Canadians overly sensitive, Brits warned

Canadians overly sensitive, Brits warned

www.cbc.ca

Are Canadians easily offended? They are when mistaken for Americans, according to Britain's national tourism agency.

New guidelines from VisitBritain ahead of the 2012 London Olympics warn that Canadians can be overly sensitive, especially about their national identity.

(visit the link for the full news article)


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www.visitbritain.com

Not sure how to respond to this, since when were the Canadians thought of as Americans. Did this reporter skip social classes or better yet, has ever traveled and interacted with different nationalities ?...sorry i cant continue as i am wiping the tears from my eyes due to laughter.

Keep in mind i am not taking a shot at the Brits, but common, some of this info is out of this world

eg
"Polish tourists are likely to be hurt by stereotypes that imply they drink excessively..."

Has this guy ever traveled to Germany ?, has he even researched or cross referenced what info was given to him. sheez..i am not sure whether to laugh or cry.

[edit on 11-8-2010 by tristar]

He is correct. We have our own identity. We are not Americans. We are as similar as we are different. Calling a Canuck an American will likely get your face pushed back a few inches. May seem silly but that's the way we are.

right...
Americans travel with Canadian flags sown on everything for a reason...
Like the American press did during the invasion of Iraq, or like backpackers do in Europe.

Canadians earned the right to wear that flag.
We wonder whats all the fuss about respecting the American flag,
when so many of the people from the US then go and choose to wear ours.

[edit on 11-8-2010 by Danbones]

No doubt if anyone called me an American, you can bet ill be pissed! Proud Canuck all the way!

Originally posted by Danbones
right...
Americans travel with Canadisn flags sown on everything for a reason..

You took the words out of my mouth! They even did a skit on South Park when the boys fly back to Afghanistan to return the goat, and one of the kids (I think Stan) says "Hello from Canada!"

Its why i was like..huh...wtf (pardon my french)..i simply couldn't understand how a person would mistaken a canadian for an american or visa-versa. Right, i am about to ring a canadian buddy and ask him to get in on the act and sure enough his is one of those who has a sense of humor but has a wicked right hook, i do think his going to throw his lcd out the window... again..!

The problem is the accent sounds more or less the same to most people that aren't from that side of the Atlantic. Alot of people over there get mixed up with our accent here in the UK too.

I'm terrible with accents and once when I was on holiday in Spain, I thought the barman I was chatting to for ten minutes or so was a Spaniard and complimented him on his English. He was from Liverpool in the UK. Boy did I feel a bit of a twit. ( I blamed the loud music)

[edit on 11-8-2010 by Tykonos]

The truth is canadian culture is pretty much identical to american culture.

Originally posted by Nofoolishness
The truth is canadian culture is pretty much identical to american culture.

This is mostly true.

however most Canadians I have talked to would fist fight me for saying it. There is this snarky sense superiority that people of any given nation have. Just another example of how they are so similar to us (except a little more tree hugging, like living in Wyoming or Colorado).

Originally posted by Tykonos

I'm terrible with accents and once when I was on holiday in Spain, I thought the barman I was chatting to for ten minutes or so was a Spaniard and complimented him on his English. He was from Liverpool in the UK. Boy did I feel a bit of a twit. ( I blamed the loud music)

Oh that would have been a sight to watch...no offense intended.

reply to post by Tykonos


I understand 100%. I'm South African, and when I got here I couldn't tell the diff between a Canuck and American from the NE. Now I got a good handle on it.

When I open my mouth, people think I'm: Australian, Kiwi, English.... very few get I'm South African off the bat. Good news is that I've won some money at the bars giving people 3 chances to get it right, or cough over their "Toonies" to me.

Originally posted by Nofoolishness
The truth is canadian culture is pretty much identical to american culture.

Not even close. The US is a republic that seceded from Britain violently. Ours is a parliamentary system that separated from Britain via a LONG political movement. Did you know that we didn't even have a constitution until 1982? Hockey vs Football. Baseball vs curling. We like our guns but we don't go ape over them. I could go on.

Originally posted by tristar

Originally posted by Tykonos

I'm terrible with accents and once when I was on holiday in Spain, I thought the barman I was chatting to for ten minutes or so was a Spaniard and complimented him on his English. He was from Liverpool in the UK. Boy did I feel a bit of a twit. ( I blamed the loud music)

Oh that would have been a sight to watch...no offense intended.

.....the shame


I blame the drink too

Originally posted by intrepid
He is correct. We have our own identity. We are not Americans. We are as similar as we are different. Calling a Canuck an American will likely get your face pushed back a few inches. May seem silly but that's the way we are.

But you ARE Americans!
Canada is in North America. The United States of America is in North America.

I would be happy calling you American, but not Yanks.


Don't be so sensitive, especially over semantics.

Originally posted by Danbones
right...
Americans travel with Canadisn flags sown on everything for a reason...
Like the American press did during the invasion of Iraq, or like backpackers do in Europe.

Canadians earned the right to wear that flag.
We wonder whats all the fuss about respecting the American flag,
when so many of the people from the US then go and choose to wear ours.

Really? I never have. I don't wear any flag on my stuff when I go to Europe, but if anyone asks, I tell them I'm from the US. And never had a single problem, either.

Originally posted by TortoiseKweek
When I open my mouth, people think I'm: Australian, Kiwi, English....

I haven't mistakened a South African for someone English, but I do have to listen closely to make sure you're not Aussie or Kiwi.

reply to post by aorAki


I myself see Canada as Canada and not as North America. I guess it depends on which side of the fence your viewing it from. To add, the majority of Europeans see as i typed it.

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area. Canada's common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the longest in the world.
en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by intrepid
Not even close. The US is a republic that seceded from Britain violently. Ours is a parliamentary system that separated from Britain via a LONG political movement. Did you know that we didn't even have a constitution until 1982? Hockey vs Football. Baseball vs curling. We like our guns but we don't go ape over them. I could go on.

Real bacon vs that round crap you try to pawn off on people as bacon.



[edit on 11-8-2010 by jerico65]

Originally posted by jerico65
Real bacon vs that round crap you try to pawn off on people as bacon.

That may be called bacon but it's ham as far as I'm concerned. Doesn't matter, I prefer sausages.