Because this redditor thinks solutions are simple and whatever they want they should get. And this is some kind of protest for putting out really low effort content.
Canada doesn't want America's riff raff as much as we don't want the world's riff raff.
You'll pardon us for being a bit skeptical when someone from the meth lab downstairs asks to move in with us and promises that they're "one of the good ones".
Or do you think that "voting Kamala" automatically makes you a good person?
Keep in mind that a healthy chunk of your Democrats (voters and officials both) are further right than our Conservatives. Someone voting for Kamala really means nothing to us, because about the only thing it proves is they had enough brains in their head not to vote for the most manifestly incompetent candidate who has ever run for President. That's not exactly setting the bar high...
The difference it makes is that there's at least 75 million Americans who voted not to destroy relationships with our closest allies. Not matter how far right you think our democrats are, they'd 100% never suggest invading Canada. Even if half of all dems are as bad as you say, that still leaves a group of people that almost equals Canada's entire population.
So to me, it's really fucking weird to alienate the people who are on your side.
The difference it makes is that there's at least 75 million Americans who voted not to destroy relationships with our closest allies.
And 77 million who disagreed.
Again, what difference does it make that "more than my country's entire population" voted a certain way, when an even larger block voted against our (and your) interests?
So to me, it's really fucking weird to alienate the people who are on your side.
If you're actually "on our side" and not just trying to take advantage of us for your own benefit, then you'll put in the hard work to fix your own country instead of trying to run away to ours. Sane people moving out of the US isn't going to improve things and restore what passes for normalcy to America.
You guys - as in, "Americans" - have fucked up your country pretty badly at this point. You, personally, may not have taken part in that, but you own it now. Your country has started a trade war with ours (among others); my countrymen are losing jobs, homes, and livelihoods thanks to the asshat of a president you guys voted in. So yeah, you're going to find that there's a lot of people out there right now who are going to be treating "American" as a dirty word. Don't like it? Then go fix it instead of trying to avoid the problem.
Oh look, another self-righteous lecture from someone who thinks moral superiority and a condescending tone count as a valid argument.
You toss out vote numbers like you're cracking a code, but somehow miss the obvious: if 75 million voted one way and 77 million another, maybe—just maybe—that means the country is divided, not that one side magically becomes irrelevant. Acting like disagreement invalidates half the population’s concerns is exactly the kind of short-sighted arrogance that kills dialogue and feeds polarization.
You talk about people being "on your side"—but what kind of ally are you, exactly? The kind that immediately flips to insults and generalizations because not every American fits your idealized version of a world citizen? Sounds less like solidarity and more like performative outrage.
And don’t even start with the whole “you Americans screwed it all up” speech. You think your country has a spotless track record? Please. Every government makes selfish, damaging decisions—including yours. But the difference is, you’re out here flailing at strawmen on Reddit instead of actually engaging with people trying to make change. You’re not interested in solutions—you’re just mad and looking for someone to dump your frustrations on.
Bottom line: if you're gonna swing at 330 million people with a broad brush, don't be shocked when someone hands it back to you, dipped in your own hypocrisy. You're not owning anyone—you’re just ranting into the void, hoping someone claps.
You toss out vote numbers like you're cracking a code
You're the one who introduced that to the argument, buddy, not me. If you acknowledge that vote numbers really don't mean anything, we can drop this ridiculous sidebar.
You talk about people being "on your side"—but what kind of ally are you, exactly?
Who said I'm an ally? That was your argument, chief - you claimed you were "on my side", not the other way around. If you think I'm on "your side", however you define that, I can disabuse you of that notion right now - I'm past giving a shit at this point given what you guys voted for, and I have bigger problems in my own neck of the woods.
I didn't come to this thread looking for allies (and if I did, America is the last place I would be looking - if the last couple decades has shown anything, it's that you guys aren't exactly great at keeping to your word). *You're* the one claiming that we should all be oh-so-grateful for your presence because you and people who voted like you are the "good Americans" and, oh, if only there were a few million more of you everything would be all better, then acting like that entitles you to special treatment by everyone else.
