This is why Canadians think Americans are stupid.

because you know, if the Canadians bashed Americans who lost their lives in a way, there wouldn't be ANY backlash at all. Oh no. Its the exact same thing as 'If I fell down my stairs and someone makes fun of me they're pricks, but if it happens to someone else its funny'. The difference is, we probably wouldn't mock you for something like this. This is just an added stab in the back, because, unless I've been horrendously wrong, its the Americans that spearheaded the decision to invade Afghanistan (don't get me wrong, the reason for being in Afghanistan is a valid one) and now we are being bashed for HELPING them, while we're doing a lot over there.

Even if its at 3am, they are still responsible for the shit that goes on their station regardless of if anyone's actually watching it. And as a comparison, its like a security person sleeping during the job at 4am. Odds are nothing will happen, but the one time something happens they're fucked.

 

This sounds like the great "Northern California/Southern California rivalry" that supposedly exists, but I never knew about until I moved to Northern California. Why? Because Southern California DOESN'T CARE that Northern California hates it.

It's pretty clear most of the US doesn't know or give a shit what other countries say about it. And if we do, we figure you're hating 'cuz you're jealous.

So, uh, no, we wouldn't really have much backlash against Canada if the tables were turned. We probably wouldn't ever hear about it. Hell, I bet the average American doesn't even know your Prime Minister's name, much less what's on your TV.

Love it or hate it, it's the truth.

 

I would like to point out that we don't have to look to other countries in order to see people making a big deal about soldier deaths. I bring your attention to The Westboro Baptist Church.

http://www.godhatesfags.com/

So when you ask if we honestly care what other countries say about our soldiers, the answer is no, we have people within our own country to are far worse than some moronic comedians on FOX news.

 

I don't know who this guy is, but I came across this article while trying to see if this "news" was even a blip on any major U.S. news sources' radar (answer: no, though the Canadian press is freaking out about it) and he's smart:

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/...aying-attention-to-columns-like-this-one.aspx

"Silly over-reaction" Canada. Silly.

 

If the U.S. wasn't so fucking full of themselves, they would see why this country is so pissed off over this. And no...it's not just the fucking show or the cocks that were on it...What they said is almost a general opinion of much of the American Population. Not to mention, despite being Fox News, it is a news source. Fox is popular, and are a very influential studio. Yes, they get a lot of criticism for their stories or lack of research on anything...But this is different. This isn't just a misinformed opinion on something...This was meant to be offencive.

What would happen if American's were on the other side of this? What if we...Or another country started making fun of your brave Service Men? What if we insulted your entire military, and mocked the people who die for your country. You probably wouldn't be too happy. What if you *had* people you know over in the Middle East right now? What if they died, and I fucking laughed at you for "feeling sad" over it. You probably wouldn't be too fucking happy would you?

The American's here saying "Rofl, calm down Canada, you're "overreacting" " goes and proves this point: Your country is the most self-centred, asinine, ignorant nation on the face of this planet. Have some fucking empathy, and think of a situation from the other point of view other than your own. There is a big difference saying "Canada's military is just pickup trucks and pitchforks", and saying "Your countries military is worthless". If that was the case, you'd be speaking fucking German right now.

Pull your fucking heads out of your ass and see how we see it. I have friends and family in Afghanistan. I follow that part of the war very closely and I know how it's going and how it's actually a success compared to that Iraq clusterfuck. But the difference is I actually have respect for your service men, and I thank them for the job they selflessly do. You American's should do the same for ours.

 

Fox news...popular...yea with the evangelical nut jobs and the same group of people who supported Bush in his last days of office. Basically, the people that do not matter to any American with any form of real intelligence.

Quite simply, we would blow them up till they apologized, that's just how we roll.

Seriously man, you are getting way to riled up over this shit. Like shoji posted earlier, if it wasn't for the Canadians pointing this out to us, the majority of Americans wouldn't have even known this was said at all. Those people are such a small minority that they don't even represent a percentage of the United States. Just brush it off and ignore it, we are forced to do the same with WBBC.

 

To be fair, I'm pretty sure the Americans get this kind of press and much worse from places like Iran. Nobody really pays attention to anything going on there, though.

I did actually hear of this clip before the rest of the media got a hold of it - was linked on some bulletin board mostly frequented by rednecks (honestly, I don't know why I still bother with it, there are two people there with a brain :/). Most of them apparently seemed to find it funny, although it's pretty hard to see how unless you're sadly misinformed. (Wait... rednecks.)

So in a way I'm kind of glad the guy who put this on air had to eat his words, but I do think it should have ended there. I'm not Canadian (temporary resident), but it didn't really seem offensive to me because it just sounds horribly ignorant and that's about it. I do consider the obsession some of these Americans have with poking fun at Canada a little puerile considering which is actually the better place to live, though.

