Life in Not-America
I was on the train the other day when a startling broadsheet headline caught my eye. In stark, bold type it simply read "GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM". As an Englishman I was immediately horrified and drawn into the article. Back in London, such headlines are the relics of the blatant racism of the tabloid press in the seventies. The catchphrase itself is a shocking one never to be used lightly, almost solely the reserve of intolerant bigots.
As I read on, I realised what country I was in and what had happened. You see, not too long ago a major American supermarket chain here began firing members of their staff who were caught joining the trade union. Utter uproar resulted, with Canadians boycotting the chain and outraged newspaper headlines being splashed all over the place. The supermarket chain could not understand the fuss, and accused the Canadians of 'over-reacting'. The piece I was reading was actually an opinion article, containing hysterical phrases such as "no doubt the managers, whilst not out shooting animals in the butt in Arkansas, thought 'yip, we'll fire them, nobody will mind', not understanding we do things differently here", and "no doubt these in-bred morons think this is the right way business is done". To argue that the opinion piece was slightly anti-American in its tone would be to understate the case by several hectares. If you walked up to the author in the street and asked her directly: "Excuse me, would you say that piece was anti-American?" she would without doubt reply without any hesitation: "Yes, because it is my firm belief that it's a shit country filled largely with idiots".
This is interesting to me. Back in the rest of the world, of course, we're constantly accused of anti-Americanism purely for expressing the belief that, for example, George Bush is a bad president, or that the war in Iraq is a bad idea. Even if a casual joke is made about America, widespread huffs ensue. People suddenly drop off your livejournal friends list. The roar "YOU ARE ANTI-AMERICAN!" spews forth, and we are expected to hang our heads in shame and say "Yes, I am very sorry, I suppose that rather makes me like the Nazis were to the Jews. I must rethink my attitude. If you think George Bush is a great president and his beliefs align totally with yours, I should probably respect that, despite the fact that his policies do tend to cause problems in my country as well."
In Canada, meanwhile, anti-Americanism - and I mean genuine anti-Americanism, in that all Americans are hated habitually until they prove they're good people, and even then there's room for a difference of opinion - is rife and always has been. It's the country next door, and nobody much seems to notice or mind. The last Prime Minister of Canada called George Bush "a moron" very publically and openly. Letters pages of newspapers are filled with missives asking why Canada is bothering to build bridges with America. It's all good, hearty fun for the most part, and very similar to the rants Scottish people tend to go on about the English, but sometimes it goes too far. There genuinely are, I'm afraid to say, a few Canadian people who I've heard expressing the belief that 'maybe things would be a bit better if we could just find a way of wiping the Americans out without doing damage to anyone else.' I can honestly say I've never heard that view put forward seriously anywhere else in Europe, and not even anywhere else I've been to in the world.
If Americans fail to notice this sort of invective or to pay it much heed, it may be for two reasons. For one, none of them seem to notice or care much what the Canadian newspapers are printing or their politicians are saying. It's almost as if the Canucks are trying to goad them into noticing, in fact. For quite another, it's almost viewed as being a Canadian sport, a fact of life for hundreds of years which just isn't going to go away. An American acquaintance of mine back in London once introduced himself rather inappropriately to Amanda with the joke: "What do you call an American who won't fight? A Canadian." This caused an explosion of wrath so almighty in Amanda that even I didn't expect it. He sniggered to himself in an amused manner throughout her ranting, during which she uttered numerous statements against Americans, then said to me "It's OK, they're like the rude cousin at the dinner table. We don't mind". Amanda then replied, disgusted: "Well, at least we don't MARRY our cousins".
Of course, it doesn't quite stop there. Whilst in Quebec City I was confronted in the street by a load of teenagers who began gabbling to me incessantly in French. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but the tone of their voices sounded somewhat negative, and there were a few noticeable sneers. "Walk on, and don't talk to them", Amanda said quite firmly. In Quebec, you see, it's the English speaking Canadians they hate, who many socialists believe "have oppressed them in the Commonwealth for many years and reduced them to the poverty-stricken role of second-class Canadian citizens". Now, never mind the fact that every time I've been to Quebec the quality of life appears far better than I've seen in most of London, this, apparently, is becoming a very standard belief. If there's one thing Canadians seem to be masters of, it's the extremist sweeping statement.
Back in Quebec, meanwhile, "only" 40% would vote for independence if there was a referendum on the subject tomorrow, as opposed to the 49% who were asked for an opinion a year ago. In Newfoundland, similar views about independence are 'faltering' to equally unconvincing lows. This is filling the Government with a greater degree of confidence about a united Canada. Of course, we all know what they're united by. An abrasive hatred of their oppressors.
