I don't like Americans.....

[slippery_slope2005]

americans and canadians

first of all, i have to say that i hate to generalize like that - there are different americans and different canadians and it just doesnt make sense to put people into such gigantic categories. but what i don't like on the continet of north america in general is ignorance. an average canadian or american is much less educated than an average european. the only difference is between an average canadian and an average american is that americans flaunt thier ignorance and make it sound like they don't have to know anything about the rest of the world. their ignorance becomes especially visible when they travel to europe. i had a chance to observe an american getting mad because he just could not understand why an italian waiter does not speak english. it was his first time out of texas and , i guess, he assumed that the rest of the world speaks english and it is the only language that is out there. this kind of ignorance sometimes is just too much. the us is a country of great resources and great opportunities, but it amazes me every time that the americans always proove to the rest of the world that they don't have not enough brain power to use what they have. look at what happened in new orleans!!!

 

[Asterix]

the us is a country of great resources and great opportunities, but it amazes me every time that the americans always proove to the rest of the world that they don't have not enough brain power to use what they have. look at what happened in new orleans!!!

No offense, but if you're going to criticize the collective "brain power" of the US, it might be a good idea to express that a tad more eloquently. I don't like alot of people in the US either, many are very ignorant, but I also happen to live here, third generation. There are also many people I know that are the salt of the earth. I suspect it is the same in any country in the world.

 

[The Options Menu]

I spent many years

I spent many years working in Canadian tourism in my youth. It made me despise Americans. The words that come to mind are: rude, ignorant, intolerant, and arrogant. I have met plenty of nice Americans, but I've found it is usually pretty safe to assume at least some of the preceding words about Americans. And I've been richly rewarded for that assumption (I mean they have so seldom failed to disappoint). Shutting up for all of those years probably didn't help. But the customer is always right, eh? 'Give me one of dose pretty green dollars masa' and smile, smile, smile... 'Cuz weeze so polite and friendly.' Bah! [And this is completely beside the point that I have a pretty healthy loathing of both American political parties]

 

[Asterix]

I spent many years working in Canadian tourism in my youth. It made me despise Americans. The words that come to mind are: rude, ignorant, intolerant, and arrogant. I have met plenty of nice Americans, but I've found it is usually pretty safe to assume at least some of the preceding words about Americans. And I've been richly rewarded for that assumption (I mean they have so seldom failed to disappoint). Shutting up for all of those years probably didn't help. But the customer is always right, eh? 'Give me one of dose pretty green dollars masa' and smile, smile, smile... 'Cuz weeze so polite and friendly.' Bah! [And this is completely beside the point that I have a pretty healthy loathing of both American political parties]

May I ask if you have ever visited the US, and by that I don't mean strictly as a tourist, but actually spent time here? I am sure there were many obnoxious people you had to deal with visiting Canada from the US. Do you assume they represent most of us?

 

[The Options Menu]

Visited but never lived

May I ask if you have ever visited the US, and by that I don't mean strictly as a tourist, but actually spent time here? I am sure there were many obnoxious people you had to deal with visiting Canada from the US. Do you assume they represent most of us?

I've visited but never lived in the US. And yes, I do think it is unfair to paint all Americans with that brush. As I said, I've met plenty of nice, progressive, and fun Americans. I have this crazy theory that the Americans that come here set a bad example unless they come from a border state. I think if you are an American coming from further down in the states you need more disposable income to get here, so that is more likely to put you in a certain socioeconomic class. Also there are bigger and bigger 'social values' differences the further south you get.

Much of my poor relationship come from the fact that I was in the service industry, and I prided myself on being polite and professional. So, even if many Americans liked me, I'd sit around and chat with them and they would sit there and say vile, horrible, and stupid things... Often while talking to me like something in the Canadian water makes us all grow up to be slightly 'developmentally delayed'. I had to sit there and smile, I needed the cash. And they would be nice to me... Most of my Canadian customers weren't like that, the same goes for the Europeans... The Americans were the worst [Even adjusted per capita ]...