 

a) I think the bigger issue is that it wasn't just a personal conversation between friends. It was between well-known people recorded and aired on national television. People like that should know better - it carries more weight and makes a lot more people look stupid.

b) I don't think it should necessarily be about USA vs. Canada. It should be about (the lack of) respect. Whether it's USA vs. Canada or Greenland vs. Sweden, I don't think people should say what they did.

c) I'm tired of people saying, "it's worse elsewhere" or "that's just the way it is - deal with it." You realize that if that was the accepted answer to everything, we'd still be living as primitive cavemen with equally undeveloped moral and social ideals? It's a big deal regardless of who is involved and where it's happening.

d) I think nationalism and patriotism is mostly fucking stupid. We're all a part of this world, and self-centeredness should not be accepted just because you were squeezed out of your mom's vagina in a specific geographical boundary.

 

there's a few things that i've read in this thread that i agree with and some that i disagree with.

1. while I disagree with what the program stated, i still believe that there is overreaction to it. I know people have said "well if it was you somebody was saying it about you'd overreact too." but Americans get this kind of treatment all the time. Half the time it's from other americans.

2. I get sick of the "fox is only for right wing nut jobs" bullshit. So what's better? CNN well that's just for the left wing people that want to live completely off welfare... that's a broad stereotype that's bullshit. Fox does lean right just like cnn and 90% of the other media outlets lean left. there is always going to be a station that skews the facts the way that fits their politics better. boohoo STFU

3. for people to be saying that most americans feel this way is ridiculuous. stop stereotyping what one station or program says as what america really feels. that's ignorant and kind of arrogant as well.

 

Close this thread now plz???

I will say first hand. I spent a year training with the guys that are over there now. A friend of mine was killed 2 weeks ago. I was there for the repatriation and funeral. One of the hardest things I have had to deal with. Next to my father dying before I was supposed to deploy.

This guy is a tool for saying what he did. I ma not over reacting either. The day 4 of our own are coming back in caskets should have been enough of a clue to shut your mouth about a topic like this. Some sort of discretion is required by all. Dude should quit. I would never joke about the american military in that manner. I don't know anyone that has. Everyone I have ever trained with has great respect for our fellow servicemen from the south. When I spent time in texas the training they provided us was top notch, as was the knowledge passed on.

 

http://www.canada.com/news/story.html?id=1418836
OTTAWA — As Jim Davis absorbed Monday's televised images of Canada's four latest war dead coming home, he learned that a Fox News television host had apologized for mocking Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

"I think it's very nice and all that they did apologize. It just goes to show you that they were just a bit reckless, I guess," said Davis, whose 28-year-old son Paul, a corporal, was killed in a March 2006 vehicle rollover in Afghanistan.

"It's a very solemn moment," Davis said from his Bridgewater, N.S., home as he watched the four Maple Leaf-draped coffins descend to the tarmac of Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ont. "When you look at the seriousness of that moment, and you look at the foolishness of those comedians, well, what a difference."

Before Monday, few on this continent had heard of a 3 a.m. Fox television program called Red Eye. Last week, the show aired a segment that ridiculed the March 10 testimony before a Senate committee by Canada's army commander, Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, who said that by 2011 his troops would need a year to recover from the Afghan deployment because of the wear and tear on its equipment and personnel.

Canadians were outraged after the broadcast got a new lease on life Monday through the Internet. That unleashed a tirade of anti-American vitriol in cyberspace.

Canada's defence minister demanded — and got — an apology from the U.S. broadcaster, and his fellow Canadian politicians denounced the crassness of the coincidence on Parliament Hill.

Ripples were felt in Washington too.

"Both President (Barack) Obama and Secretary (Hillary) Clinton have expressed the U.S.'s gratitude for the commitment and sacrifice of the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan. Canada has been a steadfast and capable partner on the ground in Afghanistan since 2002, and we are grateful for its contributions toward achieving security in that country," the U.S. State Department said in a statement Monday that was issued in response to the Fox broadcast.

By mid-afternoon, Greg Gutfeld, host of the Fox segment, sent out an e-mailed statement apologizing and explaining that the March 17 segment, which originally aired before Friday's latest Canadian fatalities, had been misunderstood.

Gutfeld said the five-minute spot "was in no way an attempt to make light of troop efforts."

"However, I realize that my words may have been misunderstood. It was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women and families of the Canadian military, and for that I apologize. Red Eye is a satirical take on the news, in which all topics are addressed in a lighthearted, humorous and ridiculous manner."

Yet an earlier Twitter update from GregGutfeld read, "My apologies to the Canadian military, they probably could at least beat the Belgians."

