Jinger/Jeremy: Not as Interesting as Jingerbread

[feministxtian]

I would like all these self-righteous assholes to live in my head for one day. The panic attacks, the flashbacks, the endless review of every single thing I've fucked up over the last 53 years...there's a reason I'm on meds. My faith helps but my brain is way too fucked up to even THINK about going off meds. 

Oh and the drumpf supporters...yeah, you made a choice, a bad choice, so go fuck yourselves with a nice big Saguaro cactus. You claim to be "pro-life" yet are against universal health care or the ACA? Then you ain't pro-life. I stopped some asshole right in their tracks...do you want to give me the 6 grand a MONTH it takes to keep my husband alive? No? Then you're full of shit and your "Christianity" is a fucking lie. 

You don't like "vulgarity"? Well, your dear leader is more vulgar than any cuss word I could come up with. You LIKE him grabbing women's pussies? You want him to grab yours? What a fucking bunch of deplorables. Don't you DARE call yourself a "patriot" and do not ever let me hear (read) one goddamn word coming out of your mouth about veterans...got it? You elected a liar and if you're such a fucking "Christian" then you know who the Father of Lies is...and that's who you are supporting. You're fucked come judgement day! 

[SweetFellowshipper]

1 hour ago, nausicaa said:

I can't explain this without being a grammar bitch, so here goes:

Your statement was " being I think the fact that we are the richest country in the world and simultaneously have some of the worst access to health care, worst maternity leave policies, most hate crimes, most police brutality, most racism..."

It wasn't clear that "some of the" applied to all of the statements in the list, since "some of the most hate crimes" and "some of the most police brutality," didn't make sense grammatically, so "some of" seemed to only modify the first item in the list. If you meant "some of" to apply to all, then I apologize, and actually agree with most of your statement.

All right, ridiculous fastidiousness aside:

I do agree that the high levels of blind patriotism are at odds with our poor scores on several metrics. And in terms of developed countries, we have serious issues with police brutality.

However, I do think comparisons to western Europe are not always accurate because it does not take into account the very different cultures and situations the respective countries are dealing with. Georgiana gave a good example above. Same with hate crimes and racism. I'm not sure a place like Iceland, for instance, is a fair comparison in terms of racial tensions, since 93% of the population is the same race. And in countries in which previously homogeneous populations are dealing with an influx of racially and religiously diverse immigrants, well...things aren't always going so well.

This is just anecdotal, but in my experience, there is deep anti-Semitism and racism that just manifests in different ways in other developed countries (I'm not just thinking of Europe, but also Japan). I think the assertion that we have the most continuous systemic racism is debatable (which is tragic, because we do have huge problems with racism in the United States).

You don't have to explain that, it's not all that complex; it frustrated me as well when I wrote it, and I teach college-level writing, I'm not that offended if somebody wants to be bitchy about grammar. Fine. However, I really didn't feel like writing out "some of the" for every single item in the list (nor am I clear on why that's super significant to the overall point), and my main points I thought were quite clear about "developed nations," still making most of the rest of your initial response moot, as you didn't respond as if I wrote that (twice). Obviously, that would have changed my entire point. That's why I *didn't* compare the U.S. to all nations or say it was "the worst country ever." That was clear. 

Regardless, I do believe that the majority of those statements ARE true in terms of things you can measure statistically/quantitatively at the moment. Obviously you can't definitively measure racism. The stats on maternal mortality rates, access to health care and police brutality, for example, are unfortunately neither hyperbolic nor sweeping generalizations. Obviously we can fight all day about whether we have "SOME of the worst racism" or "THE worst racism" (though why that's important, I'm not sure, outside of defending the country) relative to our wealth and privilege...That's a long, long debate and a lot of history to get into, and I'm not particularly interested, especially as the initial "self-aggrandizing" and "intellectually lazy" comments after a generic comment not directed towards you were pretty ludicrous and uncalled for. 

[nausicaa]

24 minutes ago, SweetFellowshipper said:

Regardless, I do believe that the majority of those statements ARE true in terms of things you can measure statistically/quantitatively at the moment. Obviously you can't definitively measure racism.

...That's a long, long debate and a lot of history to get into, and I'm not particularly interested, especially as the initial "self-aggrandizing" and "intellectually lazy" comments after a generic comment not directed towards you were pretty ludicrous and uncalled for. 

