sure ain’t doin’ anything about it are you.
Also, Dr William Bennett. Being shocked by some backward behaviour is fascist and biggot is it? Oh… let me think… oh yeah. At least we’re not burning down abortion clinics, and sending military expeditions halfway across the world to ‘teach em camel jockeys a lesson in tolerance’.
That Casa place is in Pennsylvania of all places, in a highly unionized, democratic voting working town.
I bet some of you guys find yourself agreeing with many of their signs actually:
http://casadice.com/signs/pages/outside_sign016.htm
“Being shocked by some backward behaviour is fascist and biggot is it?”
So, you are defining someone expressing their religion as ‘backward behavior’? yes, I do find that to be fascist and bigotted. Hitler had issues with those with religions different from his own as well, so you are in fine company, young Fuhrer. Sig Heil!
I’m not surprised by the sentiments at Casa D’Ice in North Versailles, PA. Several decades ago, an “Impeach Earl Warren” sign had a prominent spot along the same highway, less than a mile to the west. (Earl Warren was the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1953-1969). It appears that a new generation of the local John Birch conservative culture has added xenophobia to it’s agenda. In balance, there are nearby communities where election day vote tallies for Republican candidates struggle to reach 3 digits.
I’ll go ahead and be the one who says that this is not only a good thing, but it’s actually a great thing. But probably not how you think.
I value free speech. I believe in it so much, that I think that the day you no longer read anything that offends your values, beliefs, sensibilities, taste, and intellect is probably the day that real rights to free speech are dead.
Do I agree with any of those? Heck no. Most are in very poor taste, lack intelligence, and are generally tell me that those who posted them are idiots. But I applaud their right to add to civil discourse. Think of all the places in the world (including the U.S.A.) where discourse has turned into savagery.
No one is blowing up these signs. Hopefully no one is defacing the truck with religious speech. They are causing us to reflect, think, and speak about it. It gives me the opportunity to engage the person in discourse. It also tells me whether I want to support that business or not.
Think of all the closet racists and bigots. I find them far more disagreeable than those who are open and clear about their thoughts and feelings. At least they own what they say. I’ve met plenty of Canadians who have no problems spewing out hate in online gaming where their anonymity allows it, while pretending in public to be open minded.
Bring the hate and ignorance out in the open. Let it be challenged and shown to be flawed.
Andrew’s got a good point. People will censor their peers much more effectively than a government ever could.
Things that freak me out about the USA….
Your laws. Establishing an internet casino in the Cayman Islands will get you charged in the USA. Even though it’s completely legal in the Caymans. You lock up people for possession of a single joint. There’s a guy in California who is serving “Life, No Parole” for shoplifting 2 AA batteries under the 3 strikes law.
Only, when it comes to rendition, disappearances, torture, and detention without due process, well, there’s no laws at all. The conditions and treatment at Guantanimo were considered barbaric and inhuman at the Hanoi Hilton, and the USA executed a Japanese POW camp commander for waterboarding.
Yes, there are many educated and worldly Americans, but there are also an appalling number who can’t locate THEIR OWN COUNTRY on a world map. There’s a saying, “If it weren’t for war, Americans wouldn’t learn geography at all.” Seriously, guys, stop showing up in Canada in July asking where all the snow went.
And Imperial measurements, you know, pints, miles, etc. It’s called Imperial, because it’s part of the British system of measurement, and even THEY don’t use it anymore. Guys, there’s over 6 billion people on the planet, and 300 million Americans are the ONLY people who don’t use the Metric System.
There’s more, but I don’t want to get into a rant here. To all you informed, educated, openminded Americans, please, try to bring the rest up to speed.
To all you closeminded, right-wing, bigoted obnoxious jerks, please stay in the USA. It’s really the only place you’re welcome.
Now I think I’ll book a vacation to Cuba. It’s the only place on Earth where you’ll never see a bloody American tourist.
And I’ve lived in Canada for 46 years, and have NEVER heard ANYONE pronounce it “aboot”
Ye gods, I find myself shaking my head at all five of these disgusting displays, but I’m stunned at the apologists here actually standing up for this crap. I’m seriously hopeful most (if not all) of the “dissenting” opinion in these comments is satire or tongue-in-cheek humor, because if these folks are for real, ye gods we’re all in trouble.
I love the delicious irony in someone proudly proclaiming “First Amendment, man!” in defense of the bigoted, hate-filled bile on those signs, trying to beat *you* over the head with the first amendment because you dared to express *your* opinion.
My own take on all five of these disturbing trends:
#5: I’ve seen them here in Florida, too, and it disturbs me. You have to be a *seriously* insecure person with major emotional issues to fly a religion banner *that big* everywhere you go. Sure, they’re completely within their rights to establish a religious trucking company. The rest of us are completely within our rights to ridicule these nimrods for it.
#4: We can only hope that eating enough of these things will kill the most obese of us :)
#3: On a recent road trip to Virginia (we had to run through the Carolinas and Georgia), we saw amusing things like this, too. All I can say about these confused, disturbed people is that with a little bit of luck, within a few generations, that kind of deep-seeded ignorance and hatred will be naturally bred *out* of the human genome. There really *will* be a point when they’ve fallen so far behind the rest of human civilization, intellectually and technologically, that they just won’t be able to survive.
#2: It shames me (as an American, and on behalf of America) that you as a Canadian know more about our history than most of us do. *Everybody* in this friggin’ country is an immigrant or a descendant of one, barring the natives that lived here before we popped in. Social welfare is a relatively modern innovation in America — you can bet if those handouts had been around in the 19th century, immigrants and Americans alike would have their hands right out there.
#1: Isn’t it funny how these signs contradict themselves? “Take the oil” versus “Bring the boys home.” The only thing the signs’ author gets right is “what a crock of shit.” Why can’t *these* people enlist to go overseas to “fight the good fight?” A dose of reality would be a great thing for them all.
On behalf of America, I’m sorry. We’re not all insane like these folks are :( The sane ones are just hiding more these days while the nutjobs get all their frustrations out of their collective system.
Great points Andrew, couldn’t agree more. It is great that people are free to express their beliefs, no matter how bigoted they are. It is sad when people retaliate against these same beliefs because then they gain credit and support. I would agree and hope that the majority of Americans do not think or act the way portrayed in this article. I’m positive that we could find just as shocking billboards, menus, and articles from our ‘friendly neighbors to the North.’ I doubt their’s is a country devoid of racism, bigotry and gluttony, but we will see. Just know that this article is not America. Not close.
So Canada is the land of tolerance eh? I had the misfortune of being in Vancouver around a month after the US invaded Iraq. My truck was keyed and covered in anti-war leaflets simply because I was American. If the cowards had the guts to confront me in person they would discover I disapproved of the war as much (if not more) than they did. Instead, I was treated as a stereotype.
Several years later, I was at the Blaine border crossing with my girlfriend who is black (I’m white). I was refused entry because Canada “does not approve of relationships of your kind.” I also heard them refer to her as a “coon” when they thought we were out of earshot. I doubt such behavior is government approved, but what difference does that make — these guys were official representatives of the Canadian government and they were rcist rednecks.
Finally, let’s not forget that Canada has no equivalent of the First Amendment. Canada can, and does, routinely censor speech that is considered politically incorrect.
> They all are completely intollerant of anyone else’s views and therefore dangerous.
Oh, the irony.
> They can say what they want as long as they don’t hurt anyone, or advocate anyone else doing so
Tell me, how do either of the truck quotes hurt anyone or advocate such? Perhaps you could make an argument about the abortion opinion, but it is a highly subjective controversy.
>“Your right to extend your arm ends at the tip of my nose”
There’s another old saying: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” There are no words that have ever, ever hurt anyone’s nose. Silencing opinions is a slippery slope. You may not mind that opinions you find offensive are made illegal, but you’ll feel a lot different when your own opinions are made so.
Look, we can’t all be as perfect as Canada. Besides, if the US were perfect, who would you have to look down upon to feel superior and prop up your fragile ego?
Tell us also what you found non-shocking or even impressive about the US. Otherwise you’re just a bigot.
You know, I was going to write a huge rebuttal of the points you made, but it’s obvious you came to the US to be offended and of course you were. So, I’m just going to call a spade a spade and say you’re a xenophobic bigot, no better than the southerners you malign. No use arguing with someone who’s already made up his mind. Have a nice day.
Stuffed french toast? That’s nothing to deep fried Mars bars. And no, it isn’t an urban legend:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4103415.stm
Do I laugh or cry???
This discussion is fantastic! It’s going absolutely nowhere!
Remember folks: You are _all_ wrong!
I think any country has this sort of thing – in the UK a chip shop was selling a 6000 calorie deep-fried kebab, any cab driver worth his salt gives you his racist opinions condensed down to bullet points for the 5 minute journey. I’m only glad we’re pretty anti-religious by default over here so we don’t have to put up with the christian drivel America would appear to have plastered over walls and billboards across half its states!
I spent most of my life simply ignoring what other people do. Live and let live I figure.
The problem is while I was playing video games, an alliance of corporate and religious fascists hijacked my country.
Because Jesus was all about mercenary armies torturing people for oil.
I read this and think to myself how disgraceful it would be to be an American in this day and age…then I remember just because I live on the West Coast of the United States it does not disassociate me with the retards that inhabit and run the rest of the country. Damn, Can we just make everything from CA to WA its own country…
Re: the fragile Canadian ego, a funny bumper sticker comes to mind. It depicts the outlines of CDN and the U.S. and beneath it states “We’re bigger, and we’re on top. If this were prison, you’d be our bitch.” LOL!
Comging from England numbers 2-5 don’t really freak me out at all i’m pretty sure you can find examples of that all over the western world. #1 is however shocking you’d be in Jail before you’d finished writing the first sign over here.
Proper french toast is not cooked in butter – it’s dipped in eggs and fried. Just so you know. :)
Those are nice, thanks for sharing. Lol
Where was that stuffed French toast sold again? I’ve got to try that! Please tell me you didn’t find it @ Casa Dice.
I’ve traveled the world, and the conclusion I’ve come to is that stupidity is universal. Take an introspective look at your own country and I’ll bet you could come up with a list that’s equally entertaining.
being half french, half american and having studied for a bit in Quebec, I’m happy to comment on this: even though there are much more things I dislike about the US than Canada, I must say that putin is the most atrocious culinary creation I have ever seen (&tasted, cause it matter too). The inventor’s brains were seriously fried long before his chips. But to say that Canada has no cooking of its own is not exactly true. It’s not stereotyped and it’s regional more than national but it’s there, it relies on maple syrup and greasy things sometimes but it can be very good.
I think what people in the states need right now is a good deal of love from their own government to do away with fear-inducing speeches, war speeches and hate speeches. Don’t trust someone who tries to scare you.
I visited the USA in May 2006, after not having been there for almost 20yr’s. I don’t know if it is me or them but, I reckon Americans 20yr’s ago were less theologically inclined and way more positive and upbeat. And, I have to say America and Americans spun me out for very similar reasons. Added to this horrid mix was the fact most Americans didn’t seem to comprehend how awful their lives are compared to the rest of the western world. If you don’t believe me check the statistics for health care, holidays, accident cover, voter participation, happiness, well being and life satisfaction. Olivia – Australia
P.S Humour was sadly lacking!
Maybe the international community should set up a cordon around America and then unleash the T-Virus. Any American who can provide evidence that he or she is not, in fact, a religious nutjob, a warmongering hypocrite, or a racist will be permitted to leave and can return and re-populate that once great land after the zombies are cleared out.
I have relatives in Canada and have visited many times, it is a beautiful and culturally diverse country. There are a lot of people up there who are very critical of immigrants and foreign visitors especially Pakistani and Chinese people. Some are rude to Americans. My wife and a few of her friends where in Toronto for a visit, having a conversation in her language of birth(Lithuanian) and some guy over heard and starting shouting rude obscenities at them because they where foreign. How rude! Personally, I do not care for those type of people and will steer clear of them. The same goes for the religious nuts. I will happily tolerate them when I have to because it is there opinion but tend to steer clear.
I do not think you can go anywhere, any country without running across some form of radicalism. I think the author of this page has nothing to complain about and needs to open his eyes, take a look at his own beliefs.
We are only human ya know………
The US has for many years pushed a tribal ‘ us and them ‘ culture . It causes a lot of problems . It shouldn’t take World and regional wars , Nazism , Communism , business failures and dysfunctional U.S.A. etc. to prove just how bad the culture is . The World – where it has an effective culture – actually has a Communitarian culture . Hence why people both in the US and outside can be quite rightly shocked by what goes on there . And quite understandably see the damage it causes .
In case you were having any doubts: you sound (Canadian) like a perfectly normal person to me (Belgian).
About the stuffed French toast…..
Aren’t Canadiens the ones that decided it would be great to take french fries and cover them in GRAVY?!?!?!? Just sayin’….
Quick lesson. They’re, their and there. Please learn this, people. THEY’RE going to wave THEIR flags when they get THERE. That’s how you use them.
Quit being a divider. I’m a Canadian who’s lived in America for 9 years. There are more similarities than differences and it’s no coincidence that most of the things that “freak you out” are from the South or have Southern overtones ie: racist. It seems that part of the country is “special” ie: mildly retarded and they kind of get a pass. Canada’s loaded with creepy things too, from interbreeding Newfie’s to white supremists in Southern Alberta to Huterites to French seperatists. I love Canada and the USA. America is going through a hiccup right now but it’ll be sorted out. So FUCK OFF!!
God it’s embarassing I live in this F*’ed up country. Especially those right-wing lugnut signs.
#12 your an idiot, just because theres a Spanish word doesn’t mean people can’t poke some fun at the illeagles. All of you who are appalled to see the signs, have no concept of the First Amendment, or legal immigration for that matter.
The letter to the editor again First amendment.
#59 you are embarrassed by the United States Constitution?
Ron Paul for President!!
Course all you Sheeple probably want Billary, or Mr. Greater Israel Obama.
None of those things have anything to do with America except that they are created by Americans. By “Americans,” I don’t mean ALL Americans, but only a few Americans. I’m sure the owner of those signs will be sued or put in prison. Hate speech is not protected in this country.
BFD… these are all forms of free speech. Hateful / bigoted people exist, news at 11:00.
When you lose the right to be different you lose the right to be free – Charles Evan Hughes
This is the USA. As long as you are not hurting anyone live how you want to live.
God bless America and all these kooks you ran into :)
So on one single vacation, he visited the “deep South”, upstate New York, Key Marathon Florida, South Carolina, and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. That’s quite a lot of traveling for one vacation in the United States.
It’s more likely he did some of this “traveling” through google searches instead.
If #5 freaked you out, then you are pretty culturally insulated. You will find many similar businesses in Asia and the Middle East. Oh, I forgot – it’s only creepy if the USA does it…
I don’t see what’s even slightly strange about #3, and #2 is more of a editorial opinion on your part. You can find disagreements in many Canadian newspapers. I’ve been there myself.
YOU AMERICANS ARE THE BIGGEST IDIOTS IN THE WORLD, PHAT FUCKS
I think most Americans miss the point about demonizing immigrants. It’s a ploy, immigrants have become the scape goat for the government to blame for the piss poor economy. Illegal immigrants work for cash under the table and don’t even make minimum wage.
