Are Canadians Too Nice?
April 26th, 2009 by winna | Featured BloggerI was watching an interview of Gene Simmons with Jian Ghomeshi on Q just the other day and his comment about Canadians being too nice prompted me to really examine ourselves. I do think Canadians are too nice. I use myself as an example. Just recently I’ve been trying to take the word “sorry” out of my vocabulary and I have to say, old habits die hard. Not only do I use it when I actually am sorry but it somehow creeps into everything I say, like: “Sorry, what?” or if I bump into an inanimate object I’ll say it as well. It’s pathetic, I don’t need to be sorry. It’s demoralizing and redundant. Each time you say it, not only does it lower your self-confidence but you lose your credibility also.
I’ll tell you why I’m not sorry anymore. Canada is great. The people are great. We need to be more aggressive and stick together. I say we stop caring about what others think and just focus on ourselves. I say we do something drastic and let the world know what we’re really made of. I say we invade Montana. Who cares if the States will just squish us like road kill? Heck Montana can probably take us.
The point is, the rest of the world looks down on us sometimes because we don’t take a stand for ourselves. Why is it that hockey players can get into a fight for no reason on the ice but off the ice, everything is just so damn civil again? I say forget about holding that door for the old lady, she can open it herself. Okay nevermind, that’s just mean.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:11 am
Haha nicely put.
I dont get/agree with this part though “Each time you say it, not only does it lower your self-confidence but you lose your credibility also.” And lol to saying sorry to an inanimate object but it makes sense, we are saying sorry for being absent minded in the first place.
April 27th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
about that comment, what I meant to say was that I learned that in psychology class saying sorry lowers your self-esteem but I forget why, it just does. As for the credibility, saying sorry multiple times obviously looks bad on you when you haven’t changed (especially when you’re a politician). Anyhow, you are entitled to disagree with me.
April 28th, 2009 at 2:14 am
Personally, I feel that Gene Simmons or whoever generalized Canadians in a way that I disapprove. Sure, there are tons of nice Canadians, but there are also a whole bunch of total a*holes out there.
As for saying sorry, I apologize to inanimate objects and put it in a whole bunch of sentences but that being said, I personally see it as a sign of ettiquette rather than self demoralization. Whenever I apologize, whether it’s for something little or even for an inanimate object, I’m simply being polite, because who knows if that inanimate object is really a person? Personally, I think there’s a difference between saying sorry for doing something that potentially hurt someone emotionally/mentally/physically etc and saying sorry just to assauge someone.
As for Gene Simmons, isn’t he that arrogant guy who thinks he’s better than everyone else from Kiss? If he’s the one saying that Canadians are too nice, I think that he might need to go through some self reflection and maybe say sorry to all those people he’s treated like dirt.
April 28th, 2009 at 2:22 am
Perhaps the Gene Simmons comment there wasn’t such a bright idea. Anyhow, great point there Jess.
April 28th, 2009 at 11:06 am
I don’t think there’s such a thing as being *too* polite. It’s not like saying sorry for bumping into someone will really lower your self esteem that much – as long as you don’t dwell on it and realize that it was not really your fault – but it will make that person’s day a little bit better, make them feel a bit better about themselves (if it’s discouraging to say “sorry,” how awful is it to have someone bump into you and not even acknowledge your existence or that they’ve hurt you?).
April 29th, 2009 at 4:13 am
First of all I’d like to agree with Jess in thinking that maybe Gene Simmons isn’t exactly an expert on the topic. I mean come on the guy spent years using his image to rip off people. Not to mention that he has supposedly slept with like a thousand different women. (his poor wife… and kids (well then again they are rich so I guess they can’t complain much))
Secondly I would like to agree with the notion that at least with some people it is bad for their self-esteem to say sorry a lot. It makes sense in psychological theory because even though we use sorry as adults mainly in a way that is courteous (in Canadian culture) usually as children we use it when we have done something wrong and are being punished. Our brains work through networks of relations of things to other things (Gene Simmons=sex addict). If it is ingrained in us from a young age that the word sorry and negative feelings like guilt, sadness, hurt, etc. are inter-related then saying sorry can lead to these feelings on a conscious or subconscious level in adulthood.
Thirdly I do not think that we (Canadians) are too polite. I think as a people we are not polite enough and it’s just that a lot of other countries (The U.S.) that are generally even worse. Very few people give others what should be common respect. What I do agree with though is that we have become wussies (it was the politest word I could think of to somewhat accurately describe how I feel). There is a difference between not being polite and taking a stand for ourselves as people. The peoples of this country and in general of this world are too complacent. We do not do enough to further equality for everyone. For example how many Canadians actually are fully behind one of the current political parties? (and actually understand all of the parties stances) Not that many, yet how many people have actually stepped up to seriously start a new government? No one that I’ve heard of has made a serious dent in the political landscape in years. It’s not good enough to just have the right to vote we need to use it to actually improve our society. Don’t get me wrong there have been strides in the last hundred years for gaining racial equality and sex equality (in Canada and some other countries), but why should we stop here? Class equality has been far from achieved in this world, there are people that make millions of dollars each year basically doing nothing, there are rising amounts of people that struggle to pay rent and raise families while working part time jobs in Canada, and there are people in Africa who are lucky if they get to have some contaminated water each day. The notion that someone can make a million dollars in a year is sickening. No I do not believe that everyone should be making the exact same amount of money. There does need to be variance in pay depending on skill yes, but in no way can I find in justifiable that upper class people make the amounts that they do make while others starve. I think it’s about time that some of these politicians, CEO’s, and so called “stars” got what was coming to them. It has been a long time since the French revolution and it’s about time that some more upper class heads rolled instead of the lower class people. (I of course mean this figuratively(well… or at least this time change the guillotine blade more often so the deaths can at least be swift… it’s only polite)) Come on it’s time to teach the upper class people of this world some some manners. Gene Simmons head on a pole is sounding like a really good start.
REVOLUTION! REVOLUTION! REVOLUTION!
April 29th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I disagree with you on so many levels, particularly on the class issue. People don’t become millionaires by doing “basically nothing” and if they can make it, let them. Who says they can’t put some of that money to good use? Yes there is corruption but there has been good things coming from rich people.
I don’t think the solution to the people starving in Africa is for rich people to make less money or downgrade, for lack of a better word, to reach class equality.
I don’t think the issue is class equality in Canada (like it is Britain let’s say) but I do agree with you on our complacency. We aren’t doing enough to help ourselves and the rest of the world because we are so well off for the most part.
I think the solution to making other countries better, is to first worry about our own problems. I know I sound very politically incorrect and insensitive but I’m not idealistic (i.e. starting a revolution) and frankly I guess I’m just selfish.
April 29th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I just realized your response is longer than my article! You should join blogut!