Now that we have a new thread, in order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a complete and thorough read before posting!
NOTE: When providing a source, please provide a very brief summary on what it's about and what purpose it adds to the discussion. The supporting statement should clearly explain why the subject is relevant and needs to be discussed. Please follow this rule especially for tweets.
Your supporting statement should always come BEFORE you provide the source.
On November 29 2024 03:26 WombaT wrote: But what’s trade got to do with fentanyl and cocaine decriminalisation? Perhaps there is some link but in the absence of an explanation I don’t know what that is.
Is the average USian’s standard of living really that much worse than the average Canadian’s? Many of us Euros wouldn’t take the trade I can tell you that much
There really isn't a lot of difference from my perspective. Once you consider the currency conversion, the cost of living in the two countries is pretty similar. Wages are pretty similar. We pay more in taxes but at least have access to healthcare (admittedly there are issues with it, but at least it's there if you absolutely need it).
I was just in Texas, and outside of some areas that have an obvious latino inspired aesthetic to some buildings, but newer construction looks identical to what you see in Canada. The music on the radio is the same. The same makes and models of cars were on the road. There's definitely a difference in accent. I could have very well been in a different province here in Canada and would have never known, as we also have distinct regional accents too. I visited San Diego several months ago and it was more of the same (outside of seeing military ships that are way bigger and more expensive to buy and operate than Canada could realistically justify). I've been up and down the east coast in the past. I'm heading to Kentucky in a couple of weeks and I don't expect it to be significantly different either.
The biggest difference, imo, is the gun culture. The radio host on one of the channels I was listening to in Texas made a rather interesting comment. He said that the reason he doesn't honk at people on the road is that there is a non-insignificant amount of people on the road with a gun on them (specifically mentioning their passenger seat), and you never know who you could piss off when you honk at them. I grew up with family and friends that have things like hunting rifles, but that kind of mentality is just completely foreign to me. I took his advice and didn't use the horn my entire trip.
Tbh not sure I agree with all the criticism of Trudeau in comparison to Trump. I mean theres literal 4 years of history, which I think we (Canada) did fine. Sure today is a new day with new challenges, I don't doubt that but I really don't think it's the end of the world.
And it is a fact that Canada is more reliant on the us than vice versa, and this will be reflected at the bargaining table, but I really don't see how this is Trudeau's fault. Unless you're saying he folded with a winning hand, which I don't think is the case.
Another W for the former WWE Personality and TV Show Host.
The Canadian leaders are doing the right thing. If Mexico's leadership is talking tough I am not sure that is the right move.
Asmongold joked recently... We need a wall between Canada and the USA to prevent the influx of all thr unethically subsidized Quebec made garbage video games from getting into America
In conclusion, Canada needs to do better. Step #1 is a smarter PM and smarter Finance Minister. The 2 intellectual light weights running the country are in over their heads.
As a Canadian I'm pretty dissatisfied with how our leaders are handling this right now. ... Trump campaigned on doing stuff like this again. And enough of y'all voted for him that it seems like you want this stupidity to continue for at least another 4 years. Thanks.....
i moved to the USA permanently ~12 years ago. you might as well MAID me if you ever catch me taking the word "you" and the word "all" and contracting them.
You might feel dissatisfied, however, I think it is the correct course of action. Doug Ford fired back slightly stating Mexico and Canada are not the same and should not lumped in together. Even the BC Premier folded like a lawn chair today. I guess that's the end of experimenting with the decriminalization of Fentanyl in BC.
Thanksgiving is now upon us. I'd like to remind Americans that similar to many great American things from Basketball to the Telephone ... Canada invented Thanksgiving. Source
Practically speaking, Trump is acting like a bully in this situation. He's done it before, and and while he does often get his way, it's also shown that fighting back is effective. We did it before, and from my perspective, it'll be better for us if we do it again.
However, even if these tariffs don't come into play, and Trump backs down on this, we Canadians still have to consider the possibility of him doing this at any time over the next 4 years while he is in power. And considering he campaigned on possibly doing exactly this, and the majority of American voters voting for this, there's the possibility of a future president doing this as well, even if Trump doesn't during his 4 year term.
Singh, of all people, has already suggested a push towards isolationism policies here in Canada, and that Trudeau should setup a war room to prepare a response. As much as I think he's usually out to lunch regarding policy, I think he's right about this. We've become too friendly with the USA and our economy is too intertwined. We need to start to do things to separate ourselves from the US economy so we don't have the threat of a trade war like this constantly looming over our heads.
Completely agree, right now my company is trying to decide how much to import. The regular amount, way more or way less are all on the table and instead of relying on data, history, or our projected sales based on customer data. The main concern is what will happen with currency and tariffs based on the whim of one very unpredictable man. It felt like gambling, I can't imagine big companies making multi year capital projects right now when anything and everything could change. We get about half our stuff from the US and right now it is one persons job to find alternatives. We have suppliers floating locked in price contracts but no one even knows what direction to hedge. A bunch of experienced people with no idea what to do next. Higher prices are not even close to as scary as the unknown. Because a drastic price fall could also mess us up as if we over bought we would be uncompetitive with those who risked it.
Even industries that end up completely untouched by the trade war are going to go ultra conservative as far as spending capital, which is going to have big impacts down the road.
I'm in a similar boat. We've had discussions on how we're going to proceed, and so far, the plan is to ignore it as a possibility and deal with it once something actually happens. We have so many longer-term contracts with US companies that would be affected by this that there seems to be no way to effectively plan for it other than hoping for the best..... We're trying to shore up any upcoming financial milestones to try to mitigate any effects, but there's nothing else we can really do yet.....
Predictability has a quality in and of itself.
I had a manager in a former job once who would bounce between borderline love-in cordiality, and brutal hostility, with essentially no obvious triggers or rationales whatsoever. I actively preferred the managers I knew were always hardarses to that, because I could plan around knowing that.
The US feels a little similar now, it’s sorta relative business as usual, except every 4 years maybe it’s Trump and it isn’t and how do you do long-term planning as a business with that volatility?
Assuming he does proceed with all these tariffs, and I’m still not convinced he ultimately will. But even then, businesses have to plan for various eventualities
The issue is that there is a realistic chance that he would implement these tariffs. He has implemented tariffs before, he campaigned he would do it again, and he just received the popular vote and wins in congress and the senate to help him implement his policy goals.
We have to plan as if he will do it at some point, even if he doesn't right now, because of how devastating the consequences will be. This threat over twitter is making this clear, and he hasn't even taken office yet.
Another W for the former WWE Personality and TV Show Host.
The Canadian leaders are doing the right thing. If Mexico's leadership is talking tough I am not sure that is the right move.
Asmongold joked recently... We need a wall between Canada and the USA to prevent the influx of all thr unethically subsidized Quebec made garbage video games from getting into America
In conclusion, Canada needs to do better. Step #1 is a smarter PM and smarter Finance Minister. The 2 intellectual light weights running the country are in over their heads.
As a Canadian I'm pretty dissatisfied with how our leaders are handling this right now. ... Trump campaigned on doing stuff like this again. And enough of y'all voted for him that it seems like you want this stupidity to continue for at least another 4 years. Thanks.....
i moved to the USA permanently ~12 years ago. you might as well MAID me if you ever catch me taking the word "you" and the word "all" and contracting them.
You might feel dissatisfied, however, I think it is the correct course of action. Doug Ford fired back slightly stating Mexico and Canada are not the same and should not lumped in together. Even the BC Premier folded like a lawn chair today. I guess that's the end of experimenting with the decriminalization of Fentanyl in BC.
Thanksgiving is now upon us. I'd like to remind Americans that similar to many great American things from Basketball to the Telephone ... Canada invented Thanksgiving. Source
Practically speaking, Trump is acting like a bully in this situation. He's done it before, and and while he does often get his way, it's also shown that fighting back is effective. We did it before, and from my perspective, it'll be better for us if we do it again.
However, even if these tariffs don't come into play, and Trump backs down on this, we Canadians still have to consider the possibility of him doing this at any time over the next 4 years while he is in power. And considering he campaigned on possibly doing exactly this, and the majority of American voters voting for this, there's the possibility of a future president doing this as well, even if Trump doesn't during his 4 year term.
