Canada is, for all intents and purposes the man’s man of countries. Surely it makes sense with all the natural resources this vast country has, that there would be a large market for the services of the blue collar, manual labour worker. In fact, it seems that entire Canadian provinces exist solely as a home for blue collar workers and their families.
Now before you get all riled up about this and accuse me of being classist or some other such silly thing, let me just put this straight right here and now: I don’t have a problem with working class people. I think that a lot of them do very important jobs that keep society functioning on many different levels. What I do have a problem with however, is the blue collar mentality.
Uhhh...why?
Should you not understand exactly what it is that I mean by the blue collar mentality, allow me to explain. As I’ve previously mentioned, there is a great deal of industrial/ manual labour done in Canada. These jobs are predominantly done by men and radiate a sub genre of a man’s man way of thinking. Furthermore, given the small population of Canada and the close proximity everywhere of rural areas, it’s easy to see that the majority of Canadians don’t live in large, cosmopolitan, urban environments. The end result of a melding of the man’s man sub-genre and the rural way of life inevitably equals the blue collar mentality. What’s particularly distinct about Canada in this respect is that even in the handful of moderately populated cities that Canada has, the blue collar mentality still exists and thrives. That is, this way of life/thinking does not end when you leave Canadian rural environments. It is entirely, 100% prevalent throughout the entire country.
In fact, I’d even go as far as to say that the blue collar mentality is by far the single most common, unifying identity that Canadians have. Canadian males are particularly consumed with living up to some nationwide established condition of what it means to be a man. Conservative, uptight, uncultured, parochial – these are words that best describe the blue collar mentality. It’s what fuels Canadian men toward maintaining that aggressive and unfriendly vibe toward one another in public settings. This may be hard for some people to understand when I talk about something as seemingly vague as a “vibe”, but it’s there. Take for example, Asia. Walk the streets of any Asian city and what you won’t find are men looking to consistently prove that they are the top dog, that they are not to be fucked with. Walk through Tokyo – one of the biggest cities in the world, with a population greater than Canada’s entire population, and bump into another male. Problem? No, not in the least. Walk through Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa, etc and bump into another male. Problem? It’s extremely possible, yes.
Incase you can't read what it says on Canada, allow me: Hockey, Beer and Peace. Sigh...
It seems to me that the majority of men in Canada can quite effortlessly explain to you how a truck’s engine works or where the best places are to go fishing or drive an ATV around all day, but talk to them about art or travel or anything beyond the blue collar frame of reference and they’ll most likely think you’re “weird” or even a little bit fruity. Naturally when I talk about Canadian men this way, I’m not referring to everyone. I mean, there are gays and men who do have a clue about all the aforementioned things. It’s just that what I’m getting at here is that as a whole, the Canadian population is not very progressive, cosmopolitan or culturally aware. If you don’t agree, then be honest with yourself and compare the average male in Canada to the average male in Western Europe or Asia. There’s a whole lot of people in a whole lot of landmass who will quickly prove me correct on this one.
As a matter of fact, any nation that is as consumed by such a stubborn, troglodytic mentality as Canada is can’t help but be completely lacking in the progressive arena. And any nation that lacks in progressive action and mentality is not one that I care to reside in or to call my home.
Please help me out with a $1 donation!
Not Lovin' It, Leavin' It. 