Alaska & Canada As Neighbors

[coffeegirl]

I have come to this forum in search of an answer. It was the first one listed in my Google search for Canadian forums. It has been said by others that there is no love lost between Canadians and Americans. It has also been said that there is no love lost between Canadians and Alaskans, only entitlement. Through the years I have heard some really ugly things said about Canadian/American political opinions from citizens of both countries and I've heard just as ugly things said by both Alaskans/Canadians as bordering neighbors.

I am an Alaska and live in the city of Anchorage. I personally, don't know too many Canadians. My husband and I knew one family in particular here that transferred with the oil industry. The husband worked in the oil industry. They moved back to Canada within two years as the husband's job was completed. I can't say really what I thought of them as Canadians. I never really thought about them as Canadians, I was too busy thinking about them as friends. Prior to their transfer here, the wife had made me a diaper bag for my daughter when she was an infant and her husband brought it with him on a business trip here. I was blessed by her kindness before I even met her in person. When I did meet her, she and I became fellow gigglers. She was an old soul like me even though we were young at the time. We had fun together while they lived here. So there is my experience with Canadians in a nutshell. The only other experience I have is watching Candace Olsen's Divine Design on HG-TV. The only thing I know about Canadian life is what I watch from that particular program because we don't get any other Canadian programming.

That being said, I would like to ask some of you, the real truth behind the "Alaskans hate Canadians" and "Canadians hate Alaskans." Do you like Alaskans or do you not like Alaskans? There has been quite a bit of talk at office water coolers around all over Alaska about what Heather Mallick has said, there has even been quite a bit of talk about it on the boob tube the world over. I don't care about that. For me, it's nothing but a distraction because it didn't come from the people. It did, however, incite in me the interest of finding out the sentiment of Canadians on their relationship or lack of relationship with Alaskans. Is it favorable or unfavorable?

I don't wish to engage in a debate or push a "hot" button. I just want your viewpoints. :smile:

 

[talloola]

I live directly south from you, on vancouver island, and I am canadian, born in british columbia. I have never been to alaska, so can't give my perspective from that point
of view. I would imagine alaskans are just like us, can't be much different, as we enjoy
the same part of the world.
I would think the only difference between us, is your government vs our government,
which in my opinion has nothing in particular to do with us as a people. Fishing and
hunting here, but moreso in your area, lots of rivers and ocean in common. Our winters
are much milder here on the island, not much snow at all.
It's nice to meet you, and thanks for the interest in comparisons of our two nationalities.
We have many many immigrants in this part of the world, and I would think that alaskans
are more like us than any of the immigrants who have moved here.
There is a lot of conflict on this forum re: americans/canadians, but it is the government,
not the people. In my case I have lots of complaints about the bush government, and the
iraq war, I have been against that war from the beginning.
So, if I were an american, I would be a democrat, definitely.
We are right next door, so we should know more about each other than we do, I think.
I've never heard anyone say they hate alaskans, ever.

 

[L Gilbert]

Hi, CG.
Welcome to CC. (downright poetical, aren't I?) lol

I have known probably 8 or 9 Alaskans and there has only been one that I prefer not to associate with, and I don't hate the guy, I just don't think we could be friends. I might add that I had an aunt who also lived in Anchorage (as well as Juneau) and she was one of my fave relatives. Also, I have an online friend from Alaska.
In my 50 some odd years of life I have discovered that it really doesn't matter where someone is from, we all are different and some are not as desirable as others. I doubt there is any of us that absolutely likes everything about someone else.

 

[hermanntrude]

It's the same with english and french people. Everyone knows we hate each other... we've been in several dozen wars in the last thousand years and the english won most of them However, when I meet a french person there's a fairly good chance we'll be friends. The individual and the stereotype are often very different things.

 

[TenPenny]

Heather Mallick doesn't like ANYONE who doesn't live their life according to her plans, so the fact that she doesn't like Sarah Palin means nothing.

The job of a columnist is to be ignorant and generate more press, as they all do. Rush Lumpblah hates Canadians, but I don't give a rats ass.

The only issue I have with Alaska is the old 54:40 or fight thing.

 

[darkbeaver]

Hello, All we hear about Alaska in Nova Scotia is that it's full of Dominionist Cults. Is that True?

 

[Unforgiven]

Hello Coffeegirl, and welcome.

I believe that if you spent time in Canada, pretty much anywhere in Canada, that you would find yourself comfortable in company. Many parts of Canada are a lot like Alaska and so it's not difficult to find people who are to an extent, like minded.

