Imagine booking a table at Chili's and being told you have a $1000 min spend. I'd say that's the proof we're living in a simulation.

Totally agree. We may as well have a ruling king or queen at that point (and I actually mean that without the irony of having a king).

For sure. Just like I hope that Canadians are deeply embarrassed at how the country continues to treat its First Nations communities, rolls back gender identity rights, cuts environmental protections, and beefs up military spending. For some reason, Canadians just like talking about others more.

I mean, this was other Canadians saying it at events, in business meetings, etc. I just kept my mouth shut because I knew better.

Also, again, polarization is what's wrong with humanity today. We need more empathy today. "We're better than them" doesn't help anything, it just fires up the other side.
I'm *not* saying I disagree with what you've said. I'm just saying, punching down is still a version of throwing fists.

I mean, now you're just doing a textbook logical fallacy. I was saying above that Trump has no honor and his goons are running wild. I'm also not American.
My point is being careful about painting a population in broad strokes. The majority didn't vote for him, and polls show many who did regret it.

People 100% felt smug. I saw it regularly on work trips in U.S., Singapore, Amsterdam and many other places. When it was Obama and Trudeau in power, everyone seemingly looked at North America as the progressive power house of the world. When Trump got in, "at least we still have Trudeau" was said.

IMO, painting in broad strokes is exactly how everything has become more polarized in the first place. Particularly now as so many are just trying to literally survive due to decisions of a group of people who decided the old honor and a handshake was something to exploit for personal gain.

In other places I've been, including typical red states, I'll get so many people apologize for their president when they hear that I'm Canadian. And for me to tell people back home that "this isn't us." I'm not saying it's the norm, but it's often.

But my biggest surprise living in the U.S. has been just how nice everyone is, even in NYC which is notorious for being rude. Yes, people are trying to get from A to B and in a rush, so they can be short or get frustrated. But you need a hand? Drop something? They're first to stop and help.

There's also a historical context. Similar to how Aussies can be a bit more brash and struggle with toxic masculinity because the country was founded as an island of convicts, so there's some deep-seeded issues, America was founded on war and a us vs. them. So again, bit more brash seeps through.

That sounds like a pretty linear view though and based on some bias (not in a negative way, just logistical).
America has a flawed political system that was often based on honor and a handshake. A group of people without honor finally decided to abuse it, and hopefully those gaps will be closed.

Having lived in three countries with different electoral systems, my view is that elections rarely reflect an entire country (even if a "good" leader is in). When Obama, Trudeau, etc. were in power, the horribleness was still there but everyone felt smug.

It's always easy to punch down, though.

Agreed! I love the community of the different blocks and mini-neighborhoods that rally together for everything. We had a block closure for businesses and people to hand out candy to kids and it was lovely