Singh, of all people, has already suggested a push towards isolationism policies here in Canada, and that Trudeau should setup a war room to prepare a response. As much as I think he's usually out to lunch regarding policy, I think he's right about this. We've become too friendly with the USA and our economy is too intertwined. We need to start to do things to separate ourselves from the US economy so we don't have the threat of a trade war like this constantly looming over our heads.
In 1992, Mulroney said Bush was acting like a tin pot dictator. This type of bluster has been going on for decades.
If Canada has a street smart well, informed negotiation team the country will be fine. It will be business as usual.
If not, watch for Trump to make a statement like this: "do you know in Vancouver and throughout the province north of Washington state you can legally possess fentanyl".
I think there will be immense pressure on BC to criminalize possession of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl.
I am not certain Justin Trudeau's negotiation team is a cohesive unit. Previous PMs were much better power brokers primarily because they had power to broker. The Trudeau regime is falling apart at the seams.
I’m really unsure how all these observations actually fit together, or what your ultimate conclusions are here
On November 29 2024 03:43 Vivax wrote: Ah yes when living in Texas you could meet Anton Chigurh blowing holes into you anytime you honked at someone.
Glad to be here after all.
Not to be a literary critic but I'm not sure that character was ever canonically established as being a Texan.
He was well acquainted with local traditions according to Mr. radio moderator so he might as well have been.
I dunno, I've never seen anyone other than a police officer enter a restaurant with an obvious holster on them here in Canada. I saw that in Texas in the short time I was there.
I've never been shot at here in Canada. I had the experience of being shot at one night in Detroit nearly 20 years ago.
I'm planning on moving somewhere more rural, and I'm intending on getting a rifle at that point. It's a useful tool. I might do some hunting too. I've never felt the need for anything above and beyond that, but apparently that's a thing in the USA.
My experience is that you have a very different gun culture than we have up here. There's lots of statistics out there that support this. I do not see this as a positive benefit.
EDIT - But sure, I learned everything i need to know from the radio host.....
On November 29 2024 03:43 Vivax wrote: Ah yes when living in Texas you could meet Anton Chigurh blowing holes into you anytime you honked at someone.
Glad to be here after all.
Not to be a literary critic but I'm not sure that character was ever canonically established as being a Texan.
He was well acquainted with local traditions according to Mr. radio moderator so he might as well have been.
I dunno, I've never seen anyone other than a police officer enter a restaurant with an obvious holster on them here in Canada. I saw that in Texas in the short time I was there.
I've never been shot at here in Canada. I had the experience of being shot at one night in Detroit nearly 20 years ago.
I'm planning on moving somewhere more rural, and I'm intending on getting a rifle at that point. It's a useful tool. I might do some hunting too. I've never felt the need for anything above and beyond that, but apparently that's a thing in the USA.
My experience is that you have a very different gun culture than we have up here. There's lots of statistics out there that support this. I do not see this as a positive benefit.
It‘s not really the owning that‘s the issue but rather the easy availability to anyone who thinks he should suddenly own a gun in a fit of rage or the like.
Most owners in US culture are likely to be responsible but every so often someone with temper issues loses it, shoots up something and dies.
It‘s a matter of perception. If you see something more often you also think of it more often so you tend to use it as your problem solver more often imo. That‘s why the US needs such authoritarian police too.
Another W for the former WWE Personality and TV Show Host.
The Canadian leaders are doing the right thing. If Mexico's leadership is talking tough I am not sure that is the right move.
Asmongold joked recently... We need a wall between Canada and the USA to prevent the influx of all thr unethically subsidized Quebec made garbage video games from getting into America
In conclusion, Canada needs to do better. Step #1 is a smarter PM and smarter Finance Minister. The 2 intellectual light weights running the country are in over their heads.
As a Canadian I'm pretty dissatisfied with how our leaders are handling this right now. ... Trump campaigned on doing stuff like this again. And enough of y'all voted for him that it seems like you want this stupidity to continue for at least another 4 years. Thanks.....
i moved to the USA permanently ~12 years ago. you might as well MAID me if you ever catch me taking the word "you" and the word "all" and contracting them.
