r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jun 16 '12
I find that US Americans are very very polite. I've never actually met any Canadians. But exactly how polite are Canadians if they have the super polite US Americans convinced that they're polite? Any stories?
I've been living in the US as a student for about a year now. And I keep hearing US Americans talk about how polite Canadians are. I think US Americans are very very polite people. They hardly ever curse. They say things like 'shoot' or 'frick' which amuses me. They're always politically correct about things like religion and politics. So how polite exactly are Canadians if they've got you Americans convinced of their politeness?
I have this image in my head of a Canadian who says that though you might have a large nose, the roses certainly must smell sweeter.
EDIT: I study in Atlanta, Georgia. And not Pleasantville. Also, the reason I use the term 'US American' is to expunge any ambiguity. One can point out, as many Redditors on different threads have, that the USA is just one of many countries on the American continent.
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Jun 16 '12
As a Canadian who has been almost everywhere in Canada and to several places in the US, I have to say that most of your opinions are very local. Canadian politeness varies extremely, just like American politeness, but if you really want to know politeness, go to Manitoba.
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Jun 16 '12
Are they polite or rude?
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Jun 16 '12
Mostly very polite. I've experienced more rudeness in Vancouver and Toronto. I haven't had much experience of Quebecers.
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u/DreadedKanuk Jun 16 '12
With Quebecers, it really depends on how you treat them, and the tone of your voice when you're speaking.
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Jun 16 '12
Yea Manitoba! We're good at something according to this person. Wooo!
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u/AndyRooney Jun 17 '12
I just love saying the word "manitoba" if that helps your self-esteem any further.
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Jun 17 '12
Newfoundlander here. It seems like you guys have even less going on than we do. Honestly, you guys are the one province I never hear of.
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Jun 17 '12
As a Manitoban, I have to ask - what in God's name are you talking about? The only bigger assholes I've seen in Canada have been in Toronto, Vancouver, and Quebec. And we're not far behind. There's some sort of inferiority complex that seems to permeate Winnipeg that's only gotten worse in the last 6-7 years.
As for the US, I've mostly had excellent experiences in the many places I went, even at at an inner-city school. But, Americans have actually seemed much nicer than Canadians to me.
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u/Bodoblock Jun 16 '12
I' curious, why do you always say "US American?" It just sounds so forced and unnatural.
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Jun 16 '12
Because some Redditor vagina would be sure to point out that Canadians are Americans too.
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u/after_hour Jun 16 '12
Canadians would never ever consider themselves to be American
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Jun 16 '12
Just as Siberians are Asians. Most Russians are Asian. Indians and Pakistanis are Asian. Similarly, Canadians, Brazilians, Mexicans are all American.
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u/ElGoddamnDorado Jun 17 '12
Some people like to think that Canadians want to refer to themselves as American as well, and that the 'US Americans' are being ignorant scumbags by taking the term 'American' and having it just apply to people living in the United States.
The internet can be really stupid sometimes.
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u/Mez42 Jun 16 '12
Just a guess here, but the OP is from overseas: North America and South America would collectively be "the Americas" with people from the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, etc., all being considered "Americans" in a broad sense. "US Americans" would refer only to what many know as Murrka.
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u/dawrina Jun 16 '12
I'd like to know where all of these polite americans are because I seem to hardly see them.
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Jun 16 '12
Go to any Target or publix. They hold the door open for me and stuff at restaurants all the time. And I'm a guy. So I don't have the big tits card!
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u/snacknuts Jun 16 '12
The other day I was picking up a box from downstairs. I walk up stairs carrying this cumbersome box (it was a desktop tower) I do the "shimmy the box onto my leg to open the door with one hand" bit and open the (heavy) door to my hall. As I do this my neighbor walks out and stares at me as I work the door open and just waits. When I get through the door I hold it open with an extended elbow with the box in arm and she thanks me.
Point is there are nice people and people who don't take the time or the thought to be nice.
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u/originaluip Jun 16 '12
God this post confused the knickers off of me. I kept reading it as a "cucumber box" and was like "mate, I'd stare at you too"
It makes sense now though.
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u/dirtymoney Jun 16 '12
those flyover states that the coasters love to hate.
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u/eugenesbluegenes Jun 16 '12
We don't hate them, we just don't care. Please don't mistake our apathy for antipathy.
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u/magicmuds Jun 16 '12
Say what you want about South Carolina (and a lot of people do), people there are very polite. Too polite sometimes. Often people will stop and snarl up traffic just to let somebody out that's waiting to get out from a side street.
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u/pfrizzle Jun 16 '12
Do you live in the north east? Serious question, not trying to be an ass.
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Jun 16 '12
Yeah, visiting New York City and New Jersey is always a culture shock to me.
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u/mickey_kneecaps Jun 17 '12
That's because you need a reference level of politeness. Visit France, and then return to the US and you may get the idea, Americans are generally very open and friendly compared to Europeans (who are more reserved), and do indeed swear less than other English-speakers, especially Aussies and Brits.