If you want to stop illegal immigration, get rid of the minimum wage!!!
If you want to improve the economic outlook for low to middle income people in the US, then re-adopt sound money and the gold standard!
You are off on the french toast bit. French toast is lovely. Who is scared of butter, french toast, bacon and eggs? (I mean you are canadian aye? WTF?)For the record, we have some of the best cheese in the country made right here in upstate new york, yes we really have dairy farms, if you would like, Ill send you some.
Otherwise, I agree with the scary christian truck drivers, especially the ones with like the arms that look like hamhocks all tatted up with jesus on a cross. But its another great thing about america, freedom of religion. Even that mongoloid Genghis Kahn understood the value of this. – Sounds like you spent too much time in the bible belt.(SOUTH)Im just a effing Yankee, so what do I know.
And while I dont agree with some Casa D’Ice sentiments, I would love to see you be able to express yourself like that in another country. Its one of the great liberties that we have – FREEDOM OF SPEECH. (unless some ignorant cop decides you are a terrorist, these guys could get in some serious shit especially if Al Sharpton sees it)
I would also suggest to any American citizen, that if they dont like it here to A. participate in government and make a change,(you know seriously stop being so ignorant) or B. Take your Effing Ass someplace else.
The restaurant signs look like good marketing to me. Choose an audience and then become remarkable. It doesn’t matter that 99% of people passing think the signs offensive so long as the intended audience (the remaining 1%) of more conservative people find it remarkable and spend lots of money there knowing the owner will give them a warm, comradely welcome.
The owner must have been reading some Seth Godin books.
Your blog entry does an unjust service to the States. As with most news articles or blogs about the US that originate outside of the States, they project the worst and the stereotypes. That seems to be fashionable.
Your blog is a prime example of exactly that. There are obviously things you like about America or you wouldn’t go there for vacation. You chose not to write about those things, only the bad.
People like you that propagate the bad are part of reason the world views the States the way they do.
There are good things and bad things about the US. Only the bad gets foreign press.
There are good things and bad things about Canada and in fact, any other country.
I have a whole page of links to news articles about ridiculously stupid things happening in Canada.
Should I post them here? No, that would make me petty.
The religious right gets all the press while the majority of Americans think they are fruitcakes.
A ‘merkin.
Wow, that Casa D’Ice person is seriously unhinged. But I’d like to try the french toast.
As an American in Canada what freaked me out was the lack of freedom of speech. That’s
why you guys toady to the US government, and send your citizens to be tortured in Syria, &c,
I think: You can’t have effective democracy without freedom of thought and speech. When
the government is allowed to intimidate the people so that they can only think permitted
thoughts, the result is uniformly bad. That, and the Queen.
Isn’t it nice that the people who prefer Canada to the US also live there?
I don’t think the message is what is important. I think the fact that we have the right of expression is. I’m sorry for Canada, but we can’t all live in a truly free society
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While this makes for an interesting blog post, you are basing your opinion on a few extremes. As an American I bet I could sterotype Canada as the plaid wearing, labatt blue drinking, Pot producing, backwoods capital of the world. Of course Canada is a great country and great people, and I think you missed the point of your travels if all you did is look at the extremes that America allows.
About that 800 mile wal-mart, I wonder how many drugs stores they’d have per mile? And the parking…
Well now you’ve been here, you NEVER have to come back, honestly I don’t think there are any laws that mandate you come here. I’ll make you what we, here in the south, call a “square deal” – I won’t come up there (even if Hillary wins) and you never come back.
Instead of being freaked out by these things, might I suggest you take them as peculiar examples of the country’s (and continent’s) diversity? And maybe you could also learn to laugh? Finally, do you seriously mean for these five things to be representative? It would seem so, insofar as you celebrate your return to a “comparatively sane” country.
Look harder at home too. I’m sure you’ll find some pretty funny stuff there too. The thing is, though, we usually notice this stuff when traveling. At home we tend to move in more limited areas, all within our comfort zone. In Washington, DC and the surrounding area I ignore a great many things, but if I ended up in a city I didn’t know, I would probably see all kinds of things I wouldn’t if I actually lived there.
The only thing that should freak you out is our GIANT AMERICAN PENISES.
Hardy har. In other news… French people are rude! The English have bad teeth! Asians are good at math! To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, I’m not offended as an American, I’m offended as a comedian.
Gee, everyone, it’s humor with an edge- Get over it, (both sides).
There are 300,000,000 people in America, some are assholes, some are not… Over-generalization of any population is an error that feeds upon itself and causes all kinds of problems.
Most everyone here takes themselves -way- too seriously.
Great way to drive traffic to a blog, btw.
Fuck you Canadian. America is great, Canada is not. You are a pussy.
stupid
Re: 19
Exactly. “Oooh, I’m so glad I don’t live there.” Get over it. Go somewhere actually fucked up and then write about it.
Heh. That should be Re: 9.
I’m a second generation immigrant–my parents are from Germany. They came to the US in the 1950s, and they do get frustrated with the way immigration is handled in the US. I want to point out first though, that there were always places in the US where a non-English language would be predominate. My parents immigrated to Cincinnati, and lived in the German district–only German was spoken there, and very few people knew English. However, people dealt with it and there wasn’t really a push to make German a second language in the US. I am not sure why suddenly Spanish is such a push WITH THE EXCEPTION that maybe many people feel it’s time the US expanded it’s language requirements. It is unusual, not to mention a little embarrassing, that many Americans can only speak English, whereas many people, even in 3rd world countires, often speak at least two (albeit sometimes a bit crpytic, but still beats out many Americans). Why is this significant? Besides challenging yourself (or your children) to learn a second language and therefor expanding your/their education, you actually become smarter–yes, smarter. It opens a new world to you, which is where I think the problem is. People fear what they don’t understand, and Americans are notorious for this. I won’t justify whether they have reason or not (I’m sure a good argument can be made for both sides), but it causes a crippling effect in the US. It’s fairly obvious many Americans will not willingly choose to learn a second language (students, business travelers, etc. are exceptions of course), so now they are being forced into it, because the people coming here are … I don’t want to say refusing, because many are willing and genuinely want to learn English … but are not compromising to give up speaking their language entirely in favor of speaking English. It’s not good or bad–I think more good can come of this in the long wrong, and frankly, in native English-speaking people favor. It is less important to able to speak Spanish with an American (we’ll say mid-eastern US accent, to stave an argument) accent, than for a native Spanish speaking person to speak English with a Spanish accent. Why? Simply put, there will be more tolerance toward for the former than the latter–but this will not happen if Americans are stubbornly, and frankly childishly, obstinant, in learning a second language.
And as for the French Toast–that is NOT a-typical American cuisine, and I agree with the poster who said it sounds as though the restaurant was aiming for the worst breakfast award.
Um, everything you mentioned that was so freaky about America was pretty tame. Canada must be a very boring place. #5 was hilarious.
“clerk because they don’t speak english. No other country
requires it’s citizens to conform to illegal immigrants
customs…”…
How about YOU learn some grammar Correct: “… requires
ITS citizens…”.
Have a nice day.
Ahah and the most ironic part is the name of the restaurant!
One thing you see if you travel a bit, is that there are idiots in any group of people (and more than a few that aren’t idiots but just disagree with you).
I’m a Canadian who worked in the US for a few years, and I found it was very similar in culture, with occasional differences that really stuck out. I was just down there, and the one that got me was a sign in the hotel bar that declared it a firearms free area. You just don’t see that up here.
I’ve been down in the US three times this year (3 different states). Honestly, there are a lot of differences between states too, but I found everyone very friendly, even chatty.
We probably make too much of the ‘ugly American’ here in Canada.
Still found this an interesting post.
Yes. Canada does not have any intolerant/close minded/bigoted people within her border. Not a single one. Yessir!
To quote the signs “What a crock of shit!”
This is something that sometimes even we don’t get. We’re a big country with lots of people, we have just about everyone you can imagine here. That’s what makes us great. The best part is everybody else points to the dumbasses and thinks we’re a country full of morons, completely missing the point.
And Justin’s right, these irrelevant, insignificant things bother you that much? Seriously, stay in Canada. The fact that you can’t recognize those guys are just a bunch of loudmouth morons and let it go means you come from a pretty boring place.
Wow. It’s really interesting to listen to the differences betweeen people. Oh, wait. That’s what makes this country, well, this country. The true meaning of free speech is the right to say what is on your mind, but it is the responsibility to understand what you are saying and who is really listening. Unfortunately, ignorant folks like Casa D’Ice sink to the lowest possible level of this right and just spout thier verbal diarrhea for the whole world to see. If we are to be truly free, we should be able to just hear this and realize their idiocity.
I am an atheist, but I believe a private business can call itself and do what it wants on its own property, like fight abortion, or believe themselves better than “today’s immigrants”. It’s always been my belief that if you see or hear something you disagree with, talk to the person or establishment. MAKE them defend themselves. You usually learn that they are just angry because they were somehow denied the “rights” other people have received. Ignorance may be bliss, but only for the ignorant.
As for this hatred for illegal immigrants, I only have one thing to say. If INS was so worried about the “insurgance” they should consider enforcing the laws that have worked for decades. Physical barriers will not work, even animals can find their way around a wall. I have absolutely no doubt that a man, woman or child who are hungry, tired, and poor will do the same. The problem isn’t so much the people who need shelter. If people need someone to be angry at, try our president, who doesn’t seem to care what happens within the borders of this country…unless it lines his pocketbook of course.
I enjoyed the article… and yeah, people ALL OVER THE WORLD are batshit crazy.
The only thing I don’t like is it seems every Canadian/French Canadian always has to initiate a “look at how stupid people from the USA are” discussion.
How about showing me some fools from your culture, and I’ll show you some of ours. I’m sure there are plenty of backward lumberjacks in your neck of the woods too.
Seriously, it gets worse here everyday, and no new president from any party is going to change that.
Do you need nurses in Canada? Cause I don’t mind the cold…
Steve (#93) you’re absolutely right that we’ve got PLENTY of our own fools up here in Canada. I do write about them all the time (in fact, I write about them more than I write about the American fools I encounter). It’s just that whenever I write about American idiocy, it gets reddited to the front page and everybody reads it.
Aaron, (#90) you might want to read through the rest of this blog before you criticize. I talk about our homegrown idiocy plenty. You just read one article that happened to be about your country’s brand of idiocy and thought the sky fell on your head.
Seriously, get some context.
Its called Freedom of Speech u pussy mother fuckers…
You dont have to agree with it… but shit…
Anybody else notice that several people keep writing with the exact same phrase “That’s what makes us great”?
I don’t even think the people who use that phrase even know what it means. It should really be “That’s what makes us great (TM)”. The Americans would think that they invented freedom of speech or something and that no other country can say anything without the King of England coming into their living room and bossing them around (to borrow a phrase from Homer Simpson).
So, just to clarify, yes I support free speech because (and this may be news to the more reactionary people who’ve posted on this blog), Canada has a long tradition of it as well. But I don’t think I have to apologize for being genuinely disturbed by what I saw to be a large segment of the U.S. population who has become so rabid as to spout white-supremacist or christian-supremacist venom.
“look at how stupid people from the USA are” isn’t really a discussion, just observation. simply compare news broadcasts.
we have fools in canada too. except our population is lower so we have a quite lot less of them. hell, our entire government are fools. more the bumbling kind, less the new-world-order-the-world-thinks-were-dicks-economy-collapsing kind like you have going on down there.
I bet “Travis” is from Texas, and thinks USA is the only place that has freedom of speech. I can picture his accent now.
If you came to the US without looking for negatives, you’d probably have a pretty good time. I grew up in Alaska, so spent a fair amount of time in Canada, and had a lot of dealings with Canadians. I could easily create a “5 creepiest things about Canada”. To start with, how about the incest in your country?? We heard about it all the time. I just searched Google, and found plenty of info including this:
“It is not unusual to find different prevalence rates of incest for males and females, as in the study conducted by Renvoize who reported that as many as one-third of all girls and one-fifth of boys have experienced incest.”
Should we judge all of you based on a few idiots, as you are doing??
ascus4 (#69),
I wouldn’t be offended if you posted some of the stupid news from Canada. I’m more than happy to oblige. In fact I write about it all the time.
You’re absolutely right though, I did find much of my vacation enjoyable and not the least of it was your country’s beautiful climate. Keep in mind, my ancestors were the ones who came to this continent and said “We’ll take the frozen half.”
However Americans really get up in arms when you criticize their country. So I do find that part of the reaction here to be interesting because I couldn’t give a crap what people say about Canada because I realize that patriotism and nationalism are antiquated and designed to stop critical thinking.
I’ve met many Americans who agree, but unfortunately, you still have an abnormally large proportion of the population that still believes hyper-nationalism to be a virtue.
I want to apoligize straight up right now if anyone took what I said about our take on freedom of speech as what makes our country great. I’m pretty sure it is what makes us the butt of jokes across the world, a.k.a, not great. But I’m also a supporter of it. I know that someday education will be important again, and we might actually have something good to say. I’ll keep living in the most optimistic place my mind can find until that day.
Kalvin (#101) – you seriously think I came to the U.S. looking only to see bad things? How lame do you think I am.
Also, are you seriously arguing that America can look down on Canada because of incest of all things? Or are you seriously thinking that somehow I’d take offense to the suggestion? You see there’s one important difference to be learned here: You criticize an American and you get 29,000 hits on your blog in 13 hours and over 500 comments saying “Fuck you Canada” split across Reddit and this blog. You criticize a Canadian and we are more likely than not to join in.
Americans get criticized ALL the time by the rest of the world because of 10% of our population. My point was that you can find that 10% in ANY country. Your post was only about negatives, I didn’t read anything positive, what am I supposed to think??
I am an American and I am very Happy and Proud that I live in a country we truckers are free to put religous messages on there rig, and I am even happy that restaurants can put uup nasty sayings on their marquis. That my friends to the north is what real Freedom is.
I always told my kids that you dont have to like everyone or agree with everyone but you do have to tolerate everyone. I think if all people on the left and the right would just quit trying to make everyone change to be like them we all be better off.
As far as the French Toast, I wouldnt eat it but then again I dont have to.
Okay, I’m still reading up on the comments, but here’s another case and point of an American who thinks their unique in the world in enjoying freedom of speech.
Jason (#67) wrote:
“And while I dont agree with some Casa D’Ice sentiments, I would love to see you be able to express yourself like that in another country. Its one of the great liberties that we have – FREEDOM OF SPEECH.”
Does anybody else find this funny that these Americans actually think they’re somehow special in this regard?
Please. Every (And I do mean *every*) country on earth has wackos. Why do you try to categorize all Americans?
My second point is about your first “crazy” example. Why can’t a private company put slogans on their own trucks? In America, any private company can do that. Muslim owned companies can quote the Koran. Hindus, Buddhists … any company owner can push whatever philosophy they want on their own equipment. It’s called freedom. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?
Kalvin, you wrote:
“Americans get criticized ALL the time by the rest of the world because of 10% of our population. My point was that you can find that 10% in ANY country. Your post was only about negatives, I didn’t read anything positive, what am I supposed to think??”
Surely you’re not suggesting that in every post I have to say absolutely everything about the subject.
