Yikes! To make me read an entire comment this long speaks both to insight and beautiful prose. Congrats.
As a Canadian, I feel that you are correct in your assessment that we are at a point-of-no-return.
Simple little anecdote about the groundswell of boycotts that has come from the grassroots, not at the behest of our governments. In Costco the other day, I picked up a couple of sale items that would have been impulse buys a few weeks ago. Flipped 'em over, read product of USA, and tossed 'em back. A complete stranger, waiting politely behind me, tapped my shoulder and asked, "Are they American?" and then said "I'll leave them too."
A few minutes later, waiting to get into the produce cooler, an older lady came out with a couple of clam shells of lettuce, and announced to her daughter behind the cart, "They're Canadian."
Once buying habits change, it takes a long time to shift them back. Even if American consumers felt that a response in kind was necessary (I don't think they care enough), they couldn't have the same impact because most of what we ship south is bulk commodities not consumer products. It's really hard for an individual shopper to decide that they are no longer buying their iron ore from Canada.
I spent half of last December driving through rural Washington, Oregon and California. American farmers voted Trump OVERWHELMINGLY. I could not feel *less* bad for them if you paid me. 😡🇨🇦
Yikes! To make me read an entire comment this long speaks both to insight and beautiful prose. Congrats.
As a Canadian, I feel that you are correct in your assessment that we are at a point-of-no-return.
Simple little anecdote about the groundswell of boycotts that has come from the grassroots, not at the behest of our governments. In Costco the other day, I picked up a couple of sale items that would have been impulse buys a few weeks ago. Flipped 'em over, read product of USA, and tossed 'em back. A complete stranger, waiting politely behind me, tapped my shoulder and asked, "Are they American?" and then said "I'll leave them too."
A few minutes later, waiting to get into the produce cooler, an older lady came out with a couple of clam shells of lettuce, and announced to her daughter behind the cart, "They're Canadian."
Once buying habits change, it takes a long time to shift them back. Even if American consumers felt that a response in kind was necessary (I don't think they care enough), they couldn't have the same impact because most of what we ship south is bulk commodities not consumer products. It's really hard for an individual shopper to decide that they are no longer buying their iron ore from Canada.
To borrow a Trumpian Phrase, "So sad."
I spent half of last December driving through rural Washington, Oregon and California. American farmers voted Trump OVERWHELMINGLY. I could not feel *less* bad for them if you paid me. 😡🇨🇦