Subject:
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Re: Cheap American shot (Was: NEW Mindstorms set shown (with picture!))
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Sun, 30 Jan 2000 17:17:04 GMT
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Viewed:
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356 times
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I really did not want to jump into a sensitive issue, but I think I have some
insight to offer that may be enlightening to people both in and outside of the
USA. I am not making any statements one way or the other, and I reserve my
own opinions to my myself, as they change daily. I just thought my comments
may help people understand each other a little better.
First of all, I have always lived in Canada. However, I am currently empoyed
in the state of Michigan in the USA---I commute daily across the border to go
the work. Thus I am in the position of having first-hand experience "living"
(so-to-speak) in the USA and Canada.
I going to use the term "Americans" to refer to residents of the USA. To
other people, "american" means people from all of North and South America.
That would mean, and properly so, that I as a Canadian am also "american".
Anyhow, "American" has become the general use term for people from the USA, so
I'll go with it.
I encounter frequently a sentiment among Canadians that Americans are
somehow "stupider" than us. In supporting this harsh judgement, they will
cite the Americans' lack of knowledge about other places in the world,
specifically Canada, and in some cases even a lack of knowledge within their
own country. Conversely, Canadians seem to know more about the USA than...,
and I'll say it..., we even know about Canada and our own history.
Well what's surprising about that? Canada is probably the USAs closest tied
neighbour, but only has 1/10th the population (that ratio has been pretty
much constant since the continent was originally colonized in the 1600's as
New France and "New England" respectively). Our media (mostly TV) freely
crosses the border, but it is mostly a one-way tide coming into Canada from
the USA. With television being a very significant influence in North American
culture, Canadians are bombarded their entire life with American TV shows,
movies, music, etc. Therefore it is inevtiable that Canadians will know more
about the USA than vice-versa, and also that our knowledge of our own country
suffers.
So ultimately, when an American seems to be ignorant of Canadian "culture", I
don't think that's their fault, it's just the way it is. I will however argue
that Canadians *should* be faulted for not knowing more about our own
history..., but that's another issue. The same goes for Americans, or any
other region.
So on a daily basis in the USA, I get questions that to me seem very
bizarre. "What is your money?" "Is Canada a communist country?" "Is Canada
located in Toronto?" "Is Canada larger than Texas?" "Did Canada have 'Baby-
Boomers'?" I get a good chuckle inside at some of these. My light-hearted
answer to the last one was, "No, we had very strict child-birth laws after
WW2". (I know..., in some countries that *does* seriously happen :[ )
Conversly, I know all of the states and their capital cities, know largely how
their government works, their economy, their legal system, etc. Are the
Americans "stupid"? No!! Of course not!
The important thing is that the Americans I meet *ask questions* about
Canadians. This curiousity shows that they are open to learning about other
peoples if given the opportunity..., they just largely don't get the
opportunity.
Many of both Americans and Canadians alike would probably be surprised to
learn that we were at war less than 200 years ago... Sad that we do not know
our collective history, but very fortunate that we are now able to live
in "harmony"..., if only other parts of the world could accomplish that.
Something that does itch me a little about Americans that I deal with in
person can be how their patriotism can rub off a little as being egotistical.
But the same could be argued for any other country. As Canadians, we are
generally pretty mute about our national pride, so we are sometimes taken
aback by people as fiercely patriotic as the Ameriancs. I find myself being
ribbed a lot, in good humour of course, about being Canadian. I guess it just
gets tired after a while..., but I suppose it is the way that the Americans I
work with are learning about Canada, so I take the opportunity to "enlighten"
them whenever I can. I'm learning a lesson about it too in how I react to
people from other regions of Canada...
Now intenally within Canada, people are very different from region to region.
Living in Ontario, I find people seem very different when I go back home to
visit in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. People there seem much friendlier than
here in the more populated areas, but they also seem less tolerant of people
from other cultures, and are quick to form opinions against them. Issues of
the day that are important to them and their livelihoods may also be
insignificant to those of us living in Ontario. It's common for me to hear
people in Ontario refer to the "Maritimers" as "rednecks", "hicks", or
whatever.
Interestingly enough, I hear Americans in Michigan call their fellow Americans
in the southern USA by similar names.
And I would suspect this phenomenon occurs world-wide. The nomer of "stupid"
often gets applied equally to your own countrymen as much as to foreigners.
Truly unfortunate. On the flipside, I had the tendency to think of myself as
inferior to far east Asian students I went to university with, based solely on
the education system they went through in their home countries.
I guess a point to all this ramble is that the abilities of any people are not
different. What is different is the education (and I don't mean only
schooling) that they have opportunity to get in their lives. In different
countries that works in very different way. Many of us in the "western world"
should just be grateful for the "plush" lives we live compared to other
countries. Sarejevo is an example of how all of that can disappear frightenly
fast.
As long as all of us can learn from this "Cheap American shot" thing then this
has been productive.
Trying to stray back onto the original topic of suggested age limits on LEGO
boxes, I have never compared them between Canada and the USA..., might be
interesting to look at that. However, I do have a hypothesis for why the ages
may be "higher" in the USA..., their legal history. In the USA, anybody can
sue anybody for just about anything. I suppose that's the same in Canada as
well. The difference is perhaps in the "lenience" of the courts' rulings in
the USA. Many cases in the USA are won that in Canada just seem totally
absurd. As it turns out, my American colleagues agree with me! The point is
that product "regulation" is just as often dictated by past legal precedents
(or fear of future lawsuits) as common sense. The USA feels this effect more
so than Canada, and thus I would guess maybe more so than Europe. So maybe
some past lawsuits or fear of impending ones forced the USA marketing group to
raise the recommended ages on the boxes.
It's only a theory, but to me it's far more palatable than the concept that my
American colleagues are "stupider" than I am.
Now everyone, back to the brick! :]
________________________
Kyle D. Jackson
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
________________________
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