I've never heard about any friction between Canada and Alaska though there are some differences between American and Canadian politics. I've been to Alaska when I was quite young with my Uncle. To be honest, unless someone had a little American flag on their vest or coat, you don't really see much of a difference. But I was young and may have missed some nuance here or there.

We are somewhat like family in that siblings fight with each other and compete against each other, but in times of great peril or tragedy, we stand shoulder to shoulder.

Our differences are really only political I think. We clearly have our own ways of getting things done but I think for the most part it's the same things.

One great defining moment in our history is the war in Iraq. Most Canadians I think feel that there were some alternatives that should have been attempted before an invasion. Yet in the same way, Afghanistan was clearly a common objective and still is.

I've watched a few documentaries on Alaska and find that rugged beauty alive and well in my own country. Not to mention that we are tied closely together with environmental issues of the north and development of those resources.

So think of two brothers, one a bit older, the other a bit smaller and more often than not, they are found in a tussle over some minor detail. And as it often is with brothers like that, anyone foolish enough to go after one, has both to deal with regardless.

Again, welcome aboard and I hope you find what you are looking for and choose to stick around

 

[darkbeaver]

What is the percentage of fundementalist christians in Alaska? I have heard and read that it's a very religious state.

 

[Northboy]

Hi CG,

I think the squabbling brothers analogy just about sums it up.

I am working on developing some bilateral trade deals between BC and Alaska, this may start to turn the tide of opinion to some reality.

 

[darkbeaver]

Hi CG,

I think the squabbling brothers analogy just about sums it up.

I am working on developing some bilateral trade deals between BC and Alaska, this may start to turn the tide of opinion to some reality.

So what would be "some reality" Northboy?

 

[Colpy]

Heather Mallick doesn't like ANYONE who doesn't live their life according to her plans, so the fact that she doesn't like Sarah Palin means nothing.

The job of a columnist is to be ignorant and generate more press, as they all do. Rush Lumpblah hates Canadians, but I don't give a rats ass.

The only issue I have with Alaska is the old 54:40 or fight thing.

Like he said........

Thanks Tenpenny...........

 

[lone wolf]

There were some border haggles along the coast ... and some felt the panhandle was Canadian turf. They're all dead now ... or really, really old.

 

[Praxius]

I have come to this forum in search of an answer. It was the first one listed in my Google search for Canadian forums. It has been said by others that there is no love lost between Canadians and Americans. It has also been said that there is no love lost between Canadians and Alaskans, only entitlement. Through the years I have heard some really ugly things said about Canadian/American political opinions from citizens of both countries and I've heard just as ugly things said by both Alaskans/Canadians as bordering neighbors.

I am an Alaska and live in the city of Anchorage. I personally, don't know too many Canadians. My husband and I knew one family in particular here that transferred with the oil industry. The husband worked in the oil industry. They moved back to Canada within two years as the husband's job was completed. I can't say really what I thought of them as Canadians. I never really thought about them as Canadians, I was too busy thinking about them as friends. Prior to their transfer here, the wife had made me a diaper bag for my daughter when she was an infant and her husband brought it with him on a business trip here. I was blessed by her kindness before I even met her in person. When I did meet her, she and I became fellow gigglers. She was an old soul like me even though we were young at the time. We had fun together while they lived here. So there is my experience with Canadians in a nutshell. The only other experience I have is watching Candace Olsen's Divine Design on HG-TV. The only thing I know about Canadian life is what I watch from that particular program because we don't get any other Canadian programming.

That being said, I would like to ask some of you, the real truth behind the "Alaskans hate Canadians" and "Canadians hate Alaskans." Do you like Alaskans or do you not like Alaskans? There has been quite a bit of talk at office water coolers around all over Alaska about what Heather Mallick has said, there has even been quite a bit of talk about it on the boob tube the world over. I don't care about that. For me, it's nothing but a distraction because it didn't come from the people. It did, however, incite in me the interest of finding out the sentiment of Canadians on their relationship or lack of relationship with Alaskans. Is it favorable or unfavorable?

I don't wish to engage in a debate or push a "hot" button. I just want your viewpoints. :smile:

Well personally, being on the completely opposite side of the country and away from Alaska, I don't hear too much about Alaska where I live, be that positive or negative. The only news and information I have heard as of late from Alaska, was Sen. Palin being nominated as vice president. I'm not bashing Alaska when I say this, but just from what I heard, read and seen in regards to her and her ways, she is in no position to be vice president, and her apparent desire to influence her religious views into her profession in the Government, I already hate her guts.

