Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well America is a pretty ethnocentric country and a lot of people there are ignorant about the rest of the world. A lot of Americans don't know a lot about the world outside of the U.S. and they lack knowledge about other countries. So it's not a Canada/U.S. thing but rather a U.S. thing alone.
But not all Canadians know everything about the U.S. either. I personally know a lot more about Europe and Australia. I've never been to the U.S. and can't name more than 20 states.
does it bother Canadians that Americans basically know nothing about them?
It doesn't bother me. I prefer it that way. The less attention that Americans focus on Canada the better Canada will shine. I think it's good that some American tourists like to visit Canada for vacations, and good that Canada and USA are on friendly terms and are trade partners. And like Botticelli said, I'd prefer it if Canada was less economically dependent on USA but I think it's just a matter of time before that changes and I don't worry about that. But overall I think it's better for both Canada and America if the vast majority of America's general populace remains ignorant and not interested in Canada.
One reason why we don't know as much about Canada as we probably should is because we get little or no news coverage of anything Canadian here in the States. I mean, I live an hour from the busiest border crossing between the two countries and the local news here covers almost zero Canadian news.
It's kind of funny how only a river separates the cities of Detroit and Windsor, making Windsor a much closer neighbor than most of the suburbs, and yet it's as if Windsor doesn't even exist unless you actually cross the border.
Last weekend I met the nicest Canadian man on a trip to Canada and when he mentioned that it was Thanksgiving weekend there I really had no idea. I actually said to him, "I guess I don't know much about Canadian culture," and then I felt so stupid and even a bit condescending, which couldn't be further from the truth because I love Canada and have a great respect for that country. In fact, depending on how the election goes next year, I just may be looking to make the big move, lol.
P.S. Why are Canadians so darned NICE???
ETA: Ironically, shortly after I posted this I turned on one of the local news affiliates for the Detroit Metro and lo and behold, there was a bit of Canadian news, namely that the city of Windsor is having to close some streets underneath the Ambassador Bridge due to falling chunks of concrete. Of course, "frugal" (that's putting it nicely) billionaire bridge owner Matty Maroun insists that the bridge is safe and all is well...(sigh!)...
Last edited by canudigit; 10-16-2015 at 06:31 AM..
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,782 posts, read 15,829,767 times
Reputation: 10894
Quote:
Originally Posted by Souriquois
Hahahaha like Rick Mercer when he went down to the USA and convinced people to sign a petition for Canada to stop leaving their senior citizens to die on the Arctic ice floes???
One person who signed it, Mike Huckabee, is now running for President.
Please don't judge all Americans by Mike Huckabee. Well, you can judge right-wing Republicans by him, but don't judge the rest of us.
Well America is a pretty ethnocentric country and a lot of people there are ignorant about the rest of the world. A lot of Americans don't know a lot about the world outside of the U.S. and they lack knowledge about other countries. So it's not a Canada/U.S. thing but rather a U.S. thing alone.
To most Americans, Canada might as well be just another U.S. state and Mexico is merely a source of abundant cheap labor. Americans think that they are the center of the world - the top dog - and other countries are just small potatoes. "Everybody" wants to come to America, so who cares about the rest of the world?
Note that I personally don't agree with this attitude at all. But just trying to explain the psychology of it based on decades of observation and experience.
Many Canadians probably couldn't name the first 10 Prime Ministers. They might only know the ones from the past 50 years, and more than likely only because their names are on schools and buildings and airports.
The last time I heard someone ranting about how little Americans know about us, I asked him who the President of Mexico was. That ended the conversation right there.
Americans think about us about as much as we think about Sweden or Argentina.
Many Canadians probably couldn't name the first 10 Prime Ministers. They might only know the ones from the past 50 years, and more than likely only because their names are on schools and buildings and airports.
The last time I heard someone ranting about how little Americans know about us, I asked him who the President of Mexico was. That ended the conversation right there.
Americans think about us about as much as we think about Sweden or Argentina.
I think this depends, though, on what part of the U.S. Americans live in. When you live near the border, as I do, Canada is much more of a presence in our daily lives in terms of work, play, etc. I know several people who cross the border to work every day and many people cross the border to visit Canada for other reasons such as concerts, shopping, or outdoor recreation, so we are connected to Canada much more than, say, someone in New Mexico or Louisiana. I go to Canada at least a couple of times a year for this or that. I love your country!
And I still don't know who the Prime Minister is, lol.
Last edited by canudigit; 10-16-2015 at 09:26 AM..
Anyway, if this really is something that bothers Canadians (or at least a good chunk of them), a good place to start the fix would be to get Canadians themselves more interested in learning about Canada and Canadian "stuff".
You have to find yourself interesting before others will start taking an interest in you, as the old saying goes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well, you can judge right-wing Republicans by him, but don't judge the rest of us. 