So if I do a post about crazy/stupid stuff in Canada (which I’ve done hundreds of times), by your logic I also have to write:
-But here are some good things about Canada…
-And Canada is not the only country with crazy/stupid stuff…
-America has some crazy/stupid stuff too…
-But America isn’t all crazy/stupid stuff…
-America has good things too…
-Here are some of the good things about America…
-Here’s what I think about the good things about America…
The point is that this is what this post was about. If you want to read what I think on subjects other than this one, read the blog regularly and you’ll see me write about dumbass shit in Canada too.
You’re kidding, right? It was in Canada that I was introduced to the fries, gravy, cheese curds combiniation. (I think there is something else in there too, but I have tried to block the whole experience out.) At least in the case of stuffed french toast, all the ingredients go together.
Otherwise, it is a funny blog entry, even if it thrives on nothing but silly US stereotypes that have nothing to do with the majority of people in this country. To all my fellow countrypersons who are getting all bent out of shape: Relax! You are feeding right in to the silliness..
> And I’ve lived in Canada for 46 years, and have
> NEVER heard ANYONE pronounce it “aboot”
You must not get out much. We have a place in BC, and I hear that pronunciation daily. Not that I care.
Oh, and to Jacques: “putin” is the head of the Russian government. “Poutine” is the dish in question.
Tara – I agree with you completely. The venomous attacks are definitely feeding right in to the silliness.
Although, just to be fair, poutine (not poeutine or poteine or however else the Americans seem to be spelling it) is a Quebec invention. I’ll bet you that a majority of Canadadians West of Ontario have never tried it.
stay in canada with your socialist friends.
#3 A massive billboard in South Carolina just outside of Georgia which read:
“Victory is great, but honor is greater. Defend your Southern heritage.”
There is nothing wrong with being proud of your heritage. Or should Southerners be ashamed of who they are because they aren’t from Canada? You sound like more of a bigot than anyone I know south of the Mason-Dixon line. It also sounds like you are in favor of silencing anyone who you disagree with. How open minded of you.
Glad this doesn’t hold true to all Americans, or at least not me. I can still find humor in it though.
Paulitics,
Now I get it, you’re just trying to generate American interest in your blog-site. Post something negative about the US, create the expected frenzy, at least a few will look at your blog. Shrewd move.
Chris (#111), actually, I’d have to agree with Murphy (#29) over on that one.
I’ve lived in Canada my whole life and I’ve never heard anybody pronounce it “Aboot” either.
Moreover, I just spent two weeks down in Florida and only two people guessed that I was Canadian (and one was because I gave him my Royal Bank of Canada Visa card to pay for a t-shirt and I guess he put two and two together).
Kalvin, to tell you the truth, I wasn’t even trying to generate American interest in my blog (although I’m certainly not upset that I did). I already have a pretty substantial American reader demographic who read my international politics stuff.
The post was primarily just to inform my regular readers that I’m back from my vacation.
For everyones’information, “Casa D’Ice” is not Spanish, it is Italian. Means “House of Ice”. Casa is not just a Spanish word. Babelfish.altavist.com will help with language translation.
Also, anyone can tell you, that the Fench Toast thing is relatively common at most diners. They are by no means a healthy place to eat. They are one step above fast food and that is only because you can sit and be served.
From what I can see, this person ONLY posted things about the U.S. that he could make fun of. Too bad he didn’t bother posting anything worthwhile. This is why people in other countries think the U.S. is full of right-wing, conservative nationalists who believe that they should run the world. Good Job in continuing to promote that view.
first, get a sense of humor. second, stop being such a pussy. you’re completely living up to the canadian standard with that post.
you whine like a little girl about benign things that ‘freaked’ you out. here is a suggestion, grow a pair of balls and stop being so darn sensitive.
Please forgive American politics. The evil right has taken over our image.
Hi, Paul –
A expat friend of mine just moved to Windsor. It was during a visit with him when I had the poutine experience. He has embraced this dish (and an additional 15 lbs of body weight) along with everything else “Canadian” with a zeal that is a little scary. Obviously, this is because he hates freedom. (“U-S-A, U-S-A!”)
I can’t make any jokes about the cold, though. I live in Minnesota. It is sort of like Canada, without the universal health care.
Seriously? You’re freaked out by a truck on the highway with religious sayings on it? By a modified version of French toast? By a letter to the editor pasted on a door somewhere? You Canadians must be pretty delicate.
In this country, it’s perfectly okay to express yourself on a piece of your own property, whether you’re saying “Jesus loves you” or “The South will Rise Again”. Sure, some people will disagree with you, and that’s their right. (I just love the comment above which rails on and on about how intolerant someone must be to put something like “Jesus loves you” on a truck, and then says they’re dangerous and must be stopped. Yeah, that’s real clear thinking)
Not everyone in the US is a redneck, just as I’m sure not everyone in Canada is a whiny religion-hating toast-fearing tuke-wearing baby. Pipe down, eh.
Whether there is much wrong with your interpretations or simply with the findings you’ve had, what seems silliest to me is the overabundant attacks and criticisms.
How can we expect our country (its ills included) to be tolerated and respected if when one man’s position is not given that same consideration?
Even if you don’t agree with the observations of our Canadian neighbor, berating him for them won’t bring enlightenment, but instead it encourages people’s distaste for “combatant, egotistical Americans”.
I hope you realize that your list has no credibility and is only a gag for a few laughs. Taking the opinions, albeit ignorant and/or insulting, expressed by a few Americans should actually be seen as a compliment to the USA, where free speech truly is tolerated. There are some real problems here that need to be addressed, such as an oversized, overly bureaucratic government, growing national debt, and social security and medicare.
I think you Canadians need to look at your own problems, for which I have two words: socialized medicine.
Brandon, Canadians are extremely proud of our national heathcare system. That’s why we voted Tommy Douglas (the ’socialist’ leader who brought our universal healthcare system into effect) as the Greatest Canadian of All Time a year or so ago.
That’s also why I had to hop on a plane immediately after my toenail got ripped out because I can get healthcare in Canada but healthcare in the U.S. would have bankrupted me.
Love your little country. Too bad you had to pick a chunk of land so freaking cold. And never take a vacation there in the winter if you’re an American. Hot chicks in big down-filled jackets just don’t do anything for you like a sweet Myrtle Beach hottie wearing next to nothing on a hot December day.
Brandon, if you want to read more about how our socialized medicine isn’t considered a ‘problem’ in our country, you can read more here:
http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/
(that’s not to say there aren’t problems with our country, though)
your knee-jerk anti-americanism is as ridiculous as it is hateful. you really should stop leaving the house if you can’t handle life.
So which do you hate more:
- Christians
- companies
- Americans
You know what freaks me out? That those things freak you out.
I’m a Canadian too and I’m proud to say that we’re not all intolerant as this guy.
USA has their problems, but expressing their freedom of religion, their pride in the heritage, and enjoying their fatty treats aren’t among them.
Wow…I didn’t realize people are taking the list so seriously. I got a great chuckle out of your list. I’ve only been to Canada once, and I laughed at the Tim Horton’s on every corner. And I fell in love with the real Brie. It was delicious, and I am wholly disappointed because we can’t get it here. I’m really enjoying the anger that some people are expressing in the comments. This is fun. Thank you everyone, for making me realize that I don’t know a damn thing about the world and the people who live in it. I always thought the point of going to other countries, states, worlds, etc. was to experience different things, and I think that was the point of the original blog. Why is it bad to change your perspective? And Kelly (#123), did we really need to resort to insults? I only know one Canadian, and yes, she does happen to be batshit crazy, but I also realize that people probably think I’m batshit myself. But I’m smart enough to realize that 2 people a country do not make.
paulitics (#102)
The reason that us Yanks “really get up in arms when you criticize their country” is because we’re just sick and tired of it. Everywhere you go on the net people have negative things to say about the US.
Always.
Constantly.
Everywhere.
It gets really old after a while.
With that being said, I’ve spent every summer for the last 35 years about 3 hours north of Toronto and I love the place. Have great friends in the GTA and love you guys.
As a free human being you have the right to what freaks you out and to put it on the internet because we’re all interested in what you have to say (see you aren’t invisible), and I applaud your being able to openly voice that opinion where it can be viewed as an absolutism by all. As an American, I find it funny in some respects, not so funny in others. Since Americans are feeling increasingly overwhelmed by world sentiment and opinion that makes them feel saddened, a bit defensive, worried, and even a little fearful (and we all know what fear leads to) I feel like I’d like to put my 2 cents worth in here.
#5: A company is stating its religious beliefs openly on its property; they aren’t mine, but neither one of us is hurting the other. Abortion rights is a huge and deeply emotionally affecting issue (it should be), by all means let people speak about it. I am so glad they are able to do this in a public way, I’ll gladly stand up to support their right, and I’ll make a more informed decision if I choose to use their services.
#4: Somehow you are linking that horrendous but silly breakfast to a people’s identity. Who cares! I’m an upstate New Yorker, and I’ve never seen this offered, so it must not have taken off as a staple breakfast of champions. And, if it is an implication of the round people situation, you better make sure you don’t have any to complain of. I’m not aware of your fry concoction, but it does sound similar, just as silly, and unhealthy. I wouldn’t order it, it wouldn’t freak me out, but I would laugh, and it’s the owners right to offer it. Didn’t Friendly’s have some giant bucket of ice cream it offered a long time ago, and if you could eat one, you’d get another gigantic bucket free? I don’t believe they sold many; mostly to teenagers on a lark.
#3: The South still waves the confederate flag in places. They all haven’t totally gotten over the Civil War and the trouncing they took, someday we all hope, but for now it is a reality in SOME places. What’s your point? Quebec?
#2: My family emigrated from Ireland before government handouts, and worked their collective asses off to make a living, and were also subjected to racist conditions. Knowing my family, a handout is still a handout; they would never have taken it. We’re a stubborn and proud lot it seems. I can certainly understand people who are proud of what they accomplished without government help. People who have never been in a position where a “handout” would help, just might not understand; your perspective is skewed. And just because a handout exists, doesn’t mean it can’t be declined. We’re a culture based mainly on “pulling yourself with your own bootstraps” it sort of defines us.
I’d like to think we’d have a system in place that helps all human beings in need regardless, especially the children, the sick, and the elderly. Should American tax dollars go to Americans first or to illegal immigrants on a first come first serve basis is up to the American people to decide, it is a huge and complex issue that brings many emotional fears to the surface. But, when your Canadian system and population of 33+ million is overwhelmed at 301 million legal residents, please let us know by all means. Apparently, this isn’t an issue at home you have to worry over..yet.
#1: THE SIGN. .I had to laugh; I guess I have become too jaded to be shocked. Ok, there is always freedom of speech defense, even for the ignorant. There are always those who crave attention, those protected media whores. Lastly though, and this I feel is most important, this is one sign again in a population of 301 million, maybe there are others, but heck it isn’t rampant. I am grateful he lets us know who he is and what he believes. I’d rather know and be able to identify than not, and again, that sign gets the conversations flowing. I would bet the moon most people are shocked and dismayed by this attitude, GREAT. Maybe they are secretly glad someone said it out loud because they couldn’t, or maybe seeing this out there and having moments where some of the same thoughts crossed their minds, then the monster is out, and is no longer a monster anymore, they can see it for what it is, fear and anger. (fear again.)
I’m sorry your trip to my country freaked you out to such an extent. I invite you back to New York, where art flourishes, the natural beauty is sublime, people smile and come to your aid, food is top notch and from all over the world, culture is complex and stimulating, and people from all over the world exist, thrive, and enjoy each other’s differences. There are places; forums, coffee houses, and town halls that ideas and issues are discussed by everyone. I never lock my doors, my keys stay in my car because I know I’ll lose them, and I feel safe and secure. I enjoy going to visit Canada, I’ve had my share of some negative experiences, and some positive ones as well, and I won’t be one of those people who sees a few negative things and paints an entire country by them.
well maybe america is all good but i can’t help but feeling something terribly wrong with your country.
something deeply retarded and cash motivated.
and from what i get in the news (on the internet, not your god awful tv news) people over there are getting dumber by the second,
the country’s going straight to hell and nobody’s doing anything because they are isolated and brainwashed by the media.
I hate the United States right now (by the way America is not the united states, it is canada, usa, mexico, south america, etc… so stop using it like you own that name you arrogant self-centered bigot assholes). I used to like this country. wake up people. go paint the white house in black or something.
dan
paulitics -
The problem with socialized medicine is the idea of yet another government funded and run program. Government is inefficient at best and free markets where competition exists always produces better services at a lower cost for the quality of service rendered. Why should everyone be entitled to free handouts when they don’t deserve it. Socialized and welfare programs are a BAD idea.
Any good doctor would tell you that we have far and away the best medicine here in the states, and if you ever have a serious life threating condition you want to be treated here in America. It may be more expensive, but that’s the cost of cutting edge technology and the price to pay for the best practitioners of medicine in the world.
I agree with Z’s comment. This post seems to be a very weak argument for “why America sucks.” Yes, a lot of Americans are morons, but a lot of Canadians are as well. It’s a matter of perspective, isn’t it? This list adds to the stereotype that all Americans are uneducated, bigoted and pro-war. In fact, there is a huge population of forward-thinking and progressive people, young and old, who have been fighting for change in this country.
Your argument also seems to not dig deep enough to actually find out what’s happening in the American political and cultural landscape. Marquees and French toast are hardly enough to back any argument you might pose about American politics or culture.
So, in this post, are you trying to make a statement on American culture or American politics, or both? If you’re commenting on American culture, then I agree you’ve seen some pretty strange things. But if you want to comment on American politics, then I would have just come right out and said it instead of veiling it in a snapshot version of what you saw on your road trip.
I’m just not seeing where you were trying to go with this post.
I’ve spent a bit of time in the GTA and above and I hear “aboot” all the time.
“boy” for “buoy”.
“battry” for “battery” (Kitchner).
“sleca” for “celica”.
What’s the big deal, I don’t think it sounds bad at all. It’s just an accent. We all have them.
#133,
Instead of getting angry because the entire world critizes the U.S., maybe you should stop and consider why. I live in MN, and luckily, we’re a fairly educated bunch up here. But think about peer pressure for a second. If everyone in your middle school was having sex, you thought about it, didn’t you. So, if everyone sees the flaws in our country and our policies, why haven’t you stopped to think about them? Just because they are ours, doesn’t mean they are correct, or even good. It just means they are ours. Stop being patriotic for the sake of being patriotic, and start doing your civic duty. Question the government. Question the policies, make this country better because there is a lot of room for improvement. That’s what being a citizen is about, and if you don’t believe me, believe the Declaration of Independence. It may be old, but it never outdated.
How in the hell do you stay warm up in the Great White North when your skin is so thin and sensitive? Stay on your side and cuddle up with a LaBatt’s, the world’s most boring sport, and those lovely, friendly people from Quebec. Get bent.
I still am at a complete loss for words as to why people, and especially Americans from my experience, feel some sort of imagined connection to ‘their’ country and take offense at a funny list of observations.
I think the majority of the world feels very little sense of connection to their country because they realize that countries and states are all artificial constructs. I couldn’t care less if people badmouth Canada. Why should I care? I was just born here, it’s no more a part of me or my identity than winter.