I should have noted the "developed nations" part of your statement. 

The "some of the" matters to me because of accuracy (see ridiculous fastidiousness above ), since "the worst" is pretty specific and should be measurable if a statement like that is going to be made. But also I think there can be a tendency to idealize western European countries when criticizing the U.S. And I would be interested in a study of number of hate crimes per country and where we stand on that (though the differing definitions of "hate crime" in countries would probably make that difficult).

The "self-aggrandizing" and "intellectually lazy" comments were put into a separate paragraph because they were more of a general frustration (which I should have made clearer) with an odd all or nothing attitude I find in comments about the U.S. It seems sometimes like people can either be "Love it or leave it. We're the best. You'd be speaking German if it weren't for us. Anyone with a problem can move to Canada." or "The United States is the worst country ever. We're so disgusting. We're as bad as ISIS and blood is on all of our hands." and there's no room for anyone in the middle of that vast chasm. In regards to the latter, I have had people compare the U.S. to North Korea and state that we are as repressive as Saudi Arabia. Which I find not only inaccurate, but undermining of legitimate criticism of our country's failures. As someone said above, American exceptionalism shows itself in the best/worst binary. And I do think that binary is intellectually lazy and self-aggrandizing, though I realize now your comment was more nuanced than that.

[PennySycamore]

@feministxtian,  I wish I could like your post 1000 times!

[feministxtian]

1 hour ago, PennySycamore said:

@feministxtian,  I wish I could like your post 1000 times!

Thanks...I got a little pissed...maybe it's my fucked up depressed/anxious/ADHD/ASD brain but I just can't wrap my head around being "pro-life" and willfully denying people medical care...

And the veterans thing...I'm the granddaughter, daughter, daughter-in-law, wife, sister-in-law and mother of vets. You want a pet peeve...that's it! 

[MotherOfDragons]

2 hours ago, feministxtian said:

I would like all these self-righteous assholes to live in my head for one day. The panic attacks, the flashbacks, the endless review of every single thing I've fucked up over the last 53 years...there's a reason I'm on meds. My faith helps but my brain is way too fucked up to even THINK about going off meds. 

Oh and the drumpf supporters...yeah, you made a choice, a bad choice, so go fuck yourselves with a nice big Saguaro cactus. You claim to be "pro-life" yet are against universal health care or the ACA? Then you ain't pro-life. I stopped some asshole right in their tracks...do you want to give me the 6 grand a MONTH it takes to keep my husband alive? No? Then you're full of shit and your "Christianity" is a fucking lie. 

You don't like "vulgarity"? Well, your dear leader is more vulgar than any cuss word I could come up with. You LIKE him grabbing women's pussies? You want him to grab yours? What a fucking bunch of deplorables. Don't you DARE call yourself a "patriot" and do not ever let me hear (read) one goddamn word coming out of your mouth about veterans...got it? You elected a liar and if you're such a fucking "Christian" then you know who the Father of Lies is...and that's who you are supporting. You're fucked come judgement day! 

 *bows down to you* 

[FundieCentral]

@nausicaa, @SweetFellowshipper

Actually, the US is among the least racist developed countries according to this study: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/05/15/a-fascinating-map-of-the-worlds-most-and-least-racially-tolerant-countries/?utm_term=.4a26fa5f40d7

 

Just to add some data. 

From having lived in multiple of the countries used for comparison, I think Americans are probably one of the least racist nations individually, but have one of the worst histories of race relations. But that also is because there is a history of race relations. As people have noted, the multi-racial/multi-cultural society in Europe is a fairly new invention. People don't like strangers. The more strange you look/sound/act/smell, the more dangerous you are. I think that bias requires a lot of effort to be undone, and the US has done a lot more here than most other countries on the planet. 

Now inequality on the other hand (imho) is an entirely different ballgame. 

[VeganCupcake]

18 hours ago, SorenaJ said:

How any country can not have free healthcare is beyond me. It's f**ing healthcare?! Why is that even a question?

- Scandinavian, and proud of the welfare state. 

The craziest thing about American healthcare is that even  the people with insurance often go broke and die if they develop a serious illness. Right now I have great insurance but if I came down with something major, I would run out of money very quickly. A 13 year old family friend has leukemia right now and her family is trying to raise money online, even though they are considered solidly middle class. 

