Researchers have yet to analyze Canadian niceness empirically, but studies have found that Canadians, perhaps in an effort not to offend, use an overabundance of “hedge words”, such as “could be” and “not bad”. Then there is the most coveted of Canadian words: “sorry”. Canadians will apologize for just about anything just to be nice, even when there is nothing to apologize for.
A few hours ago I had a social media exchange with an old friend who seemed to have a fixation on Canadian niceness in the context of environmental matters pertaining to fossil fuels and, I suspect, unstated immigration practises too.
I'm not so sure that "nice" is an apt term to associate with Canadians as a whole. It might be to our detriment with negative connotations as we move further into the 21st century.
Certainly, it is no secret that the past decade has seen a strong resurgence of the far right across Europe and North America. To say that extremists have become emboldened would be an understatement; in fact, they are empowered and are literally being elected into power.
An online news source, The Guardian, points out that the international view of Canada tends to be that we are mostly untouched by this frightening trend. This is also how we see ourselves as a quasi-socialist paradise, with socialized medicine, anti-hate legislation, sensible gun laws and humanistic immigration regulations. But if the recent past has proven anything, it’s that beneath our progressive veneer is an insidious undercurrent of violence. Sadly, our news broadcasts and newspaper reports tend to paint a not-so-nice picture on a daily basis. I'm still shuddering over the news of violence in our Canadian nursing homes, to cite just the latest in a rash of current horror stories.
In April of last year, 25-year-old Alek Minassian deliberately drove a van onto a crowded Toronto sidewalk, killing 10 pedestrians, it is alleged. Shortly before the attack, Minassian apparently made a Facebook post declaring that the “incel rebellion” had begun. Immediately after the attack – while details about the alleged perpetrator were as yet unknown and there were still bodies on the ground – prominent white nationalist Faith Goldy was on the scene declaring it to be a “terrorist attack” by a “Middle Eastern” man.
Goldy is formerly of Rebel Media, a far right Canadian outlet with a special devotion to Islamophobia. Goldy and Rebel Media are representative of a growing far right scene in Canada, one that includes violently xenophobic groups such as La Meute and misogynistic MRA organizations such as Men’s Rights Edmonton and CAFE.
Just a few weeks after the Toronto van attack, the New York Times ran a profile on Canadian academic-cum-pop-philosopher Jordan Peterson. Peterson’s star has been on the rise ever since he opposed a bill meant to protect the rights of trans people. Peterson, in a gross misrepresentation of the bill which has since passed into law, said it was an attack on free speech because it would force him to use people’s preferred pronouns.
He was asked by the New York Times to comment on the van attack; his response was to declare that the suspect, Minassian, was “angry at God because women were rejecting him.” The “cure” for this, according to Peterson, is “enforced monogamy” – his further comments appeared to suggest he agrees with Ross Douthat that the “redistribution of sex” is the only way to placate violent, entitled young men.
At first glance, it might seem surprising that Peterson and Goldy come from a country that prides itself on diversity, tolerance and gee-golly-gosh niceness. But the truth is that the unrest we’re currently experiencing is as Canadian as maple syrup. See what I mean!
White Canadians have long grappled with the question of who, exactly, we are. At the time of the country’s confederation, in 1867, we viewed ourselves as a child of Mother Britain, a colonial outpost that aimed to be more British than the British. This still applies, to some extent – Canada is a member of the Commonwealth, the government uses the British parliamentary system and the Queen is still on the dollar notes. These days, though, we’re more used to being represented, both at home and abroad, as America’s foil, a photographic negative rather than an image in its own right.
On some level, this makes sense. America is a world superpower with an out sized reputation, and Canada has a bad case of little siblingitis. On another, more realistic level, it’s as if France could only ever describe its culture in terms of how very utterly not-Britain it is. Even our constitution seems like a polite middle finger to the US Declaration of Independence: where they champion life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; we speak of peace, order and good
government. If America is messy and loud, we are determined to be quiet and nice. And yet all too often our niceness isn’t much more than surface-deep.
In many ways, Canada is indeed a progressive country, and our legislation – like the trans rights bill that Peterson so despised – arguably shows a continued commitment to creating an equitable society. At the same time, the idea that we’re already a tolerant, liberal country is often a stumbling block for Canadians. We do not like the suggestion that we still have work to do – although you don’t have to look much further than our government’s treatment of indigenous people to understand that we have a long way to go before the reality of Canada catches up with our perception of it.
Because most Canadians already have a fixed idea of how good our country is, we tend to be sensitive to even the mildest criticism. If someone points out that we’ve said or done something bigoted, the reflexive response is “but I couldn’t possibly have, because I’m not a bigot; I’m not wrong, you’re wrong.” I have frequently alluded to this in writing about racism and human rights issues very close to home.
This cognitive dissonance between who we think we are and who we actually are is fertile ground for people such as Peterson, who provide quick answers in lieu of productive soul-searching. According to him, the real problem is “identity politics”, which are wielded by “social justice warriors” who want to destroy free speech.
The result of all this is the radicalization of a population of young, white, male Canadians. Some of these men are genuinely alarmed by the rise of so-called “liberal values”, but many of them will tell you that they believe in tolerance and equity; they’ll tell you that, in fact, these values are so abundant in our country that the tide has turned and their rights that are now being threatened. Some of these men will indulge in violent fantasies about how to restore the rights they imagine they’ve lost; sometimes, more often than we’d like to admit, that violence will spill over from fantasy to reality. And yet almost every single one of them will insist that they are, at their core, nice guys.
It is possible that Canada could someday become the diverse utopia we imagine it to be, but before that happens we will need to take a long, hard look at where we are now. If we don’t like what we see, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Meanwhile, let's not be so quick to toss the word "nice" into conversations about Canadian action on the political or moral fronts, well-intended or sarcastically. In the face of adversity, kindness requires strength and courage. Not vapid niceness.
Sorry, but that's only my view...Have a nice day everyone!
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