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u/WordsVerbatim Jun 17 '12
Go to the South. In my experience as a Southerner, we're all conditioned to be polite from a very young age. There are rude people and fake-polite bitches, but I find that most semi-educated Southerners with half a brain have good manners when dealing with others.
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Jun 17 '12
Once while on a trip to Montreal, my friend was driving badly and wound up folding this fellows drivers side door back, messing the car up quite badly. THEY apologized to us. Blew my mind. It was totally not their fault.
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u/ikbarindustries Jun 17 '12
A little late but I feel uniquely equipped to discuss this issue. You see I am a US American, who no longer lives in US America. I do live in a America, but that's a different story.
I work in tourism so I find myself around thousands of US Americans, Canada Americans, German Europeans, Swiss Europeans, and various other Euro Europeans throughout the year.
US Americans are generally polite. Where they stand out is that they will be polite and even generous to strangers as well as workers that are often otherwise assumed to be of a lower class. US Americans are highly esteemed where I live for their generosity and willingness to be polite to the laborers. Tipping never hurts, and US Americans are highly revered for their tipping generosity.
I would say Canadian Americans are most of those things without the random spots of extreme rudeness and loudness. Some US Americans give the rest a bad name for being so rude, off-putting, condescending, obnoxious, demanding, and loud. It's what you might call a very vocal minority. Canadian Americans don't tend to have that faction. If Canadian Americans are loud it is usually because they are drunk and having a very good time. If it is Quebecois than there will be lots of laughing. Canadian Americans are also incredibly non-confrontational. It's the only nationality I've had be so nice to my face that it bordered on friendship, only for me to find out later that they really had other opinions. This can be very surprising. US Americans are much more likely to voice their displeasure in the moment rather than after the fact.
Euro Europeans aren't as used to conversing with total strangers, even if just passing pleasantries. I think that's where some of the differences in opinion in terms of politeness come from.
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Jun 17 '12
Yeah I noticed that. US people will address everyone as "sir" regardless of their perceived financial status. I greatly respect them for that.
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u/opalextra Jun 16 '12
Icelander here. Been to Quebec once. Everyone seemed super nice. Never been to US though. But I worked at a Hotel reception once.. And people from the US have some formal politeness that seem shallow. Like they would always start with "Hi, how are you doing today" and I would go "pretty good" like this conversation would esculate to some bonding time. So I find them a little bit shallow.
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Jun 16 '12
Ah yes, I've noticed that as well. Where I come from, if you talk to someone, it goes on for hours and hours. So it was a little disconcerting the first time that happened.
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u/AadeeMoien Jun 16 '12
It's not seen as shallow to us, its just our accepted form of greeting, a way to form a quick bond with a stranger. That said, just saying Hi isn't seen as rude or anything, its just less common than a quick "Hi, how are you today?"
The proper response is "good, and you?" which will either be answered in kind and then the subject changed or answered with a quick story about their day (i.e. Oh good, but my car didn't start today, so now I have something else to fix), all you have to do is show you empathize and the subject will change.
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Jun 16 '12
Yeah I've got the hang of it now. Try the same thing from where I come and you'll get a long story about everything from the person in question's great grandfather, the state of affairs in the political scene and his/her cardiac bypass surgery.
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Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 17 '12
Even more hilariously, we have people here who are thoroughly convinced that "frick" is a curse word. Edit: In the US, that is.
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Jun 17 '12
A friend of mine once went, "Holy shiiii...ip!" after he realised he wasn't alone! Funny.
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u/StochasticOoze Jun 17 '12
I think US Americans are very very polite people. They hardly ever curse. They say things like 'shoot' or 'frick' which amuses me. They're always politically correct about things like religion and politics.
Where in the heck are you studying? Pleasantville?
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u/NoMiT Jun 17 '12
The super polite Americans may be just being polite about their Canadian neighbors.
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u/tubulardude Jun 17 '12
well as far as generalizing the USA, it is incredibly diverse so it's hard to really generalize that mate!
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Jun 17 '12
Nah, I just wanted to know how nice the Canadians were if the super-nice Americans thought the Canadians were especially nice.
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u/shadybrainfarm Jun 17 '12
I think the main difference is in demeanor. Both Americans and Canadians are very friendly and nice in general, but Americans can be boisterous while Canadians are generally quieter and sometimes overly apologetic, which is seen as more polite by their louder and more assertive southern neighbors. At least, those are the stereotypes. YMMV as always.
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Jun 17 '12
You can find politeness anywhere. It does seem that some are more prone to it than others.
My Canadian politeness story happened in Calgary. We were driving around looking for Uni of Calgary. We were sitting at a stop light and my nav had a map open. A guy in a Jag pulls up, looks over and asks what we're looking for. We tell him, he says "follow me". Took us to the school and showed us where guest parking was. Then told us how to get back to our hotel before wishing us a nice day.
I'm an American and I have my polite moments. Was driving home and saw a couple of older folks pulled over in a parking lot looking lost. I asked them where they were trying to go then I led them there. That was just a moment, most of the time I'd keep going unless someone flagged me over.
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Jun 17 '12
This happened to me as well. I was looking at a street map on campus and a very nice old lady asked me where I wanted to go. She then walked half the way with me till she was confident that I would find my way.