As I read on, I realised what country I was in and what had happened. You see, not too long ago a major American supermarket chain here began firing members of their staff who were caught joining the trade union. Utter uproar resulted, with Canadians boycotting the chain and outraged newspaper headlines being splashed all over the place. The supermarket chain could not understand the fuss, and accused the Canadians of 'over-reacting'. The piece I was reading was actually an opinion article, containing hysterical phrases such as "no doubt the managers, whilst not out shooting animals in the butt in Arkansas, thought 'yip, we'll fire them, nobody will mind', not understanding we do things differently here", and "no doubt these in-bred morons think this is the right way business is done". To argue that the opinion piece was slightly anti-American in its tone would be to understate the case by several hectares. If you walked up to the author in the street and asked her directly: "Excuse me, would you say that piece was anti-American?" she would without doubt reply without any hesitation: "Yes, because it is my firm belief that it's a shit country filled largely with idiots".
This is interesting to me. Back in the rest of the world, of course, we're constantly accused of anti-Americanism purely for expressing the belief that, for example, George Bush is a bad president, or that the war in Iraq is a bad idea. Even if a casual joke is made about America, widespread huffs ensue. People suddenly drop off your livejournal friends list. The roar "YOU ARE ANTI-AMERICAN!" spews forth, and we are expected to hang our heads in shame and say "Yes, I am very sorry, I suppose that rather makes me like the Nazis were to the Jews. I must rethink my attitude. If you think George Bush is a great president and his beliefs align totally with yours, I should probably respect that, despite the fact that his policies do tend to cause problems in my country as well."
In Canada, meanwhile, anti-Americanism - and I mean genuine anti-Americanism, in that all Americans are hated habitually until they prove they're good people, and even then there's room for a difference of opinion - is rife and always has been. It's the country next door, and nobody much seems to notice or mind. The last Prime Minister of Canada called George Bush "a moron" very publically and openly. Letters pages of newspapers are filled with missives asking why Canada is bothering to build bridges with America. It's all good, hearty fun for the most part, and very similar to the rants Scottish people tend to go on about the English, but sometimes it goes too far. There genuinely are, I'm afraid to say, a few Canadian people who I've heard expressing the belief that 'maybe things would be a bit better if we could just find a way of wiping the Americans out without doing damage to anyone else.' I can honestly say I've never heard that view put forward seriously anywhere else in Europe, and not even anywhere else I've been to in the world.
If Americans fail to notice this sort of invective or to pay it much heed, it may be for two reasons. For one, none of them seem to notice or care much what the Canadian newspapers are printing or their politicians are saying. It's almost as if the Canucks are trying to goad them into noticing, in fact. For quite another, it's almost viewed as being a Canadian sport, a fact of life for hundreds of years which just isn't going to go away. An American acquaintance of mine back in London once introduced himself rather inappropriately to Amanda with the joke: "What do you call an American who won't fight? A Canadian." This caused an explosion of wrath so almighty in Amanda that even I didn't expect it. He sniggered to himself in an amused manner throughout her ranting, during which she uttered numerous statements against Americans, then said to me "It's OK, they're like the rude cousin at the dinner table. We don't mind". Amanda then replied, disgusted: "Well, at least we don't MARRY our cousins".
Of course, it doesn't quite stop there. Whilst in Quebec City I was confronted in the street by a load of teenagers who began gabbling to me incessantly in French. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but the tone of their voices sounded somewhat negative, and there were a few noticeable sneers. "Walk on, and don't talk to them", Amanda said quite firmly. In Quebec, you see, it's the English speaking Canadians they hate, who many socialists believe "have oppressed them in the Commonwealth for many years and reduced them to the poverty-stricken role of second-class Canadian citizens". Now, never mind the fact that every time I've been to Quebec the quality of life appears far better than I've seen in most of London, this, apparently, is becoming a very standard belief. If there's one thing Canadians seem to be masters of, it's the extremist sweeping statement.
Back in Quebec, meanwhile, "only" 40% would vote for independence if there was a referendum on the subject tomorrow, as opposed to the 49% who were asked for an opinion a year ago. In Newfoundland, similar views about independence are 'faltering' to equally unconvincing lows. This is filling the Government with a greater degree of confidence about a united Canada. Of course, we all know what they're united by. An abrasive hatred of their oppressors.