[JillyO]

22 minutes ago, VeganCupcake said:

The craziest thing about American healthcare is that even  the people with insurance often go broke and die if they develop a serious illness. Right now I have great insurance but if I came down with something major, I would run out of money very quickly. A 13 year old family friend has leukemia right now and her family is trying to raise money online, even though they are considered solidly middle class. 

If the Vice President of the United States can't afford his son's cancer treatments, I think that tells you everything you need to know about the U.S. health care system.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

Yeah the GoFundme necessity in this country to pay for our medical expenses is asinine. No one should have to crowd fund their cancer treatments.  It also shouldn't cost $2 million dollars for cancer treatments and the insurance company shouldn't get to decide who gets to have what treatments. A friend of mine had to fight to get CHEMO paid for it took 3 months to approve it and by then it was too late the cancer spread to far, she died 6 months later.  Odds are she would have died anyway, but it may have been 2 or 3 years later, that would have given her 2 or 3 more years with her kids who were 14 & 16 when she died. 

[VelociRapture]

3 hours ago, JillyO said:

If the Vice President of the United States can't afford his son's cancer treatments, I think that tells you everything you need to know about the U.S. health care system.

My husband and I talked about this. Neither of us would be shocked if the treatments referred to were classified as "experimental." Insurance likely wouldn't cover those at all, whereas a decent plan would likely cover a good deal if approved treatments. 

*Note I said "likely" a few times. Because insurance companies are the goddamn devil sometimes.

(And I honestly don't know what treatments Beau was seeking. This was just a thought my husband floated. Possibly because we don't want to consider that even an excellent plan wouldn't cover cancer treatments.)

[faraway]

I agree. I see lots of fundraisers in Europe (where cancer treatment is covered by insurance) in which money for experimental treatments (often in the US) is collected. I think the problem was also that Beau was the primary breadwinner of the family and all of a sudden they lost his income.

[Georgiana]

Here's my issue about people who take issue with "meds". 

First off, it's ALWAYS anti-depressants.  People take pills for ALL SORTS of things and get 0 flack, but the moment you are on an anti-depressant, your character comes into question.  Look, while my choices can INFLUENCE my mental health, the truth is that without medication my ceiling is "Not terrible".  That's the BEST my brain will do.  But with an SSRI, I actually have the opportunity to be a real human who can experience normal emotions and mental states that make life actually fun to live.  Meanwhile, there are people out there taking medication for FULLY MANAGEABLE conditions who are getting NO push back.  "Why don't you just think more positive thoughts instead of taking medication.  I don't believe in medication."  "Well, I dunno, Jim why don't YOU eat a healthy diet instead of taking a pill for cholesterol?  I don't believe in cholesterol medication."  "You just need a better attitude" "Yeah, well Jim, you just need self control and discipline around cheeseburgers, but it's a little easier said than done, isn't it?"

Mental illness is often LESS manageable sans medication than things like ED, cholesterol issues, opioid induced constipation, etc. but no one tells THOSE people to just fix themselves.  Maybe if you pray hard enough, God will give you a boner, or reduce your cholesterol, or let you poop!!  WHY ISN'T PRAYER BEING TOUTED AS A CURE FOR BONER PROBLEMS?!?

Secondly, my medication has caused me to have to give up drinking AND caused me to throw up on the bus yesterday after I took it on an empty stomach while running out the door.  Does this sound fun?  No!  SSRIs are not a joke.  They aren't freaking tylenol for depressed people.  They're serious meds that often SUCK to take, but you take them because NOT BEING ABLE TO DRINK AND BUS VOMITING ARE BETTER THAN THE ALTERNATIVE.  Let that sink in: puking on a bus is PREFERABLE to the morning I would have had without my medication.  Heart medication also sucks and has side effects, but people take it because WITH the medication, they are able to live a fuller life than they would be able to live otherwise.  That's EXACTLY WHAT I DO, except instead of my heart, it's my brain that dangerously malfunctions.  Your brain is the ONE organ that evidently it's unacceptable to treat with modern medicine.  

If it's your heart or stomach or intestines or ANY OTHER ORGAN that isn't working well, pills are fine.    But God help you if it happens to be your brain that needs a little help.  Then it's probably just a blemish on your character.  