Maybe somebody will consider why Americans get so up in arms when a Portuguese person wouldn’t get all up in arms over ‘anti-Portugueseism’ or a Moroccan over ‘anti-Morroccanism’.
Geez, Dan (#135),
Maybe YOU are getting dumber by the second. Capital letters and proper punctuation are your friends – get to know them, love them.
By the way, if I see one U.S citizen respond to that comment with something like, “Oh, you are so right! I hate my country! We are SO stupid/backwards/ close-minded/evil/etc” well, then I just give up. What is that all about, people? If you don’t like the direction this country is headed, do something about it! That is what patriotism is all about.
Otherwise, maybe Canada will take you in; and nestle you in its cold, cold bosom.
This might have already been said, but come over to the west coast, we’re nicer over here (for the most part).
Kennedy (#137) -
“So, in this post, are you trying to make a statement on American culture or American politics, or both? If you’re commenting on American culture, then I agree you’ve seen some pretty strange things. But if you want to comment on American politics, then I would have just come right out and said it instead of veiling it in a snapshot version of what you saw on your road trip.”
I do write about and comment on American politics all the time. Nowhere in this post was there a comment at all about American politics. That wasn’t the purpose of the post. When I want to talk about American politics, I do. This post was about the 5 craziest things I saw in my time in America.
#1
A few of these signs towards the end are definitely FAKED i.e. photoshopped.
Calling Arabs “camel jockeys” and proposing we leave bombs for them to kill eachother WOULD NOT be allowed on a billboard, even in the USA. This is blatant racism and is an incitement of racial hatred. Again, a FAKE to get a few more people worked up.
Tara, you wrote:
“That is what patriotism is all about.”
No, partriotism is about stopping thought long enough to evoke a ‘bellyfeel’ reaction from people when confronted with new stimuli. And you’ve witnessed a beautiful demonstration of this here today.
You were the one who came up with this list about “America” that freak you out as a “Canadian”, so in essence you started with people having a connection to their country. Now that people are pointing out how ridiculous your list is you revert to a cry of defensive nationalism and over zealous patriots. Nice Try.
I have a hard time buying your list as and attempt at humor, because, well it just isn’t funny. Jim Carey is a funny Canadian – you are definitely not. Keep trying though maybe you can do better next time. Come visit us again sometime, because trust me, people here do a lot of really funny and ridiculous stuff so you won’t have to look too hard.
Brandon, “Jim Carey is a funny Canadian” – that might explain why you didn’t find the list funny. There were no funny gestures or faces to acompany this post.
Dan (135)
Actually, much of the world uses the word “America” to refer to the US.
It irritates me too because you are correct. “America” refers to the entire continent.
See? We’re *all* dumb about something or the other.
To all of you “but…but…but freedom of speech” people out there, The author was not saying that they did not have a right to say those things, just that he is appalled that any resonable person would. He then proceeds to critisize their message not their right to the speech itself. You have the right to say (just about) anything you want and the author has the right to critisize and mock you for it(he is now choosing to exercise that right). Some of the billboard signs do also boarder on hate speech which is not protected. I think one could resonably construe that they mean to incite violence against a religious or ethnic group, this could be classified as hate speech if someone were to want to make a case of it. I think the fact that no one has, as an indication of just how free we are. However, sometimes that freedom just gives us more rope to hang ourselves with.
Brandon, I’m also not reverting to anything. Nor am I advocating “defensive nationalism” because, I frankly don’t know what that term means. What I’m advocating is NO nationalism. In fact, I practice it. As does much of the world. That’s why WE don’t take offence when you criticize Canada or any other country.
That is true. If you did faces and contorted yourself like Jim Carey then I must admit, you would be funny as well. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you were making such facial expressions as you posted this list and therefore I will assume for that reason that you are funny.
pissed guy (#150). You hit the nail on the head. I think that’s the best comment I’ve read all day. Well put. I couldn’t have worded it any better myself.
Not all Americans are this stupid… Really. We’re mostly pretty good people. You were in pretty much the armpit areas…
BTW, what possessed you to go to the deep South and PA on vacation? I would never do that…
Oh and LOL at the stuffed “French” toast… I’ve seen it, but never eaten it.
Loved the POV from up North none-the-less.
Next time visit a civilized area I’m we could find you some better places to enjoy your next vacation. LOL!
Sigh… It’s so hard to shed these stereotypes. Of course, some of these comments don’t help our image much either.
Most Americans are fine and decent human beings, some suck. Deal with it.
The only downfall, I see, is that these hick bastards, and narrow minded folk like them, have just as much voice as anyone with their wits about them. That is what forces the US into a terrible light when the rest of the world is concerned. We just happen to be helmed by one of those same hick bastards now. This is the year that’ll change.
@William Bennett: Invoking Godwin’s law does not an intelligent argument make… Just thought you should know.
Paul (#146):
I suspected you’d say that. On this point, we will have to disagree. (Too bad.. I feel like we had a real meeting of minds on the “poutine” issue)
Patriotism is a love of country and should bring with it sense of duty to one’s country. It is not a blind hatred of all other countries. Nor does being a patriot require one to follow every decsion one’s government makes without question. To be a patriot you must be willing to think critically and be willing to raise questions when you see things go wrong. Furthermore, you can both be a patriot and be willing to poke fun at yourself and your land. Doing that allows some critical distance from yourself and gives you perspective; perspective that strengthens your ability to exercise your patriotic duties (voting, for one thing). Unless you are an idiot. Then, maybe you should just stick with chanting. (“U-S-A, U-S-A!”)
I do realize that my sense of patriotism deviates from the modern norm. For many of us, all patriotism seems to require is wearing a flag pin and posting nasty, reactionary comments on a Canadian blog. That’s too bad. All I can do is keep on truckin’; me and my Christian dog.
Tara (#157), I appreciate what you’re saying. I’m not saying that FOR YOU and a select minority of others, patriotism can’t mean what you take it to mean. What I was saying was more an empirical observation about what patriotism actually means in the vast majority of instances.
Thus, I think we both see the dangers of the more popular brand of patriotism, but we do just disagree on how best to combat it. But, nevertheless, despite our disagreement on that front, I do thank you for injecting some thoughtful discussion into the mix.
Paul(#158):
Happy to help and thanks for the compliment. Good luck with the crazies on both sides of the border and congrats on getting people so wound up. This had to be great for your blog traffic.
You’re upset because a trucking company is expressing religious beliefs. You’re upset because a state has pride in its heritage. French toast is cooked in scrambled egg, not butter. A letter to the editor doesn’t mean it’s right. And a business owner can put whatever he wants on his signs. If that sucks for you, Make an atheist business that has no Canadian pride (Cause come on… how boring of a history can you get?), only serve crackers and caviar, release newsletters with no public voice, and write your fucking blog on the sign. Chances are, more people would read it there.
Tara, that’s an understatement. 40,000 hits in less than 16 hours.
The signs scare me.
1. I live in california and i have yet to see a non-native mexican working in a wal-mart. Go figure.
2. Gas at $2 a gallon?, id take $3
3. /agreed. These things are scary. And most of them come from good people with a lack of understanding of international politics either due to environment or lack of education.
4. Camel jockey? Oh this reminds me of a funny story.
My best friend of 20 years grew up in a Jewish house. What she was 13, as part of her bat’mitsvah (kind of like a quincinera but it happens at 13) she made a pilgrimage to Israel and visited the surrounding countries. When hearing this next part you must keep in mind that my friend barely breaks 5 feet and is approaching 200 pounds. She is the sweetest woman alive but she cannot meet some of the excruciating standards for women in her native california. When she visited the palestinian districts of israel a man dressed as though he were well-off approached her parents and offered them 40 herds of camel and some gold for her hand in marriage upon first looking at her. My friend was only 13. She was absolutely mortified, and her parents politely declined. He upped the offer of gold. All they had to say was that they were Jewish…and he discreetly handed my friend a gilded dagger as a “memoir” and apologized before high tailing it out of there.
Irony anyone?
Thats the beauty of the U.S.A. We can all disagree with each other and are free to do it. I don’t have to like what this restaurant puts on their sign, but I can also put whatever I believe on my sign. You that say such signs shouldn’t be, and such menu items shouldn’t be or whatever… you only want freedom to apply to yourself.
You gotta love the idiot who feels so offended by free speech that he feels that he and the other open-minded americans should shut it down and make all of these “closed-minded bigots” move out of the country. You, my friend, are not the solution…just a different side of the problem. The stuffed french toast reminds me of the “secret to great french cooking…butter, butter, butter”. It’s insane, but american’s certainly don’t have a corner on insanely unhealthy foods. We did not create the insanely unhealthy food market (think alfredo sauce, fois gras), and who really cares. We’ve got a lot of religious people down in the south. They’d like to push their views onto as many people as possible. Thank goodness we live in a country were crazy and non-crazy are allowed to express their views without being condemned, jailed, punished, or enjoined.
For #4 response, to Rod.
Immigrant and Illegal are not interchangeable terms, Rod. Nor is every immigrant illegal. Our country (Mine and I’m assuming Rod’s, and in this case America) doesn’t require us to conform to “illegal” immigrants. (sigh)
PLEASE all you Canadians stay up there in Canadia, we don’t want you here. Really, we don’t. You’re a bunch of pussies and no one cares about your liberal views. You are lucky we are here to protect your retarded asses.
Thanks, Marty, but you do not speak for me, or for that matter a great deal of Americans.
ok, i don’t even know how i got here, but there’s something i need to say before leaving. this country has a number of issues- some are extremely deep, dark and disturbing- i’ll grant you and anybody else capable of independent thought that much. but you listen here: i’ll be damned if i let a canadian of all people try to school an american on nutrition. yes, america is fat, but our diet alone does not come first on the list of reasons why. i mean, seriously, how can you even begin to chirp on and on about stuffed french toast, when you are from a country that came up with poutine (french fries topped with whole cheese curds and smothered in gravy). or how about the french canadian ragu (pork, duck, mixed-meat meatballs and ham hocks cooked down for hours in a brown gravy and served over egg noodles)- i’m sure that recipe varies greatly by family and region. sugar-on-snow parties? (outdoor parties where home-made maple syrup is served on snow- also served are usually fresh donuts cooked in lard which are also used to sop up the syrup) what traditional canadian recipe box doesn’t contain a hundred references to butter, cream, lard and bacon?
c’mon, man. rant all you want, but you gotta pick your spots.
what a load of crap… casa d’ice is an internet hoax. wake up, this is all B.S. (all except) the nasty ass french toast I’m sorry to admit
mexicans wouldnt be in the back, they would be standing by the payphones looking at beautiful white women, while they stand with their fat white women, canada blows, we are the best country in the world, one nation under God stay in Canada and watch your hockey, but i bet tom brady could whip gretzky in a fist fight, stupid foreigner, u should be ashamed to be white
Guess I’m just an unhealthy American, but that stuffed French toast sounded good. Oh and processed cheese isn’t that bad either. Hell it’s not like real cheese comes from a prettier process or anything. The rest, yea that’s just odd.
Please believe that not all Americans or places in America are like the places or people you’ve seen and heard about. This country is not in a very good place right now, but we are trying to get back. Bear with us.
The thing is. You just can’t buy hilarity like that. I mean, it’s truly priceless. Those signs are amazing.
I am an American and realize that about 90% of the people in this country are simply out of their minds. I personally find it more amusing than the circus.
Just watching the evening news cracks me up.
I have lived all over upstate New York for my entire life, and I have never heard of stuffed french toast.
Also, people who live in the north of the USA look down on southerners just as much as anyone else in the world. That part of the country has had a massive inferiority complex for the last 140 years.
So you guys don’t have assholes in Canada?
That Casadice signmaker has really serious issues that should be left either to a therapist or a self-inflicted shotgun wound.
Anti-American BIGOT.
That’s it, pure and simple.
so quit bitching and don’t come back… we don’t need you.
What I hate about the Internet:
1. It allows any dumbass with an opinion to believe it is actually worth something.
2. Comment sections go on forever, yet only discuss three basic arguments
3. NOT being able to understand (not agree, just understand) an opposing viewpoint is the basis of ignorance; Hiding behind a computer monitor makes that way too easy for most.
Funny…. I just got back from Kicking Horse in Banff where I had…. wait for it….
Stuffed French toast!!!
(and yes, the owners of the inn were life long Canadians)
So give your self-righteousness a rest.
Everyone could come up with 5 random fringe reasons to hate any country. I feel dumber for reading this, and dumber still for posting to it.
seriously everything is offered up in Spanish because companies want to make a buck off of immigrants – legal or not. Thats the american way. seriously is there anyway to get the south to secede again
I believe Edmund Burke once said….
Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the shadow of the British oak, chew the cud and are silent, pray do not imagine, that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field; that of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome insects of the hour.
I guess I’m saying it’s a rather naive, no, narrow and distant viewpoint. Not to say the number of ignorant Americans is small, just that the most loudly voiced opinon (seemingly) may not be the opinion most commonly advanced.
Next time you drive down from Canada to the good ole USA, come through Windsor ON into Detroit, MI.
Once you take a good look around Detroit, you will quickly re-organize this little list of yours.
Worse than Detroit? Impossible!
So I gather that :
1. the concept of free-speech,and the fact that crazy people have it shocks you.
2. the concept of religious beliefs makes you uncomfortble.
3. You don’t mind killing babies.
I like how you take things out of context and use them to represent a whole.
(sorry I can’t spell)
but yeah, that sign maker has issues.
I wonder if I can cherry pick embarrassing examples of Canadian imbecility?
(Oh, btw, not every American is fat, drives an SUV, and thinks Jesus rode to church on a dinosaur.)
To all you lame ass Canadian America-haters: Eat a dick.
To Larry Gambone, who said:
“JCY, your attitudes are an example of why the world is hostile toward the USA. Thankfully, there are lots of Americans who 1. would be offended by a commercial truck with religious nit-wittery plastered on it, 2. Think fast food is crap, 3. Don’t pick on immigrants 4. Don’t tell critics they can stay out of the USA.”
Americans like you who lick the boots of foreigners in a vain attempt to seek their approval deserve your fate. Enjoy the taste of boot black.
5, I’m an atheist who thinks Christianity is stupid. But we have a right to express our beliefs or non-beliefs in this country. It’s called the First Amendment. You ought to get one.
4, As my American brothers and sisters have already stated: Poutine. So go fuck yourself about stuffed French toast.
3, As a non-Southerner, I don’t have a dog in that fight. Again, though, we have this little thing in the USA I mentioned above called the First Amendment, guaranteeing free speech–even speech we don’t like.
2, Um, again, we have a First Amendment right to express our views, without first having to make sure those views conform to the world view of our neighbors or of a fucking Canadian, for chrissakes. Moreover, he does know his history: our ancestors who came here didn’t go on the dole. America takes in more immigrants & refugees than the rest of the world combined, so Canada and other countries need to eat a big fat American dick before you complain about American immigration policies or opinions.
1, So, some restaurant owner has over the top opinions? We’re not fucking Canada, we have the right to express ourselves in the United States without first making sure that the government deems our opinions inoffensive. Should I judge all Canadians by the arrogant fuckwit author of this blog post? No. I know some damn good Canadians. I won’t judge all of Canada by you, asshole. Maybe you ought to learn to make similar distinctions.
