This is not the American you're looking for

[redbird]

I ran into actual, directed-at-me (rather than the government) anti-Americanism on Wednesday, for the first time in my life.

I was on the Montreal Metro, with rysmiel, zorinth, and fivemack, on our way to a museum. We had to change trains at Berri-UQAM, and walked past a newsstand. I decided I could use a packet of tissues, so I went in, picked it up, walked over to the proprietor, and said my usual "Bonjour hi" and asked the price. He said "Seventy-five cents. Canadian." I said "Of course Canadian, we're in Canada." He said something about the influence of the large country to the south, and I agreed mildly. This continued for a couple more exchanges, which ended with him saying that he wished they could be Canadian without "licking the ass of the monkey in the White House," and I told him that if he figured out a way, please let me know. And then I walked out of the shop, with my purchase, and described the conversation to Rysmiel, who gave me some useful context: Berri is the Metro stop for the Montreal Greyhound station, meaning it's where a lot of clueless American college students turn up, often with no Canadian funds.

I didn't realize until a bit later that the man had been trying to start a fight, which I didn't give him because he hadn't said anything I disagreed with. If he wants an argument, he'll have to go next door, this is getting-hit-on-the-head lessons try again. It shouldn't take long, with that attitude and set of ripostes.

The other thing I realized was that this was the first time in my life, in numerous visits to Canada and the UK, a couple of quick trips across the Mexican border, and vacations in Hong Kong and Paris. The only person in Paris who visibly noticed my Americanness responded by urging me to visit the World War II monuments, celebrating the victory of his country and mine over the Nazis. I didn't take his advice, art museums and random street wandering being more my speed, but it was entirely sympathetic.

Comments

[calimac.livejournal.com]

My frequent experience in Vancouver has been that shopkeepers expect Americans to have US money, and are prepared to take it. I would find this chauvenistic, and always carry Canadian money in Canada.

I have encountered occasional British sneering at ignorant Americans who don't know every detail of everyday actions in the UK.

My experience is that foreigners who use the discovery that I'm American to sneer at the Bush administration are usually willing to accept my disclaimer of responsibility for it.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

I got chewed out in Wales by an old gentleman who thought I was an American. When I explained that I was Canadian, it turned out that he had some criticisms of those as well.

[caprine.livejournal.com]

Hee! for "getting hit on the head lessons".

I was in Montreal in 2003 and a stranger on the subway who picked up on my nationality told me how great it was that America had gone into Iraq to stop Saddam Hussein, who really needed to be stopped. I told him that not every American agreed with that, considering the number of Iraqui civilians who had died and would continue to die due to our invasion. He was shocked that I wasn't all John Wayne about the war.

[ckd]

Heck, even in the US preclearance area of Pearson International, I'd still use CAD instead of USD for purchases, and that's the most Americanized part of Canada I can think of!

If I had encountered any British sneering about "uninformed Americans", I'd probably pull out the Catherine Tate vs. McFly "Comic Relief" bit. "Are you calling me a pikey? Are you saying my dad's a wino? Why are you so rubbish?"

[calimac.livejournal.com]

Then I guess I am an uninformed American, because I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about in your second paragraph.

[ckd]

No, I doubt you are. It just tickles my fancy to use a sketch comedy "ignorant Brit" character to turn the tables if I were in a situation where it'd be useful.

Ah, thanks to the wonders of Google Video, here's the bit.

[miwasatoshi.livejournal.com]

Generally when overseas, if anyone starts complaining about Bush, I join them. When they notice I'm American (which takes a while sometimes -- I don't "look" American to most people), I remind him that almost half our voters did not vote for him either time. A lot of people do not realize that our system is based on simple majorities (in this case of electoral votes), NOT coalition consensus, and when they realize there was no great coalition involved in the elections of Dubya, they tend to make far more sympathetic noises in our direction.

I found immense sympathy for being both Filipino and American in, of all places, Hiroshima. I think that might be a special case.

[calimac.livejournal.com]

In majoritarian multi-party systems like Britain and Canada, the winners get even fewer votes. Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives, nor Tony Blair's New Labour, never won a majority of the votes in any of their massive landslides. Thatcher in her giant 1983 re-election got about 43% nationwide, less than Mondale got in his supposed shellacking the following year. Blair's last year? 35%. THIRTY-FIVE PERCENT. That, I submit, is ridiculous.

[carandol.livejournal.com]

Look on the bright side. When I was an English person living in Germany, everyone expected me to be sad that the Queen Mother had died. People kept sympathising with me. When I said I couldn't care less about the Queen Mother, they were shocked. And when I said I didn't care about Princess Di either, they were appalled.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I wish Minnesota (sometimes known as Lower Canada) businesses were that picky about not taking Canadian coins. The businesses then turn around and hand out the change to patrons--who, I admit, also are not picky about checking their change, but I don't know how many cashiers would be willing to re-open their cash drawers to exchange a Canadian coin for a U.S. one. Then the patron is stuck with a coin that vending machines won't take, coin-counting machines won't take, and banks won't take. When banks (at least some) do get stuck with Canadian coins--I have this firsthand from a bank teller--they throw them away. Yes, they collect them and discard them. They don't donate them back to a Canadian charity or such, they trash the cash.

[firecat]

I've been poked at for being American every time I've been to England, except for the folks who guessed my nationality wrong based on my picking up bits of the local accent and asking me what part of Canada I was from. I've never been poked at by Canadians, even in Quebec where I thought I would be poked at for not speaking much French.

[porcinea.livejournal.com]

Hey, maybe they never got over the Revolution!

[porcinea.livejournal.com]

I had quite a fair bit directed at me, my year studying at Uni. Glasgow. Not so much from the Scottish kids, or the foreign kids (who were uniformly quite nice), but the English kids. Yikes! Some of which still stings.

Never since, though. I cannot recall a single unpleasant look or remark from anyone else (Canada, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, ...).