I remember reading a stereotype of an American as someone who got their impressions of everything from watching sitcoms on TV.
What's the difference between Canadians' & Americans' ?
- Thread starter kiwi_NZ
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I remember reading a stereotype of an American as someone who got their impressions of everything from watching sitcoms on TV.
There is a simple way of telling apart a Canadian, an American and a British. Ask them one simple question, which comes first, Halloween or Thanksgiving.
If the answer is Thanksgiving, he is a Canadian, if the answer comes Halloween, he is an American. If the answer comes ‘What the bloody Hell are you talking about?’, he is a Briton.
As much I love John Cleese's humour, I was taught by my mother not to put too much stock into what I saw or heard on TV. So why don't we keep that one in persepective...it's an overstated satire, which is the basis for a lot of comedy. Entertaining, but not really the right place to begin basing your social values.
You said, "it is the Americans who are arrogant, especially when they go abroad."
I know you'll be shocked by this, but I have another take...I don't think there is a difference between Canadians and Americans on this one. Some Canadians and some Americans are certainly "ugly" when they travel abroad. So are some Japanese, French, Brits, and well...probably some of every nationality or race behave like that when they're abroad.
I have travelled extensively with American business people around the world, and shared both social and business time with them in some very "foreign" settings. These folks were, by and large, very knowledgeable and functional in these situations, and I learned a lot from them. Most of them took the time to study up on certain small but important details before they arrived. I remember one guy - a "redneck" from Texas - who was with me on a trip to Thailand one time. He spent an hour or so explaining to me the history of the "spirit houses" that we would see alongside the roads and highways. He would preface many of his comments with, "I know this sounds weird to us, but to the people of Thailand, this is a very important part of their culture..." and would go on to explain why it was important. And he did this with an obvious sense of respect.
That's just one example, but there are many, many more. Does that ring true with your statement "it is the Americans who are arrogant, especially when they go abroad."???
Sweeping generalizations about any situation are usually nothing more than a not-well-thought-out opinion getting out of control. I would think that a man of science like yourself would consider your comments more objectively before condemning an entire nationality like you did in your post.
I'm a home boy, never been anywhere.....but my good friend, who spent a significant segment of his life traveling the world, working and living in Asia......claims there are two nationalities that are absolute horrors abroad.........the Britons, and the Germans.
Sure comedy shows exaggerate, countryboy. The have to, in order to get laughs. However, there usually is a kernel of truth behind the exaggeration. Indeed, if there was not a kernel of truth, the exaggeration won’t be funny, it won’t be successful comedy.
The stereotype of ugly American is out there. The show simply magnified it several fold to get laughs.
Well, I am getting more familiar with the concept of "kernel of truth" as I read certain posts!
That's probably true. So what? An American with a lucid opinion is a rare thing. Watch CNN some morning you'll see what I mean.
Generally speaking the main difference is Canadians were born in Canada and Americans were born in the U.S.