[Gillyweed]

I'm still in college, so I don't know much about insurance plans. What I DO know is that my grandparents had catastrophic insurance, which then paid for my grandpa's leukemia treatments for 16 years. If you can afford it, I'd advise getting catastrophic. 

[Melissa1977]

On 30/3/2017 at 6:25 PM, SorenaJ said:

How any country can not have free healthcare is beyond me. It's f**ing healthcare?! Why is that even a question?

- Scandinavian, and proud of the welfare state. 

Same in Spain, where goverment is trying to cut some healthcare resources but it's still free and really good.

In fact, free healthcare is good for everybody, even for the wealthy citizens. Poor sick people with no access to doctor appointments can cause epidemies. People desperate because big hospital bills can make desperate decisions. The whole society is hurt. 

Healthcare is not a goverment expense, it's an investment.

[Playagirl]

56 minutes ago, Georgiana said:

Here's my issue about people who take issue with "meds". 

First off, it's ALWAYS anti-depressants.  People take pills for ALL SORTS of things and get 0 flack, but the moment you are on an anti-depressant, your character comes into question.

Mental illness is often LESS manageable sans medication than things like ED, cholesterol issues, opioid induced constipation, etc. but no one tells THOSE people to just fix themselves.

If it's your heart or stomach or intestines or ANY OTHER ORGAN that isn't working well, pills are fine.    But God help you if it happens to be your brain that needs a little help.  Then it's probably just a blemish on your character.  

@Georgiana, I agree completely with all of what you said but I've snipped your post to highlight a few sentences that really resonate with me.  

I know people who think that taking anti-depressants is a sign of weakness, a cop-out, or giving up, or just being too lazy to work hard enough to feel better on their own and this mindset drIves me nuts. I've seen the positive difference that taking these medications can make in a person's quality of life and I hate that someone might be made to feel somehow 'less-than' for making that choice.

What the hell is the difference between taking medication to improve the way a brain works as opposed to taking something for a heart, kidney, liver, skin, etc? It's all part of the same body and the goal is, or should be, a healthy body for a healthy and productive life. In my opinion, doing what you need to do, including taking anti-depressants if needed, to get to a better, healthier place is a testament to strength, courage and determination.  

Those who think otherwise can go piss up a tree.  ...end rant...

[mpheels]

10 hours ago, FundieCentral said:

@nausicaa, @SweetFellowshipper

Actually, the US is among the least racist developed countries according to this study: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/05/15/a-fascinating-map-of-the-worlds-most-and-least-racially-tolerant-countries/?utm_term=.4a26fa5f40d7

 

Just to add some data. 

From having lived in multiple of the countries used for comparison, I think Americans are probably one of the least racist nations individually, but have one of the worst histories of race relations. But that also is because there is a history of race relations. As people have noted, the multi-racial/multi-cultural society in Europe is a fairly new invention. People don't like strangers. The more strange you look/sound/act/smell, the more dangerous you are. I think that bias requires a lot of effort to be undone, and the US has done a lot more here than most other countries on the planet. 

Now inequality on the other hand (imho) is an entirely different ballgame. 

Thank you for saying this. The US is not uniquely racist, but our racism is very much out in the open. We've had to grapple with it for our entire history, and we're still trying to comes to terms with it. As uncomfortable as US-Americans are when it comes to discussions of race and racism, we're so far ahead of other high income countries in a lot of ways. It's very easy to see a peaceful happy society when looking through the window into another country, but often those other societies only appear to be free of racism because they don't have anyone to be racist against. It's like the assumption in the US that certain states are more racist than other - racism is everywhere, it's just a lot easier to see when you actually have people of different races spending time in the same places.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

38 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

Healthcare is not a goverment expense, it's an investment.

Especially if you treat it as such, for example spending for free preventative care for everything you can do it, free vaccinations, good social services and free mental health care, free meds for lower income (even if they are undocumented foreigners) and cronically ill people, free treatment for addictions (not just methadone, suboxone and the likes but long stays in inpatient treatment facilities). Healthier people make for less overall healthcare spending, healthier workers and ultimately a healthier society. 

[Darwinesque]

I'm in the UK, so always used our NHS and have always been a bit bemused by the US system. 

If I have a child who has a serious health problems and I don't have insurance, what happens? If I'm working full time, paying taxes, what would my child be entitled to if anything and at what point would the care stop?

I am sorry if I am taking the thread off course and genuinely don't demand replies but..... what is the difference between Trumpcare(?) and Obamacare what was so bad that it needed replacing? I travel to the US fairly frequently and all I know is that I  travel with full travel insurance just in case.

 

[Georgiana]

23 minutes ago, Darwinesque said:

I'm in the UK, so always used our NHS and have always been a bit bemused by the US system. 

If I have a child who has a serious health problems and I don't have insurance, what happens? If I'm working full time, paying taxes, what would my child be entitled to if anything and at what point would the care stop?

I am sorry if I am taking the thread off course and genuinely don't demand replies but..... what is the difference between Trumpcare(?) and Obamacare what was so bad that it needed replacing? I travel to the US fairly frequently and all I know is that I  travel with full travel insurance just in case.

 

The ACA has/had its major flaws.  One of them is that while the ACA MANDATED that all persons carry insurance, it did not do enough to make said insurance affordable.  

There is a large, LARGE, LARGE population of Americans who are just "getting by".  These folks make enough money to support themselves and their families, but they aren't operating with a lot of room in the margins, so to speak.  They still have to scrimp and save to afford the things they want/need for their families.  Sure, they may be middle class, but they're on a tight budget.

Lots of these folks already carried insurance, but it was not enough to meet ACA standards.  Lots of these folks also did not qualify for subsidies (or for much of a subsidy) to buy their new, ACA meeting insurance plan.  These folks were suddenly forced into paying hundreds in additional dollars per month to get a health insurance plan that they frankly never see themselves using.  Money they quite simply do not have. 

OF COURSE that made them angry.  OF COURSE they are mad when they have to move, pull their kids from all activities, slash their budget everywhere they can for additional coverage they have never before used.  And because of correlation, it does look like this additional expense is being used to "pay for" coverage for people who cannot afford it.  No one who works hard to support their family should be forced to move, deny their kids things, or live a life of less opportunity because of an agenda.  I believe that when it comes to ALL Americans: poor, middle, and upper class alike.  

I believe in Universal Healthcare.  I have NEVER supported the ACA because I believe it is poorly implemented and creates a major and undue burden for millions of Americans.  Until profits/insurance companies/medical costs are REGULATED so that companies are FORCED to provide actually affordable options, I don't support a healthcare mandate.  This isn't a SOLUTION, it's just moving the burden from one group to another.  

[VelociRapture]

42 minutes ago, Darwinesque said:

I'm in the UK, so always used our NHS and have always been a bit bemused by the US system. 

If I have a child who has a serious health problems and I don't have insurance, what happens? If I'm working full time, paying taxes, what would my child be entitled to if anything and at what point would the care stop?

I am sorry if I am taking the thread off course and genuinely don't demand replies but..... what is the difference between Trumpcare(?) and Obamacare what was so bad that it needed replacing? I travel to the US fairly frequently and all I know is that I  travel with full travel insurance just in case.

 

Basically?

1. The biggest problem with the ACA (Obamacare) is the fact that the Republicans forced Democrats to water it down so much. That's why premiums were so high for so many at first - the people mainly enrolling were sick or had preexisting conditions that prevented them from getting insurance before (the ACA barred insurance from using preexisting conditions as an excuse not to enroll people.)  It's been getting much better lately though because more healthy and young people are enrolling too.

2. Trumpcare was a plan hastily tossed together that Trump and Paul Ryan (Speaker of the House of Representatives and a Republican) attempted to force through. When it became clear it wouldn't work, they pulled the bill and gave up on holding a vote. Ryan intends to work on new legislation that will likely be just as bad - no time frame has been given on when that could be voted on.

What made it so bad is the fact that the bill stripped our health system of the ten essential benefits the ACA guaranteed. Things like prenatal care, maternity care, pediatric care, etc. were all going to be removed from the list of essential benefits insurance plans must offer. This meant the insurance companies could have offered low cost plans that didn't include those benefits as well as higher cost plans that did... meaning that some women and families would have been priced out of the plans they need.

3. If you or a loved one got sick and didn't have insurance - you're fucked. Well and truly. There are families who have literally lost everything due to medical debt or people who have died because they couldn't afford the care they need. Doesn't matter if it was your child sick - if they were ill and you had no insurance then you were responsible for those bills.