Until you do, go fuck yourself.
I just wanted to let you know the only reason I read this is because of the link on Fark.com.
You are a tool.
You’re judging an entire country based on the habits and beliefs of a few. “You people”? Not every American thinks and acts the same way. Suggesting that they do is rather unfair.
Translated:
“Oh dear lord, those damn Americans are exercising their FREEDOMS, and I disagree with some of them. This cannot be. They must all do only things that I approve! They must feel my righteous Canadian superiority burning their souls!”
Sheesh, piss off, you arrogant f**k. You can begin to pretend to be superior to the USA as soon as you secure some kind of freedom of speech for yourselves.
I’m ashamed.
Will you sponsor me when I move North to Canada? Pretty please?
Don’t worry. We sane Americans (yes we do exist) are freaked out by all five of your observations. We’re working real hard to change it but the insane right has a strong foothold. I could add at least five more observations to your list that I notice on a daily basis here in Georgia (a red state that is getting more red every day).
Hey, you Canadian schmuck. Who cares what you think. Oh, you were offended by our billboards. So, complain to your Human Rights Commission. They’ll square you right away.
Go home and stay there you punk. Love Bedrock Guy
Sounds like Kanukistan is a bastion of tolerance. Eh? How does a religious message on a truck oppress you? Don’t want to see anything that may offend you? Wear a blindfold. Don’t like stuffed French toast? Don’t eat it, but why would you prevent others from eating it? Since you obviously got the pictures of the signs from the Casa D’Ice web site, why didn’t you read a bit more? You’d have learned that the owner is Italian, and Casa is also the Italian word for house. You won’t see gun free zone signs in Kanukistan, because you let the government take away your right to own a gun. language bigotry; go to Quebec & try speaking English.
LoL!! Fat cats! I remembered those things back in college!!! Hahaha!
“American” cheese has nothing to do with patriotism, it’s simply a food name, much like French Fries or Swiss Cheese, and has been around a long time. It’s also not actually cheese, technically it’s a “cheese food”, so has to be labeled as such. All kinds of restaurants all over the world have particular platters of their own they give silly names to. So really #4 made a big deal out of nothing.
The others were pretty freaky.
PS – your healthcare sucks too. First test, the Democrats think its great. Except of course, none of the Democratic leadership will ever expose themselves to the socialist nature of your healthcare. That would be for the little people you know. Eh. Love Bedrock Guy
HELL YEAH!!!!
That’s why we are a world super power, pride, capitalism, and rule of law. NOT giving into invadors, trust me Canada will fall like the Netherlands if y’all don’t watch it. Theo Van Gough ring a bell?
Besides what has Canada given the world, Tom Green, Pam Anderson, and Celine Dione?? Go ahead make fun of my culture, we’ll still have the last laugh. And don’t worry we’ll still be your body guards (French Canadian Army, Oui, Oui, We surrender!)
SOCIALISM SUCKS, and needs to be dealt with by any means necessary.
What’s all this commotion aboot? if thats the worst 5 reasons, can’t be all that bad in the U.S., eh?
/shits pants
One more thing (I’m on a roll tonight). If you think the majority of Americans who vote give a rat’s ass about anything a European or Canadian think, you would be, er….WRONG.
We love your scenery, your history, and your beer; your politics, are a bit, how shall we say…wierd. You can’t even fix the Quebec problem, Europe is scared shitless of the Islamic Fascists and yet, you feel very comfortable slamming the U.S. That’s ok, cuz it proves you really love us and are absolutely terrified of having your head cut off.
Love Bedrock Guy
LOL
Some Americans, as some Canadians, French, Germans, Mexicans, Zimbabwayans, humans, are questionably allowed to walk free.
Who knew?
I prefer the hideous signs and posted letters and truck-side icons. At least those nuts are easy to spot and therefore, avoid.
p.s. Stay away from Marty’s house, no sense of humor there, otherwise you are welcome to visit any time. :)
I’m an American, and I’m ashamed to say my country has been totally FUCKED for at least eight years now. We’re trying to get our country back, give us a break. Better yet, send us some help!
All of these things are tremendously stupid, but living in the US (specifically the Deep South) I no longer find myself surprised by any of them, except maybe the Casa D’Ice. The Stuffed French Toast example is far from the worst though. How about the deep fried, cheese-stuffed bacon burger made of ground bacon? Seriously. It is real: http://www.peppersandsmoke.com/bbq/deepfried/
Everybody just needs to take a deep breath and stop taking things way too seriously. Whatever happened to perspective and the ability to laugh at ourselves? There is plenty of good and bad in Canada, the US, and every other place on the planet. No one place is exclusively one or the other–there are fringes on either end. God Bless America and God Bless Canada!
KIDS KIDS KIDS!!! JEEBUZ, get a sense of humor! (Or “humour” *nods* ) I’m born and raised Illinois grown rusted bible belt and I see it! For gosh sake, get your red white and blue American panties outta their twist and take a DEEP breath, back AWAY from the blog.
Yes, these are all extreme examples of some of the less than admirable people we have here. Every country has them. When did the US get so reactionary? Someone up there said “you must have thin skin, how do you survive the cold?” (paraphrased there). Um…..WHO has the thin skin?
Srsly peeps. Get over yourselves. It’s a blog. We have weirdos. So do they.
What worries me far more is the sheer number of loudmouthed “Americans” on this blog that are perpetuating those exact stereotypes by defending them. YOU people are part of the problem, not a Canadian who wrote a light-hearted “things I hate” list.
Glad you’re back in canada…….
I think what amazes me more than anything else is the number of people (Americans) who would jump to defend any of these five points.
What heartens me is the recognition from many who left comments that, yeah, a lot of that stuff is pretty f*cked up.
I take issue with the person who stated “Dang man, you found some silly letter to the editor by some random dude and that’s what you find #2 most wrong with the entire country? Holy cow. I can find better stuff wrong than one person’s opinion”. Clearly, this blog post states that these five items freaked you out AS A CANADIAN. Nowhere does it say that you were listing the things that are “most” wrong with the entire country. And really, you’re commenting on specific attitudes of specific people and/or groups, and NOT making generalizations. What I got from your post is that one of the problems you witness was people making TOO MANY generalizations.
So let’s see: an arrogant douchebag comes to America, only bothers to photograph the things he wants to whine about, only notices food he doesn’t want to eat, and gets offended that American Cheese is referred to as “American Cheese”. (Because lord knows Swiss Cheese and Glouchester Cheese aren’t named after the place where THEY’RE made.) Yeah, great job, genius.
So being stupid is somehow uniquely American? I didn’t realize we had a monopoly on ignorance. I don’t see how those things are upsetting to a Canadian specifically.
I just wanted to point out to the person who said that Casa D’Ice has casa in it, and is therefore hispanic. It’s actually Italian.
The D’ is an italian prefix. If it were spanish, it would be
case de ice, or casa de hielo
just saying
I can see your point on quite a few of these….well, points. I have to take issue with the letter to the editor from the descendant of an immigrant, however. The simple fact is that yes, the social programs available today did not exist when his grandfather travelled here. But had he not been able to find his way on his own, and learn the ways and language of the country he adopted as home, the grandson who wrote said letter would likely not exist; how often do you meet the descendant of a homeless guy who wasn’t homeless along with him at the time (ie, the child of a homeless parent who lives on the streets with him)? I realize I’m leaving the door open to a remarkably stupid point of “well the kid had to get a home somewhere” and that is not necessarily correct. But back to the argument at hand. The grandfather made his way here when it was a little harder to do so, modes of travel being what they were. He made his way once he got here by learning the language and getting a job, rather than relying on government assistance (whether it was available or not is a moot point; it’s like arguing how successful psychiatry would’ve been against medieval exorcism recipients). This country’s individualist ideals promote heavily the idea of supporting oneself and finding your own “American dream”. This country is very much the melting pot it was once described as. These points being the case, it is in fact commendable that without much going for him, this one man’s grandfather was successful without government help, and it is sad, I would say, that unregistered immigrants (I think the term illegal, while accurate, is becoming a bit of a loaded word, racially) are willing to enter this country without permission and work for less than what is livable here, only to accept assistance from the government they are breaking the laws of. I’m not one for having the “Minutemen” on the border; far from it. I just think that if they should want to come to this country so badly, they should be willing to do so within our laws. If this country is worth doing so much to live in, then they should at least do so with respect for it, and I do think it’s disrespectful to do what the unregistered immigrants have been doing. Not only that, but our country has enough problems to take care of in regards to our borders without having to worry about people from otherwise friendly nations breaking our laws to get in.
Why not nuke all the camel jockeys and turn Iraq into a parking lot for our oil refinery trucks.
Wow, not all of use are that ignorant.
Hey Everyone, I’ll let you in on a secret: It was meant as Humor!
Oh my God, I know. It was hard to see, but I think we can all just move on and have a little chuckle over this small misunderstanding.
“But the Casa D’Ice boards…they’re enough to make me want to move to Sweden” sez Cody.
Hey, Cody, don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. At least in America we have the right to say what we think. In Canada and Sweden, the cops would kick down your door and rip down the sign because you have offended some poor soul.
Poutine is solidly excellent. It’s a calorie bomb, but after a plate of it, you won’t mind a rousing five mile hike.
The comment about the 800 mile Wal-Mart scared me because… 800 mile Wal-Mart? Help!
Most of us feel that way. And we would annex Canada too if the women would shave their armpits.
As an American who lives about 45 minutes from Windsor, Ontario I’m LMFAO at just how freaking clueless and naive most Canadians generally are.
Message to Canadians: Your welcome. German just doesn’t seem to fit your temperment.
I can’t believe a criticism from a country that actually allowed an entire city (Montreal) and nearly an entire province (Quebec) to withdraw from it’s ‘union’ and change it’s official to French.
I can’t figure out why the Moose haven’t taken over the country yet.
Well at least this Canuk is safe, when I see them bastards in the states I do my best not to run them off the road. As drivers they SUCK, and as a country they suck worse.
As an American, the thing that disturbs me most, is the idiocy some people have displayed in this post. (I’m looking at you #170. Why is it that racists and bigots are always semi-illiterate?)
Canada, I love you, but you have your share of rednecks too. (Alberta, Newfoundland???)
Why focus on the differences in our countries instead of the similarities? For example, the largest flags you’ll see displayed in both countries will be found at car dealerships. See – we’re not so different.
Sorry you got exposed to other cultures ya xenophobic bastid
My advice: Don’t leave your country if you don’t want to see other cultures.
The US has hundreds of millions of people – they all have different thoughts and ideas. Shocking but true
Haa.. Wow. Way to find the most random and obscure examples to explain why a country “freaked” you out and the way some people are defending themselves is ridiculous. This country thrives on its right to be ignorant to human decency, be as outspoken as possible, push religion and politics and the ever so popular and vintage phrase; “pursuit of happiness”. If deep frying french toast stuffed with other assorted breakfast foods and molding it into a heart attack on a plate makes people happy then why does anyone else care?
If posting obviously inappropriate signs under a diner name for publicity is what some people want to do then what’s the big deal? You don’t have to agree but you don’t have to attack it either. People are entitled to their opinion and that’s that.
And immigrants? Really? People are fighting over immigrants? First off every American family started as immigrants and yes, some are looking for hand outs but you know what? Blame our Government who is always so eager to support people, immigrants and citizens alike instead of making them work and how can you blame an immigrant for taking free money when we live in place where we coined the term “work like a mexican”.. Lets be serious.. If that free money feeds someone’s kids then some of you should get off your high horse before someone kicks it out from underneath you.
aaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahah! gold mine flame war!!!!!!
I think the confusion between the Canadian and American sides of this general disgust is the idea that somehow America is supposed to be a land of milk and honey, the perpetual eden to the worlds sodom. Unfortunately i guess people don’t look at history. the US has always been aggressively puritanical. This can be seen with religious patriarchy in the home, education and work ethic. Also i saw something up within the comments about hate speech. Hate speech is centered on directed coercion, threat, visible threat, impending action or the intent to create an atmosphere of outward oppression by remarks of speech. Though the signs i do not agree with are at best ridiculous suggestions, and unfortunately racist slogans are not considered to be hate speech. If it said something like “I’m” or “We’re” or any directive pronoun that doesn’t fall within suggested future tense or if a tense can be preambled by “If” then its not hate speech. But this vagueness is why you have incipient fascist laws in the US like ‘hate crime’ legislature.
Also, for anyone to say they are ashamed to live in the US, egh, that’s negligible. i think instead of continually griping about the “others” of America look at it from a perspective that you aren’t in dialogue with these people. Because you aren’t. Someone that doesn’t believe in god, doesn’t understand the feelings of belief that worshipers do and vice versa, instead of looking at it as a competitive field you should look at the vocal minorities as the people that are actually well outside of the debate. Ignore and rebuke when necessary.
But we should also remember that other countries have belligerent laws, and people as well. If i remember correctly Canada and Australia as well as Britain have minority immigration laws that are inherently xenophobic. After all Canada and Australia two of the largest Chinese (or for that matter Asiatic) immigration ports of the English speaking world have only 21 to 32 million give or take of a “Naturalized Population” so consider 10 million Chinese in a place like Australia meaning that your standing Minority is now a third your population. same goes for rebuffs on Indian visas. I mean racism and xenophobia is the same regardless of it being perpetrated by standing law or by jingoist Americans that share an incredibly lucrative economic situation as well as an incredibly easy to bypass border with a nation that we continually oppress economically.
none of these problems like diet, blow hards, or religious zealotry should get a free pass and swept away but America is unique in the fact it likes to air out and revel in it’s dirty laundry, because it can. I mean its tough being a guiding economic and military power in an era where its so easy to crush competition by either method. Consider America Caligula and Americans Malcolm for Malcolm in the Middle.
Having grown up in Canada, I am not surprised by this sneering mockery of the states, since that is a very vogue thing to in Canada. But you’re picking on the most petty stuff. In the first place, you can find shit like this all over Canada, so don’t be so smug. In the second place, I would be overjoyed if things like this were the worst of our problems up here.
A society where everyone lives at the expense of everyone else, where you MUST struggle your entire life on the tax-treadmill to stay alive, is nothing to be proud of. It’s sickening to see anyone celebrating such a system, by taking pot shots at 5 completely benign expressions of personal freedom.
The worst thing about the states is they are becoming more socialist every day, and they have the guns to really make that suck. Stop encouraging them.
I visited Canada often to buy land in northern Ontario and I could easily come up with a similar list for Canada. I’m not particualrly petty though so i would rather post insightful things rather than knee-jerk pant-pissing things that really are not indicitve of the country.
The stupid political sign item is ignorant and narrow-minded but the only thing it truly accomplishes is it point out how bigoted the owner is.
After visiting Canada, my advice to this contributor would be to shut himself in his home and not come out – the entire world is filled with similar ignroance.
Just more proof of the general ignorance and deeply instilled hatred that plagues my country.
Why are the people and establishments not allowed to express their views when you are allowed to express yours? ACLU – Anti Christian League Union. For the freedom to say anything as long as they approve it.