But that has no relation to Alaska or the rest of the population, and I am certainly not going to paint the entire state with the same brush I shove into Palin's eye.

I know of a few people, including myself, who hate Texas for a few obvious reasons, I personally hate Washington DC, I hate a few of the more sourthern states, and I have a few tiffs over a few other states for varrying reasons (Generally speaking of course in regards to ideology, lack of enforcement of some laws, etc. etc.) And heck, there's a few States I probably wouldn't mind visiting, such as California.

But when it comes to Alaska, not much in regards to negative reports or situations occuring there has tilted my perspective any..... however within some more time, I imagine more focus will be placed on Alaska when the whole Polar Disputes start getting a bit more intense..... as you're the State that much of the focus would be on when that does occur.

But other then that, I neither like or dislike Alaska at the time being. Once more focus and information comes my way in regards to your State, then I will determine then how I feel.... be that more positive or negative.

 

[Praxius]

Heather Mallick doesn't like ANYONE who doesn't live their life according to her plans, so the fact that she doesn't like Sarah Palin means nothing.

The job of a columnist is to be ignorant and generate more press, as they all do. Rush Lumpblah hates Canadians, but I don't give a rats ass.

The only issue I have with Alaska is the old 54:40 or fight thing.

To be perfectly honest, I don't know who the hell Heather Mallick is, nor did I ever hear her opinion on anything before..... so she can't be all that important here in Canada

And since I have never heard of her before, let alone heard anything she's ever shot out of her mouth, she certainly doesn't speak for me.... and if she ever attempted to speak for all Canadians, she can take a good long hard suck on my third leg.

*See.... we're all pretty opinionated :twisted:*

 

[Praxius]

Food for Thought:

Heather Mallick Info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather_Mallick

..... In September 2008, two National Post writers sharply criticized Mallick for comments she made in her column “A mighty wind blows through Republican convention” about Sarah Palin, who had just been selected as the U.S. Republican party's Vice-Presidential candidate.[4] Jonathan Kay accused Mallick’s of making derogatory comments about Palin's family, specifically citing Mallick statement that "[17-year-old] Bristol has what is known in Britain as the look of the teen mum, the ‘pramface.’ Husband Todd looks like a roughneck; Track, heading off to Iraq, appears terrified. They claim to be family-obsessed while being studiously terrible at parenting. What normal father would want Levi ‘I’m a f--kin’ redneck’ Johnson prodding his daughter?” Kay also accused Mallick of writing that Palin is a tacky, badly dressed redneck who looks like a “porn actress” and that her selection as a candidate for Vice President of the United States was done to appease the Republican party’s “rural,” “unlettered.” “white trash” base.[5] Barbara Kay, another writer for the National Post, wrote that Mallick's article "Is so beyond the ethical pale that it comes close to hate speech." [6]

The critical commentary on Mallick's column generally ignores one paragraph near its beginning, in which Mallick says, "But do they not know that women have been trained to resent other women and that they only learn to suppress this by constantly berating themselves and reading columns like this one? I'm a feminist who understands that women can nurse terrible and delicate woman hatred."

Oh.... I don't see the big deal in the above.... that's her opinion.... and everybody has one or more of those.... usually more then they have arseholes.

Some of what I read above I could agree with, but I don't see how anything quoted above could be a branding of all of Alaska..... just Palin and the company she keeps.

 

[L Gilbert]

Whatever. People are people, they are different from each other, simple as that.
CG, there's no more reason to hate Alaskans in general than there is to hate penguins n pandas in general.

 

[darkbeaver]

Heather Mallick is a fine journalist, she's a pleasure to read and tells it like it is.
​

Barbara Kay, another writer for the National Post, wrote that Mallick's article "Is so beyond the ethical pale that it comes close to hate speech."

 

[darkbeaver]

Heather Mallick is a fine journalist, she's a pleasure to read and tells it like it is.
​

Barbara Kay, another writer for the National Post, wrote that Mallick's article "Is so beyond the ethical pale that it comes close to hate speech."

Barbara Kay on the other hand is a raving Zionist lunatic.

 

[TenPenny]

Heather Mallick is a fine journalist, she's a pleasure to read and tells it like it is.​

I've been reading her for years in the Globe and Mail. She tells it like she sees it. Once in a while, that corresponds to reality. Not often, but once in a while.

More of an opinionated pain in the ass. I have some in my family. I usually just smile, nod, and grab another beer.

 

[missile]

The only American I can't stand is Carrottop.:smile: