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jawnbc"So did you grow up in Vancouver?"
"No in New York City actually"
"Oh. So you're really American."
No I am fooking not
I find essentialist notions of identity annoying and frustrating. And not a little bit discriminatory. If we are limited in terms of our destinies by our biology and circumstances at birth, I should be:
+a cop
+married to a woman
+drinking a 24 of beer every couple of days
+the Vice President of the Offaly Society of United Irish Counties NY
+living in South Queens (Rockaway Beach)
I am not/do not any of these things currently. Though I've engaged in related activities for all but one (the cop thang). And suffice to say I have no uniform fetishes.
Except nurses' whites. But I didn't mean to say that out loud.
I never set out to become Canadian. In my mid 20s I moved to Vancouver from NY for a year, with little foreknowledge of the city, province or country. But rather quickly I became mesmerized by Canada and things Canadian. I found the emphasis on community on a similar footing with individuality refreshing. Debates around contentious issues often centred on fairness, with much less vitriol or drama than I was used to as a queer activist in NYC. The streets were clean, nature was nearby but the city quite cosmopolitan. Being unilingual was exceptional rather than idealized.
After 3 moths I got my Care Card, entitling me to access the socialized medicine I'd heard nightmare stories about in US media. I went, I showed my card, I got care. No bills, no problems. I howled with mirth at the novelty: in NYC, even working for a top Wall Street firm and having outstanding insurance, I was still out of pocket until reimbursed several weeks later. Trippy, but in a good way.
Very quickly, I found that many things that made me uncomfortable in the States didn't apply to my unfolding Canadian life. In terms of music, some of the pop stars are wicked attractive Roch Voisine (yum), others less so Rita MacNeil--but all were judged on their talents rather than their "package." A Celtic folk group, The Rankins topped the pop charts and won all the Juno Awards (Canadian Grammys) one year. The average Canuck was well-read and knew what was going on in the world. And a lot of people were critically aware of the differences between the US and Canada, and valued those differences.
As soon did I.
Eventually I met another Canadian-by-choice, and we fell in love. He wanted to sponsor me for permanent residence but the immigration policies of the day didn't allow it. So we filed a human rights complaint. The response? Well, gee I guess this isn't fair, so we'd better change things. Whoa. To celebrate we had a "Mrs. Nearly Canadian Party" for me, red and white motif. I got about 30 Mountie dolls (but alas no Mountie) of various shapes and sizes. And all sorts of Canadiana, including several flags.
Did I mention I love the Maple Leaf Flag?
As soon as I was eligible I applied for my citizenship. A core group of friends came to my ceremony with me, and we laughed and cried. Some were born in Canada, others not. Some were anglophone, francophone or allophone (neither English or French their mother tongue). But everyone said "congratulations, you're finally a Canadian!"
And I think that's one of the big differences between Canada and the US or Australia. Canadians accept new Canadians as Canadians. The anthologist Alberto Manguel once said that "Canadian is perhaps the only national identity to which one can truly become." Becoming Canadian largely doesn't mean that "I've Canadian citizenship, but I'm really..." I am Canadian, not in mere legal terms. It is who I am, it is where my loyalties lie, it is a fundamental part of how I construct my identity.
I think being Canadian is very kewl. I don't think Canada is the best place for everyone. I know it's the best place in the world for me.
"No in New York City actually"
"Oh. So you're really American."
No I am fooking not
I find essentialist notions of identity annoying and frustrating. And not a little bit discriminatory. If we are limited in terms of our destinies by our biology and circumstances at birth, I should be:
+a cop
+married to a woman
+drinking a 24 of beer every couple of days
+the Vice President of the Offaly Society of United Irish Counties NY
+living in South Queens (Rockaway Beach)
I am not/do not any of these things currently. Though I've engaged in related activities for all but one (the cop thang). And suffice to say I have no uniform fetishes.
Except nurses' whites. But I didn't mean to say that out loud.
I never set out to become Canadian. In my mid 20s I moved to Vancouver from NY for a year, with little foreknowledge of the city, province or country. But rather quickly I became mesmerized by Canada and things Canadian. I found the emphasis on community on a similar footing with individuality refreshing. Debates around contentious issues often centred on fairness, with much less vitriol or drama than I was used to as a queer activist in NYC. The streets were clean, nature was nearby but the city quite cosmopolitan. Being unilingual was exceptional rather than idealized.
After 3 moths I got my Care Card, entitling me to access the socialized medicine I'd heard nightmare stories about in US media. I went, I showed my card, I got care. No bills, no problems. I howled with mirth at the novelty: in NYC, even working for a top Wall Street firm and having outstanding insurance, I was still out of pocket until reimbursed several weeks later. Trippy, but in a good way.
Very quickly, I found that many things that made me uncomfortable in the States didn't apply to my unfolding Canadian life. In terms of music, some of the pop stars are wicked attractive Roch Voisine (yum), others less so Rita MacNeil--but all were judged on their talents rather than their "package." A Celtic folk group, The Rankins topped the pop charts and won all the Juno Awards (Canadian Grammys) one year. The average Canuck was well-read and knew what was going on in the world. And a lot of people were critically aware of the differences between the US and Canada, and valued those differences.
As soon did I.
Eventually I met another Canadian-by-choice, and we fell in love. He wanted to sponsor me for permanent residence but the immigration policies of the day didn't allow it. So we filed a human rights complaint. The response? Well, gee I guess this isn't fair, so we'd better change things. Whoa. To celebrate we had a "Mrs. Nearly Canadian Party" for me, red and white motif. I got about 30 Mountie dolls (but alas no Mountie) of various shapes and sizes. And all sorts of Canadiana, including several flags.
Did I mention I love the Maple Leaf Flag?
As soon as I was eligible I applied for my citizenship. A core group of friends came to my ceremony with me, and we laughed and cried. Some were born in Canada, others not. Some were anglophone, francophone or allophone (neither English or French their mother tongue). But everyone said "congratulations, you're finally a Canadian!"
And I think that's one of the big differences between Canada and the US or Australia. Canadians accept new Canadians as Canadians. The anthologist Alberto Manguel once said that "Canadian is perhaps the only national identity to which one can truly become." Becoming Canadian largely doesn't mean that "I've Canadian citizenship, but I'm really..." I am Canadian, not in mere legal terms. It is who I am, it is where my loyalties lie, it is a fundamental part of how I construct my identity.
I think being Canadian is very kewl. I don't think Canada is the best place for everyone. I know it's the best place in the world for me.
