When Is Being Nice Just Annoying
28 Feb
As a Canadian I’m used to people being nice. We say “sorry” when the other person bumps into us. We let people cut in front of us in line without saying anything. Well not verbally anyways. We tend to give them our best being cross look. But we yield.
Canadians are nice.
But, when is being nice just annoying?
Being nice is annoying when we don’t mean it.
We really aren’t “sorry” when someone bumps into us in a mall or on the street. They make us mad. We want to punch them. But we just say “sorry”.
We don’t usually say anything when someone cuts in front of us in a line. We give them a look. But we don’t say anything. Or if we do summon up the courage to say something it’s usually something like “Excuse me. I think I was ahead of you.”
Of course if they don’t agree that we were ahead of them we are more likely to just admit defeat and reply with something like “Sorry. My mistake.” followed by another look..
If a Canadian breaks the rules and is rude they are given the look by everyone around them.
Why are we like this?
When does “Get out there and win.” turn into “Have fun. It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose as long as you do your best and have fun”
To the best of my knowledge all North Americans originated from the same countries.
Did the strong willed people go south to the United States and the wishy washy people go to Canada?
When North Americans sorted themselves out did the conversation go like this;
“Excuse me. We want to live in the warmer part of North America too.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Sorry. We will stay in the land of the ice and snow.”
Did my grandparents settle in Manitoba because they wanted to or where they just being nice?
Did they ask if they could go farther west to Alberta or British Columbia and someone from there gave them the look so they said “sorry” and just settled for staying here?
Why do I feel like I am getting “the look” right now?
Editors note: If I am getting “the look” then “Sorry.”
If all Canadians are nice, then how do you account for the person perpetrating the action that leads to you saying “sorry” in the first place? Hmmmmm?
Those are visitors from a southern unnamed country of course,ha,ha..
Did you write this knowing they were gonna do a bit about it at the closing ceremonies of the olympics?
No, I never even got to see the closing ceremonies. I had to go out.
Watched the hockey game though. Glad we won but holy crap the U.S.A. team was good..
I think being nice is good as long as you know the right boundaries when to stop being nice.
I’m not Canadian but I feel your story here as I am a natural in this case. When somebody bumps me or steps on my toes, I’d even be the first to say sorry (as if it were my fault). Weird, eh? However, now that I’ve gained some maturity, I am beginning to think twice about letting this go on with me. They say you become a victim because you allowed yourself to be. Nowadays, I try to be a little assertive, although most of the time the pacifist in me always wins out in the end.
We do need to have boundaries.
Canadians tend to say sorry without actually thinking about it. Kind of like saying hello or goodbye to someone.
It has no real meaning most of the time,ha,ha..
Canadians nice? Canadians are not always that nice. This isn’t the friendly country it once was.
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I think we are just sneaky. We use polite phrases like “sorry” and “thanks” when we don’t mean it so we can lull people into thinking we are nice.
Then, when they turn their back to us we clobber them with a stick,ha,ha..