They shoot Canadians, don't they?

[Witsec1]

What is up with Canadians and their aggressive attempts to make small talk?

Personally I am glad to live in Amurrika where we know how to deal with these hoodlums. Why only yesterday the grocery checker aggressively asked me how my day was going. Thank the Lord Jesus Christ I was able to pull out my trusty sidearm and blow her away.

I recently visited Calgary from Michigan. As a police officer for 20 years, it feels strange not to carry my off-duty hand-gun. Many would say I have no need to carry one in Canada.

Yet the police cannot protect everyone all the time. A man should be al-lowed to protect himself if the need arises. The need arose in a theatre in Aurora, Colo., as well as a college campus in Canada.

Recently, while out for a walk in Nose Hill Park, in broad daylight on a paved trail, two young men approached my wife and me. The men stepped in front of us, then said in a very aggressive tone: "Been to the Stampede yet?"

Herald columnist Naomi Lakritz: Officer's comments reflect cultural divide between Canada, U.S.

We ignored them. The two moved closer, repeating: "Hey, you been to the Stampede yet?"

I quickly moved between these two and my wife, replying, "Gentle-men, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye." They looked bewildered, and we then walked past them.

I speculate they did not have good intentions when they approached in such an aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ they did not pull a weapon of some sort, but rather concluded it was in their best interest to leave us alone.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Nose+Hill+ ... z234QmmxzK

[Guest Anonymous]

Am I al-lowed to enjoy the gratui-tous hyphen-ation?

[Deleted03]

lol I've never been to Calgary and don't know personally any English speaking Canadian, but usually if you're just answering no thanks and go your own way, you don't need to make a fuss and hoped you have a gun.

And very ageist of me, but I doubt that someone having a gun in Dawson college in Montréal would have helped. Students are for the most part under 21 there, and at the time I took the bus with some girls that were just there and she seemed so frightened and troubled, that I doubt anyone would have been able to pull a gun and end this. But like we also mentioned, thank Goddess they did not because unless you are specifically trained for that and conditions are right, no one can pull it off.

[MissA]

Boy, Michigan must be an incredibly peaceful place to live if their cops are that terrified by the approach of ticket scalpers in public and in daylight.

I always wonder if people who are obsessively into firearms really do spend their lives in the grip of continuous fear of attack. Sometimes it seems like it.

[kpmom]

I'm assuming the article was written tongue in cheek?

[singsingsing]

This guy must be trolling. The whole thing reads like a satire, and "thank the Lord Jesus Christ" just put it completely over the top.

[Hane]

I always wonder if people who are obsessively into firearms really do spend their lives in the grip of continuous fear of attack. Sometimes it seems like it.

Cf. the late Ex-Mr.-Hane #1. The worse his bipolar disorder got, the more obsessed and paranoid he got.

[browngrl]

I'm assuming the article was written tongue in cheek?

Sadly no. Here's a link (not broken) to the story in the Toronto Star Newspaper: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/arti ... edia-storm

This guy sounds more than a lit-tle par-a-noid (hell if he can randomly hyphenate - so can I).

[Witsec1]

This guy must be trolling. The whole thing reads like a satire, and "thank the Lord Jesus Christ" just put it completely over the top.

No, the Calgary paper confirmed that he's a real person. He also wrote a letter to the Kalamazoo paper in 2011 to protest Obama inviting the rapper Common to the White House:

As Christians, we are called to pray for those in authority over us. I ask you to exercise this command of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give our President wisdom, knowledge and the conviction to live a life of righteousness.

ETA link: http://www.mlive.com/opinion/kalamazoo/ ... _offi.html

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Cf. the late Ex-Mr.-Hane #1. The worse his bipolar disorder got, the more obsessed and paranoid he got.

Thankfully I've only run into "gun nuts" at work and my local letters to the editor, but absolutely the ones that creep me the hell out are the people who seem to be actually DREAMING of some situation where a random "Other" guy breaks into their house and goes after their family so that they will have the CHANCE to "blow the perp away" and save the day. For me that's what makes the "gun nut."

And I say that as someone who is okay with the idea of owning guns and actually has some in the house. (We take our gun camping, mainly in case of wildlife really - never had to use it yet, hopefully we never will have to.)

