Canadians overly sensitive, Brits warned

reply to post by Kryties


Where I live, you wouldn't risk leaving your car overnight in a town/city centre. You go back the next morning to find it gone!

They're pretty tough on drink driving over here too though, so I generally just don't drink if I'm driving, or don't drive if I know I'm gonna be drinking.

Originally posted by Kryties

Yep, thats correct - not all pubs have them but they are catching on quickly and soon it will be impossible to find an Aussie pub without one.

I'll answer your second question with my own personal experience - I slept in my car lol. Aussies know that if they are over the limit then either 1. they can risk driving home and getting caught by one of the billion or so coppers on the roads all with portable breath testing units - and the result is immediate loss of license and court date and possible jail or 2. we either get a taxi and pick our car up the next day or just sleep in the car.

All of this may sound odd to foreigners but thats Australia for ya hehe.

Yeah that is so cool, obviously something has worked as far educating the public, but as mentioned earlier, there are those dickheads who do choose to play Russian roulette with their and other people well being.

reply to post by tristar


I think you'll find that most, if not all, Aussies have a special affinity toward our Canadian friends. Same as our feelings toward the Kiwi's and the Pom's - we regard them with a kind of brotherly love if you will.

Yes, we tease them also (which is sometimes taken the wrong way but never intended as such) such as calling our British brothers Pom's or teasing our Kiwi brothers about their latest loss in the rugby - that kind of thing. But it's all from a brotherly kind of perspective - whenever I or any other Aussie I know talks about Canada or Britain or New Zealand its always with a smile on their face and with nice things to say.

Sorry if thats a little confusing - in Aussie we would just call it mateship but to a foreigner who doesn't understand the Aussie meaning of "mate" then it's a tad difficult to get the meaning across hehe.

Originally posted by tristar


Yeah that is so cool, obviously something has worked as far educating the public, but as mentioned earlier, there are those dickheads who do choose to play Russian roulette with their and other people well being.

Unfortunately yeah we get them here. An example is about 3 weeks ago up at my father-inlaws house. We were up playing xbox at about 3 in the morning then next thing we know we hear screaching, smashing and a twisted car in his front yard.

The bloke driving the car was about 20 years old and completely plastered (an Aussie word for being very, very drunk). We ran out the front as he was trying to untangle his foot from the car door and run away. Literally everyone on the street was awake and outside by that time - several ran to grab fire extinguishers, one rang the cops and my father-in-law and myself had to literally sit on the bloke who was swinging his arms wildly around trying to punch anyone he could see because he was determined not to get caught and face up to his actions.

He ended up getting 5 years license suspension and 18 months jail.

I have to say that these days down here it is usually the young and stupid people who you hear about drink driving - usually because the end result of it is smashing into someones house, or running over someone else.

It's fascinating to see the way this thread developed.

The natural result of the OP article should have been to arouse Canadian indignation against the Brits- "How dare they accuse us of that?...".

Instead, for obvious time-zone reasons, we get a "Canada v US" fight, without interruption, until the British get up in the morning and start talking about beer.

Let me get back to the original article for a moment.

There's a big difference between "The Canadians are sensitive" and "The Canadians are overly sensitive". The first is just friendly advice, the second implies disapproval.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the impression that the first version is the one that came from the British tourist authorities, and the Canadian reporters added the word "overly" themselves.
Which implies, perhaps, that they might have been overly sensitive on the subject of their sensitivity.

reply to post by Kryties


Yeah, us Brits tend to feel the same about Canadians and Aussies (and Yanks to a slightly lesser degree). A kinda kinsmanship with our brothers across the water. We do tend to take the p*ss out of you guys, but it's all in good fun.

BTW, why do you guys call us Poms? I never figured that one out.

Originally posted by nik1halo
reply to post by Kryties

 

BTW, why do you guys call us Poms? I never figured that one out.

To be honest I think the true meaning of the word "Pommie" has been lost to time. Most Aussies use it literally just as a nice reference to our English brothers.

