[A.E.F.]

After watching a few episodes of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, I would like to know if all Americans are as ignorant of Canada as the stereotypes would have me believe. (I’m guessing no, but I’d like to hear your responses.) Are Americans interested in learning more about Canada?

User Detail :  

Name : A.E.F., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 28, City : Ottawa, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Librarian, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Sara]

I didn’t see the program that you refer to, but I’d have to guess that most Americans probably don’t know a lot about Canada. I live in Michigan just a few hours from the Canadian border and was dating a man from Toronto for a time. I have to admit he knew much more about the United States than I knew about Canada.

I don’t know that Americans are uninterested in learning about Canada. I think maybe we simply ‘forget’ that Canada really is another country. Canada seems so similar to the United States in many ways that we don’t really take the time to explore the differences.

User Detail :  

Name : Sara, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 36, City : Indianapolis, State : IN, Country : United States, Occupation : Manager, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Halboogie]

Having recently met someone from Ontario, I realized I didn’t know enough about Canada. So I looked it up. I still don’t know enough about Canada, but give me credit for trying.

User Detail :  

Name : Halboogie, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Deist, City : Frankfort, State : KY, Country : United States, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[trish]

I say: be thankful that your country stays so low on the radar screen.

User Detail :  

Name : trish, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Detroit, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : medical diagnostics, Education level : Technical School, 

[Amy]

While other countries know a lot about the United States, Americans don’t know much about other countries. I am interested in all other countries, but if I hadn’t studied on my own, I couldn’t have learned anything. It is because in the lower grades children are uneducated in the area of social studies. It’s the scientific age. Science is stressed more than any other subject. But it’s not just true for not knowing about Canada. A lot of people my age couldn’t even name the 50 states of our own country.

User Detail :  

Name : Amy, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 17, City : Hinesville, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, 

[Debbie25779]

What do Americans know about Canada? Nothing. Well, not nothing. We know it’s cold and that some people speak French. I have often heard people from other countries complain that Americans don’t know anything about their countries. So? I’d wager that few people in other countries know much about us, except their own stereotypes. Face it, unless someone has a reason to learn about a place, they won’t. That doesn’t just apply to Americans.

User Detail :  

Name : Debbie25779, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Kat26799]

I know next to nothing about Canada, beyond the oft-reported language battle in Quebec, that Whistler is supposed to be a great place to ski and that Toronto is reputed to be cuturally rich, beautiful and quite safe. I guess I can report that I’m comfortable in my ignorance of your country, though I do want to visit someday.

Your tone struck me as quite defensive and put-off that we Americans are so ignorant of Canada. Well, I’m sorry. How much do you know about the United States, I mean REALLY know, that’s not been twisted and torn out of all reason by the media? I live less than an hour from Selma, Ala., yet I feel no stirrings of racial tension around me. I work in Birmingham, where we once beat back black Americans with dogs and fire hoses- now we’re a city largely governed by black Alabamians, which is a far cry from what you probably think Alabama is all about. My point is that a harshly critical, highbrow, negative attitude like yours doesn’t inspire me to book a trip to Ottawa ASAP.

User Detail :  

Name : Kat26799, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 29, City : Montevallo, State : AL, Country : United States, Occupation : web developer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Beth23203]

Um, Red Green, socialized health care, French trappers (OK, that was a while ago), strange candybars…

I know there’s a great B&B in Canmore and outside Banff is a wonderful bistro with stuffed mushroom caps to die for. The Canadian Rockies are stunning. Waterton Park is beautiful. There are a lot of elk in Banff and a chipmunk that hitched a ride into Canmore in our engine block. There’s a bagpiper who practices off a spit in a cemetery in Victoria. There’s more to Vancouver Island than Victoria. The ferries out to the island serve really decent plum pudding after Christmas, and you can reserve a confirmed spot on the ‘net. Sooke Harbor House is pretty cool but way expensive – I prefer Salty Towers (homemade smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers on crackers; mmm). Just because a town has an exotic name doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a Sears. And border guards who tell dirty jokes.

User Detail :  

Name : Beth23203, Gender : F, City : Colorado Springs, State : CO, Country : United States, 

[Author]

Posts