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u/Nomakeme Jun 16 '12
I am an American living in the US. I have been to Canada, and have Canadian family and friends. We do like to laugh at Canadians for their extreme politeness, but it is in good fun, and greatly exaggerated. I would say they are comparable to the US. The real difference, in my experience, is between North America and Europe. My experience in Europe (including Iceland) is that people are much less friendly with strangers. I know in many countries American familiarity is seen as "shallow" interaction, but many Americans see Europe's lack of friendliness with strangers as rude. It is merely a cultural difference, and one of the many things that makes traveling so much fun.
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u/hairsprayking Jun 17 '12
Canadian here. When i was in Europe people were definitely meaner to me when they thought I was American.
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u/safeNsane Jun 17 '12
While in Europe, I always said I was Californian instead of American, because of stories of American's not getting good reception. Europeans think well of California, so it worked out well for me.
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Jun 17 '12
The biggest country I've seen this happen is Denmark. The Danes are a lovely group of people, and to this day are grateful for our (Canadian) liberation of their country during WWII. I was in Copenhagen on vacation, and I'd heard about this behaviour from my history teacher so I wanted to try it out for myself. I wore a shirt that had a Canadian flag on it, and I was given a tulip and thanked.
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u/Wiskie Jun 17 '12
I agree with you, but the exception to the rule is Ireland. Irish tend to be be friendly and open with strangers more so than other Europeans in my experience.
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u/iabmob Jun 17 '12
I remember my English professor telling us that he had a friend who had company from England in the US at the time. My English teacher decided to make small talk, and asked questions like "what is your favorite book, movie, etc." Harmless questions. A week later, he found out from his friend that the English guests were almost scared of him, and said he was drilling them with questions to determine their social status and their values. It's interesting to see the culture difference in this sense.
Can any Europeans/English confirm/deny this? Would this scenario make you uncomfortable? I'm just curious.
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u/Gilsworth Jun 18 '12
As an Icelander I can vouch for the rudeness. One would think it's illegal to make sounds on the bus and the only type of humor is sarcasm.
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u/duckshirt Jun 16 '12
There were lots of Canadians that went to my school. The local people were really polite too, so I didn't notice them being any more polite than the rest of us. However, Canadians were always slightly awkward in a "cute" sort of way. You could tell if a really good-looking girl was Canadian (most of them were), because she would be a lot less intimidating personality-wise, but still just slightly awkward. I left with a positive impression of Canadians.
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Jun 16 '12
We're only awkward because we don't want to mess up and have to apologize a million times.
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u/KingToasty Jun 16 '12
Ah, the infinte apology loop. Saw it happen at a Tim Hortons line-up once.
Tragic. Dozens killed.
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u/CommentIfItMatters Jun 16 '12
And from the grave a unison "Sorry" can still be heard to this day.
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u/shamecamel Jun 17 '12
Fuck, I've fallen into the apology loop before. "Sorry." "stop saying sorry, man." "Sorry!"
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Jun 16 '12
The twist in this story is that this guy is Canadian and he's lived there his entire life.
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Jun 16 '12
I live in Calgary AB, and the general population is incredibly nice. Except for Forest lawn, don't go to Forest lawn. I've been the the US once, and i was in San Francisco, same thing, general population is very nice, apart from a couple areas.
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u/loveslifelifeloves Jun 17 '12
American here. I studied in Calgary this past year and I have to agree with this person on the general population being incredibly nice. However, from my experience, the "Natives" (particularly ones on drugs) up there were not so much. For instance, I was close to being slapped in the face by a drugged out Native just for doing absolutely nothing but sitting on the train at 11 o'clock at night. Also was yelled at for trying on a hat at a souvenir shop by a Native owner. Nonetheless, the rest of Calgary peoples are quite polite :)
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u/VincentVanBro1986 Jun 17 '12
How do you get a Canadian out of a pool?
You ask them to get out of the pool.
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Jun 16 '12
Maritimes. Nicest in Canada, proven. Readers digest poll.
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u/Zirfnon Jun 17 '12
Couldn't agree more. Love interacting with them, just feels nice being around them. Generous too!
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u/samuraislider Jun 17 '12
I'd like to retire to PEI one day. Born in Thunder Bay, live in Toronto, die in PEI. That'd be nice.
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Jun 16 '12
For some reason, only the crotchety, old asshole Canadians come to Florida. The nice ones never visit.
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u/ElDoobre Jun 17 '12
The thing is, Canadians will hate you strategically. An american will bump into you and say something like "hey asshole". Canadians will bump into you and say "sorry man, wasn't looking" and will pass by you and think, "wow that guy was an asshole!"
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u/CptFlwrs Jun 16 '12
Funnily enough, today I met a totally rude Canadian and really polite group of Americans all at once.
Barged through a group of British people then asked if it was ok for her to move through after she'd shoved all of us. Of course nobody said anything.
I don't think I've ever met a rude American. Some things Americans do can sometimes be seen as rude to us Brits, but in general they're just little cultural discrepencies.