Actually it's interesting you asked that - in Aussie papers today we had a similar story about what Brits should watch out for during the Olympics but with a primarily Aussie perspective on it (obviously hehe).....it helps explain the Pom thing a bit....

www.smh.com.au...

'Poms' not an Aussie insult, Brits told

Brits shouldn't be offended if visiting Australians or New Zealanders make jokes about "Poms", according to UK tourism chiefs, who advise that it's meant as a term of endearment.

The tip is on a list of cultural dos and don'ts that has been compiled ahead of an influx of foreign visitors for the 2012 London Olympics, London's Daily Telegraph reports.

The official guidelines warn that Canadians don't like being mistaken for Americans, and Japanese people may take umbrage if you stare at them, sneeze in their presence or expose the soles of your shoes.

Argentinians are singled out as being particularly tricky customers for waiters because of wine-pouring etiquette, while Germans can be offended if you make a hand sign for 'OK' or point your index finger at your head.

The rules, compiled by VisitBritain, are designed to help hoteliers, restaurateurs and taxi drivers understand the needs of foreign customers to maximise business and make the country appear more welcoming.

"Overseas visitors spend more than 16 billion pounds ($27.7 billion) a year in Britain, contributing massively to our economy and supporting jobs across the country. So giving our foreign visitors a friendly welcome is absolutely vital to our economy," said Sandie Dawe, chief executive of VisitBritain.

"With hundreds of thousands of people thinking of coming to Britain in the run-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, this new advice is just one way of helping the tourism industry care for their customers - wherever they come from."

If you read the comments at the bottom also you will discover that their is an active discussion on as to the exact meaning of the word "Pom" hehe. Personally I, and all Aussies I know, use it as a term of endearment rather than an insult.

reply to post by Kryties


To be honest, i don't think I know anyone who would be offended by being called a Pom or Pommie, it's just accepted that that's what you Aussies call us. It's no different to calling an American a "Yank" or someone from N.Z. a Kiwi. It just confuses me as to what is actually means. I know the Etymology of why the Americans call us Limeys though.

Originally posted by Aeons
We don't complain about it - but having a Ukrainian talk to you all friendly while touching your arm and standing with their face two inches from your face.....its hard to think about anything they are talking about.

That made me laugh, as I work with a couple of Russians and Ukrainians and they DO get really close! I thought it was just them, I didn't realise it was a cultural thing. I don't like it either, so I completely sympathise with the problem of trying to maintain distance without being obvious!

As for the OP, I can usually tell the difference between the accents although sometimes it isn't so clear. The polite thing to do would be to ask when you meet the person, then that rules out any ambiguity.

reply to post by sassyncute

Its a good thing because lets face it if Amereeka decided to invade Canada tomorrow sometime after breakfast, including finding their way there and navigating the french signs, "job done" should be somewhere around Noon in time for lunch.

This is the type of comment that really irritates me. It is just so typical of "Team America- World Police".. We can kick anyones ass in 10 minutes ..blah blah blah..
How long have you been in Afghanistan and Iraq now? How did that Vietnam thing go? I am fine with all of the other comments, but as soon as you start talking about how you could invade us and kick our ass in 1/2 day I just get very pissed off. This is the exact attitude that makes you so popular in the rest of the world's eyes.
What you forgot to consider is how many other countries would have our back if you even tried such a thing as to cross that border with ill intentions. I am quite certain we have a few friends out there who would not allow such a thing to happen and would send you limping back across that border.

Just sayin..

I have to say as a Canadian I always say I'm Canadian when I travel. Especially in Europe I wear my Canada flag pin. Why? Canadians get robbed less is the urban myth and you get better deals when haggling.
Also when I was in Venice I went to one restaurant and they asked if we were American or Canadian and they gave us free drinks on the house. The American couple near by said they were American and didn't get any. Also the Canadian stereo type is better than the American one, in my opinion. We are seen as shy and say eh a lot, where as from what I've heard Americans, and I know this is not 100% true, are portrayed as fat, loud and dumb. I don't think this ,its a stereo type, I know its not true, don't yell at me, blame McDonalds and all your fast food places.

