[A-List] The national question

["Sabri Oncu" <soncu@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bob:

> Now, I am not suggesting that this anecdotal evidence 
> means that Canada is not an Imperialist country; it is.
> And it is self-evident that we are a settler state.

Well! 

I am not a Canadian but I call Canada my second home. I had lived there
for about seven years and as far as I was able to see when I was there,
Canada is not an Imperialist country. A colonizer of the sort Melvin
mentioned maybe, but that is mostly all. Of course there is racism,
sexism and oppression of indigenous peoples/nations in Canada too but
most of the Canadians on the street, at least most of the ones I met in
Edmonton, as well as some of those I met up North in Copper Mine, were
aware of the problems. 

Then again, my sample set was not that large: mostly those graduate
students who went to the 9th Street Café late at night.

In my view, Canada is just a poor little but relatively wealthy fellow
sandwiched between the US and the Queen, as she appears on your Canadian
dollars. 

At least, this is how I felt when I was there anyway: lack of
self-confidence and feelings of inferiority as well as anger toward the
Brits and the US-ians and the Europeans; more or less how we, the
peoples of Turkey, feel toward the Europeans, I would say. 

Does the Queen still appear on your bills in these days, by the way?

Sabri