Why Canada is a better country than America
Because of stories like this:
After a mentally disabled black man was found beaten, unconscious, and shivering on a fire ant mound in 2003, four white men charged in the crime could have faced 10 years in prison.
But folks in this poor, pine-locked Texas hamlet of 2,300 say they knew better.
On Friday, the four young men accused of severely injuring 44-year-old Billy Ray Johnson during a late-night pasture party are expected to be sentenced to probation or brief jail time after juries rejected more serious charges and recommended suspended sentences for two of them.
The victim survived the attack but can't walk without help or speak clearly.
Some white residents believe it is a fair outcome for a few "good boys" from prominent families with no previous legal trouble. But other residents, blacks and whites, say the sentences are far from fair and just another example of justice being tainted by small-town politics, racism and a court system that favors whites.
That's right. It's mostly because of the racism, which is clearly and obviously not a majority characteristic in America - but it's widespread enough to make it quite challenging and troublesome for minorities to live in large portions of the United States.
Unlike a lot of confused and misguided folks who are obsessed with pinning the blame squarely on George W., I obviously don't see it that way at all.
I remember reading an article in the Weekly Standard from a couple of months ago about Americans who were immigrating to Canada... and the responses were actually kind of logical and thought-out:
He says that when satellite trucks first started showing up in his driveway, the neighbors were atwitter. He loves his neighbors, a healthy mix of Republicans and Democrats. They regularly get together for barbecues, and come see him perform in community theater....
Still, Key is leaving his homeland, and he's sick of hearing from talk-show types who say good riddance on the one hand and he should stay and fight on the other. "Shouldn't you?" I ask, picking up the latter sentiment. After all, he gets along beautifully even with his Republican neighbors, and nobody except a few journalists has questioned his patriotism. So how bad, really, is the alleged cauldron of intolerance known as America? Isn't he boxing with Sean Hannity's shadow, responding not to the America he actually knows, but to the polarized version of it that lives in his cable box?
Besides, I suggest in a windy disquisition (I've had wine with lunch) after hearing at length how he once marched for civil rights and against Vietnam, even if this ugly America is as pervasive as he says, isn't it our duty as Americans to get in on the debate, to jump into the sandbox and hit somebody on the head with a shovel while no one's looking? It's what made our country great. Our forefathers may have quit their home countries once upon a time, but they came here to build a better one.
He isn't buying. "I'm f--ing tired," he says, "and I don't need to rebuild the country. There's a perfectly good one 30 miles away."
So yeah, basically, Canada is better in some ways because of reasons that might otherwise seem annoying and frustrating - its apathy and its laid-backness (if that's even a word?).
It's easier to live here. People care less about other people's business. The security atmosphere in America (although well-intended of course) makes matters all the worse. I know I've tried to avoid admitting it in the past, but freedoms HAVE been trampled in America - although I don't believe that these infringements are (usually) a direct cause of legislation or executive decisionmaking taken by the US government. Instead, I largely blame stupid cops, stupid border people, stupid customs people and so on.
Going to America is always slightly troublesome for me. Getting across the border or across immigration/customs at the airport is usually a small hassle. Unlike in Canada, I've learnt that it's best to avoid cops in America. Basically, there's just a stronger culture of fear. There might be a stronger economy, a more moral foreign policy as expressed by the government (i.e. removing not embracing dictators), and other reasons too... but that's all useless if you're going to be living tensely and fearfully. And I'm finally starting to come around to see how important that factor really is.
After a mentally disabled black man was found beaten, unconscious, and shivering on a fire ant mound in 2003, four white men charged in the crime could have faced 10 years in prison.
But folks in this poor, pine-locked Texas hamlet of 2,300 say they knew better.
On Friday, the four young men accused of severely injuring 44-year-old Billy Ray Johnson during a late-night pasture party are expected to be sentenced to probation or brief jail time after juries rejected more serious charges and recommended suspended sentences for two of them.
The victim survived the attack but can't walk without help or speak clearly.
Some white residents believe it is a fair outcome for a few "good boys" from prominent families with no previous legal trouble. But other residents, blacks and whites, say the sentences are far from fair and just another example of justice being tainted by small-town politics, racism and a court system that favors whites.
That's right. It's mostly because of the racism, which is clearly and obviously not a majority characteristic in America - but it's widespread enough to make it quite challenging and troublesome for minorities to live in large portions of the United States.
Unlike a lot of confused and misguided folks who are obsessed with pinning the blame squarely on George W., I obviously don't see it that way at all.
I remember reading an article in the Weekly Standard from a couple of months ago about Americans who were immigrating to Canada... and the responses were actually kind of logical and thought-out:
He says that when satellite trucks first started showing up in his driveway, the neighbors were atwitter. He loves his neighbors, a healthy mix of Republicans and Democrats. They regularly get together for barbecues, and come see him perform in community theater....
Still, Key is leaving his homeland, and he's sick of hearing from talk-show types who say good riddance on the one hand and he should stay and fight on the other. "Shouldn't you?" I ask, picking up the latter sentiment. After all, he gets along beautifully even with his Republican neighbors, and nobody except a few journalists has questioned his patriotism. So how bad, really, is the alleged cauldron of intolerance known as America? Isn't he boxing with Sean Hannity's shadow, responding not to the America he actually knows, but to the polarized version of it that lives in his cable box?
Besides, I suggest in a windy disquisition (I've had wine with lunch) after hearing at length how he once marched for civil rights and against Vietnam, even if this ugly America is as pervasive as he says, isn't it our duty as Americans to get in on the debate, to jump into the sandbox and hit somebody on the head with a shovel while no one's looking? It's what made our country great. Our forefathers may have quit their home countries once upon a time, but they came here to build a better one.
He isn't buying. "I'm f--ing tired," he says, "and I don't need to rebuild the country. There's a perfectly good one 30 miles away."
So yeah, basically, Canada is better in some ways because of reasons that might otherwise seem annoying and frustrating - its apathy and its laid-backness (if that's even a word?).
It's easier to live here. People care less about other people's business. The security atmosphere in America (although well-intended of course) makes matters all the worse. I know I've tried to avoid admitting it in the past, but freedoms HAVE been trampled in America - although I don't believe that these infringements are (usually) a direct cause of legislation or executive decisionmaking taken by the US government. Instead, I largely blame stupid cops, stupid border people, stupid customs people and so on.
Going to America is always slightly troublesome for me. Getting across the border or across immigration/customs at the airport is usually a small hassle. Unlike in Canada, I've learnt that it's best to avoid cops in America. Basically, there's just a stronger culture of fear. There might be a stronger economy, a more moral foreign policy as expressed by the government (i.e. removing not embracing dictators), and other reasons too... but that's all useless if you're going to be living tensely and fearfully. And I'm finally starting to come around to see how important that factor really is.
posted by Japnaam Singh at
6:50 PM
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