Rodeodoc (#215) – “In Canada and Sweden, the cops would kick down your door and rip down the sign because you have offended some poor soul.”
Wow, there’s another American that actually believes it when he’s told “They hate us for our freedoms” and he clearly also believes that America is unique in enjoying freedom of speech and expression.
#2 Since you were in the Florida Keys, he probably wasn’t talking about illegal Mexican immigrants, he’s talking about legal Cubans. There is a tremendous amount of frustration down in South FL regarding all the special handouts and programs available to Cuban immigrants. It’s not something that gets alot of press outside of FL, but the Cubans get a pretty sweet deal when they make it to shore. And alot of them seem to make it a point not to learn English. So they take the handouts, but not the culture.
And yes there were no programs and handouts when his grandfather arrived, but I think that was his point. His Grandfather made it without help, so why should we be helping new immigrants?
That’s it? That’s the top 5 scariest things he saw in America? -I could do a top 100 on Canada, he needs to get out more and see his own country. You want to see red-necks, look in your own back yard. Nothing compares your drunken hockey fans.
As a Swede living in the USA for the past 2 years I can only agree. Then again drive-through pharmacies to this day still weird me out. Though funny, it’s also sad. America is the everything really, from the homeless poor to the people with billion dollar mansions, from Miss South Carolina to the brighest scientist.
Though the average Joe is an obese loudmouth uneducated prick, those messages you presented sadly enough represents him and so many others here.
maybe you should have just visited the West Coast and Upper Midwest (especially WI and MN) instead of the other regions, as with nearly every country larger than an eyeshot each region has its own individual idelas and sentiments. I have been to Canada and have found full blown whackaloons there too, and I don’t find it necessary to state that based on my experience with a few that all Canadians are crazy. Lets be grown up about this, eh?
Here’s a very american phrase that sums up america Louisiana style.
Fuck you.
marvin Aberegg (#226) – Feel free to post whatever list you want about Canada. I heartily enjoy a good Canada-bashing. I also enjoy a good America-bashing. The difference is a) Canadians actually can take it and b) I’m not so naive that I take offense to such a posting like many of your countrymen.
As long as you’re checking out the “bacon-burger” from #203, here’s another delightfully insane place:
http://www.heartattackgrill.com
Ferrell: “Besides what has Canada given the world, Tom Green, Pam Anderson, and Celine Dione [sic]?”
More celebrities than that: Nathan Fillion, Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Eugene Levy, Keanu Reeves (he even played hockey), Wolverine (okay, he’s a comic book character, sure…) and a great many more.
Also, the Canadarm, Ren and Stimpy, VG Cats, Joe Shuster (co-creator of Superman), snowmobiles, electric wheelchairs, the microsurgical staple gun, the ZEEP nuclear reactor, Java, basketball, helmets for American football, Trivial Pursuit, and questionably, the telephone. But we have to share that one with Scotland and the States.
A Canadian also holds the current world record for sniping; smashed the previous record rather spectacularly.
Sure, the States has an impressive list of accomplishments as well; you have 10 times our population, after all. But we never said you didn’t.
Why hasn’t anyone noticed that those restaurant signs were made with one of those goofy online sign generators. While it’s sad that some of that dribble was even typed, I promise you that they never appeared on the side of the road.
pa·tri·ot·ism /ˈpeɪtriəˌtɪzəm or, especially Brit., ˈpæ-/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[pey-tree-uh-tiz-uhm or, especially Brit., pa-] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty.
Paulitics – Don’t mistake True Patriotism with Faux Patriotism. The internet is one of the greatest inventions of all time. Unfortunately, due to it’s Anonymity, some people will say stupid things just to start a flame war. From your blog, many Americans have taken offense. It is only reasonable that they make replied comments, however, some of these comments are as lame as the Casa’Dice signs.
Yes we have free speech here. No, we aren’t the only ones that have it, however, we were the first country to have it as a founding principal. Todays politicians are just that, politicians, and they don’t hold a candle to the founding fathers. Americas founding fathers were true legislators. They made laws that benefited the masses, while inconveniencing the few. Today’s politicians are only out to line their pockets.
So Canada doesn’t have any unhealthy food, loud religious fanatics or overly political douchebags? Must be the one place in the world. No I’m not shocked or freaked out by any of the 5 things listed, but that doesn’t mean I’m glad for them either.
Many of the Canadians commenting here are wrong to think that a few vocal groups of people define the beliefs and actions of an entire country. The US is practically split in two over many important issues (war, immigration, healthcare, etc…) and half the country isn’t about to move out because they disagree with the other half. Our politicans also suck, but I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a good politician.
Finally, there’s no defense for what some people say, like in the immigration letter or those stupid billboards. Still, I don’t see how one can argue against the concept of free speech itself, especially when there are places in the world like China and Russia where the government regularly censors its own people.
Okay…seriously…can’t any of you people (American/Canadian) take a joke???
I can’t believe any of you are arguing over Stuffed French Toast!! Immigration? every ignorant asshole has an opinion about it and just like assholes, they all stink!!
One thing about the Stuffed French Toast though…last I checked Canada has many of the same restuarants America has…International House of Pancakes??
…anyone…Beuller…Beuller???
Not like it’s something new that was just invented yesterday…
And it’s separation of church and state…not separation of church and businesses. The church is a business in this country. My state’s license plates have “In God We Trust” on them. When these were first introduced, there was a “handling fee” of $15 for anyone who did NOT purchase the In God We Trust license plate. Someone actually sued the state…seriously. Over $15. Because he didn’t believe in God. So, his thinking is the same as the great immigration debate: “The religious one’s are getting all the benefits and since I don’t think the way they do, I have to shell out more money…” WTF?????
Many Americans are ashamed to live in this country as well…but our shame does not make us blind to realize that this is a good country…when the right people are running it. And unfortunately, politics are not what they used to be (and i’m not reflecting back to 1930’s-60’s…we’re talking Founding Fathers…what this country TRUELY believes)
Don’t knock us Canada! When the draft starts back up, expect to see us ‘immigrants’ draft-dodge to your country, revolt/rebel and take over…it’s our history!!!
Either way, you want to see some really shocking shit in America?? Read CNN on a daily basis. Read about how a man can beat a toddler to death because it wouldn’t stop crying.
you people are getting upset over the littlest thing. And just like the Casa D’Ice owner, everyone has a right to say whatever the hell they want…you don’t have to read it, listen to it, or even comment about it. It just is what it is…
I miss nothing!!!
DID YOU KNOW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAN GET WELFARE(government tax money)If they had a child in the unted states,even if both of that childs parents are here illegally?
Andy (#230) – no the point is that immigrants used to work on the same level playing field as non-immigrants. Now what you want is for immigrants to be stuck in 1901 while the rest of you enjoy all the hard fought workers rights while also enjoying an indentured racially-based servant class who don’t get to enjoy the same rights.
Dear Canadian. Next time, stay home. Nobody put a gun to your head making you come down here, and likely, nobody put a gun to your head to make you go back. Consider yourself lucky.
#5: Private company. He can put anything he wants on the side of his truck. If you don’t like it, tough…don’t use his trucks to haul your stuff.
#4: We deep fry Snickers bars down here, too. Don’t like it? Don’t eat one. At least we don’t put gravy on our french fries.
#3: The South lost. Some of them haven’t gotten over it yet.
#2: At least all of our traffic signs are only in one language (so far). If you come into this country to live, LEARN TO SPEEKIE ENGLEE. That goes for you Quebeckies, too.
#1: We have something here in the US called “free speech.” You might have noticed that. We also have the freedom to make asses out of ourselves. If you don’t like what this guy put up on his restaurant marquee, DON’T GIVE HIM ANY OF YOUR LOONIES. Easy enough. And besides, the place is in Pittsburg, which is a shithole anyway.
Next time, go to France.
Oh, and much of the traffic you are receiving is being generated from an American website. http:\\www.fark.com
The readers there are very experienced at flame-war comments.
I’m a social/political progressive from California, but I recognize that clearly these are extreme cases. Do you fancy yourself another Borat or something? Do you really believe these examples are representative of the majority of Americans, instead of worst? Did you find anything about the US to admire or respect?
If you want to be fair and say something constructive, you need to be a lot more balanced.
Seriously #237? Your argument for why Canada is so great is Ren & Stimpy? well if that’s the case I’d just like to state for the record my favorite thing to come out of Canad is Alex Trebek. Suck it slow.
1. I’m sorry for my ignorant brethren
2. I love Canada
3. Hockey rocks
4. Rock on
WOW… I know that sometimes things people say is a little shocking, but whatever happened to freedom of speech? The food complaint is just silly, you can find gross food anywhere in the world including Canada. The rest of this stuff is just freedom of speech, and forgetting that it takes all kinds just leads to suppression. Next time maybe write something about how you wish things would change or how they could, instead of just pointing in laughing with obviously misplaces superiority.
Things I read on a blog written by a Canadian that freaked me out.
Sweeping generalizations about an entire country’s population based on the words and actions of a few. I guess these five people that own these billboards or write these letters are the only ones you met on your trip and I guess that how the entire population of over 300 million people must act. Wait I though only Americans were supposed to think like that. We all bible thumping racist pigs I guess…enjoy your cliches and stereo types while you call us the hypocrites and closed minded fools. Maybe you’re not as different as you think.
That last sign was taken from a bit by Bill Maher. He did a comedy special in Boston and aired by HBO. I’m pretty sure the bit was from that and not “Real Time.”
rlhoffman – you wrote “Yes we have free speech here. No, we aren’t the only ones that have it, however, we were the first country to have it as a founding principal.”
Actually you didn’t have freedom of speach until 1964 when your Supreme Court struck down the 1798 Sedition Act (remember: that act which made it illegal to either speak or write any criticism of the U.S. government, congress or the president).
I live in Pittsburgh. The Casa D’crap restaurant is a continuing source of embarrasment to everybody in my fair city. YA! We’re number one! We’re number one!
Yes. All Americans are exactly the same. They all eat artery clogging crap and spew bible lines constantly while yelling at people to go kill all the camel jockeys. You know, just like how all Canadians must be exactly the same. I’m sure there are no creepy backwater places in Canada that I could go and photograph.
Eric (#251) –
You wrote “Things I read on a blog written by a Canadian that freaked me out. Sweeping generalizations about an entire country’s population based on the words and actions of a few.”
Want to read again closer. Point to me the place where I made ANY generalization of Americans.
Bonnie (#255) – Read the piece again. I never said all Americans are the same. In fact, I would rather disagree with this statement.
So if I were to drive a big truck across the US with Muslim philosophies and quotes from the Koran and “praise Allah” on it, all of you free-speechers would nod approvingly and wave me on my way? I think I’d be lucky to make it safely to Guantanamo. “Freedom of speech” seems to carry a lot more weight here if your speech is in agreement with the vocal majority.
As a Canadian living in the US for 10 years, one of the biggest culture shocks for me down here is people (myself included) getting into dire financial difficulties because they’ve gotten sick or injured and the medical bills have put them into debt. Say what you will about the “evils of socialized medicine” — the bottom line is, people aren’t afraid to go to the doctor up there; they go, they get well, and their quality of life improves.
I hope this author is kidding. You, Paul, sound like an old woman who doesn’t understand how anything in the real world works. I take it you don’t pass through your own front door very often.
First of all, you shouldn’t “presume”. These were a handful of people that caused/made/wrote the items on your list. If I walked downtown Toronto and saw a bum taking a leak on the street (which I have), do I then “presume” this is normal behavior for Canadians? You don’t take a nominal percent of a population and make a broad brush stroke over the entire population.
Second of all, yes, it’s called free speech. I know it’s scary, but that’s why you still eat at the little kids table while us adults eat off the fine china. Smart people use free speech and idiots use use free speech… that’s the beauty and hideousness of it.
Third of all, don’t pick on the food. It’s a weak topic. I bet if you drove more than 50 miles from your own house, you’d find something just as disgusting. How about fly to an ‘exotic’ destination like China… I’m sure you’d love to cram a Stuffed French Toast in your yapper after you had to eat actual Chinese food for a week.
So Paul, what I’m trying to say is, don’t be such a wuss.
Stuffed French Toast is fantastic
The south is not.
You are too tender for this horrid country.
Stay away, lest we poison you with our processed cheese and Jesus.
Say hi to the Queen for me.
Boston Rawx!!
Number three is my favorite. I’m from the North. Southern heritage? What is that? Deep fried food and statutory racial prejudice and discrimination? Apartheid? The right to buy, sell and torture slaves? The right to lynch people for pleasure and recreation? The right to use your rebel flag as a a terrorist weapon? When I see that stars and bars flag, I think of the one thing the South is truly famous for. A long standing, carefully cultivated bigotry.
cenobyte (#250)
“Next time maybe write something about how you wish things would change or how they could, instead of just pointing in laughing with obviously misplaces superiority.”
Actually I regularly write on that topic. Take 30 seconds to read through this blog before you make such an ignorant statement. What you’re actually saying is that I’m not allowed to laugh at the things I found funny on my trip.
And another thing…Butter is healthier than Lard, Margarine, Maple Syrup or whatever the hell it is you Canucks use to fry stuff with.
Sorry, I just had to put some kind of stereotypical racist remark in there. (which makes me ask the question, Am I racist if I “hate” white Canadians, if I, myself, am white? And what gives one the reason to hate a Canadian, eh? Oh, that’s right…you killed the Baldwin’s…South Park…anyone?)
Hey Cody – Sweden is waiting for you; take all your tree-hugging lefties with ya. We will shut the door so you can’t come crying back when you see how good we have it, thanks in large part, to our Soldiers and others who suffer for our freedom – and freedom of speech.
I’m a god fearing Christian woman from Shreveport Louisiana, and I just want to say I think you are all going to hell for being so mean to each other. “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting FIRE,. . .” Matthew 25:41
As for the deep fried french toast, sounds delightful, perhaps I’ll make it for breakfast. I’m not a fat ass I’m 5′10″ 155lbs (or however many kilos). An the few extra pounds is from all the moosehead and molsons I drink. Just because it’s there and fatty doesn’t mean you have to eat it. And as far as the rest of the western world goes, can we say french cuisine, yeah everything is better with a few pads of butter. American cheese, it tastes good, not exactly cheese, but it’s good, perhaps just a bit different, if you don’t like it don’t eat it. As for the trucking company and the letter to the editor, we have freedom of speech, which should (not a fan of the protest zones) let any dumbass spout whatever kind of retarded bullshit he wants. The expression of my rights end at your nose, isn’t really applicable to the 1st amendment. Take for example the aclu defending the KKK, violence and hate mongering? you bet, but it was their constitutional right. It appears, from everything you said you were “freaked out” by our freedom of speech. I don’t agree with what any of these people said, but I will defend their right to say it.
