"Hard time to visit Canada & recall sanity, graciousness, & over all respect for "commonweal" of that country at this time in our country."
Last night, Ferguson erupted and so did Twitter. Once all the non-residents of the USA got the message, Twitter was turned over to Americans. Why?
Obviously, something huge was going on in America; something much bigger than the shooting of a black man by a white cop in Ferguson, Missouri. Race relations. Police brutality. And so on.
I follow liberal Americans so, in the main, the Tweets I read decried the decision of the Grand Jury. But even they posted emotional tweets stating stuff like, "If you aren't outraged by what's going on right now in Ferguson, unfollow me now" and "Nobody should be talking about anything but Ferguson" and "Stop your stupid promotions!"
Well, okay, America. As you wish.
I had nothing to say about what was going on because:
I'm not American.
Canada is where runaway slaves ran TO when slavery flourished in the US.
We have gun control in Canada.
Our cops fuck up, there's lots of racism here, the ol' white man has all the power, but we're not as important as the US. Arguably, there is no country on earth that is more important than the Super Power to the South (our south, anyway.)
I've already expressed my concern over the present state of America.
(The word "America" is the short form of USA, not North America. If it were the short form of North America, it would include Canada. It doesn't.)
I don't even GET an American news channel that was exclusively covering Ferguson. CBC TV led off with the story but there were other things happening, right here in my home, that mattered, too. Not to the USA of course - but still. Other things mattered.
I posted two Tweets last night:
A link to a news report that said Government offices had been warned of possible ISIS attacks targeting soldiers and police prior to the murder of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, which took place 2 days *before* the murder of Nathan Cirillo by Zehaf-Bibeau. After the murder at the War Memorial "Zehaf-Bibeau returned to his vehicle...drove a short distance...abandoned his vehicle...carjacked a parliamentary vehicle...entered the Centre Block through the main entrance under the Peace Tower...wounded a security guard, ran down the main corridor firing at closed doors behind which the Conservatives (one one side) and the NDP (on the other) were gathered. Finally, he hid in an alcove where Chief Superintendent Kevin Vickers "took him down."
THIS IS RIDICULOUS! Where the HELL was increased protection in the face of an ISIS threat, which at the very least should have been ramped up at our Federal Parliament Buildings?
It is a big deal in Canada.
(Are you still reading this post? I tried to make that recap of the event that shook my country up, real bad, as short as possible.)
Second tweet: High winds battered the GTA, creating havoc and cutting off power to thousands of homes.
This was (and continues to be) a big deal in the Greater Toronto Area, where I happen to live.
Here's the thing, American Tweeters:
You don't actually get to tell those of us who are not American what we may or may not Tweet about and when.
I can say with certainty that the vast majority of you don't give a rat's ass what's happening in MY country, let alone the UK, let alone the rest of the world, until and unless it impacts on your country.
Often, I admire the exuberance of Americans. Often, it dismays me.
Please don't get me wrong. Every time another guy goes postal and massacres a bunch of innocent American civilians I AM SORRY. Every time violent riots erupt that are ignited by perceived or real racism, I AM SORRY.
The thing is, I can't even vote in the USA. I am (we are) not able to help you.
Don't imagine for one second that your neighbour to the north doesn't care about what Americans do. Canada was targeted by ISIS because our government decided to join your government on the ground in Iraq. Canada cleared its air space on 9/11. We sent Aid Workers to New York. We sent search and rescue teams to New Orleans.
We always stand by the USA and probably always will. That's what allies do. That's what neighbours do. That's what we do.
But you guys don't get to bully any of us guys on social media because some of us (not me! not me!) were slow to get that something big was going down in Ferguson last night. You don't get to say what's important to the rest of the world.
Really, you don't.
Maybe the ongoing serious issues in the USA are internal issues. Maybe you have to handle them yourselves. Maybe, some of us are overwhelmed or just plain getting tired of your constant problems with prejudice, overeager cops/militia, and your goddam lack of gun control.
We're very sorry. Fix your problems or something. I don't know.
I DON'T KNOW.
And I get to say so. I get to say whatever I want, whenever I want, on social media or wherever I want, because I live in a free country, too.
Protestors outside the US Consulate in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Story here.
Photo Credits: Tree: CBC, Nov. 24, 2014
Protestors: Nathan Denette, The Canadian Press, Nov.25, 2014
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