You might feel dissatisfied, however, I think it is the correct course of action. Doug Ford fired back slightly stating Mexico and Canada are not the same and should not lumped in together. Even the BC Premier folded like a lawn chair today. I guess that's the end of experimenting with the decriminalization of Fentanyl in BC.
Thanksgiving is now upon us. I'd like to remind Americans that similar to many great American things from Basketball to the Telephone ... Canada invented Thanksgiving. Source
Practically speaking, Trump is acting like a bully in this situation. He's done it before, and and while he does often get his way, it's also shown that fighting back is effective. We did it before, and from my perspective, it'll be better for us if we do it again.
However, even if these tariffs don't come into play, and Trump backs down on this, we Canadians still have to consider the possibility of him doing this at any time over the next 4 years while he is in power. And considering he campaigned on possibly doing exactly this, and the majority of American voters voting for this, there's the possibility of a future president doing this as well, even if Trump doesn't during his 4 year term.
Singh, of all people, has already suggested a push towards isolationism policies here in Canada, and that Trudeau should setup a war room to prepare a response. As much as I think he's usually out to lunch regarding policy, I think he's right about this. We've become too friendly with the USA and our economy is too intertwined. We need to start to do things to separate ourselves from the US economy so we don't have the threat of a trade war like this constantly looming over our heads.
Completely agree, right now my company is trying to decide how much to import. The regular amount, way more or way less are all on the table and instead of relying on data, history, or our projected sales based on customer data. The main concern is what will happen with currency and tariffs based on the whim of one very unpredictable man. It felt like gambling, I can't imagine big companies making multi year capital projects right now when anything and everything could change. We get about half our stuff from the US and right now it is one persons job to find alternatives. We have suppliers floating locked in price contracts but no one even knows what direction to hedge. A bunch of experienced people with no idea what to do next. Higher prices are not even close to as scary as the unknown. Because a drastic price fall could also mess us up as if we over bought we would be uncompetitive with those who risked it.
Even industries that end up completely untouched by the trade war are going to go ultra conservative as far as spending capital, which is going to have big impacts down the road.
I'm in a similar boat. We've had discussions on how we're going to proceed, and so far, the plan is to ignore it as a possibility and deal with it once something actually happens. We have so many longer-term contracts with US companies that would be affected by this that there seems to be no way to effectively plan for it other than hoping for the best..... We're trying to shore up any upcoming financial milestones to try to mitigate any effects, but there's nothing else we can really do yet.....
Predictability has a quality in and of itself.
I had a manager in a former job once who would bounce between borderline love-in cordiality, and brutal hostility, with essentially no obvious triggers or rationales whatsoever. I actively preferred the managers I knew were always hardarses to that, because I could plan around knowing that.
The US feels a little similar now, it’s sorta relative business as usual, except every 4 years maybe it’s Trump and it isn’t and how do you do long-term planning as a business with that volatility?
Assuming he does proceed with all these tariffs, and I’m still not convinced he ultimately will. But even then, businesses have to plan for various eventualities
The issue is that there is a realistic chance that he would implement these tariffs. He has implemented tariffs before, he campaigned he would do it again, and he just received the popular vote and wins in congress and the senate to help him implement his policy goals.
We have to plan as if he will do it at some point, even if he doesn't right now, because of how devastating the consequences will be. This threat over twitter is making this clear, and he hasn't even taken office yet.
Oh yeah 100% agreed there didn’t mean to intimate otherwise
On November 29 2024 03:43 Vivax wrote: Ah yes when living in Texas you could meet Anton Chigurh blowing holes into you anytime you honked at someone.
Glad to be here after all.
Not to be a literary critic but I'm not sure that character was ever canonically established as being a Texan.
He was well acquainted with local traditions according to Mr. radio moderator so he might as well have been.
I dunno, I've never seen anyone other than a police officer enter a restaurant with an obvious holster on them here in Canada. I saw that in Texas in the short time I was there.
I've never been shot at here in Canada. I had the experience of being shot at one night in Detroit nearly 20 years ago.
I'm planning on moving somewhere more rural, and I'm intending on getting a rifle at that point. It's a useful tool. I might do some hunting too. I've never felt the need for anything above and beyond that, but apparently that's a thing in the USA.