BUT, what has really bothered me with all this America bashing is “the rest of the western world” argument. People don’t realize that America is MASSIVE. We’re the third largest country in the world. US population 300 million. Canadian population 33million. I have this feeling that things run a lot smoother when you have a smaller population. Most of canada lives below New York city. The USA is spread out all over, and this leads to various areas being very different from one another. Going to the coasts or to the south is like walking into another country where people just speak english and use the same money. And right now the country is, like someone said earlier, having a bit of a hiccup. We were great friends with the rest of the world until bush, and when his term is up things will change. America is a bit of a rollercoaster ride, when the times are good they are good, and when they are bad they are bad. But things have always been righted. The new deal for example. I am sick of this stereotype that all americans are fat and stupid. People only see what they want to see. Did you stop off at a university or a museum? Did you spend time in any of cultural centers. I was about to say that the further you go to the backwoods the more redneck things get. But just come to North Dakota where I’m from and northern Minnesotta. You can’t judge the country on a small portion of it, and not through your narrow preconcieved notions. But if you excuse me Some stuffed french toast sounds perfect, I just hope I’m not out of american processed cheese like substance, mmmmmmm orange.
I don’t get it… did these things really disturb you, and the humour was just lost on me? I mean, if you’re really that disturbed by words, you need to toughen up a bit, nancy boy. Sure, there are idiots all around, and even the idiots vary from state to state… but let’s not go pretending that the US is all that different from any other Western Nation… normally I’m in NYC (on Vacation right now)… there are plenty of cultures that have bad raps… Canucks have a bad rap for not tipping, some cultures have issues for other reasons… but the reality is that all these negative stereotypes are just lame ass stereotypes that serve only to reinforce some idiot’s notion that he/she is better simply by virtue of the geographic location of his/her birth. Are there serious issues… absolutely… healthcare, education, immigration… all of these are serious issues that merit real debate. The reality though… if you visit any foreign land… expect to see some stuff that is culturally unacceptable… if you go to the eastern part of Germany for a good period of time, you’ll probably see a fight between the punks and the skinheads… if you go to France, you may well see some xenophobic people, or some angry quasi-immigrants, even in good old Canadaland, I’ve run into some rather racist farks when it comes to their attitudes towards people of the First Nations. The thing of it is… you go to other places to enjoy cultural differences… sure some will be bad, but overall, you go places to learn about other cultures… if you really want to feel safe, instead of exposing yourself to things that might scare you, if you’re really so freaked out by everything different, well, you’re pretty much just like the xenophobic rednecks who are born, live, and die in the same county because they just can’t fathom the thought of a different culture being a good thing. Overall though, if it was a humour-piece… it just flopped… all you did was take some stereotypes, go to a nation of 300+ million, find a few d-bags who fit the stereotype, and a rather unhealthy meal that can be gotten at nearly any diner in Canada (Tim Horton’s isn’t a diner, don’t go there)… then point and laugh. Honestly it’s the same kind of humour as if an someone were to just go to Canada and write about poutine and funny accents, or going to Mexico and write about drunks and donkey shows. It may be good for a few larfs to someone who just gets their jollies off of having their preconceptions reviewed (do you watch FoxNews, per chance?), but to people looking for a good laugh at one of the quirky parts of American culture (there are plenty), it just failed miserably.
None of the things you listed are uniquely American. You’re horrified at religious and racial bigotry; the only difference between Canada’s attitude towards it and America’s attitude towards it, is that Canada is willing to pass laws that also suppress sensible people as an unfortunate side-effect; America is not.
You’re also upset about the health consequences of eating one dish you found in one restaurant in an area known for its lax health-consciousness. If we all painted with that broad a brush, I could assume that every Canadian has the sense of humor of one of your border officials — which would make your country scarier than the USSR ever was.
Great eye, Canadian. You are 100% correct.
I love America. I love it enough to criticize the broken stuff.
Some people like Dr. Whatnot and JCY can’t stand criticism. They are Emo.
Oh well. Glad you enjoyed your visit.
Did you see the McGriddle yet? Stuffed French Toast is nothing compared to that…
Sausage (or bacon), egg and American cheese on two Sweet Griddle cakes (like pancakes) served in a plastic/paper wrapping contraption. And I can’t believe I actually wrote “American Cheese”. I initially put cheese (cause here in the States, it’s just understood that the yellow square goes on sandwhiches and all other cheeses will be referred to by their given name, i.e Cheddar Cheese, Swiss Cheese, etc.) then had to change it.
Long live Fark!!!
What do you expect from a place located on “KMart Plaza” in Pennsylvania. Just another racist shithole over there. Run by an ignorant 2nd generation immigrant moron. Go back to Italy, there Guido.
Revelation 14:10 – ” . . . and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone . . .”
wow, you miss the point of free speech dont you? why dont you just stay up north, eh?
You think the guy with Casa D’Ice, perhaps, samples too much of the merchandise found in the “lounge” before he does up his signs? And/or, maybe he really likes crocks of shit? And what is a “crock” of shit, anyway?
Either way, it’s comedy gold.
I just want equality here as in a great many other countrys! One of three things if you are in there country as an illegal, #1 you go to prison for a very long time, #2 you get shot OR #3 you get put in an internment camp where troops come as they please and do as they please! I go to England I speek English, Spain = Spanish! I’m not a redneck and my best friend is a black man, and Hillery for president scares the hell outta me, I just may be an illegal in Mexico if that happens, ya NOT Canada, public health care SUCKS, I have visited there, and NO we arnt going to steal your damm water!
BH Jodo Kast – I did enjoy my visit. Overall it was very pleasant and with absolutely beautiful weather.
I also agree with you about the criticism part. As a Canadian, I enjoy Canada-bashing and I can’t understand that so many Americans would have such thin skin as to not be able to accept criticism.
mmmmmmmm McGriddle
5# Yes, there are religious crazies in the world. Everyone has them, even Canada. Btw, I’ve never seen a truck like that in my life. I don’t doubt that they exist, but they aren’t as common as you’d like to think.
4# Are you kidding? You eat poutine. I’m an American that regularly travels to Canada. Your people are generally nicer, yes, but you can’t accuse us of having more fattening food. Isn’t Canada second in fattest nations of the world anyway?
3# You’re in the American south. That’s the equivilant of your Alberta. Higher concentration of inbred people there, that’s not news.
2# Same as above.
1# Stupid isn’t just the realm of Americans. I could tell you about all the stupid Canadian’s I’ve met and it wouldn’t say anything about the country as a whole.
I think my only real problem with your post here is your tone. You’re totally indignant and horrified by something that you should really be laughing at. If you want to complain, bitch about our terrible health care, or our lack of social programs, or Bush. The things you’re talking about here don’t affect anything one way or another, so whining about it just makes you look like a fool. Get the stick out of your ass and get a sense of humor.
I use to be pretty ‘outdoorsy’ when I was younger. I’d like to fish and was always fascinated at the varieties I could catch just by changing the shiny metal at the end of a string. Also amazing was going into the woods and seeing what rigging up a piece of wire and chunk of vegetable would snare. Then along came the internet blog…..
Humans meet thy bait.
Terry (#276) – Glad to hear your opinion on universal healthcare. The only problem is that if you were just visiting then you would really get to say one way or another whether “public health care SUCKS” or not as you word it. But I’m glad you so thoroughly believe what’s been told to you by your betters.
Canucks are bad tippers? I didn’t know that…
Too bad they look like American’s.
You see, there’s a reason why everyone is so pissed at your 5 things. It’s because we are inferior, righteous, and all knowing. And we never shut up. Also, American’s are used to telling people in other countries that we’re Canadian when travelling. If there are Europeans reading, they’ll know that if we have STRONG opinions, we’re not Canadian…
I’m seriously just trying to add some humor to these comments…slow news/work day.
Free speech in Canada? There is no free speech in Canada.
You can be prosecuted there for reading from the Bible. And YOU want to lecture US?
The casa d’ice signs are all too real. They also sell t-shirts, hats and bumper stickers. *sigh*
What’s interesting about four of the five things that “freaked” Paul out is that they are examples of freedom of speech. The French Toast could be viewed similarly, though it more closely resembles “freedom of glutton”.
As an American, I’m proud of the fact that people have the right to express their views – even if I don’t agree with those views. Three of the instances involve businesses and thanks to the choice that capitalism brings, I would have ample opportunity to avoid patronizing those businesses and being of financial benefit to the proprietors.
I don’t believe Paul was trying to make some sweeping statement, indictment of America or Americans, or try to suggest that freedom of speech is a bad thing (I’m merely pointing out that what “freaked” Paul out are examples of what our Constitution protects, and in some other countries, he would not have been able to see such things, even if people believed them). Paul was merely pointing out examples of things he found odd, strange or disconcerting. He was offering an opinion on some specific instances, nothing more and nothing less.
Paul does not speak for all Canadians, just as I don’t speak for all Americans.
I don’t think people understand the post. These are things which are found to be distasteful. This is an issue of taste.
“I also agree with you about the criticism part. As a Canadian, I enjoy Canada-bashing and I can’t understand that so many Americans would have such thin skin as to not be able to accept criticism.”
Berating anothers country with petty examples warrants explosive reactions especially when it’s well known that diversity is what makes this country what it is. Maybe you should watch your words and not catergorize and sterotype an entire country before saying our skin is too thin. And your own people have defended Canada just as harshly and belligerently as the Americans so lets not pretend Canadians lets things roll right off them. They don’t, just as much as we don’t.
“Actually you didn’t have freedom of speach until 1964 when your Supreme Court struck down the 1798 Sedition Act (remember: that act which made it illegal to either speak or write any criticism of the U.S. government, congress or the president).”
Moron, if you’re going to talk smack about American history, get your shit straight, fuckwit. The Sedition Act of 1798 *expired* in 1801. It’s constitutionality was never tested because it *expired*. Subsequent supreme court opinions have made it clear that the Act would not hold constitutional muster.
Freedom of speech? Canada ain’t got none. Your Orwellian leaders in Canada and western Europe whip their populations into American-hating tizzies by repeating falsehoods, falsehoods which you are incapable of refuting because you lack freedom of expression. Pity.
So what? As an American, I could give a hoot in hell that you don’t like a business exercising its right to free speech on its own private property.
As for the signs, it looks as if the owner might be hiring Don Cherry to ghost write them. God Bless Don Cherry
This is why I wear my Roots t-shirts when traveling overseas.
Yes, we have some religious nuts, food that’ll kill you in less than 3 bites, southerners that can’t get over losing a war back in the late 1800’s, people that don’t study history close enough, and bigots/racists.
Some of the signs in #1 I can see as being a joke (such as the Wal-Mart one) and the person not being serious. I do agree that we have no business in Iraq and never did, considering we should’ve been going after Osama for all this time instead of wasting money “rebuilding” someone else’s government. Time to let the Iraqis defend themselves for once instead of cowering behind troops from the U.S. and other countries. And lets use some of those billions of dollars to fix our OWN messed up government before we go to war and try to force our beliefs and ways of life on others.
you can be prosecuted in America for reading The Bible too!!
Yes, America is the greatest country in the WORLD because we can: speak freely (unless you say ‘bomb’ in an airport, ‘fire’ in a theatre, “I’m going to kill the President” via wire-tapped telephone or even on a website), have many people congress to make a point (protestors that close city streets for a demonstration, causing me to go a different route to work) or just one person to stand on the street and preach from The Bible as if he’s some modern day Prophet (okay…we know what it says…you don’t have to yell it when i go to get my Starbuck’s!!)…i can keep going on.
If I, as an American, were to make a “top 5″ list of things that freaked me out in America, it would go like this:
#5: A McDonald’s damn near every 6/10’s of a mile from each other in a metropolitan city. (Not to mention a McDonald’s in EVERY city).
#4: A Starbuck’s across or down the street from every McDonald’s.
#3: Wal-marts the size of a car factory.
#2: Genuine farm land being stripped away to put in the above. We are running out of space people!!!
#1: Why people do what they do…have we become that morally unconscious???
Yea, and I suppose there are no idiots where you come from? Idiots!
I look forward to your follow up: 5 things in America that made me smile.
Canadians are always dreaming up a lotta ways to ruin our lives. The metric system, for the love of God! Celsius! Neil Young!
I’m half American, and very glad both halves are firmly in Canada for all the reasons and many more listed above.
Okay – Paul picked out a few doozies while winding his way through the States.
At look at the result when he posts some of it: A parade of assholes from both sides of the border!
We all have a bit of growing up to do. Get over it and get on with it.
Bushwick Bill (#288) – Care to elaborate on why Canada doesn’t have freedom of speech?
Actually I just mentioned one example of the U.S. not having full freedom of speech. What happened in 1801 was that Jefferson pardoned William Duane, but it still took until 1964 for the law to be repealed.
Here is an excerpt from Leonard Levy’s work “Emergence of a Free Press” (1985).
“In a memorandum of 1801 President Jefferson . . . dismiss[ed] the prosecution,
initiated under his predecessor, against William Duane, the republican editor of the
Philadelphia Aurora, who had been indicted under the Sedition Act. . . . Yet the hard
fact remains: Jefferson, Madison, Gallatin, Livingston, Nicholas, and Macon explicitly
endorsed the power of the states to prosecute seditious and other criminal libels . . .
[and] either endorsed the basic concept of . . . the criminal responsibility of the writer or printer for abuse of his rights, or they failed to oppose it.”
See also:
Harry Kalven, A Worthy Tradition: Freedom of Speech in America, New York: Harper & Row,
1988.
David Kairys, “Freedom of Speech,” in David Kairys, ed., The Politics of Law: A
Progressive Critique, New York: Pantheon, 1982 (revised and expanded edition 1990),
pp. 237-272.
In addition you might also want to look up these cases:
-The Espionage Act, 40 Stat. 219 (1917)
-Debs v. United States, 249 U.S. 211 (1919) (wherein the Supreme court upheld Debs’ conviction)
-The Smith (or “Alien Registration”) Act, 54 Stat. 671, 18 U.S.C. §2385 (1940)
-Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204
(1919)
-Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951)
-Scales v. United States, 367 U.S. 203 (1961)
Like maple syrup, Canada’s evil oozes over the United States.
I totally agree with the signs!!
who cares what anyone from canada thinks about anything?
Edwin S. Simon (#299) – “Like maple syrup, Canada’s evil oozes over the United States.”
I LOVED that movie. So great!
LOL, well done, obviously meant in fun, don’t know why so many people are being serious about your post. I love the signs because they are too funny and obviously a true nutjob put them up. Next time you visit the USA drop into my area, I’m sure I can find you some more crazy stuff. Can you do another one on Canada? Since you live there I bet you could make us laugh again.
PS: you’ve been fark’d that’s why so many hits….
Isn’t it funny/ironic, Paul, that the #1 thing that freaked you out aboot, I’m sorry, about America is pretty much exactly what some American’s are doing here to you?
And am I the only one still here reading all of the comments?
I’m just shaking my head at the constant references about Freedom of Speech, and the fact that Canada doesn’t have it. I really don’t know where you get your facts from but you are way offside. Now I will return to eating my poutine in my igloo and wonder what all the fuss is aboot eh?
Datdamwuf (#303) – “Can you do another one on Canada? Since you live there I bet you could make us laugh again.”
I’ve already written on many of the ways that Canada is messed up but I haven’t done a post like this one for Canada yet. hmm… you’ve given me a good idea. I’ll see what I come up with. Stay tuned.
Chris (#305) – “Eh, F*** you buddy!”
“Top 5 things I saw in America which, as a Canadian, freaked me right oot, eh?”
There, I fixed that for you.
(Kidding, I love my neighbor to the north. But your food ain’t any healthier, and you also have idiot racists. Just sayin.)