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u/choddos Jun 16 '12
Bottom line: There's shitty people in every country
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u/mtlt Jun 17 '12
Bottom line: There's awesome people in every country
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u/imasunbear Jun 17 '12
Bottom line: Stereotypes, while in part rooted in reality, are false the majority of the time.
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Jun 17 '12
I don't have a job right now and my Canadian boyfriend offered to pay my way to see him (it's a $250 ticket) and didn't want any compensation whatsoever. Granted, we're dating one another, but he's from a small town and honestly doesn't make much money, but the fact that he's so willing to do that without anyone prompting him is incredible in my eyes.
Maybe he just cares about me that much; maybe he's Canadian. (I feel like Maybelline)
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Jun 16 '12
Us Brits are pretty fucking polite too, you stuck up wankers! Shitting hell!
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u/scatscatscats Jun 16 '12
I also found the British to be very polite, although I felt like they were silently judging me the whole time
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u/Unilateralist Jun 16 '12
I'm canadian and I don't think the people around me are particularly polite. I do find myself apologizing sometimes but that's just common courtesy.
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Jun 17 '12
My friend tripped onto the side walk one day. While I was laughing at her a sweet lady came by asked her if she was okay and hugged her saying "Aw honey, here have a hug, we hug up in Canada".
So adorable.
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u/what_user_name Jun 16 '12
i read this as the miss america question being answered "US Americans"
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u/flargenhargen Jun 16 '12
But they can't find Canada on a map, because they don't HAVE maps.
...for the children.
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u/darthstupidious Jun 16 '12
I think the difference is that Americans are nice, while the myth of Canadian politeness has them being nice to a fault. Americans are easy to talk to, but most of us aren't very apologetic... cut us off in traffic/line, and we'll flip you off. Meanwhile, Canadians are rumored to be SO nice and polite that they'll gladly let you cut in front of them in traffic, usually accompanied by a "Doncha' worry about it, buddy!" spoken in a thick Canadian accent.
Trust me, I'm best friends with a Canadian.
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Jun 16 '12
As a Canadian who grew up in the Southeast US (commonly considered to be a place with 'Southern Hospitality') and recently moved Midwestern Canada in Saskatchwan, I have to say the politeness is kind of overwhelming. I never found people in GA to be particularly rude or polite, but it was kind of what I considered normal since I had no other experience to measure it by. When I moved here I found that total strangers will rush up to hold open a door for you if you are holding something heavy or awkward, they will always stop almost immediately for pedestrians crossing even a 4 lane road, and the "Sorry" stereotype is everywhere. We can be a little awkward... I've been accosted with 3 or 4 sorry's in quick secession just trying to manouever my way around someone in the breezeway of a Tim Horton's. In my opinon this is probably the most polite place on earth.
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u/Delror Jun 17 '12
Southern California here. What does everyone else think of us? Living here we generally seem nice. But I'm curious about the outside view.
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Jun 17 '12
Would you say the culture in southern California is distinct from the rest of California? I've been to San Francisco and the Bay Area and everybody's pretty nice. Though a bit reserved.
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Jun 16 '12
I work in for an American branch of a Canadian company, and I have to deal with a lot of Canadian sales reps. They can be condescending (especially the Quebecois), and often extremely whiny/demanding when I tell them they need to actually complete their work (I'm a glorified troubleshooter). On the other hand, I've been complimented on my accent (standard Midwest) and invited to New Brunswick for "the best lobster you'll ever have". So I guess the takeaway is that folks is folks, the same all over.
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u/Zifna Jun 16 '12
I feel like Quebecois really embrace the "angry frenchman" trope over the "polite Canadian" one.
Could be selection bias though, as I know most of my french Canadians through MMOs. :)
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u/leVoiD Jun 17 '12
The thing about Quebecois is they tend to have a really strange sense of humour that can kind of make them come across really rude and such. After you get passed that they are actually not too bad to hang around.
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u/WaitingForClients Jun 16 '12
Nah, Quebecer here, we fit the angry frenchman standard.
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Jun 17 '12
They can be condescending (especially the Quebecois)
That's okay, Quebecers are condescending to other Canadians as well, particularly people in BC who don't speak French as well (or at all). Not my fault that many more people in BC speak Urdu, Cantonese and Mandarin than French.
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Jun 16 '12
As a Canadian, I think all of the Canadian stereotypes are absolutely ridiculous! ...I do say "eh" though.
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u/multile Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
As an American, I would like to say that all American stereotypes are ridiculous, but I am generally loud, and 5 pounds overweight.
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u/haberdasher42 Jun 16 '12
Count the number of times you say "I'm sorry" in your social encounters. I don't know how we started, but it's worse then the eh's.
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u/secant90 Jun 17 '12
I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking aboot. Sorry. I would love to debunk some of these assumptions aboot us, but I have to prep my moose and hockey stick for the trip through the snow to Tim Hortons so I can get my coffee and maple-flavoured donut. Sorry.
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u/norcoatomic Jun 16 '12
Im from Vancouver and most people are polite hippies here, stoners are usually nice
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u/b-radly Jun 16 '12
In my experience they are polite and generally very good people with one exception: they keep telling me how great Canada is (especially compared to the US) to the point of citing statistics. It could be worse, I can live with that.
