Mr. Giggles
Member
So I've been feeling a lot of Pride for Canada lately and I just wanted to make this thread to list some reasons why I love this great nation and see if any immigrants of Canada (or other nations) feel the same way.
**Before I begin, I would like to preface this by saying I immigrated to Canada from Dubai - Even though I was born and raised in Dubai, my parents aren't Emarati and therefore I am considered an "outsider"**
1) Democracy and free speech - so for those of you who don't know, the U.A.E is a dictatorship,
If you've ever wondered what its like living under those conditions, Its a lot like living under Mafia rule - one family makes all the rules and if you don't like it tough titty caca, if you have an opinion about government you'd best keep that shit to yourself otherwise you risk being deported or having your passport taken away from you by the secret services and never allowed to leave or worse (death). When I first came to Canada Stephen Harper was just elected and while I didn't know much about him or Canadian politics the first thing I noticed was people weren't disappearing for voicing their unfavorable opinions about him, and then CHOOSING AND ELECTING OFFICIALS!!! that just blew my mind.... there were somethings I also had to get used to like accepting criticism of my religion but overall I'll gladly take that small negative along with all the benefits of free speech and democracy
2) Equality and Human Rights - How great is it that regardless of your sex/race/religion/etc the people and the governments still treat you equal!!
...to give you an example of what I mean, there is a social hierarchy in the U.A.E which goes like this:
----------------------------------------------Top Tier-------------------------------------
Emaratis - Top of the hierarchy
Westerners - (Americans, British, etc)
GCC Arabs - (Kuwaitis, Saudis, Bahrainis....basically the oil rich Arab nations that aren't the U.A.E)
----------------------------------------------Mid Tier-------------------------------------
Non-GCC Arabs - (Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, etc)
East Asians - (China, Japan, South Korea, etc)
South East Asians - (Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc)
Africans
----------------------------------------------Bottom Tier-------------------------------------
South Asians - Bottom of the hierarchy and what makes up the majority of the physical labor (Indians, Pakistani, Sri Lanka, etc)
Take the hierarchy above with a grain of salt, as anyone who lives in Dubai can tell you that there are very rich people who come from nationalities on the bottom of said hierarchy, however, these people are the minority and that the system set in place actively works against "bottom" tier nationalities from rising at the same pace as "top" tier nationalities. Allow me to elaborate what I'm getting at, lets say two people apply for a job, one from the "top" tier and one from the "bottom" tier, both with the same experience, training and qualifications, now say both people get the job - immediately the person from the "top" tier has a higher base salary, a company car, housing allowance and plenty of benefits, meanwhile the person from the "bottom" tier gets a base salary that is lower with less benefits than the other guy, no housing allowance, no company car - now factor in that men are treated better than women and you start to get the gist of how bad it can be! And its not just work, based on where you place on the hierarchy expect to be treated differently even walking in to a store or by law enforcement and the judicial courts - charged for drug possession and western? Deported....charged for drug possession and African? Death Penalty.... but here in Canada, I've been treated like everybody else since day fucking 1, no special rules, no racist hierarchy, just plain good old fashioned equality, love that feeling.
3) The environment - I love how much Canadians in general give a damn about the environment, the air is crisp and there's barely any smog in the cities. Compared to where I grew up, the palm islands killed a lot of wildlife and caused a lot of the coastline to recede, the government didn't really care until the damage was already done and they sold property.
4) Universal Health Care - Can I just say how fucking awesome it is to go to the doctor and have it covered, like wow. In the U.A.E this is only for the Emaratis, anyone else needs to have private insurance and like the in the US the insurance companies have a tendency to give you the finger when you need help the most.
5) Kind & Politeness - Canadians have got to be the nicest and most polite people on the planet, sure there are a few racist cunts here and there but in general, never have I encountered such a kind hearted people who are so open minded and progressive - sorry if you feel offended and this is true for other countries as well (looking at you Europeans). On the contrary, due to the built in social racism - lots of people from the U.A.E will say racist shit and think its ok but when they leave the country become confused why those around them get offended and mad when they open their mouth to talk.
There are many MANY more reasons of why I love this country and I know Canada isn't perfect (look at how the natives were treated initially for example) and I still have love for the U.A.E after all it is where I was born, grew up and have many fond memories of but god damn I love this country and will gladly put my life to defend it and what it stands for
O' Canada, I stand on guard for thee
What about other immigrants to Canada? What do you love about this wonderful nation?.....oh also I foresee many from America-GAF and Europe-GAF coming in here and saying " oh yea well we have all those things and more", that's cool, if you've immigrated to the US or EU tell me from where and what you like about it vs your old country!
