Not confusing at all since I’m selective about the threads I read.
Fine, if Monty thinks a “trade war” is as emotionally impactful as assholes flying airplanes into buildings killing 3000 people and shattering our sense of safety so be it. The people I know that were there disagree. I can’t tell if that is damning of Monty or massively insulting to Canadians.
Look, I agreed with you that I really didn’t think it was going to happen or if it did, it wouldn’t last long.
But to say the markets didn’t react is just not true.
I wish I had some free money in my account on Monday morning. An ETF I own was down 10% to open, then half an hour later was only -2%. I couldn’t move money into the account fast enough to take advantage of it.
The extent you will go to to defend trump are quite impressive. If you think Canada isn’t going to spend the next 30 days trying to find ways to be less dependent on the US, you are delusional.
actually Windy is very wrong here, it has started at the governmental levels in all provinces they are looking at ways to NOT buy US. That is provincial and municipal governments… it is not virtue signalling Canada is pissed! People are pissed off with Trump and will do what ever they can to avoid anything from the US. Most companies are using this 30 day reprieve to find new non US markets for their goods. They are looking to diversify and reduce dependency on US. This is very serious because they have lost all trust in the free trade agreement that Trump himself signed.
Re: Confusion between threads.
I see Windy weighed in and is confident that in no way can he be confused about who said what to whom and in what thread that was. Sigh!
I can also be completely sure of myself when I say that in no way can I be sure of that, and I know for certain that I contributed to the confusion. I apologize.
And, I am pretty sure we will not be able to pin him down in agreement that keeping up with the daily accounting of WH chaos, let alone understanding fully the implications of each pronouncement of same, is in and of itself an existential threat to our collective sanity.
Regardless, I think people need to think about their comparisons. Comparing this in any way to 9/11 was bad form and insensitive. Comparing people to Hitler, not good. Comparing things to school shootings, No. Hyperbole, Fear Tactics, and stupid exaggerations needs to be considered. Communication is hard enough, especially on the internet. Angering people purposely to make a point often kills the message and causes the people whom you are trying to get your message across to, to tune you out. (And I don’t mean you specifically)
The issue is that the threats went straight to Canadian identity. Canadian identity is a bit of a strange thing to define. The best description is ‘We’re not sure what we are, but we know we aren’t that (pointing south)’ Part of being a Canadian (unknowingly at times) is tied up with not being American. The 51st state talk coming from a President isnt felt as a joke, but a threat to Canadian identity. Thus the resulting national embrace between Quebec and Alberta Premiers. So yes this has had and will continue to have a long term impact on the Canadian relationship with the US far beyond just the tarrifs.
We do, it’s really important. But to take a step back from your step back, we all also have to grapple with the fact that those of us who are most alarmed by recent developments are at a disadvantage in the scope we have to draw parallels. Is it appropriate, for example, to point out that Trump and Kushner suggesting that Gaza be “cleaned out” sounds an awful lot like ethnic cleansing, given that the latter term carries all the baggage of WWII and Cambodia and Rwanda and a hundred other atrocities? Well, there’s a couple of paths. Either the blowback from such irresponsible comments will be so intense that the issue fades, in which case Windy et al will claim the comparers were being histrionic, even though it may have been people drawing such comparisons that helped turn the tide, or the analogy will prove to be somewhat appropriate in which case no one will be searching through months old LR posts to admit they were wrong.
If all you care about is winning on the internet, dismissing things as overblown is always the safer option. If you want to learn from all the previous times this country and world has gone off the rails, you have to point things out early. Even though if by doing so we all win, you still lose, and if you lose, we all lose.
Off the top of your head… Can you think of some event that united pretty much the entire country? Maybe a space shuttle explosion or the landing on the moon. But I think that it is clear to say that 9/11 probably united us more than the others.
Crux of the problem… America is so strong and we are so spoiled we can fight about petty things like the wording of a comparison, and it takes an unimaginable tragedy to unite us. That’s a poor reflection of us as Americans.
The argument being made here was an appeal to sentimentality designed to stir outrage, rather than engaging with the actual point being made by @monty. Nowhere was this an attempt to diminish the loss of life or equate human tragedy with economic policy.
It was not a comparison of the severity, or morality, of 9/11 and U.S. tariffs on Canada. Rather, it was a valid opinion of how external shocks can serve as catalysts for national introspection and change.
Just as 9/11 reshaped America’s geopolitical mindset, currently postponed U.S. tariffs on Canada will prompt a reassessment of economic reliance, a renewed focus on self-reliance, and a recalibration of Canada’s relationship with its closest ally.
The framing of the argument by certain quarters was a deliberate mischaracterisation.
Particularly liking the way that after the event you’re saying that your view at the time was that it was and would only ever be a massive nothingburger.
Hindsight-based silent foresight is an impressive thing.