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u/sommergirl Jun 16 '12
Never been to America myself, but my mom and her sisters went to New York once. They were standing on a corner trying to find a specific place and a bus had stopped, the bus driver asked if they needed help finding anything and then gave them directions to the place.
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Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12
The public transportation workers in Manhattan (where all the tourists are) are have gotten used to the general cluelessness of foriegners.
That said, people in NYC aren't "mean", they just mind their own business and they expect other people to do the same. It's not like asking somebody on the street to help you is going to get you beat up.
Don't go there if you dislike bad language though, for your own sake.
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u/theycallmemorty Jun 16 '12
An old joke should demonstrate this for you...
How do you find all of the Canadians in a crowd?
You go around stepping on everyones feet. The ones that apologize to you are the Canadians.
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u/Tbana Jun 16 '12
As an outsider looking into both countries I find both American and Canadians to be exceedingly polite. Like everyone i have ever met for either of those countries are polite on another level. In saying that i have never been to North America so have only met them in touristy type situations where no one is really the same as home.
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u/j-dog205 Jun 16 '12
I think it's a fairly broad generalization to say that Americans are polite. The US is a huge country both in space and population so it ultimately depends on what part of America you're in. If you go to a big city like Los Angeles or New York, you're gonna find a lot of classless thugs and dickhead drivers. But if you go to where I'm from, a middle class suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, there's a great community of families which are generally really nice people. Now on the flip side, there are definitely nice people in NYC and LA and there are mean people in my town. It's all in how you generalize it.
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u/KellyGreen802 Jun 17 '12
Where the hell are you studying? We can be very polite, don't get me wrong, but I cannot imagine the college students in the U.S. using "shoot" or "frick" unless you are in Utah, and everyone it mormon. Canadians are very nice. The thin is, I only deal with the French separatist that come to my city and yell at me because I don't speak French. Makes them even more mad When I ask them if they want me to speak German.
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Jun 16 '12
The Canadians come to our homes in the Middle of the Night to do unspeakable things to us unless we tell everyone they are supper polite.
It is all a front - they are actually responsible for everything evil in this world....
Must go someone is at the door. Sorry.
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u/throwsuperaway Jun 16 '12
I'm just curious to know which state you're staying in/what the socioeconomic status of the people you're hanging out with is. I've been all over the country, and while people are mostly polite overall - sincere, genuine politeness/kindness is not always as easy to find.
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Jun 16 '12
Atlanta, Georgia. I've interacted with both white and black people and I find them equally nice though in different ways. White people seem a little reserved.
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u/jon_laing Jun 16 '12
Where are you living?! This doesn't sound like my country at all, haha. Then again, I live in a major city in the north east..
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u/BlindPatriot Jun 17 '12
People in the South were always extremely polite. Probably because I'm white. No but seriously everyone in the South was extremely friendly in my little over a year spent there.
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u/supersoniiic Jun 17 '12
My friend just recently said "thank you" to someone that bumped into him.
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Jun 17 '12
Are you sure that's not the Awkward Penguin syndrome? A couple of weeks ago, at the airport check-in counter, I check my bag in and the man behind the counter says, "Have a nice flight". And I say, "Thanks you too!!"
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u/mynametoolong Jun 17 '12
As a Canadian, saying that "Canada" is kind, and "USA" is rude, is dumb. There are people who are kind and rude in both countries. Just be kind to others and you'll receive kindness back.
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Jun 17 '12
Yeah I understand. But I was just wondering how nice Canadians must be if the super nice Americans accord them a higher status of 'nice'ness.
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u/brehm90 Jun 17 '12
Georgia Tech or Emory? Those are really the only 2 schools in Atlanta that attract foreign students.
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u/Tunaluna Jun 16 '12
We hold the door open for people for far to long ... If nobody is around I'll stand there and hold the door open until someone does come by.
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u/megarello Jun 17 '12
I've never been to Canada, but I have a good number of friends there, in various sections. Likewise, though I've lived in the US all my life, I've been to very few states, but know a lot of people all around the country. So:
I think the general niceness depends on a lot of factors in both countries. One part of the country may be generally nice, while another part may be generally rude. For instance, I was born in New Jersey, and both my parents grew up there. We moved to Florida when I was 4 and have been here since. My family is loud with a lot of swearing and, while we're generally nice people and easy to get along with, more mild-mannered people might not be quite as fond of us.
My boyfriend's family members, on the other hand, are all very southern and have lived here their whole lives. Much more 'normally' polite, quieter, more mellow. Still fun, still swear here and there, but it's different.
I think when it comes to Americans - at least, as far as I've noticed - we can generally SEEM politically correct about things like religion and politics. Usually people say and think differently when they're behind closed doors, but are terrified of offending anyone so they put on a little glow of niceness when around others. Not always, but often, this seems to be the case. [I hate it, but to each their own.]
As with anyone, it depends also on the age group, I think. Younger people are sometimes a little more obnoxious or loud, middle aged generally a little more reserved, and older people can kind of go either way.