Burn my hockey sticks, dump my maple syrup in to a river and lock if old.
**Before I begin, I would like to preface this by saying I immigrated to Canada from Dubai - Even though I was born and raised in Dubai, my parents aren't Emarati and therefore I am considered an "outsider"**
1) Democracy and free speech - so for those of you who don't know, the U.A.E is a dictatorship,
there are 7 city states each with their own rulers and rules akin to states/provinces but the ruling family from the capitol (Abu Dhabi) is technically the main ruler for the whole country.
2) Equality and Human Rights - How great is it that regardless of your sex/race/religion/etc the people and the governments still treat you equal!!
Now I know what you're thinking, this is a fucking low bar but let me just remind you I was born and raised in a dictatorship where borderline-slave labor is still a thing
----------------------------------------------Top Tier-------------------------------------
Emaratis - Top of the hierarchy
Westerners - (Americans, British, etc)
GCC Arabs - (Kuwaitis, Saudis, Bahrainis....basically the oil rich Arab nations that aren't the U.A.E)
----------------------------------------------Mid Tier-------------------------------------
Non-GCC Arabs - (Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, etc)
East Asians - (China, Japan, South Korea, etc)
South East Asians - (Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc)
Africans
----------------------------------------------Bottom Tier-------------------------------------
South Asians - Bottom of the hierarchy and what makes up the majority of the physical labor (Indians, Pakistani, Sri Lanka, etc)
Take the hierarchy above with a grain of salt, as anyone who lives in Dubai can tell you that there are very rich people who come from nationalities on the bottom of said hierarchy, however, these people are the minority and that the system set in place actively works against "bottom" tier nationalities from rising at the same pace as "top" tier nationalities. Allow me to elaborate what I'm getting at, lets say two people apply for a job, one from the "top" tier and one from the "bottom" tier, both with the same experience, training and qualifications, now say both people get the job - immediately the person from the "top" tier has a higher base salary, a company car, housing allowance and plenty of benefits, meanwhile the person from the "bottom" tier gets a base salary that is lower with less benefits than the other guy, no housing allowance, no company car - now factor in that men are treated better than women and you start to get the gist of how bad it can be! And its not just work, based on where you place on the hierarchy expect to be treated differently even walking in to a store or by law enforcement and the judicial courts - charged for drug possession and western? Deported....charged for drug possession and African? Death Penalty.... but here in Canada, I've been treated like everybody else since day fucking 1, no special rules, no racist hierarchy, just plain good old fashioned equality, love that feeling.
3) The environment - I love how much Canadians in general give a damn about the environment, the air is crisp and there's barely any smog in the cities. Compared to where I grew up, the palm islands killed a lot of wildlife and caused a lot of the coastline to recede, the government didn't really care until the damage was already done and they sold property.
4) Universal Health Care - Can I just say how fucking awesome it is to go to the doctor and have it covered, like wow. In the U.A.E this is only for the Emaratis, anyone else needs to have private insurance and like the in the US the insurance companies have a tendency to give you the finger when you need help the most.
5) Kind & Politeness - Canadians have got to be the nicest and most polite people on the planet, sure there are a few racist cunts here and there but in general, never have I encountered such a kind hearted people who are so open minded and progressive - sorry if you feel offended and this is true for other countries as well (looking at you Europeans). On the contrary, due to the built in social racism - lots of people from the U.A.E will say racist shit and think its ok but when they leave the country become confused why those around them get offended and mad when they open their mouth to talk.
There are many MANY more reasons of why I love this country and I know Canada isn't perfect (look at how the natives were treated initially for example) and I still have love for the U.A.E after all it is where I was born, grew up and have many fond memories of but god damn I love this country and will gladly put my life to defend it and what it stands for
O' Canada, I stand on guard for thee
What about other immigrants to Canada? What do you love about this wonderful nation?.....oh also I foresee many from America-GAF and Europe-GAF coming in here and saying " oh yea well we have all those things and more", that's cool, if you've immigrated to the US or EU tell me from where and what you like about it vs your old country!
Burn my hockey sticks, dump my maple syrup in to a river and lock if old.