1 April 2018
The more I deal with Americans, the more I like Mexicans and the more I respect Canadians.
Admittedly, that is not a comprehensive comparison, and in fact is much skewed, as I’ve mostly and most recently dealt with them within the confines of the QuikkStopp™ deep in the heart of the u S of A. As a consequence I would be dealing with very few of the craven dullards who can’t be bothered to stir themselves from their native villages and brave the big world outside, but, to a certain extent, that also applies to most of my domestic clientele.
And, bearing in mind the evergreen caveat that usually only bookies profit from generalizations, I will still state that, based on courtesy, literacy, coherence of speech, demeanor, and over-all comportment, Americans as a class seem to be neither as nice as Mexicans nor as smart as Canadians.
Americans will walk straight across a freshly mopped floor and pretend to apologize for it. Mexicans will stop, pause, then pick out the least destructive path, retrace their steps, and NOT apologize for doing what they saw as necessary. Nor should they. I don’t get to lock the door and they don’t know my cleaning schedule. I do put up signs, and they seem to be attentive to them.
Americans have a hard time dividing by ten. Mexicans and Canadians breathe the metric system. Furthermore, when Canada’s cent became too expensive to produce, they ditched it. (Kind of a shame, as the Maple Sprig was and is one of North America’s most beautiful coins.) Rounding to the nearest five cents? Easier than algebra! Canadians don’t even blink while Americans would be soiling themselves. The Loonie and the Toonie circulate about the Great White North without the slightest fuss. Show an American a Brass Buck or Sweet Susie B and he says, “What’s that?” or “Looks like a quarter.” (Even though the nickel is closer in both diameter and weight to the quarter than is the little buck.)
Americans begin transactions with “Give me,” or “I want,” or “I need.” Mexicans and Canadians ASK for things, and they usually use the P word, too. Americans seem to be allergic to the P word; its very utterance can spread horror and revulsion across their faces.
For all I know, Mexicans are just as smart as Canadians. I probably suffer from a little Anglophone bias. Now if Americans could only speak English as well as most Mexican immigrants, they just might have a shot at second place!
Standard English Obfuscation:
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