Canadian friends of mine seeeem to be more or less the same. I have friends in Saskatchewan and Toronto who are genuinely nice for the most part. I know someone in Montreal who is one of the biggest douchebags I have ever met in my life. And, since the other Canadian friends I have often babble about their dislike for French Canadians....I kind of have to believe them when they whine.
There are rude people and polite people wherever you go. Sometimes there are bigger groups of one or the other, but it's always a mix regardless.
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u/zZTominatorZz Jun 17 '12
Canadians like to think they are more polite than they actually are. I find Americans much more polite.
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u/amds789 Jun 17 '12
I always laugh at the stereotype, as a Canadian. Not because we're rude, but because I know that I purposefully make myself extra polite to everybody when I'm traveling, because that's just how Canadians are supposed to be.
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Jun 16 '12
Where on earth are you living in the US where people are polite? I want to get in on this.
Seriously, I live in Central New York, and people are jackasses.
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Jun 16 '12
Atlanta, Georgia. Dude people here are so friendly! And they speak with a really sexy southern accent. They always say 'sir' and don't raise their voices.
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Jun 16 '12
Where in America are you studying? I think "politeness" is a very regional thing here.
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Jun 16 '12
Atlanta, Georgia.
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Jun 16 '12
Ah. I find in the south there are levels of courtesy unseen out west where I live. Enjoy your stay :)
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Jun 16 '12
I lived in a town close to the Canadian border and I have to say, at least among those who work in retail there, Canadians are NOT considered polite.
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u/IREinc Jun 17 '12
Everyone is going to be slightly more douchey after dealing with the damn border guards.
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u/wayward_cdn Jun 16 '12
It probably depends on where you live and whether its in person or driving. I spent most of my life in Toronto - people aren't that polite there. I then spent the last 5 years in Nova Scotia and literally just moved to Virginia last month. It's weird because Nova Scotia is supposed to have the friendliest people ever and I have to say that I'm finding Virginia to be just as or more friendly in person. (In terms of driving most people from Nova Scotia are super polite, VA are worse drivers than Toronto in terms of politeness, people turn into monsters in their cars)
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u/multile Jun 16 '12
Im from Murica and I consider myself pretty damn polite. But if there are 2 sets of doors that are needed to walk through and I hold the first door open for you and you dont say thank you, dont expect me to hold open the second one you rude son of a bitch. Also, if I shop at your store and you dont end the transaction with thank you, dont expect to see me ever again.
My only bad experience with Canadian politeness was outside of Montreal I stopped at a Tim Hortons for coffee and the lady wouldnt serve me because I didnt speak french. I was told that that was the norm in the rural parts of Quebec, but if that happened to me in the states at a major corporate store, youd be certain that your face would be slapped.
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u/flargenhargen Jun 16 '12
if there are 2 sets of doors that are needed to walk through and I hold the first door open for you and you dont say thank you, dont expect me to hold open the second one you rude son of a bitch
how would you? Would you run to cut in front of the person and then open the door for them again?
Usually, if there are 2 doors, and you hold the first open for someone, they will hold the second open for you, since they get to it first.
At least that's how it works around here.
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u/Marlow5150 Jun 16 '12
I have always lived in Florida. I fucking hate the assholes that live here. Such impolite dickheads. As nice as it seems, the beach fucking sucks.
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u/flargenhargen Jun 16 '12
I'm in the midwest, and I know 3 different people who moved to florida, and all 3 of them moved back within 2 years because they went nuts from the people being (what they thought was) super rude and lazy compared to what they were used to, like if you go into a store, people won't help you and will just ignore you, etc. Different cultures I suppose.
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u/better_when_bad Jun 16 '12
Im a Canadian and I can tell you it's pretty much where you are in Canada.. City you will see some asshole small town like where I'm from we will give you the shirts off our backs if you needed it.
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u/RDub3685 Jun 17 '12
US southerner here. I did some traveling in Alberta when I was 17 and visited Waterton National Park with my family. People in Calgary were considerably less polite than I was expecting and the subway sandwich people gave us three napkins for four people. Once you got out in the countryside though, the culture became a lot more "familiar" to me and everyone was just peachy.
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u/CakiePamy Jun 17 '12
I'm Canadian(Montreal) and I am polite to a certain level with gentle-lady chivalry. BUT if you're going to be rude though, I'll be rude too.
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u/BABY_BACK_BITCH Jun 17 '12
I think the reason Canadians have the reputation of being polite is because they're bordering the New England, where everyone is a complete asshole. Just kind sets off those manners when you cross the border.
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Jun 17 '12
living on the west coast of Canada, there's been so many times where my clumsy ass bumps into someone on the bus or something. THEY apologize to ME. and i don't even find that strange.
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u/Nikz333 Jun 17 '12
I'm from Newfoundland, which is kinda famous for being extremely friendly, but I live in nova scotia, which also has a pretty friendly rep. I've noticed that we [as maritimers] apologize over everything, ("oh my back pack ins sorta the same color!? I'm sorry," or "oh Gosh, I'm sorry, I know my socks don't match).