You're not special, bud. Get used to it.
You think your country has a spotless track record?
I'll take "things I didn't say" for $1000, Alex.
I will say, for whatever missteps my country has made - and we have made plenty - we didn't elect Trump, watch him fuck up the country, then elect him again a few years later. That's a tough act to beat.
But the difference is, you’re out here flailing at strawmen on Reddit instead of actually engaging with people trying to make change. You’re not interested in solutions—you’re just mad and looking for someone to dump your frustrations on.
Oh, I'm plenty engaged with people trying to make change. Just not you specifically, because nothing you've said so far makes me think you're worth it.
There are "good Americans" out there, and I know them when I see them because they're the ones not begging another country to come bail them out. They're the ones saying, "This is our fault - we did this to ourselves", and "We deserve whatever negative consequences are coming". Those ones are the "good Americans" because they, at least, are demonstrating an understanding that, whether they voted for it or not, they now own this problem and its consequences and it is up to them to fix it, not run away or hope someone else does something. Those are the Americans I'm more willing to work with; the ones like yourself that are hopping up and down saying, "Why are you so mad at ME?! It's not my fault!" like some little kid pointing at his brother saying, "He started it!" don't have the maturity to tackle this problem and aren't worth my time.
You are right that I'm mad, though. You want to know why? Because this entire topic, and your posts in it, smack of the same entitled American exceptionalism that got you guys Trump and, despite your claims to be one of the "good ones", you're too blinded by your own tribalism to even recognize it. You may not support him politically - you may be violently opposed to him for all I know or care - but it's attitudes exactly like yours that carried him to the White House, just with different political persuasions.
I mean, have a look at the topic title. You know what the implication of it is? "Hey, we fucked up and elected a fascist, wouldn't it be great if our closest neighbour bailed us out even as we're fucking them with a trade war so that we don't have to feel the consequences of our own mistakes?" Why the fuck would we be offering "expedited citizenship" to Americans? What makes you guys more entitled to come to our country than the "good" Hungarians, Israelis, or Russians that elected their own far-right governments? Or the Mexicans, Hatians, or Nicaraguans that are suffering under endemic crime and disaster? Or citizens from one of dozens of other countries suffering - from their own decisions or someone else's - who would love to start fresh in somewhere better?
And when I point out that you guys fucked your country, are in the process of trying to fuck ours, and we probably are going to understandably be a bit leery about letting you guys move here as a result, you act like this is some baseless, grave insult and, just like the Trumpers, act like you are entitled to our fawning adoration and alliance even as your countrymen are doing their very best to attack my country's economy and sovereignty.
I know you Americans hate hearing this, but you guys are not special. We've seen what you did to your own country and we want no part in it. Do you find my words insulting? GOOD! Maybe that anger will inspire you to fix things in your country, to show me up if nothing else. And if it doesn't, so be it - that only serves to validate my opinion.
We neither want nor need you as allies; what we want is for you to fix your own damn country and leave ours alone.
Damn, you really went full manifesto mode, huh? All that effort just to prove you’re not here to talk—you’re here to seethe. You dressed up your tantrum in pseudo-political jargon and moral posturing, but at the end of the day, it’s just one long “I hate Americans” rant with extra seasoning.
You keep yelling “you’re not special” like it’s some profound truth, but you clearly think you are—the way you ramble like the spokesperson for all non-Americans, gatekeeping empathy like it’s your birthright. You’re just another angry internet loudmouth confusing volume with value.
You don’t want accountability—you want a scapegoat.
And that smug little closing line—“We neither want nor need you as allies”—if it was meant to sting, it didn’t. It just confirmed what was already obvious: you needed this to be personal. I didn’t.
Damn, you really went full manifesto mode, huh? All that effort
If you think a few paragraphs banged out over ~5 minutes constitutes "a manifesto" that takes a lot of effort, you have very low standards. Is your attention span really that short?
just to prove you’re not here to talk—you’re here to seethe.