My experience is that you have a very different gun culture than we have up here. There's lots of statistics out there that support this. I do not see this as a positive benefit.
It‘s not really the owning that‘s the issue but rather the easy availability to anyone who thinks he should suddenly own a gun in a fit of rage or the like.
Most owners in US culture are likely to be responsible but every so often someone with temper issues loses it, shoots up something and dies.
It‘s a matter of perception. If you see something more often you also think of it more often so you tend to use it as your problem solver more often imo. That‘s why the US needs such authoritarian police too.
I completely understand that the majority of gun owners are responsible with firearms. Both of our countries have a plethora of guns in circulation. But we have a small fraction of the amount of gun related incidents per capita.
This video is a really good example of the difference. Parents in the stands at an under 18 hockey game were fighting, and this was very close to home for me personally.
Fighting is a part of Hockey, which is our national sport. There's resistance to changing the rules to outlaw fighting, because that's basically a cultural part of the game for us. Every once in a while it'll even spiral out of control in a situation like this. In this case the cops show up and it's over without any arrests. I could see these parents even ending up getting a beer later with someone they were just trading punches with.
A fight breaking out like this could happen at something like a football game in the USA. Throw a gun into the mix, add in the cultural difference where you are more likely to use it as a "problem solver", and you have a very different outcome..... Not often all things considered, but often enough. That kind of outcome happens in the USA far more regularly than it does in Canada. It's not about the guns themselves, it's something culturally different between us. I don't really know how to explain it, but having physically traveled to the USA, there is a difference.
Another W for the former WWE Personality and TV Show Host.
The Canadian leaders are doing the right thing. If Mexico's leadership is talking tough I am not sure that is the right move.
Asmongold joked recently... We need a wall between Canada and the USA to prevent the influx of all thr unethically subsidized Quebec made garbage video games from getting into America
In conclusion, Canada needs to do better. Step #1 is a smarter PM and smarter Finance Minister. The 2 intellectual light weights running the country are in over their heads.
As a Canadian I'm pretty dissatisfied with how our leaders are handling this right now. ... Trump campaigned on doing stuff like this again. And enough of y'all voted for him that it seems like you want this stupidity to continue for at least another 4 years. Thanks.....
i moved to the USA permanently ~12 years ago. you might as well MAID me if you ever catch me taking the word "you" and the word "all" and contracting them.
You might feel dissatisfied, however, I think it is the correct course of action. Doug Ford fired back slightly stating Mexico and Canada are not the same and should not lumped in together. Even the BC Premier folded like a lawn chair today. I guess that's the end of experimenting with the decriminalization of Fentanyl in BC.
Thanksgiving is now upon us. I'd like to remind Americans that similar to many great American things from Basketball to the Telephone ... Canada invented Thanksgiving. Source
Practically speaking, Trump is acting like a bully in this situation. He's done it before, and and while he does often get his way, it's also shown that fighting back is effective. We did it before, and from my perspective, it'll be better for us if we do it again.
However, even if these tariffs don't come into play, and Trump backs down on this, we Canadians still have to consider the possibility of him doing this at any time over the next 4 years while he is in power. And considering he campaigned on possibly doing exactly this, and the majority of American voters voting for this, there's the possibility of a future president doing this as well, even if Trump doesn't during his 4 year term.
Singh, of all people, has already suggested a push towards isolationism policies here in Canada, and that Trudeau should setup a war room to prepare a response. As much as I think he's usually out to lunch regarding policy, I think he's right about this. We've become too friendly with the USA and our economy is too intertwined. We need to start to do things to separate ourselves from the US economy so we don't have the threat of a trade war like this constantly looming over our heads.
Completely agree, right now my company is trying to decide how much to import. The regular amount, way more or way less are all on the table and instead of relying on data, history, or our projected sales based on customer data. The main concern is what will happen with currency and tariffs based on the whim of one very unpredictable man. It felt like gambling, I can't imagine big companies making multi year capital projects right now when anything and everything could change. We get about half our stuff from the US and right now it is one persons job to find alternatives. We have suppliers floating locked in price contracts but no one even knows what direction to hedge. A bunch of experienced people with no idea what to do next. Higher prices are not even close to as scary as the unknown. Because a drastic price fall could also mess us up as if we over bought we would be uncompetitive with those who risked it.