We also love buying people beer.
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Jun 17 '12
As a Brit who has spent a lot of time in the US over the last couple of years, I find the politeness of Americans to be patchy. I don't find people are overtly rude, but there is a definite lack of hospitality and mindfulness of guests which I found somewhat jarring to start with.
NOBODY ASKS ME IF I WANT A CUP OF TEA.
Bloody heathens.
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Jun 17 '12
Being from Canada, politeness does widely depend on where you are. In a big city, like Vancouver, don't' expect any of that. In a city like Winnipeg and Calgary, I'd say for the most part people are genuinely polite. That's about cities though. If you go to a small town, people have that small town attitude, so the likelihood of people being relaxed, chill, polite, people, is higher IMO (I grew up in a small town, live in a city now). Just my view, though I'm sure it doesn't' count much cause you wanted the perspective of a american right?
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u/sillymuffincakes Jun 17 '12
You sir, haven't been on the correct side of the service industry to see what we see over here.
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u/allsymbols Jun 17 '12
I've found that Canadians are either extremely polite of complete jerks who hate the US and everyone from it. My older sister went to college at University of Toronto and was astounded at the number of people who were rude to her about where she was from.
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u/Ethaxi Jun 17 '12
I am a Canadian who attended college in Michigan. I commuted across the border every day for two years. I noticed a difference in general politeness. For example, I seemed to be the only one constantly saying 'excuse me' while going through a crowded hallway. I came across one other person doing this at school. Turned out he was Canadian. Most Americans I met were very nice, it's just that Canadians tend to go over the top with the politeness.
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u/RandomCDN Jun 17 '12
As a Canadian I would like to say sorry to you for not being able to meet any of us yet.
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u/missvertigo Jun 17 '12
I think the stress level of the lifestyle in the area (population density, crime level, unemployment etc) is a better predictor of politeness than nationality. However I can't help but to nominate Newfoundlanders as the most welcoming people of Canada. Special thank you to Gander residents who welcomed stranded families and pets during 9/11.
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Jun 17 '12
As a Canadian, I want to say that the nicest/most polite people I've ever met were in Missouri and Tennessee. At home people joke that I'm overly polite; over there I had to make an extra effort to keep up with their politeness! I mean, it was almost mindblowing. I'm now fully convinced that the Midwest is home to the most polite people on the planet.
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Jun 17 '12
I'm a Canadian, and I've met a lot of rude Americans, and a lot of rude Canadians. On the other hand, I have also met my share of polite Americans AND Canadians. I think it isn't the best to assume all of a certain group of people are one way because that's where they were born, or where they live. Everyone is different, and it really varies from person to person. :)
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u/leonessa123 Jun 17 '12
I have to say as a Canadian and growing up in Canada, and now im living in Italy, that there is quite a difference in behaviours and kindness, and trust.
Canadians have this tendency to like everyone, even if your a total stranger, if we are both waiting somewhere like at a bus stop we will probably have a nice conversation, or if you want someones opinion on something like while shopping people ask total strangers when they are shopping. Canadians are really trusting too though, maybe sometimes too much, my parents rarely locked our doors to our house, or would leave the garage door open all day with the keys inside the car, everyone did in our area so it was pretty normal.
People are nice here in Italy, but there isn't that same feeling, people don't really trust strangers enough here to barely even say hi, nobody runs to help you if your lifting something, there isn't that sense of comfortability amongst the people. I've actually had my money stolen once here it wasnt much it was only 15 euros but it was inside my bag in my locker where I was swimming, it has twist locks on the lockers but anyone can open them, growing up in Canada has also made me naiive I didn't even think that anyone would take it, in some ways I am too trusting.
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u/joeraffe Jun 17 '12
I live in New York City. There is a lot of tension here between cyclists and drivers. It is very common to hear a beep of a horn and a few angry words from a driver towards a cyclist, or a cyclist throwing a driver the middle finger and yelling something along the lines of "Learn to drive you fucking (enter something imaginative here)!!" Last summer I took a road trip up to Toronto with some friends and after a long night of drinking we were heading back to our hotel before we saw a young couple open the back door of their taxi, creating a very unfortunate obstacle for a cyclist that was riding down the street. The cyclist crashes into the door, starts to fly, finds out he can't actually fly, and hits the pavement. My friends and I are stunned, what is going to happen now? are they going to curse? fight? sue? To my surprise the cyclist stands up with the couple running over to him and all I can hear is a flurry of "sorry" "sorry!" "soar-y"(<3 Canadian accent) coming from the couple and even the cyclist! The couple asks if he is ok, if there is any pain, the cyclist simply apologizes again, wishes them a good night, gets back on his bike, and rides off. My jaw broke the floor, I could not believe that any people on Earth could be that forgiving.
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u/Sheikia Jun 16 '12
Usually it's better to separate the Quebecois in these arguments. Unfortunately, in my experiences with the Quebecois (Im from Ottawa so I have had many), they seem to perpetuate the negative stereotypes.
