Flag-wavin' tatooed Canucks
Jun. 28th, 2012 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ltmurnauBit of journalistic flatulence for you, heading into the Canada Day weekend.
I will definitely say that there has been a sea-change concerning overt displays of patriotism since 9/11. The flags and ribbons came out quite promptly, and haven't gone away.
And the young man vomiting into (hopefully) his lap behind me on the bus on Canada Day is bound to be sporting the Red and White, just as two days before he was puking into his Expos cap.
To me, this is just more of the flattening-out and conscious imitation of United States popular culture that's been going on in Canada for a long time, but which seems to have accelerated in the last 10-12 years.
The present government's avowed policy of redefining the nation in terms of its chosen-by-them symbols (hockey, Tim Horton's, the military), rather than its institutions, just pushes us further donw the road.
***
Canadians more willing to display patriotism, survey finds
The Canadian Press Posted: Jun 28, 2012 1:17 PM ET Last Updated: Jun 28, 2012 2:06 PM ET
The provocative results of a new survey challenge the long-held notion that Canadians are reluctant to be as outwardly patriotic as their brash American neighbours.
The Ipsos-Reid online survey of 1,100 people — conducted for the Historica-Dominion Institute in the days leading up to the Canada Day long weekend — suggest the Canadian sense of national pride is becoming an in-your-face swagger.
[snip]
But respondents from Saskatchewan and Manitoba seemed the most eager, as well as those under 55.
"We're talking about a country that traditionally was not very extroverted in a way that Americans or Brits are," said Jeremy Diamond, the institute's national director.
"We're breaking a mould here. We're breaking out of our conservative feelings that the flag should only be flown a certain way."
[snip]
The flag here, there and underwear
This helps explain why 74 per cent of those surveyed agreed that displaying the flag in any way possible is appropriate, including on their underwear (61 per cent) or on a garage (86 per cent).
"That just shows the strength of it as part of our identity," says Morrison. "I'm not surprised about that. I've already got a couple of friends who have (maple leaf tattoos)."
On the street, it wasn't hard to find people to sing the praises of the maple leaf.
"It's probably the thing that means the most to us as Maritimers," says Craig McCluskey, a young man from New Brunswick who recently moved to Halifax to join the military reserves.
Still, McCluskey says he's not sure about flagging underwear.
"It's probably isn't the best thing for it. (But) as long as it's displayed properly it shouldn't be an issue."
As if to drive home the idea that Canadians are feeling more patriotic, the poll revealed that almost eight in 10 agreed that Canadians should put more effort into displaying their national pride.
Diamond says he expects to see many of Canada's athletes sporting maple leaf tattoos during the London Olympics.
"And we love it," he says. "It's an opportunity for us to be excited about it and not be ashamed at all."
[more snip]
***
Back when I used to do more question memes, I wrote this in 2008 - it still encapsulates my feelings:
***
From the altfriday5:
1. What does "patriotic" mean to you?
The best test of a patriot is and should be their deeds, not their words or symbols. A patriot is someone who contributes to their country, knows about it, and does their best to reinforce its virtues and fix its vices.
[edit: someone who responded to this elsewhere distinguished between nationalism ("my country right or wrong", "love it or leave it", booga-booga-booga) and patriotism, much as I've described it above. The two terms do get run together, and I should have done the same.]
2. Do you consider yourself patriotic? Why or why not?
I consider myself patriotic; I think I always have been though I became more so after I lived overseas for a couple of years, in situations where I talked much more about my country and how things were done here.
I pay taxes, I give to local charities, I stay as informed as I can, I vote every chance I get, I have served voluntarily in the armed forces of my country, and I am proud to be a public servant who can help fellow citizens. But I don't fly flags (or even sew them to my backpack), wear a lapel pin, sing "O Canada" drunk on my lawn on July 1, or talk about it much.
I think Canada has given me a lot, and I think I've given back. I know I am lucky to have been born here, yet I know my country is not perfect. Sometimes I'm ashamed of the stupid things my countrymen and government do and say and I know I should do more to help fix what's wrong.
Does all this make me somehow better than you? Maybe not, but I'd say I have done more, and am more aware, than some. And less than others.
3. When you encounter people from your own country who are vocally patriotic, how do you feel/react?
I'm generally not comfortable around people who are consistently and loudly nationalistic, which I think is what Der Quizmaster is getting at here, since it seems to me to portray insecurity in one's identity.
I've noticed a huge increase in the number of Canadian flags flying, at all times of the year but especially on Canada Day. It seems to be a post-9/11 thing. I think it's rather silly to see someone flying a Canadian flag from their car, as if that proved anything on the streets of Victoria. When I see one, I want to knock on their window and say, "Hey, are you a Canadian? Me too!"
Canada Day used to be a lot less of a drunken party-day, back when it was "Dominion Day"; people went to picnics or friends' barbecues and if they got smashed it was in the backyard.
4. How about when you encounter people from other countries who are vocally patriotic?
It's their business, especially if I happen to be in their country, but I feel vaguely uncomfortable, just as I do at home. See above.
5. Do you change how you communicate your own patriotism or lack thereof depending on where in the world you are?
Obviously, when I am outside of Canada the topic of nationality, and the rather minor and constructed differences between peoples, arises more often and I talk more about Canada and being Canadian. But I don't go out of my way to talk about it, or to advertise that I'm Canadian (more often it's just to point out, of necessity, that I'm not an American!).
***
I will definitely say that there has been a sea-change concerning overt displays of patriotism since 9/11. The flags and ribbons came out quite promptly, and haven't gone away.
And the young man vomiting into (hopefully) his lap behind me on the bus on Canada Day is bound to be sporting the Red and White, just as two days before he was puking into his Expos cap.