[singsingsing]

I never want to believe that people like this actually exist. :shock:

[mirele]

Thankfully I've only run into "gun nuts" at work and my local letters to the editor, but absolutely the ones that creep me the hell out are the people who seem to be actually DREAMING of some situation where a random "Other" guy breaks into their house and goes after their family so that they will have the CHANCE to "blow the perp away" and save the day. For me that's what makes the "gun nut."

And I say that as someone who is okay with the idea of owning guns and actually has some in the house. (We take our gun camping, mainly in case of wildlife really - never had to use it yet, hopefully we never will have to.)

I'm thankful I work for an employer (one of those evil too big to fail banks) which bans guns at work. You know, for obvious reasons. I'm sure someone has whined about not being able to pack heat in the cube farms of the back office technical support teams, but I've not heard it. It's simply not an issue.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I'm thankful I work for an employer (one of those evil too big to fail banks) which bans guns at work. You know, for obvious reasons. I'm sure someone has whined about not being able to pack heat in the cube farms of the back office technical support teams, but I've not heard it. It's simply not an issue.

Oh, my coworkers can't pack heat at work (thank heavens) and don't really complain about wanting to, per se (again, thank heavens). It's just particular type of almost pornographic discussion about these elaborately daydreamed up scenarios where they save the day with guns that happen whenever the topic of gun control comes up in conversation for any reason, that are just creeeeeepy to me.

I mean... the ardor with which they discuss it makes me think they're the last people on earth I'd like to see armed, they sound like they couldn't avoid almost picking a fight (kinda like this guy in the news story - what, now everyone talking to you is "agressive"? Potentially needing to be shot? I just don't even...)

[MissBeaufort]

What is up with Canadians and their aggressive attempts to make small talk?

Personally I am glad to live in Amurrika where we know how to deal with these hoodlums. Why only yesterday the grocery checker aggressively asked me how my day was going. Thank the Lord Jesus Christ I was able to pull out my trusty sidearm and blow her away.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Nose+Hill+ ... z234QmmxzK

As a Canadian living in Calgary with a mother that loves to talk to strangers, I'm grateful that this man is not allowed to carry a gun around while visiting. :? And seriously, what is up with the hyphens every-where.

[Hane]

Re what gardenvarietycitizen said above: My ex, during a bad episode, considered aloud "committing 'suicide-by-cop'"--fortunately, his third ex-wife was there at the time and called the cops, who immediately came and removed his entire extensive and scary arsenal from his apartment. It was in a complex where hundreds of people lived.

[CanadianHippie]

Be-ware the Canadians. That small talk is their way of lulling you in-to a false sense of secur-ity.

[2xx1xy1JD]

If he loves his guns so much, he's welcoming to stay in the US. We don't really want him back here.

I'm laughing, because unlike Toronto, people in Calgary will actually talk to strangers. It's part of the charm.

[SisiL78]

What's "the stampede"

The world should be thankful I don't have a gun. Zero hand-eye coordination and a short temper.

[PennySycamore]

What's "the stampede"

The world should be thankful I don't have a gun. Zero hand-eye coordination and a short temper.

The Calgary Stampede is a big and quite legendary rodeo held in well, Calgary. (I think I'm correct anyhow. Canadians?)

[CanadianHippie]

The Calgary Stampede is a big and quite legendary rodeo held in well, Calgary. (I think I'm correct anyhow. Canadians?)

Yup, with one of the stupidest ideas in the world of sports. Hitch a bunch of horses up to wagons and race them. Then they wonder why horses die and people get pissed off.

[mpheels]

It is my understanding that it would actually be very strange to walk around Calgary during the Stampede and not be approached by strangers asking if you've been yet. Source - Gawker comments, and you know they are never wrong.

[jjmennonite]

http://gawker.com/5932846/ Yes, check out the gawker article.

I live in Calgary, and we really do all ask each other 'Have you been to the Stampede yet?' during every day of Stampede. :roll:

[xDreamerx]

Well now, that is just rude. Way to embody the stereotype of rude Americans. If he'd answered them there's no doubt they would have given him advice or recommendations and the way I figure it, you can't beat local advice. They tend to tell you about the things that aren't well known to tourists.

I talk to people all of the time. My friend from England was visiting a few years back and she was kind of surprised when I passed strangers on the street and said hello, good morning, etc. to them. She waited until we'd gotten out of ear shot and whispered, "Did you know him?" "Never laid eyes on him in my life." "Then why did you speak to him?" "Well it would've been rude not to.". Sometimes if I'm really not sure or in a bad mood I'll dial it down to head nod or a smile but that's about it.