Even industries that end up completely untouched by the trade war are going to go ultra conservative as far as spending capital, which is going to have big impacts down the road.
I'm in a similar boat. We've had discussions on how we're going to proceed, and so far, the plan is to ignore it as a possibility and deal with it once something actually happens. We have so many longer-term contracts with US companies that would be affected by this that there seems to be no way to effectively plan for it other than hoping for the best..... We're trying to shore up any upcoming financial milestones to try to mitigate any effects, but there's nothing else we can really do yet.....
Predictability has a quality in and of itself.
I had a manager in a former job once who would bounce between borderline love-in cordiality, and brutal hostility, with essentially no obvious triggers or rationales whatsoever. I actively preferred the managers I knew were always hardarses to that, because I could plan around knowing that.
The US feels a little similar now, it’s sorta relative business as usual, except every 4 years maybe it’s Trump and it isn’t and how do you do long-term planning as a business with that volatility?
Assuming he does proceed with all these tariffs, and I’m still not convinced he ultimately will. But even then, businesses have to plan for various eventualities
The issue is that there is a realistic chance that he would implement these tariffs. He has implemented tariffs before, he campaigned he would do it again, and he just received the popular vote and wins in congress and the senate to help him implement his policy goals.
We have to plan as if he will do it at some point, even if he doesn't right now, because of how devastating the consequences will be. This threat over twitter is making this clear, and he hasn't even taken office yet.
Oh yeah 100% agreed there didn’t mean to intimate otherwise
I understood your comparison to the unpredictable manager. Businesses need to plan for sometimes decades on larger projects, so this kind of volatility hurts businesses and investments. Us as individuals need to plan around this volatility too. Something like buying a house, for instance, requires a stable income and plans to stay in the same location for a decade or more. Banks may need to be more stringent with loaning out money for mortgages in certain areas or for people with a certain type of employment that could be affected due to these tariff threats, as another example of a downstream effect.
On November 29 2024 03:43 Vivax wrote: Ah yes when living in Texas you could meet Anton Chigurh blowing holes into you anytime you honked at someone.
Glad to be here after all.
Not to be a literary critic but I'm not sure that character was ever canonically established as being a Texan.
He was well acquainted with local traditions according to Mr. radio moderator so he might as well have been.
I dunno, I've never seen anyone other than a police officer enter a restaurant with an obvious holster on them here in Canada. I saw that in Texas in the short time I was there.
I've never been shot at here in Canada. I had the experience of being shot at one night in Detroit nearly 20 years ago.
I'm planning on moving somewhere more rural, and I'm intending on getting a rifle at that point. It's a useful tool. I might do some hunting too. I've never felt the need for anything above and beyond that, but apparently that's a thing in the USA.
My experience is that you have a very different gun culture than we have up here. There's lots of statistics out there that support this. I do not see this as a positive benefit.
It‘s not really the owning that‘s the issue but rather the easy availability to anyone who thinks he should suddenly own a gun in a fit of rage or the like.
Most owners in US culture are likely to be responsible but every so often someone with temper issues loses it, shoots up something and dies.
It‘s a matter of perception. If you see something more often you also think of it more often so you tend to use it as your problem solver more often imo. That‘s why the US needs such authoritarian police too.
I completely understand that the majority of gun owners are responsible with firearms. Both of our countries have a plethora of guns in circulation. But we have a small fraction of the amount of gun related incidents per capita.
This video is a really good example of the difference. Parents in the stands at an under 18 hockey game were fighting, and this was very close to home for me personally.
Fighting is a part of Hockey, which is our national sport. There's resistance to changing the rules to outlaw fighting, because that's basically a cultural part of the game for us. Every once in a while it'll even spiral out of control in a situation like this. In this case the cops show up and it's over without any arrests. I could see these parents even ending up getting a beer later with someone they were just trading punches with.
A fight breaking out like this could happen at something like a football game in the USA. Throw a gun into the mix, add in the cultural difference where you are more likely to use it as a "problem solver", and you have a very different outcome..... Not often all things considered, but often enough. That kind of outcome happens in the USA far more regularly than it does in Canada. It's not about the guns themselves, it's something culturally different between us. I don't really know how to explain it, but having physically traveled to the USA, there is a difference.
As an outside observer I hate hockey fighting because it usually feels this performative ritual half times rather than some organic outbreak of fisticuffs.
That aside yeah there just seem quite profound cultural differences with the US and elsewhere where it comes to firearms. I think perhaps in a greater willingness to use them to protect property and not person
On November 29 2024 03:43 Vivax wrote: Ah yes when living in Texas you could meet Anton Chigurh blowing holes into you anytime you honked at someone.
Glad to be here after all.
Not to be a literary critic but I'm not sure that character was ever canonically established as being a Texan.
He was well acquainted with local traditions according to Mr. radio moderator so he might as well have been.
I dunno, I've never seen anyone other than a police officer enter a restaurant with an obvious holster on them here in Canada. I saw that in Texas in the short time I was there.
I've never been shot at here in Canada. I had the experience of being shot at one night in Detroit nearly 20 years ago.
I'm planning on moving somewhere more rural, and I'm intending on getting a rifle at that point. It's a useful tool. I might do some hunting too. I've never felt the need for anything above and beyond that, but apparently that's a thing in the USA.
My experience is that you have a very different gun culture than we have up here. There's lots of statistics out there that support this. I do not see this as a positive benefit.
It‘s not really the owning that‘s the issue but rather the easy availability to anyone who thinks he should suddenly own a gun in a fit of rage or the like.
Most owners in US culture are likely to be responsible but every so often someone with temper issues loses it, shoots up something and dies.
It‘s a matter of perception. If you see something more often you also think of it more often so you tend to use it as your problem solver more often imo. That‘s why the US needs such authoritarian police too.
I completely understand that the majority of gun owners are responsible with firearms. Both of our countries have a plethora of guns in circulation. But we have a small fraction of the amount of gun related incidents per capita.
This video is a really good example of the difference. Parents in the stands at an under 18 hockey game were fighting, and this was very close to home for me personally.
Fighting is a part of Hockey, which is our national sport. There's resistance to changing the rules to outlaw fighting, because that's basically a cultural part of the game for us. Every once in a while it'll even spiral out of control in a situation like this. In this case the cops show up and it's over without any arrests. I could see these parents even ending up getting a beer later with someone they were just trading punches with.
A fight breaking out like this could happen at something like a football game in the USA. Throw a gun into the mix, add in the cultural difference where you are more likely to use it as a "problem solver", and you have a very different outcome..... Not often all things considered, but often enough. That kind of outcome happens in the USA far more regularly than it does in Canada. It's not about the guns themselves, it's something culturally different between us. I don't really know how to explain it, but having physically traveled to the USA, there is a difference.
As an outside observer I hate hockey fighting because it usually feels this performative ritual half times rather than some organic outbreak of fisticuffs.
That aside yeah there just seem quite profound cultural differences with the US and elsewhere where it comes to firearms. I think perhaps in a greater willingness to use them to protect property and not person
I can understand that observation, and I agree that sometimes it does look and feel forced as part of a show instead of an organic violent outbreak. The point I was trying to make is that culturally, both the USA and Canada do have organic outbreaks of violence. We are actually pretty similar in that regard. We have a large number of firearms in active circulation in both of our countries. Arguably we're the closest to the USA both geographically and culturally with respect to these things. But on our side of the border, it is much rarer for any violent incidents to escalate to use firearms in comparison. It's not that it doesn't happen, but it happens so much rarer that culturally we don't modify our own behaviors significantly to account for the odds of it happening. However, in the USA, even the radio host was semi-joking on air that he does modify his behavior while driving to account for the risk of it happening there, because it does happen and it happens frequently enough to modify behavior.
EDIT - Also, I can also understand not understanding why fighting in hockey a part of our culture. There's a non-insignificant portion of our population that enjoys it. Other violent sports like football and rugby are popular here too. Hockey was never my game personally, but I used to play football and rugby. I've broken a few bones. I've been in some incidents where cops were called. All things considered, I'm pretty lucky to still have all of my natural teeth and no arrests considering some of the things I did in my teens and early 20's. There's something about our culture where we just don't go further than fists. Knives and guns don't make organic appearances here, even though we have them.....