Earlier, Dan Dugas, spokesman for Defence Minister Peter MacKay, had demanded an apology from "this so-called comedian" and his panel.

"These are despicable, hurtful and ignorant comments. No one is laughing and they owe Canada, and more importantly, the families of each one of our fallen heroes, an apology for their ill-informed mistakes," said Dugas.

MacKay, along with Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, attended the repatriation ceremony Monday at CFB Trenton, where the loved ones of Canada's four latest Afghanistan fatalities had gathered.

Canada has lost 116 soldiers and one diplomat in Afghanistan since 2002, including the four soldiers who died Friday in two separate bomb blasts in Kandahar province.

MacKay called for an apology in a brief interview with CTV News, saying, "it's crass, it's insensitive, it's in fact disgusting given the timing where Canada is just receiving back four fallen heroes."

MacKay said the Fox item represents "a very limited, uninformed view" that was not necessarily typical of all Americans.

In the segment, Gutfeld suggested the Forces would use the year to "do some yoga, paint some landscapes, and run on the beach."

Gutfeld said it is "the perfect time to invade this ridiculous country" because "they have no army."

Comedian Doug Benson, who was a part of the Red Eye panel, quickly paid the price for his disparaging remarks.

The Comic Strip at West Edmonton Mall cancelled his appearance after the club received threats in response to his comments.

"I didn't even know they were in the war," Benson said on the show. "I thought that's where you go if you don't want to fight."

Davis said he Googled the Fox item Monday morning when it began repeatedly airing in Canada. He wasn't able to watch it all, and initially said it wasn't worthy of a response.

"It was total ignorance, poor taste and wasn't funny at all," said Davis, who described the last week as "horrific" and a "roller-coaster" since the news of the four most recent Canadian military deaths reached him.

"I know it's been three years for me, but I know what the families have to look forward to in the next little while. And it's hard," Davis explained.

He had a message for the families of the four soldiers who met those coffins on Monday afternoon.

"We're all in this together. There will be moments when you want to reach out. And when you want to reach out to talk to another mom or dad or spouse — widow — do so. Just ask. . . . There is a program in place that can make that happen."

With file from Edmonton Journal


I call bullshit on their "apology"...

 

I'm fairly sure that its not 8 years... we invaded Iraq in 2003, not 2001.


The fact that Canada has helped us in our wars is a sign of the close relationship between the countries, and thus the reason that this is insulting. However, I believe that it shouldn't be taken as that big a deal given the drop in ratings over the past few years for fox news. I would say I would like to see Fox say they were sorry, but that would require me to unblock the channel.

 

Afghanistan, not Iraq.

 

And there was a reason for going there. I believe September 11 would be the reason we "foolishly started 8 years ago for no fucking reason" in Afghanistan... the terrorists responsible for the attack hiding in that country and the government not helping find them probably exceeds the requirement to call it a "fucking reason"
I'm not going to say we conducted our invasion correctly cause it wasn't done correctly, but that's not the dispute with your post. The US screws up enough in the execution and later decisions... doesn't need your help saying we screwed up more.

 

Haha wow.

 

I thought that clip was hilarious.

Are you telling me it wasn't meant to be comedy?

 

Leeessssliee.

 

Uh...Americans ARE stupid. Look who we've voted for as our last three presidents. Cigar, Cowboy, and Clueless

 

OMG, people. Put it in perspective.

Sure the guy was a tool for saying what he said. I'm not saying he wasn't. The point is that he's just a bad comedian on a cable news station on a show that airs at 3 am. It's not like one of our heads of state said it. It's not even like a comedian that most people have even heard of said it. HE'S NOT WORTH A NATIONAL SPAZ ATTACK!

There are many things of poor taste that are said and done in the name of comedy, by many people. Are you going to freak out and QQ over all of them?

The fact that anyone in Canada gives this guy enough credit to even care what he thinks and is freaking out thinking that this is what "Americans think" when the vast majority of Americans don't even know who this guy is or agree with him is that's sad here.

You really have to look at the scope of this issue. For example:

People could come to me and say, "Well Shoji, you're gay! And you know that when someone uses 'fag' as an insult on guild chat, you pretty much rip them a new one because you think it's not cool." True! and if someone was picking on Canada like this on my guild chat, I'd rip them a new one, too, and maybe even find them a new guild.

What I don't do is every time some comedy show at 3 a.m. anywhere in the world makes fun of gay people is freak the hell out and expect my government to go ask for an official apology. BTW, the population of Canada is ~10% of the U.S.'s population...so basically it's the same as the estimated gay population in the U.S. Think about how frequently you hear people pick on gays. Now think about how frequently you hear people pick on the Canadian military. Um...I hear the former a few times a day, every day. The latter? Pretty much never. I wouldn't worry too much about it, Canada. Seriously.