There's a headline for the Jemmies that says father and son team Eugene and Dan Levy bring Canadian politeness to the Emmy Awards.
"In what can only be described as a cruel joke, two Canadians have been put in charge of playing you off tonight," Dan said to an audience of celebrities including Catherine O'Hara, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Aniston.
"Canadians don't like interrupting anybody. It goes against our nature," agreed Eugene.
Dan added, "Confrontation in general is anxiety-inducing, especially for my 77-year-old father, OK?"
There is a Manners and Etiquette in Canada Guide. It says that "polite Canadian" is a cliche but that it does have some basis in reality.
Here are some of our characteristics - who know if this is about politeness:
We are "quite literal about time and schedules". We consider lateness of more than 15 minutes to be rude.
Giving gifts to strangers is generally rare in Canada. I wonder what gifts have in common with politeness.
Tipping is expected in Canada in sit-down restaurants. Filing to tip is considered extremely rude "and will be immediately noticed."
What gestures to one avoid in Canada?
Middle finger raised
Elbows on the table while eating
Yawning without covering
Thumbs down
Eating with open mouth or talking with full mouth
Pointing or staring at strangers
There are more things covered and then we get to "Canadians have complicated views about the United States." Isn't that a great way of saying it - seems like a version of politeness itself.
And here's what is said about swearing: "Almost all Canadians swear when talking to people they know, but swearing in front of strangers remains controversial." I didn't know we were known as swearers.
And so concludes e a short introduction to Canadian politeness.
Perhaps a model railroad layout should have trains as the dominant form of transportation. This one had a lot of boats.
No comments:
Post a Comment