On November 29 2024 03:43 Vivax wrote: Ah yes when living in Texas you could meet Anton Chigurh blowing holes into you anytime you honked at someone.
Glad to be here after all.
Not to be a literary critic but I'm not sure that character was ever canonically established as being a Texan.
He was well acquainted with local traditions according to Mr. radio moderator so he might as well have been.
I dunno, I've never seen anyone other than a police officer enter a restaurant with an obvious holster on them here in Canada. I saw that in Texas in the short time I was there.
I've never been shot at here in Canada. I had the experience of being shot at one night in Detroit nearly 20 years ago.
I'm planning on moving somewhere more rural, and I'm intending on getting a rifle at that point. It's a useful tool. I might do some hunting too. I've never felt the need for anything above and beyond that, but apparently that's a thing in the USA.
My experience is that you have a very different gun culture than we have up here. There's lots of statistics out there that support this. I do not see this as a positive benefit.
EDIT - But sure, I learned everything i need to know from the radio host.....
As a fellow Canadian, I'm surprised you'd call it a tool. Even in rural cases where .22s or shotguns were relatively commonplace (yaaay farms!), their only 'tool' use was hunting raccoons or other pests. Most of the time they were 'toys', though I say that lightly because they were given the same gravitas trucks/cars/other vehicles were. "You use this wrong, it'll kill you or someone you're with. Don't ever forget that."
I agree, though. I spent some time living in Michigan as a kid, and have been back to the US since. At least coming from the outside and being there, the lingering thought of "This fucker could have a gun" does colour how I interact with people.
The best hockey games ever played involved zero fights. The NHL had a shot at mainstream acceptance in the USA in 1994 and blew it. Fighting shoulda been banned a very long time ago. The NBA did the smart thing and banned fighting.
This was a 3 foot putt always sitting there for any sitting US President. Trump pulls it off while not being President. Sorta reminds me of Reagan's influence on Iran in 1980 before officially being the sitting Prez.
Anyhow, well played by the former WWE Personality. Trudeau keeps looking weak primarily because he is weak.
On November 29 2024 13:33 JimmyJRaynor wrote: The best hockey games ever played involved zero fights. The NHL had a shot at mainstream acceptance in the USA in 1994 and blew it. Fighting shoulda been banned a very long time ago. The NBA did the smart thing and banned fighting.
This was a 3 foot putt always sitting there for any sitting US President. Trump pulls it off while not being President. Sorta reminds me of Reagan's influence on Iran in 1980 before officially being the sitting Prez.
Anyhow, well played by the former WWE Personality. Trudeau keeps looking weak primarily because he is weak.
This is such a strange take. Canada "strengthening its border" isn't something Biden couldn't have achieved. Or for that matter, Trump in his first term. It's something that Canada didn't even know the US wanted until Trump threatened with tariffs. In general, "strengthening the border" with Canada is going to do very very very little for illegal immigration, and make it a pain in the ass for locals who regularly cross the border. Also, freight transport gets slower in both directions. You can ask Britain.
This isn't some freebie that was always there for the taking. It's a nonsensical policy.
On November 29 2024 13:51 Acrofales wrote: isn't some freebie that was always there for the taking. It's a nonsensical policy.
Border security is so lame it is easy to strengthen. Canada would easily commit to it if given correct prompting. They got the correct prompting by Trump.
Another win for America.
I suspect Trump will start squawking about BC some time in the next 6 months.
On November 29 2024 13:51 Acrofales wrote: isn't some freebie that was always there for the taking. It's a nonsensical policy.
Border security is so lame it is easy to strengthen. Canada would easily commit to it if given correct prompting. They got the correct prompting by Trump.
Another win for America.
I suspect Trump will start squawking about BC some time in the next 6 months.
I took inspiration from this and yelled at my neighbor for parking crooked.
I'm sure this was a win for Fleetfeet and will never cost me anything. Threatening your neighbors is always good policy.
I mean, you could go to the border and pile up a few rocks. You will have technically "strengthened" the border. Not sure how that's a win for America though.
EPT