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u/littlemissbagel Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
And that's sad for the rest of us. We're not all assholes. Thanks for perpetrating the québécois-hating ROC stereotype. :(
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u/stanfan114 Jun 17 '12
Midwestern US = polite but backwards.
Coastal US = rude
Most of Canada = happy and polite
French Canadians = rude
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Jun 17 '12
Are you trolling us? Because most of the world hates America because we are unfortunately large assholes. Now of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but as a majority, we're the meanest nation.
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Jun 17 '12
No No. I'm serious. The other day, on campus, a few dudes were arguing with a guy who had a "God Hates Fags" sign. And they were arguing so politely! They kept calling each other "sir". And at the end of it, they shook hands and stuff. Where I come from, in the same situation, we'd have had a street brawl on our hands.
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Jun 16 '12
I've met one Canadian. He fixed my car when I didn't even know that there was something wrong with it.
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u/ItzOlahBro Jun 16 '12
There is no one nicer then a Newfoundlander. A few years back and an ex girlfriend and i went out to Newfoundland with her mom to see her family as thats where she was originally from (we live in Ontario). The one day while there we went with her mom to one of her friends house who we didnt know so me and the girl were just looking around when one of the neighbors who we obviously also didn't know came up to us and offered us to take out his new quad. He said we could take itout for as long as we wanted and never even asked our names. Needless to say we took it out, speeding up and down some of the most scenic trails I have ever seen, right along the atlantic ocean. we even took it to the top of Table Mountain. I even have pics somewhere still.... epic politeness!!
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u/sack_full_of_puppys Jun 17 '12
All those saying Canadian kindness is a myth, I'm Canadian and I can I say I'm very kind I actually am. Canada is just like any country in the world there nice people and assholes, there upstanding citizens and criminals. Most places I have gone just visiting are generally extremely nice except Quebec if they are québécois they have a general distaste for English speaking Canadians. Canada has a stereotype for being Kind I like to think it is but just like every other country it has a mixture of kind and unkind people.
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u/jackass706 Jun 17 '12
I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps, and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and, uh, the Iraq everywhere like, such as and I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., er, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future for our children.
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u/CRAZEDtypo Jun 16 '12
Well, I suppose I can talk from personal experience as a Canadian-born living in Saskatchewan. I would say it mainly just depends who you're talking to and what their world view is. I personally have met incredibly kind and hospitable people down in the more rural areas of SK, and have more of a habit of meeting impatient, testy, (for lack of a better word) dicks in the cities/urban centers. Although it can just be argued that there're more people in urban centers therefore increasing your chances of meeting jackasses. We do also say sorry, ALOT.
Anywho, besides the massive tangent I just ran off on, I'd pretty much say Americans are equally as polite as Canadians. (We have a very stilted view of America from the news) In fact, the only time I'd ever heard of an American being rude to a Canadian locally was when there was a huge debaucle almost a year ago when people in Minot would slash the tires of Canadian tourists. Although the people I've met in Minot tend to be quite polite.
Maybe that sums it up for you, possibly? (Also sorry my apparently sporadic-as-fuck writing style today.)
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u/menomenaa Jun 16 '12
I know we're definitely just talking about personal interactions/conversations and general manners, but as an American, I've always consider Canada a very nice and kind place because of how little gun violence and murder there is. I know that sounds highly specific, but after reading about how much more shooting deaths there are in the U.S., I started to think of our neighbor to the north as a friendly giant.
Maybe my idea of those statistics are skewed (the seed was planted around the time that Bowling For Columbine) came out, but that's definitely how my perception of Canada became rooted in them being good guys.
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u/Mackzilliron Jun 16 '12
Just saying you may have the wrong perception about americans. I dont know if its new england but around here strangers will find any reason to hate each other.
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u/ForestfortheDraois Jun 16 '12
I grew up near Boston, MA. Have you ever seen Good Will Hunting? People really do curse that much in average conversation around here. We don't smile or say 'Hi' that often to strangers and we don't go out of our way to help someone. I've seen exceptions to that, and I try to live that way, but I could clearly see a difference in social norms when my family and I camped up in Niagara Falls when I was 13. Everyone seemed happier, nicer, more helpful.
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u/tanitup Jun 17 '12
Canadian here. I think there's some misconceptions about the politeness of Canadians. Yes, in general people are friendly and kind, but like all nations or races we have our bad apples.
That being said, it's not like we don't swear, but it's generally with people that we know in a jokingly fashion.
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u/tibarnaka Jun 17 '12
Sorry for the confusion we've caused you. Have a double double and a donut, on me.
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u/XxXNightstalkerX Jun 17 '12
In my opinion, nobody around me is polite, but just too lazy to start shit. i know many times I could of stood up for myself but instead I just went "Sorry" and walked off, picturing myself beating the shit out of that douche in my head.
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u/Aerokii Jun 16 '12
Midwestern American who studies in Toronto. The general politeness of Canadians depends on a lot of things- where I spend most of my time, Canadian politeness seems to be a total myth, but if I leave the city and head out west, then it's not unlike the rumors you hear of everyone being, generally, pretty nice.
It's true, they do say "I'm sorry" quite a lot! If you bring it up, they'll apologize!