Cari (#305 ) Pardon me? What’s that for?
You’re a tool.
Yeah, we’re a bunch of crazies here in the U.S. Interesting how so many are willing to risk death to get in anyway, isn’t it?
BTW, I am a [LEGAL] immigrant, now a US citizen, and I am firmly in favor of controlling our borders. I guess I really am a crazed right-wing American now. Hope that freaks you out!
It’s annoying that it’s so ok to say it’s just those damn southerners. Good lord, people! The Casa D’ice sign is in Pittsburgh, the french toast thing was in NY, and anybody who thinks the Florida Keys contain any southerners isn’t paying much attention!
paulitics, I, as an American, enjoyed the article. We have what we call the 30%ers. These are the idiot “conservatives” who are oblivious to the fact that Bush and company are turning this country into a laughing stock. They are a thin-skinned, knee-jerk bunch of xenophobic, bigotted nationalists.
By the way, to Brandon and anybody else who may have belittled Canada for their health-care system. Are you kidding? Among the industrialized countries, we are the worst in preventable deaths, second worst in infant mortality. Congratulations, us!!!
Wow, over 300 comments ! Great posting Paul, you seem to have hit a nerve.
Blame Canada! Blame Canada! It seems that everything’s gone wrong since Canada came along. Blame Canada! Blame Canada!
I love the US and I never want to live in another country honestly. I’ve been to Canada for work plenty of times (mainly Toronto & Calgary) and to me it seems a lot like the US really. The only advantage Canada has *IMO is it has not made any mistakes yet in terms of the world view but then again that is something that almost definitely comes from not making any noticeable contributions or taking risks for others in the world either. Once you guys get more involved in world politics, and wars and take sides I would surely believe you’ll start getting A LOT more flak, just comes with the territory.
That list could be 5 milllion entries long and I still wouldn’t give a rat’s ass. I have everything here I could ever want, a great home, cars to play with, always things to do in the many, many cities, kick ass places to visit like the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone, there is so much you are all missing out on. But hey, stick to that view of yours cause I really enjoy not having that many people around here than we already have, just more room for myself ;)
As for us all being retarded, everyone I grew up with and know all went through college and into many different industries (IT for me) so that point I think is moot. But hey if you go off crenshaw blvd in Cali in the hood, I wouldn’t doubt you meeting some people that never got past 4th grade but then again I’m pretty sure that’s anywhere and any country where you can find that.
And one last thing, the concept of it being mandatory to vote is surprising. I personally only bother voting during the Presidential election, but then again the electoral college probably negates out my vote anyway. I do think that our government is rampant with corruption and because of our capitalistic culture, it is probably run on you put gold in my pocket and I’ll sign that law for you kinda thing for a lot of things, and that would be the one thing I would really like to see change as a citizen. But life is not perfect, we are not perfect, and that’s fine. All I know is for the most part as a country we are always trying, either catch up or eat out dust! hahah -J
South Park Bigger, Longer, Uncut? Your joke reminded me of that. “…What the fuss is all aboot?”
UN Leader: What say you, Mr. American Ambassador?
American Representative: [stands up and gives the finger] Fuck Canada!
Canadian Representative: Hey, fuck you, buddy! [giving the "up yours" gesture]
“marvin Aberegg (#226) – Feel free to post whatever list you want about Canada. I heartily enjoy a good Canada-bashing. I also enjoy a good America-bashing. The difference is a) Canadians actually can take it and b) I’m not so naive that I take offense to such a posting like many of your countrymen.”
I’m not offended in the least. You are entitled to you opinion. I’m just disappointed that of all the things out there that really truly matter you seem to have fixated on some of the most inane and inconsequential points.
And as I said, I really do not have a petty need to point out the Canadian embarrassments. There are plenty. My father-in-law remarried a kooky canuck from BC. The people in Northern Ont. practically beg us to buy their land to keep it out of Crown hands. And what the hell is up with your chickens. Every chicken dish I ever ordered there arrived with the most anemic, thin and flavorless hunk of bird I ‘ve ever seen. It became a running joke with us. Don’t you guys feed those damn things. Our monster chickens should have freaked you out more than some ambitiously named cheese.
Ha. The point is this is pointless. As George Thorogood said… “everybody funny…now you funny too.”
Yeah, cause no one in Canada every did anything stupid.
#5 pisses me off, too. The fundamentalist Christians aren’t much better than fundamentalists of any other faith. However, the same constitutional protections that allow them to advocate their religious message also allow me to function in a majority Christian society as an atheist without having to worry about getting fired, suffering discrimination in housing, etc. It is sad, and I’m not surprised that it’s shocking to someone from a country with more progressive attitudes about religion, that we have so many wacko Christians here who are so outspoken about it.
#3 is an expression of regional rivalry carried on mostly by Southerners who feel that the rest of the country treats them like second class citizens. To some extent it’s true, and to some extent it’s justified, but it does become quite a cause for the rednecks who, paradoxically, also seem to be the most fervent of the (American) flag-waving, warmongering, so-called “patriots”. It’s sad, but the sense of persecution felt by some rednecks is hardly in the top five of our list of national problems. I might liken it loosely to the tension between Quebec and the rest of Canada.
#2 and #1 are expressions of the same xenophobic, arrogant our-way-or-the-highway mentality shared by too many Americans. It’s disgraceful, and no doubt the biggest reason we are viewed with such disdain by the rest of the western world. Propogated by the right wing, this attitude serves their political and economic purposes very well, but at the cost of our national interests. Many of us hope and argue for changes in this attitude, but it is very hard to break through to some of its adherents.
Thank you for visiting us here in the U.S. You sound like someone it would have been fun to meet and talk to during your visit. Also, thank you for expressing the shock you felt at some of the things you saw. Some Americans honestly don’t realize how ridiculous some of our actions and attitudes appear to the rest of the world, so anything that enlightens them can only help. I hope that, after your next visit, you will be able to report that we have made some changes for the better, but I am not optimistic.
To the rest of the democratic, freedom-loving world, keep letting us know when we’re screwing up. We’re not the most receptive people in the world to constructive criticism, but eventually the message can get through…I hope.
marvin Aberegg (#318) – you wrote:
“I’m just disappointed that of all the things out there that really truly matter you seem to have fixated on some of the most inane and inconsequential points.”
This post was intended to be about the more humorous, inconsequential things I found in America. That was its purpose. Take 40 seconds and scroll through the remainder of my posts on this blog, I think you’ll find plenty of focus on meatier issues that might suit your tastes.
That whole thing was true but you only visited the crazy part of the country anything nevada and east of that it completely nuts. Besides french toast isn’t in butter, its in egg. Learn how to make a proper meal. NOW WHERES MY BACON!
LOL at all the comments. You people are ridiculous. And the fact people are attacking Canada it pretty funny, being as 90% of US citizens don’t even know where it is. Not everyone eats poutine like you think, no one says “aboot” (except the East Coast), it’s not always snowing, and we can do a hell of a lot more in terms of freedom and speech and stuff than you can. The US is a communist government that’s WELL hidden beneath lies and deception. Do you even know why you are there? Because the US was started by a bunch of traitors to the crown.
i totally agree with #5. the reason this wirter is offended and disagrees is that his whole nation is on the goat path to hell and the sad thing is he doesnt know it.
#5. I don’t see a problem with expressing your opinions on your vehicles as I believe the Original Poster(OP) doesn’t. However, I haven’t seen anybody post about the comparative content of the two messages he has selected. I think that content may have been the point.
#4 I say eat what you like. I’ve seen the OP comment about both the Canadian Health Care System and Nationalism/Patriotism in follow-up posts here. I, as A Canadian (A Canadian, not all Canadians. Sad that I have to clarify that but it seemed necessary.), think that some Canadians feel they have a right to criticize others for their poor diet choices, (and that sandwich is a poor diet choice), because they are paying for the resulting, potential, health conditions. That can be seen as a “Nationalist” view if you look at it as a Canadian issue. If anything, our morals come from our surroundings and there will always be a Nationalist/Regionalist slant to our views whether we’re aware of it or not. I would never advocate “Rabid Nationalism” and my above comment should not be misconstrued as such.
#3 I don’t think that they are talking about fried chicken, Lynyrd Skynyrd and NASCAR in that message (sorry if that is a narrow view. I’m not familiar with much Southern Culture outside of those examples and the next one I give). I could never be proud of everything from my region because I am from that region. That is “Rabid Nationalism” and history is filled with examples of why it is folly. Slavery was and is a bad thing. Give yourself a shake if you think otherwise or at least have the good sense not to announce it in a public forum lightly veiled as something else. It freaks me out as well.
#2 I think this is the poorly formed opinion of one person (as stated by the OP). What is disturbing is that many people in the world view this as a common American opinion. That is most likely what led to it’s inclusion on his list.
#1 That’s just hate. I want to believe that the majority of those are “photo-shopped” for shock value. I have to agree with most responses that it is nice of them to warn me away for their establishment with the sign.
Thanks very much for the images and observations. The responses have left me a bit shaken but I’ve been using the internet for a few days now and expect I will be seeing it as the norm in a few more ;)
lets hear all the defenders of the inbreed half wited crown. its somthing to be real proud of a society straighjacked by class.
Meatier like this post?
“America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to change the system from within, yet too early to shoot the bastards.”
Paulitics: That pretty much sums up my thinking on the subject, with the sole possible caveat that I’m not entirely convinced that it’s really too early to shoot the bastards.
Kinda confirms your negative feelings on the US, maybe not such a funny light hearted post at all.
Wow, if those are the worst things in the US, well I guess we have it made.
#5 “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
That my friends is the First Amendment. Many of you left wing nuts have forgotten the first 16 words of it. Around 80% of the US population claims to be Christian so I don’t understand the hatred towards the trucking company displayed on this message board. Maybe the whole 20% of non-Christians in the US are posting here right now. I understand your fear of Christians. After all, U.S. Christians donate more money to causes around the world than most COUNTRIES. As for Christian intolerance, that is so tired and worn out. Anti-Christian messages are found everywhere in the U.S. from bumper stickers to signs to company policies.
“Ultimately, America’s answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.” – Robert F. Kennedy
#4 Who cares? Like I said, if that is the worst of the U.S., then we are doing good.
#3 Same as #4.
#2 Canadians lecturing the U.S. on immigration? Good one coming from the country that has opened its doors to anyone and everyone including Islamic terrorists. How many terrorists has the U.S. caught trying to drive from Canada to the U.S.? Maybe Canada ought to tighten its immigration policy. Of course, that would have little effect because no one wants to move to a desolate wasteland anyway. I guess that explains the open door policy. On top of that, just like their European brethren, your white racist French Canadian xenophobes are just going to love a few million Hispanic emigrants moving into Canada looking for jobs once they saturate the U.S. since we aren’t doing anything about it. Enjoy and let’s talk in a few years. Crap, I keep forgetting that Canadians love for ANYONE to move to their frozen dirt.
#1 To quote Casa D’Ice, “tough shit.” Funny how the left wing in the U.S. champions freedom of speech only so long as it is in agreement with their narrow views.
I for one LOVE hockey. I have season tickets to a minor league team in Texas. But if the greatest thing to come out of Canada is hockey, you Canadians ought to get out a little more.
The next time you come to the U.S., you need to visit the greatest state in the union – Texas. I’m sure you can find some things here that offend your more refined sensibilities (a.k.a. pansy ways). I’m sure our concealed carry laws and right to defend ourselves and our property with lethal force will send you screaming and crying all the way back to that forsaken land you call home. And we like it that way.
I’d have to say that this is just another pointless blog where people expend the extra coffee-ridden energy into text just to call one or another persons country this or that. Seriously… What is it you hope to achieve here by pointing out the simple odd things you saw while traveling, what seems to be, 1/4 of the entire US? I suppose that because they have stuffed “FREEDOM” toast (giggle) that you’ve found the source of all the fat asses we have in our country… Or because you read some post from someone who is not a journalist nor a historian who happen to report incorrect facts… Turn on the news, the world is full of people like that.
Freaked out over a simple religious message on a commercial vehicle which if it didn’t have the message you would left it in your subconscious and paid it no mind. Wow… Let me ask you this… Name one other message from ANY other truck you saw int he states (no the company name doesn’t count). If you ask me, from a religious standpoint… the methods they have chosen work! YOU RETAINED THE MESSAGE! Christians would generally call that a conviction… Sinner! ;)
Immigrants… Let’s see. Maybe we should all take a trip up to the Greater DC area and read those doodles that sort of state what the word AMERICA means. We are all immigrants, however that doesn’t mean we should bend over backwards to accommodate the laziness of others. We don’t turn away immigrants. There are tons of ways to BECOME a citizen if you are an immigrant. Should we pay for the fact no one wants to work to obtain it? No.
Last but not least… Why in the world is everyone so infatuated with our culture if all you are going to do is pass non-constructive comments which symbolize the fact you live in a less free world or jealousy? It’s funny you come to a place and get freaked out then blog about it… where I come from that generally means you need to get out more. Maybe having the person vs sq foot ratio of 1/1000 (this is not an accurate number but more so a weight in a point to be proven for all of you causes social instability and generally you develop problems being able to cope with the everyday things people see. Side Note… Freaked out? Have you ever seen this thing call the internet? Some interesting messages on there, viewable from anywhere in the world!
Note to self: When visiting someone else’s country notice the differences, and respect them for what they are… Exactly that. Different.
Hypocrisy at its best.
The elite’s government FEARS you!!!!!!
Their fear is manifested in the laws they pass. Here is a law banning what MANY of the Founders wrote is a RIGHT of citizens when a government no longer represents them:
Section 2385. Advocating overthrow of Government
Whoever knowingly or willfully advocates, abets, advises, or
teaches the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of
overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States or
the government of any State, Territory, District or Possession
thereof, or the government of any political subdivision therein, by
force or violence, or by the assassination of any officer of any
such government; or
Whoever, with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of any
such government, prints, publishes, edits, issues, circulates,
sells, distributes, or publicly displays any written or printed
matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity,
desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any
government in the United States by force or violence, or attempts
to do so; or
Whoever organizes or helps or attempts to organize any society,
group, or assembly of persons who teach, advocate, or encourage the
overthrow or destruction of any such government by force or
violence; or becomes or is a member of, or affiliates with, any
such society, group, or assembly of persons, knowing the purposes
thereof -
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by
the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five
years next following his conviction.
If two or more persons conspire to commit any offense named in
this section, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned
not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for
employment by the United States or any department or agency
thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.
As used in this section, the terms ”organizes” and
”organize”, with respect to any society, group, or assembly of
persons, include the recruiting of new members, the forming of new
units, and the regrouping or expansion of existing clubs, classes,
and other units of such society, group, or assembly of persons.
The federal government is allowing MILLIONS of illegals to invade our country who are causing immense economic harm to America’s working poor. Corporate America is becoming increasingly more powerful and influential. Yet, according to the government of for and by the elites YOU, a citizen, have to accept whatever the government does with NO recourse other than voting…… and there is sufficient proof that shows to me voting is worthless since the entrenched power structure ensures that the emplaced elite class can not be removed.
Several Founders specifically wrote of the people’s right to abolish a government when it no longer represents them.
We are forced to live under an elite’s TYRANNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!