If my husband and I weren't covered by insurance last year then we would have been on the hook for all the expenses related to my miscarriage and second pregnancy - a total close to $90,000. And that doesn't include any prenatal or regular Doctor appointments either.

If you want to know more than I highly suggest checking out the Politics forum. There's a ton of information there and a lot of people happy to point you in the right direction if you need help.

(And a fun fact I love pointing out - the ten essential benefits were removed to appeal to the Freedom caucus, the most conservative members of the House Republicans. They still wouldn't support the bill because it was considered "too generous" by them... including Representative Daniel Webster, father-in-law of Alyssa Bates Webster. Anyone still claiming the Bateses aren't that dangerous after this is beyond delusional.)

[MargaretElliott]

I think it speaks for itself when our healthcare system is so bad that we have a TV show about a teacher getting cancer and turning to making meth to cover the costs.

Breaking Bad would have been a lot less interesting if it took place in Canada.

[onekidanddone]

Reading post after post on how mental illness and the need for medication is demonized,  all I can do is nod my head and say me too. Been there, doing that.  I must have been on and off every SSRI ever made. Still it didn't help all that much.  There is now a genetic test which shows how well your brain can process and benefit from SSRIs.  Turns out I don't.  What ever defect (as if I needed even MORE genetic defects) I have SSRIs will never work well.  At least now I know all those years of struggle were not my fault.  No matter what the fuck wads say.  Keep fighting the good fight my fellow FJ peeps

9 minutes ago, MargaretElliott said:

I think it speaks for itself when our healthcare system is so bad that we have a TV show about a teacher getting cancer and turning to making meth to cover the costs.

Breaking Bad would have been a lot less interesting if it took place in Canada.

I have family in Albuquerque. I've been there several times over the years. Ask my cousins and it is a documentary, not fiction  

[PennySycamore]

8 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

My husband and I talked about this. Neither of us would be shocked if the treatments referred to were classified as "experimental." Insurance likely wouldn't cover those at all, whereas a decent plan would likely cover a good deal if approved treatments. 

*Note I said "likely" a few times. Because insurance companies are the goddamn devil sometimes.

(And I honestly don't know what treatments Beau was seeking. This was just a thought my husband floated. Possibly because we don't want to consider that even an excellent plan wouldn't cover cancer treatments.)

I wonder if Beau Biden was having the same treatment as my sister who also has brain cancer.  My sister is currently wearing an Optune device on her shaved head with the hope that it will help.  It is considered experimental and is not covered by most insurance.  My sister and her husband do have cancer insurance and I hope that it covers the Optune.  It costs 15K a month!  

 

[LilMissMetaphor]

On 3/30/2017 at 6:40 PM, PainfullyAware said:

I'm not sure where you are in Canada but, as a fellow Canadian, I can't say I personally feel like my community is free of stigma against mental illness, regardless of Bell's Let's Talk campaign. Granted, I think it's much more subtle than it used to be. It's definitely not kosher to openly say you think someone is faking their depression to get off work or whatever.

But as a culture we equate success with productive work and individual motivation. Asking for help, taking time off, taking medication, even trying to have some work/life balance, is often considered weakness. People get a lot of "just think positive" or "don't indulge your negative feelings" or "pull it together and stay focused", as if that would treat mental illness. It's easy to internalize those messages and feel like having mental illness makes you a failure. 

When society praises people for getting the support they need as an act of strength rather than weakness (and not just lip service but openly discussed in workplaces and around dinner tables), then I think we'll have overcome stigma.

I certainly wasn't trying to speak for everyone's community or part of the country.  I just have always had the impression since I moved back to my hometown in 2009, that mental wellness or unwellness is no different from physical (based on social media, conversations I've had, posters/pamphlets/media visible all over the place from elementary schools to churches to daycares to the mall...)  Someone may want to discredit my personal experience, that's fine.  I can see how if they'd been on the receiving end of harassment/intolerance, they wouldn't think the stigma was gone at all. 

Then again, I was coming from a country where I was told I would have to leave my job the second my pregnancy started showing, so it's possible I viewed Canada (and its comparative disinclination to stigmatize) with rosier glasses given the eight years I'd spent away.