America Thinks the Rules Don’t Apply. Canada Has Had Enough.
They still expect our money, our help and our understanding while giving us threats, insults and excuses in return. Canadians are done pretending this is how a friend behaves.
So, am I a bad person for thinking the United States is on its own when it comes to its wildfires? I feel guilty even thinking that, but I’m also tired of watching Canada get treated like the helpful neighbour americans insult, then when their fires are blowing into Canada it’s ok by their standards.
In today’s video, I talked about the disrespect coming from some of their citizens, the complete lack of appreciation for Canadian tourists who have supported their economy for years, and the fact that wildfire smoke from Washington State and Montana is now drifting into Canada. Funny how smoke only becomes an international emergency when it crosses the border in the other direction.
Check out my video here if you haven’t seen it yet.
But first, let’s talk about the disrespect, because this comment here is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Exhibit A, courtesy of another idiot south of the border.
Now, I’m just going to make a few assumptions here. I’m guessing this person does not understand how trade works, does not understand how tourism tax revenue works, probably has not travelled much beyond his little county, and may own at least one red hat. I could be wrong, of course, but I’m just making an educated guess. Comments like this are not uncommon either. I get emails with the same kind of garbage in my inbox all the time, and usually I just give them the attention they deserve by pressing the delete button.
But the bigger issue is that this attitude represents a large portion of the United States that has never really valued Canadians or other international tourists supporting their country. When foreign visitors go to Disneyland, they are helping pay Disney employees, supporting rental car companies, filling hotel rooms and contributing to local tax revenue. They are not just showing up, taking a few photos and disappearing.
We were spending money and supporting jobs.
Take me, for example, going to Las Vegas for a golf trip.
The second we stepped out of Harry Reid Airport, we were already spending money at the rental car agency. Then it was straight to In N Out Burger to get some grub, then the hotel, then CVS for water, snacks and whatever else we needed. After that, we were paying hundreds of dollars per round to play golf and buying beer along the way. In my case, the beer usually kept me company while I searched for my golf balls in the rough.
But the point of telling you about my Vegas routine is that we were spending money, and lots of it, in their country. Rental cars, restaurants, hotels, stores, golf courses, tips and taxes. So when I see someone saying Canada has done nothing for the United States, it really irks me. Apparently all that money we spent supporting their businesses and workers just came out of thin air for them. Bottom line we were not appreciated.
I’ve said this before, but the true colours of a lot of US citizens and government officials have come out. Even people I had known for years through conventions and seminars seemed to turn stupid overnight after Taco Tuesday won the election. It is the sheer ignorance, the complete lack of critical thinking and the willingness to believe whatever that orange sack of shit says that frustrates me, and I’m sure it frustrates a lot of people around the world too. Maybe if some of them thought for themselves once in a while, or asked a basic question before repeating nonsense, the world might be a slightly better place.
And this is where the tourism story connects to the wildfires, because it all comes back to the same problem. Ignorance.
The United States seems perfectly happy to take our money, accept our help and benefit from Canada whenever it suits them, but the second wildfire smoke crosses the border that they do not like, suddenly we are the problem and we’re ruining their summer bbq season. BUT, when THEIR smoke comes into our country, it’s ok by their books.
Spokane is going through major devastation right now, with more than 700 homes reportedly gone. It is the same kind of devastation we saw in Manitoba, and the same kind of devastation that is still happening in communities across Canada.
What really irked me about the news report I showed in my video is this: yes, it is a tragedy, and people have lost their homes and despite the US treating Canada like shit, I feel bad for the citizens who lost their homes. But why is American wildfire smoke somehow exempt from the same criticism they keep directing at Canada? Why are other states not pointing fingers at Oregon or Washington and accusing them of ruining their summer?
This is the hypocrisy we keep seeing everywhere. Tourism, politics, trade, tariffs, and even at the citizen level. The rules seem to change depending on which side of the border the problem starts on.