You, and the other Americans in this thread may well be fine people. But don't let any of the 'leftist political elite' arguments excuse your entire people. It just doesn't fly... At least not with me.

 

[chicagotim]

I've spent half my life in the States and the other half in Canada, with some extended stays overseas. So for what it's worth, here are my impressions in regard to your question.

The Canadians who are most vocally anti-American tend to be people who have spent no time in the States and have no personal contact with actual Americans. Their opinions are based on stereotypes: Americans as a homogeneous race of unenlightened, militaristic, imperialistic, loud-mouthed cretins; and the source of all evil in this world. They condemn the US as a racist society but don't seem to get that by doing so, they are bigots themselves. Liberal MP Carolyn Parish can say, "I hate those American bastards", and get re-elected. You think she'd get the same applause if she had said, "I hate those Chinese bastards; or "I hate those Jewish bastards"?

If your perception of Americans is based soley on the Jerry Springer show (daily on CTV) and the so-called "Christian" televangalists, you're not looking hard enough.

As societies, Canada and the USA are different. Although we both had the same parents, we grew up in different neighborhoods. But as people, we all want the same thing: Peace, prosperity, opportunity, and liberty.

And cheap gas.

 

[scouser1]

for all those who are enjoying the US failure dealing with hurricane Katarina, oh what a short memory span they have, remember a heatwave across western Europe 2 years ago, approximately 40 thousand died the majority of them elderly, did the Americans snicker, no of course not.

 

[001]

For some reason it is Ok to say I hate Americans. It’s ok to generalize and say all Americans are evil or stupid or any other thing you may want to say. Truth of the matter is that we need to stop being racist towards Americans. The fact that our society allows us to abuse Americans should be the excuse we need to do it.

So next time you want to take a days’ frustration out on the “stupid Americas” why don’t you substituted the word American for something else and take a real look at what you are doing. Here are a few examples.

Instead of I hate Americans say:

I hat fat people
I hate men
I hate gays
I hate Portuguese
I hate Chinese
I hate people of colour
I hate men
I hate women


Kinda puts things in perspective doesn’t it?

 

[Vietor]

Ignorance breeds contempt. Canadians are as ignorant of Americans as Americans are of them. Rather than attempting to understand the other, those who love to demonstrate their ignorance spew forth opinions that are appalling and contemptible. Because this is TERB and most of the participants are Canadian, most of the ignorance comes from Canadians.

 

[shytype]

I agree that Canadian's tend to be ignorant when it comes to their knowledge of other countries and their politics. I have had neighbours who believe that as Canadians they are the master race. I think it is about time that Canadians realize that without the Americans many of the conveniences that we enjoy would not be available to us..sure you can argue that without Canadian lumber and Tim Horton's Americans would be lost ...but when you really get down to it, you'll see that many of these conveniences come from our very good neighbours to the south. I have been working with Americans everyday for years and I can tell you that not only do they get the job done but they also accomplish many great things that make Canadian's lives much better as well!

 

[baltimoron]

..sure you can argue that without Canadian lumber and Tim Horton's Americans would be lost ...

Tim Horton's merged with Wendy's after Ron Joyce met Dave Thomas while golfing.
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/wentworth/timhorto.htm

We don't have Tim Horton's in the States; we have Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme.

 

[papasmerf]

Tim Horton's merged with Wendy's after Ron Joyce met Dave Thomas while golfing.
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/wentworth/timhorto.htm

We don't have Tim Horton's in the States; we have Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme.

We have a bunch of Tim Horton's in the Buffalo area. Coffee is better at the ones in Canada.

 

[WhaWhaWha]

Instead of I hate Americans say:

I hat fat people
I hate men
I hate gays
I hate Portuguese
I hate Chinese
I hate people of colour
I hate men
I hate women

Kinda puts things in perspective doesn’t it?

How come you mentioned men twice? Is there something you want to get off your chest?

man hater!