Nora Jacobson, a sociologist and self—described bluestocking blue—stater, who pursued a career opportunity in Canada, has rueful column in today's Houston Chronicle. She describes how the anti—Americanism she encouters in Toronto has turned her off as far as regarding Canadians as "nice."

The anti—Americanism I experience generally takes this form: Canadians bring up "the States" or "Americans" to make comparisons or evaluations that mix a kind of smug contempt with a wariness that alternates between the paranoid and the absurd.

Her best point is how corrosive it is to Canadians to be so obsessed with being different and better than Americans. I agree that it partakes of the character of an unhealthy obsession to define yourself in such negative terms. But perhaps it is inevitable, to some degree, given the respective population size of the two countries. Still, it hurts Canada and Canadians far more than it hurts us Yankees, and for their own sake, I hope that this will change.

Meanwhile, on the wonderful Canadian blog Small Dead Animals, there are insightful comments by blogger Kate and assorted commentors with reagrd to my own AT article on Canada.

Kate: I once had a heated debate over a bar table in northern Alberta with a man in his early twenties. He had a list of one word reasons for hating Americans — and he did use the word "hate", along with "warmongers", "Vietnam", and "rude." Strong words from a man who was otherwise a model of calm civility.

It didn't make sense to me — it sounded like he'd met some particularly obnoxious people. Finally, I asked where he'd been in the US, to have formed impressions about ordinary Americans that were so different from what I'd experienced in my travels?

He had never been south of Calgary. I guess I should have known. His contempt was bred of a faux familiarity, based entirely on impressions formed by his exposure to various media — pop culture, movies, political news, historical information. Canada is unlike any other country in the way we are bombarded with American media. He was critical in a way you'd expect of someone who disliked a "drunken" cousin he'd only "met" through video of wedding dances. The poor fellow in the video is none the wiser — it's not a two—way feed.

Had he walked into the bar directly in front of real live visiting warmongering Americans, arm in arm with the distant cousin — he'd still stand aside and hold the door open for them.

Firewalls r us: How about those much ballyhooed "shared Canadian values"? I have trouble thinking of a single significant "value" I and most of my family and friends "share" with "greater T.O." or the "pure laine" Quebecois. Values like, what, "tolerance"? — sure, as long as you're not conservative, white, male and a Christian. "Respect for (the endlessly—expanding list of)"human rights"? Yes, we smugly congratulate ourselfs for entrenching exciting new rights like expanded dating venues for teenage Catholic gays, while the rest of the world stone single mothers and mutilates young girls. "Multi—culturalism"? Sharia law! — coming soon to your neighbourhood Canadian courtroom! "Love thy (Canadian) neighbour"? so when are Mick and the boys coming out here to do a heavily subsidized benefit for BSE, now that the whole T.O. SARS thing seems to be over. I get misty just from thinking about how all we Canadians so enthusiatically embrace all the above, sniff sniff.

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