Canadian tourists spend billions supporting their economy, Canadian crews have helped during disasters, and our water bombers have shown up when they were needed. Yet somehow, when Canada needs a bit of understanding and compassion, all we seem to get back are complaints, threats and another lecture from people who apparently skipped the part in their education system about being a good neighbour.
And I think a lot of this comes back to American exceptionalism. Not every American thinks this way, obviously, so please don’t dogpile on me if you’re a US citizen that understand the issues with your country. But there is a loud part of their culture that seems to believe the rules are for everyone else. Their smoke crosses into Canada and we are expected to understand that wildfires happen. Our smoke crosses south and suddenly Canada needs to be punished, tariffed, and expected to rake our forest.
It is the same “rules for thee, but not for me” attitude we keep seeing with tourism, trade and politics. They want Canadian money, Canadian help and Canadian goodwill, but apparently respect is an optional add-on. Then, when Canadians stop showing up, they blame our economy or claim we are suddenly too broke to visit their beautiful gun-filled country. Sorry, but I do not want to sit inside an In-N-Out Burger wondering where the nearest exit is just in case somebody loses their mind over a cheeseburger and starts shooting.
Maybe if some of them spent less time chanting that America is the greatest country in the universe and more time asking why their neighbours are walking away, they might finally figure it out. But honestly, I have more faith in seeing pigs fly over the Peace Arch before that happens.
And this is the part I do not think a lot of Americans understand. The longer this exceptionalism keeps showing itself, and the more examples we see of “rules for thee, but not for me,” the more these incidents get added to my memory bank. The tourism comments, the threats, the smoke hypocrisy, the 51st state garbage, all of it stays in my memory.
Maybe they think Canadians will forget, calm down and eventually come back like nothing happened, or that we’ll eventually ‘behave’ again. Sorry but that is not how this works. Once trust is damaged enough, it does not just magically reset because Arizona offers a discount or somebody says Canadians are welcome with open arms.
Some things stick, and this entire period is going to stay in my mind for a very long time because I can be petty as fuck when it comes to this stuff.
GTL & Co-Host
If You’re Still Reading Up To This Point…
Guard The Leaf exists because of this community.
I don’t have any sponsors or corporate funding, and now I no longer have YouTube ad revenue. Just thousands of Canadians and friends around the world who believe our country and allies deserve an independent voice. That means I don’t answer to advertisers. I answer to you, the reader, and I can freely say what we’re all thinking. If you enjoy my work and want to help keep it independent, becoming a paid subscriber or supporting my Buy Me A Coffee page is the best way to support my work.
Thank you for helping prove that community will always beat corporate influence.
About the Author
A fourth-generation Canadian born and raised in Vancouver, now living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With no background in writing or content creation, GTL stepped well outside his comfort zone and started a YouTube channel to stand up for Canada and help make Canadian voices heard.
He also has two cats, a calico and a tortie. The calico regularly appears in his videos, although some viewers would argue that it’s actually her channel and GTL is merely the unpaid assistant.
The letter to Carney, and all of Canada, complaining about wildfire smoke contained a thinly veiled threat to our sovereignty. We should see that for exactly what it was. It was some loud-mouth politicians showing off to their base and to their boss in Washington. They found something that they could bully Canada for, without actually having to do something. Peformative politics.
The problem is, they misunderstand our resolve and resilience. They think we will collapse without them. Sure, we may have to take a little pain as we disengage our economy from them, but we take that. And so far, it seems our economy is doing better than theirs.
Don't like our smoke? Tough titties, boys. Remember all those years that your coal-fired pollution came north from the Ohio Valley, acidifying our lakes and killing our forests. Karma is a bitch.
It is completely understandable to feel this way. I know U.S. people who say they don't support trump and who seem to be intelligent yet they still insist that they have always protected Canada while Canada has done nothing for them. It just seems to be part of their culture. And I'm getting sick of it after many years of dismissing the arrogance. I have a long fuse but once it reaches the end, things are never the same again. That is how I feel about the U.S. now.