To me, this is just more of the flattening-out and conscious imitation of United States popular culture that's been going on in Canada for a long time, but which seems to have accelerated in the last 10-12 years.
The present government's avowed policy of redefining the nation in terms of its chosen-by-them symbols (hockey, Tim Horton's, the military), rather than its institutions, just pushes us further donw the road.
***
Canadians more willing to display patriotism, survey finds
The Canadian Press Posted: Jun 28, 2012 1:17 PM ET Last Updated: Jun 28, 2012 2:06 PM ET
The provocative results of a new survey challenge the long-held notion that Canadians are reluctant to be as outwardly patriotic as their brash American neighbours.
The Ipsos-Reid online survey of 1,100 people — conducted for the Historica-Dominion Institute in the days leading up to the Canada Day long weekend — suggest the Canadian sense of national pride is becoming an in-your-face swagger.
[snip]
But respondents from Saskatchewan and Manitoba seemed the most eager, as well as those under 55.
"We're talking about a country that traditionally was not very extroverted in a way that Americans or Brits are," said Jeremy Diamond, the institute's national director.
"We're breaking a mould here. We're breaking out of our conservative feelings that the flag should only be flown a certain way."
[snip]
The flag here, there and underwear
This helps explain why 74 per cent of those surveyed agreed that displaying the flag in any way possible is appropriate, including on their underwear (61 per cent) or on a garage (86 per cent).
"That just shows the strength of it as part of our identity," says Morrison. "I'm not surprised about that. I've already got a couple of friends who have (maple leaf tattoos)."
On the street, it wasn't hard to find people to sing the praises of the maple leaf.
"It's probably the thing that means the most to us as Maritimers," says Craig McCluskey, a young man from New Brunswick who recently moved to Halifax to join the military reserves.
Still, McCluskey says he's not sure about flagging underwear.
"It's probably isn't the best thing for it. (But) as long as it's displayed properly it shouldn't be an issue."
As if to drive home the idea that Canadians are feeling more patriotic, the poll revealed that almost eight in 10 agreed that Canadians should put more effort into displaying their national pride.
Diamond says he expects to see many of Canada's athletes sporting maple leaf tattoos during the London Olympics.
"And we love it," he says. "It's an opportunity for us to be excited about it and not be ashamed at all."
[more snip]
***
Back when I used to do more question memes, I wrote this in 2008 - it still encapsulates my feelings:
***
From the altfriday5:
1. What does "patriotic" mean to you?
The best test of a patriot is and should be their deeds, not their words or symbols. A patriot is someone who contributes to their country, knows about it, and does their best to reinforce its virtues and fix its vices.
[edit: someone who responded to this elsewhere distinguished between nationalism ("my country right or wrong", "love it or leave it", booga-booga-booga) and patriotism, much as I've described it above. The two terms do get run together, and I should have done the same.]
2. Do you consider yourself patriotic? Why or why not?
I consider myself patriotic; I think I always have been though I became more so after I lived overseas for a couple of years, in situations where I talked much more about my country and how things were done here.
I pay taxes, I give to local charities, I stay as informed as I can, I vote every chance I get, I have served voluntarily in the armed forces of my country, and I am proud to be a public servant who can help fellow citizens. But I don't fly flags (or even sew them to my backpack), wear a lapel pin, sing "O Canada" drunk on my lawn on July 1, or talk about it much.
I think Canada has given me a lot, and I think I've given back. I know I am lucky to have been born here, yet I know my country is not perfect. Sometimes I'm ashamed of the stupid things my countrymen and government do and say and I know I should do more to help fix what's wrong.
Does all this make me somehow better than you? Maybe not, but I'd say I have done more, and am more aware, than some. And less than others.
3. When you encounter people from your own country who are vocally patriotic, how do you feel/react?
I'm generally not comfortable around people who are consistently and loudly nationalistic, which I think is what Der Quizmaster is getting at here, since it seems to me to portray insecurity in one's identity.
I've noticed a huge increase in the number of Canadian flags flying, at all times of the year but especially on Canada Day. It seems to be a post-9/11 thing. I think it's rather silly to see someone flying a Canadian flag from their car, as if that proved anything on the streets of Victoria. When I see one, I want to knock on their window and say, "Hey, are you a Canadian? Me too!"
Canada Day used to be a lot less of a drunken party-day, back when it was "Dominion Day"; people went to picnics or friends' barbecues and if they got smashed it was in the backyard.
4. How about when you encounter people from other countries who are vocally patriotic?
It's their business, especially if I happen to be in their country, but I feel vaguely uncomfortable, just as I do at home. See above.
5. Do you change how you communicate your own patriotism or lack thereof depending on where in the world you are?
Obviously, when I am outside of Canada the topic of nationality, and the rather minor and constructed differences between peoples, arises more often and I talk more about Canada and being Canadian. But I don't go out of my way to talk about it, or to advertise that I'm Canadian (more often it's just to point out, of necessity, that I'm not an American!).
***
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no subject
Date: 2012-06-28 07:28 pm (UTC)I thought it was interesting in part because there seems to be a deep-rooted (and understandable) distaste for nationalistic fervor in contemporary Germany (at least, that is, an ostentatious display of it). But also because I think it makes sense that an immigrant would be particularly proud of his adopted homeland.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-28 07:30 pm (UTC)Canadian nationalism disturbs me because it does seem to be aping American exceptionalism, aggressively pursuing wars, and silencing dissent. I feel like there are a lot of people who wouldn't shrug much if we just replaced universal healthcare with little red-and-white flags.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-28 09:20 pm (UTC)Must be all that house-fixy-uppy stuff you've been up to!
The map is not the territory.
A flag is not a country.
Civic pride: perhaps the city-state is our most natural state of political being.