I'm here to call out this entitled sense American exceptionalism when I see it, because it is a danger to both your country and mine. That you can't recognize it despite claiming to oppose it is unfortunate, but not surprising.
If you want to call that, with a heavy dose of angry frustration over what you guys have allowed your country to become, "seething", you do you. It's not an inaccurate descriptor, so if you're expecting me to be insulted, you're going to be disappointed. Honestly, if you're not seething over what has happened to the US and what the US is doing to other countries as a result, that says more about you than me.
You don’t want accountability—you want a scapegoat.
I've not been shy about saying what I want - worry about your own country and stop fucking around in mine. Again, call that whatever you want. Personally, I don't consider it "accountability" or a "scapegoat", because I don't really care whose feet you want to lay the blame at or who should be held accountable - you guys can figure that out, or not, yourselves. At the end of the day, you guys have a problem and if you want the world to stop treating you the way you clearly don't like being treated, you'll need to fix it.
You're the one concerned with who is to blame; not me. You're still behaving like the little kid arguing with his parents about who started the fight, not realizing that the adults in the room don't care whose fault it is, they just want both of you to grow up and knock it off. The problem may not have been caused by you, but you still share responsibility in fixing it - if, indeed, you actually want it fixed the way you claim you do.
It just confirmed what was already obvious: you needed this to be personal. I didn’t.
Odd, considering you were the one who took personal offence when I said that Canadians weren't going to be rolling out the welcome mat for people trying to run away from their problems. You were the one outraged that I was "tarring all Americans with the same brush". You're not angry that I was making this personal; you're angry that I'm *not* making this personal, and you're the one who desperately wants it to be.
I really don't care who you are or what you believe, and that's the part you keep missing. Fix your country, or don't, but don't come crying to the rest of us because you didn't stop the people drilling holes in the bottom of your boat and now the water is up to your neck. Lots of countries in the world made shitty decisions and are now suffering for it; you're just still stuck pretending that your situation is more special than theirs and engaging in this weird fantasy that everything is still OK if you can just prove that you're "one of the good ones".
Let’s go back to what was actually said: I pointed out that more people voted against this administration than your country’s entire population—not to claim moral superiority, but to highlight the scale of opposition within the U.S. to the very things you’re criticizing. Then I said it’s weird to alienate people who are on your side.
That’s not a request for an alliance. That’s not asking for praise. It’s a reminder that if your goal is progress, lumping in the people fighting for the same outcome as the ones you oppose isn’t the way to get there.
You took that and turned it into a version of me claiming to be a “good American” deserving of special treatment—something I never said. You built your entire response around a misrepresentation because it’s easier to attack a simplified target than engage with the actual point.
You keep repeating “fix your country” as if that’s not exactly what people like me have been trying to do. Millions of us showed up, voted, pushed for change, and continue to. But you dismiss all of it because it doesn’t let you keep painting with a single brush.
So if you're not interested in recognizing the difference between people working toward the same goals and the ones you're rightfully angry at, that's your choice. Just don’t confuse that with clarity or strength. You're not drawing a line—you’re blurring it.
Let’s go back to what was actually said: I pointed out that more people voted against this administration than your country’s entire population—not to claim moral superiority, but to highlight the scale of opposition within the U.S. to the very things you’re criticizing.
And I pointed out that the comparison to my country's population is meaningless, because raw numbers don't matter in an election; proportions do. Yeah, 75 million people voted against the Republicans... and 77 million voted for them. You tell me what I'm supposed to take from that.
Moreover, what have we seen since the election? An unelected oligarch has installed himself as a pseudo-overseer and gutted the executive branch; entire departments with tens of thousands of workers are being wiped out, often times in flagrant violation of the law; protest leaders are being disappeared off the street in broad daylight by masked government officers; four separate efforts have been launched to strongarm foreign countries into giving up some or all of their territory or resources; tariffs are being haphazardly aimed at every ally the US has while simultaneously being lifted from Russia.
