2008 Woodie Awards
Canada is not a city in Minnesota
Josh Justice
Issue date: 2/12/03 Section: Commentary
“The Canadians. They walk among us. William Shatner, Michael J. Fox, Monty Hall, Mike Meyers, Alex Trebek. All of them Canadian. All of them here.”
- Canadian Bacon
Georgetown University, and the nation at large, prides itself as a place of diversity and tolerance. Everywhere these values are held in high esteem and looked upon as being one of the founding principles of the United States and its institutions. On campus there is a continual rise in the demand for more diversity oriented programs; from interfaith dialogues or an African American studies programs to the founding of a LGBTQ center the University and its student body are moving constantly ahead against the prejudices that plague mankind. Yet under this mask of acceptance there is a deep aversion, if not in some cases hatred, to one specific nationality. Yes, that’s right, America’s neighbors to the great white north, the Canadians, have yet to find acceptance at Georgetown University.
Some of the people reading this commentary have already begun to laugh; they take any mention of Canadians as something to laugh at and be mocked. As a Canadian-American I’ve grown up with this prejudice all my life and have had to live with the constant ridicule. What other nationality is so openly mocked, so rudely portrayed by stereotypes as Canadians are at this university? And where do Canadians have to turn if they feel discriminated, if they feel like this whole country is against them and that it might just be better to pack their bags and head back home? To mock a Muslim or homosexual student in the middle of class would likely promote administrative action and may even be called a hate crime. To say to a Canadian’s face in the middle of class, “What aboot Boxing Day eh, you get a break from snow farming?” provokes only laughter.
In this sad state of affairs, where one group of people is unduly ridiculed, there are also horrible misunderstandings and stereotypes that contribute to the constant mockery of Canadians in America. No, we are not a vassal state. Canada has a rich heritage and history that is sadly ignored by the United States. No, we do not all speak like the cast of Fargo. The accent exists in Canada, just as a similar one exists in the northern United States and other equally ridiculous ones exist throughout the United States, but is not uniform throughout Canada. No, we are not all French. Indeed, most Canadians hate the French and French Canadians even more than those in the U.S. do. If there were ever a group to mock it would be the French. And finally, no we do not eat bacon five times a day; personally I do not even like bacon.
- Canadian Bacon
Georgetown University, and the nation at large, prides itself as a place of diversity and tolerance. Everywhere these values are held in high esteem and looked upon as being one of the founding principles of the United States and its institutions. On campus there is a continual rise in the demand for more diversity oriented programs; from interfaith dialogues or an African American studies programs to the founding of a LGBTQ center the University and its student body are moving constantly ahead against the prejudices that plague mankind. Yet under this mask of acceptance there is a deep aversion, if not in some cases hatred, to one specific nationality. Yes, that’s right, America’s neighbors to the great white north, the Canadians, have yet to find acceptance at Georgetown University.
Some of the people reading this commentary have already begun to laugh; they take any mention of Canadians as something to laugh at and be mocked. As a Canadian-American I’ve grown up with this prejudice all my life and have had to live with the constant ridicule. What other nationality is so openly mocked, so rudely portrayed by stereotypes as Canadians are at this university? And where do Canadians have to turn if they feel discriminated, if they feel like this whole country is against them and that it might just be better to pack their bags and head back home? To mock a Muslim or homosexual student in the middle of class would likely promote administrative action and may even be called a hate crime. To say to a Canadian’s face in the middle of class, “What aboot Boxing Day eh, you get a break from snow farming?” provokes only laughter.
In this sad state of affairs, where one group of people is unduly ridiculed, there are also horrible misunderstandings and stereotypes that contribute to the constant mockery of Canadians in America. No, we are not a vassal state. Canada has a rich heritage and history that is sadly ignored by the United States. No, we do not all speak like the cast of Fargo. The accent exists in Canada, just as a similar one exists in the northern United States and other equally ridiculous ones exist throughout the United States, but is not uniform throughout Canada. No, we are not all French. Indeed, most Canadians hate the French and French Canadians even more than those in the U.S. do. If there were ever a group to mock it would be the French. And finally, no we do not eat bacon five times a day; personally I do not even like bacon.