One time at the dentist office, I was waiting for my parent to come and get me and a perfect stranger came over and started making conversation with me. Within 10 minutes she had told me of her children and their various tooth related ailments and other random snipits about her life. I wasn't particularly enthralled by this encounter, but I was raised right so I pretended to be. I figured she was probably just lonely. My dad arrived and was taking care of the insurance details and the lady offered to walk me outside. It was winter so I figured she was trying to ensure I didn't have one of those slip and fall accents Sam Berstein is always on about. I told her I would be alright but she insisted. So I accepted. Eventually we leave and my dad asks me who she was. "Not a clue" "Well that was nice of her." "Yeah a little clingy but what could I do right? She was just being nice."

See that is how you deal with strangers unsolicited conversations, you just passively and pleasantly accept because that's what we do. If you absolutely have to you make an exit by apologizing and making it look like your fault.

[Burris]

I live about three hours from Calgary. There are a few baddies around – including a guy who killed and dumped prostitutes at the outskirts of town. There were at least half a dozen women over the course of ten years found in the spring thaw. It was during that time when I worked as a desk clerk at the seedy hotel where a lot of the victims were known to hang out from time to time. There was a rumor going around that the killer was a police officer, so none of the other women would talk to anyone with a badge – be they local police or the RCMP (our national police). No one was ever caught. In fact, despite the similarities in the murders, it was never ruled to be the work of one person at all.

We've also had gang activity - stabbings and shootings, usually between people who know each other.

So the cities aren't entirely safe, but even the worst areas are usually safe enough – especially by day and for people without overt connections to the area drug trade.

Then as now, I slept near a hunting knife (in part because I lived at the hotel where I worked, while I attended uni). I've never so much as had to put my hand on the hilt while out – and that included one night when I was approached by a group of guys who tried to frighten me into giving them a pack of cigarettes. I don't smoke or I would have just handed over the cigarettes. I also didn't have money.

I walked away unscathed in part because I wasn't a complete asshole about the situation and in part because I didn't spend the entire confrontation twitching to grab a gun. If you pull a weapon, it means you're committed to using it. Was that police officer of 20 years really committed to gunning down a pair of silly kids who were likely trying to sell their tickets to the Stampede?

Thank the *~* Lord Jesus Chriiiiiist ~*~ that guy is an American. I think I can speak for most Canadians when I say we really don't want his kind here.

(SIDENOTE: Most of the people we know own long guns. [Actually, we do as well, but those are locked up in a gun cabinet at my father-in-law's place.] These are regulated, but the regulations aren't overly burdensome. The extremely unpopular long gun registry was scrapped last year, finally. We're permitted rifles and shotguns for hunting and, in remote areas, for protection from bears. The idea Canadians don't own guns simply isn't true.)

[terranova]

Well now, that is just rude. Way to embody the stereotype of rude Americans. If he'd answered them there's no doubt they would have given him advice or recommendations and the way I figure it, you can't beat local advice. They tend to tell you about the things that aren't well known to tourists.

I talk to people all of the time. My friend from England was visiting a few years back and she was kind of surprised when I passed strangers on the street and said hello, good morning, etc. to them. She waited until we'd gotten out of ear shot and whispered, "Did you know him?" "Never laid eyes on him in my life." "Then why did you speak to him?" "Well it would've been rude not to.". Sometimes if I'm really not sure or in a bad mood I'll dial it down to head nod or a smile but that's about it.

One time at the dentist office, I was waiting for my parent to come and get me and a perfect stranger came over and started making conversation with me. Within 10 minutes she had told me of her children and their various tooth related ailments and other random snipits about her life. I wasn't particularly enthralled by this encounter, but I was raised right so I pretended to be. I figured she was probably just lonely. My dad arrived and was taking care of the insurance details and the lady offered to walk me outside. It was winter so I figured she was trying to ensure I didn't have one of those slip and fall accents Sam Berstein is always on about. I told her I would be alright but she insisted. So I accepted. Eventually we leave and my dad asks me who she was. "Not a clue" "Well that was nice of her." "Yeah a little clingy but what could I do right? She was just being nice."

See that is how you deal with strangers unsolicited conversations, you just passively and pleasantly accept because that's what we do. If you absolutely have to you make an exit by apologizing and making it look like your fault.

Well duuuh, you should have shot her. :roll: