Canadians: bashing the U.S. and being silent about other cultures
A Canadian lawyer/professor was quoted in public, “We don’t have capital punishment while the U.S. does. We are more civilized than the U.S.” In fact, many other countries have much more barbaric punishments and/or cultural practices than the U.S. Honor killing is an example.
Why do Canadians (or people in Canada) only mention the U.S. and stay silent about barbaric punishments that take place in many parts of the world. Canadians seem to feel no shame when bashing the U.S. Criticizing the U.S. while ignoring other countries appears cowardly in my eyes.
Here are some possible reasons for the Canadian focus on the U.S.:
- Being Labeled as a racist / Hate Speech Law
Criticizing cultures other than the U.S. can result in an individual being labeled a racist, an outcome that could have a detrimental impact on ones professional standing. Hate Speech laws threaten people as well. In Canada even newspapers and magazines can’t discuss what they like about minorities and religions without worries about legal consequence. The U.S. is the only country everyone feels free to criticize without any negative consequences.
- Lack of knowledge
Schools might not teach history of foreign countries in detail to prevent the development of prejudice against people from other cultures and races. Additionally, foreign countries other than the U.S. are not discussed in public in general, for fear it could result in the racist label and trouble. This fear and lack of information reduces opportunities to learn about other cultures.
- Terrorism
Some people resort to violence against different ideas. For example, Hitoshi Igarashi, a Japanese scholar of Arabic and Persian literature and history and the Japanese translator of Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses, was killed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitoshi_Igarashi
- Historical conflicts between the U.S. and Canada
The negative attitude Canadians have towards the U.S. might be deep rooted in historical conflict between the two countries. Canada and the U.S. have fought battles against each other British Loyalists, who did not support the American War of Independence, moved to Canada.
- “Not American” is the only identity of Canadians
While Canada is more civilized than the U.S. in many ways, Canada has had a difficult time forming its own sense of identity.
A Japanese View 
I think a lot of it has to do with the US having the “we’re #1” attitude. If we are to tote that, we (in the US) should hold ourselves to a higher standard. I think that statement was somewhat deserved.
austinvividphotography
2013/03/06