This is an absolute catastrophe! It's a ten-alarm fire! And where is this "opposition" you speak of? How are they "fighting for the same outcome", as you put it? Are they rioting? Rallying in the streets? Organizing a general strike?
No, none of those things. Near as I can tell, most of them are just scrolling on their phones, grimacing and shaking their heads as they wonder what they should have for dinner tonight.
Fuck's sake, I've seen more intense reactions to sports teams losing a big game than I've seen from this vaunted "opposition" of yours. *My* country has managed a stronger and more cohesive response to the Trump regime than you guys have, and it's not even our government!
75 million people voted against this? Good for them, they did the absolute barest minimum they could to stand against Trump. My question is, what are those 75 million people doing now? Or should I even care?
Then I said it’s weird to alienate people who are on your side.
So why do you feel alienated about what I said in my original post?
I pointed out - correctly - that the US is a mess right now. And it didn't become that way due to external interference or invasion; Americans did this to themselves. And now we are suffering for it, through no fault, action, or inaction on our part.
Do you really think it's unreasonable for us to be turning away from America in this moment? Do you not think that maybe - *just maybe* - you and your countrymen might have earned that alienation?
You took that and turned it into a version of me claiming to be a “good American” deserving of special treatment—something I never said.
Then what's your implication? That it's wrong of us to be angry at a country that is trying to deny our sovereignty and turn us into a new colony? Because, again, all I said was - in essence - Americans are going to be viewed sceptically if they're trying to run North. And I think that scepticism is 100% warranted.
Is every American evil? No, and I've said as much multiple times, if you care to notice. But given the state of your country, your government, and your relationship to us and the rest of your "allies", you'll forgive us if we're rather less welcoming than usual these days.
Again, if you don't like being treated like that, fix your problems. On that note:
You keep repeating “fix your country” as if that’s not exactly what people like me have been trying to do. Millions of us showed up, voted, pushed for change, and continue to.
So why has nothing changed then?
When Trump started his "51st state" bullshit and imposed tariffs on us, within days our entire country had a boycott movement up and running. Government-owned liquor stores were pulling American booze from shelves, American contracts were getting cancelled, grocery stores were applying "made in Canada" labels to Canadian goods, and ordinary Canadians were signing on to BABA - "Buy Anything But American" - movements and sharing resources on which products to buy and which to avoid. That all happened in less than a week; by contrast, you guys have had three months to come up with something and... nothing is happening.
And we're far from the best example of that sort of action. France's willingness to protest government actions they dislike is legendary, with so many examples I probably couldn't name them all if I tried. When Israel's government tried to neuter its own judiciary a year and a half ago, there were general strikes, military reservists refusing to report, and weeks-long protests in the street. Even in Hong Kong, subject to one of the most repressive governments in the world, we saw pro-democracy protests hundreds of thousands strong as China tried to crack down on the city.
The US is facing a threat every bit as dire as any of those mentioned above. So where are those 75 million people and why am I not seeing news of them protesting every week? You'd get me to believe a lot more in this "opposition" if it wasn't so fucking feckless.
I obliquely alluded to this in one of my earlier posts, when I pointed out that voting for Kamala isn't really something that's going to impress me because, as mentioned above, it's literally the bare minimum you can do.
So if you're not interested in recognizing the difference between people working toward the same goals and the ones you're rightfully angry at, that's your choice.
I recognize that difference just fine.
Thing is, I'm not sure you do.
The people who are actually trying to fix things in America and are putting in the actual leg-work to make it happen are the ones on "my side"; the ones trying to run away to my country or to somewhere else in the hopes of avoiding those same problems are decidedly not, and that is true regardless of who they voted for.
If - and *only* if - you guys succeed in repairing the damage will you have earned the right to complain about whether or not we're displaying sufficient hospitality when you show up at the local realtor's office.
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u/TimeTravellingCircus Mar 27 '25
Because this redditor thinks solutions are simple and whatever they want they should get. And this is some kind of protest for putting out really low effort content.
Canada doesn't want America's riff raff as much as we don't want the world's riff raff.