We are the lovable Canadians, we get picked on by every country and we don't mind being the butt of jokes. Anyways we're bigger and on top in prison... And you know the rest.

I am Xiamara and I am Canadian and Born in the Ice Cold North of Ontario Where the moose roam. Minus 20 Celsius is nothing that to me is a nice day in the dead of winter, Its only cold if your blood freezes within a minute.

Originally posted by nepafogo
reply to post by sassyncute

 

What you forgot to consider is how many other countries would have our back if you even tried such a thing as to cross that border with ill intentions. I am quite certain we have a few friends out there who would not allow such a thing to happen and would send you limping back across that border.

Just sayin..

To back that up, I as an Aussie, were America to attack Canada would be front and centre - gun in hand - to help defend our Canadian brothers.

reply to post by Xiamara


I have to admit while travelling, I got on best with the Canadians and Aussies, travelling was where I first heard the term "Septic". A "Septic" is an American. As in Septic Tank = Yank. You could always tell who the Yanks from the Canadians, Americans seemed to shout a lot more or just speak really loudly .

reply to post by Kryties


Likewise bros. What a force that would be a bunch of pizzed of Aussies and Canucks.. throw in the Brits and that is one force I dare anyone to try and take on.

reply to post by nepafogo


I agree.. But lets not forget America has invaded us before and what happened...? Oh that's right we Kicked serious butt and won do y'all in the states remember the war of 1812?

We may look weak but if anyone invaded us I'm pretty sure there would be a lot of political backlash. I don't think many countries openly hate us. We get lumped in with the west so that kinda counts but the other countries like us. We don't even have nukes. We have... Snow? If we ever go into an ice age hey we're all set.

Originally posted by Xiamara
reply to post by nepafogo

 

I agree.. But lets not forget America has invaded us before and what happened...? Oh that's right we Kicked serious butt and won do y'all in the states remember the war of 1812?

They do, I've seen them mention it on ATS quite alot. Thing is, they think they won it! Despite Washington being razed, the White House being burnt to the ground, their President leaving in such a hurry his dinner was still on the table when British troops stormed the building and them failing spectaculary in securing the Canadian provinces they were after.

Apparently though, thats a "win" for the Yanks.... Go figure

reply to post by tristar


Canadians are usually not all that sensitive when deemed as "Americans" but when I first meet them (without knowing they are American) I usually ask them from which part of North America they come? That's usually acceptable considering Canada and the USA are North America.

reply to post by stumason


Its a defense mechanism, tis called denial. Oh well... They can't deny we kicked butt in WWII we didn't need nukes we fight man to man.

Sorry Canucks, I lived in northern Minnesota for 18 years, and I hate to say it, but the Canadians just across the river there, I couldn't tell you from the guy next to me who wasn't. The only discernable difference would be saying "eh" after most things (Although, I notice that seems vary based on where in Canada they're from)

I mean really, talk to folks in International Falls, MN and talk to people in Winnipeg, I don't think they're that different. In the end, we're all just people.

Originally posted by Kryties

Originally posted by nepafogo
reply to post by sassyncute

 

What you forgot to consider is how many other countries would have our back if you even tried such a thing as to cross that border with ill intentions. I am quite certain we have a few friends out there who would not allow such a thing to happen and would send you limping back across that border.

Just sayin..

To back that up, I as an Aussie, were America to attack Canada would be front and centre - gun in hand - to help defend our Canadian brothers.

Pretty much all of the Commonwealth would back them up to be honest mate. I'd bet my left ball Britain would be there, regardless of our "Special relationship" with the US. That's the point of the commonwealth.

Having said that, it's a moot point anyway. It simply would never happen.