Driving to Florida soon from Ontario, worried and scared

[manning]

Travel during the day

Stay on the Interstates

Gas up in rural areas. Gas signs on interstate are marked at off ramps

Start looking for gas when gauge says 1/4 tank. I do that all the time and never have run out of gas.

Stop driving before dark

There are many motel chains along the way. I am familiar with Mariette and Hampton Inn. Between those two you won't have trouble finding a place.

 

[Dentam]

I am curious, in your opinion, all of them are racially motivated? Not one has had a thing to do with what the person was doing?

No, I don't recall ever saying that. But to say that racial profiling never comes into play is, to quote you, ridiculous.

 

[Magpie]

I know that not all people who are nasty will have guns and will shoot people. I keep trying to say that but it seems that some do not want to let it go. As for the second paragraph everytime we go to the States (last several years we have flown into Florida for our cruise but my parents used to have a mobile home down there where I used to visit every year) we have to let people from the States know that those things are not true. EVERY TIME so yes there are a number of people that have no idea. As well trying to tell someone that there are many parts of the U.S. that are farther north than we are is just frustrating. They don't believe facts. One time I asked if a certain company was up near Ontario Canada so that I could go there to get more of the product. The sales lady was trying to find out where in the U.S. Canada was. I kept telling her that Canada was a different Country and not part of the U.S. Of course when I asked about Buffalo N.Y. she also didn't know where that was.

When asked these questions I try to answer them nicely but realizing that the person asking won't believe me anyway. And they generally don't.

I am NOT saying that all Americans don't know this, I am NOT saying that all Americans are stupid, I am NOT saying that all Americas are bad people.
tigercat

I blame the schools. These are not stupid people. They just don't know certain things, and it's quite possibly because they've never been told.

My mum taught at a Kansas college for a couple years, and said her students were very courteous, polite, intelligent, eager to learn and just all around delightful people. But the public school education many had received had left them woefully uninformed about the world around them.

For the record - she was never once menaced with a gun. And when she got back to Canada, she said she missed the way young people would open doors for her and call her "ma'am". And the way strangers would smile and greet her on the street. Canadians (at least, Ontarians) are rather more reserved.

 

[tigercat]

It must of been where she was. I know we were a small town and now a couple of years has made us a city. I still say hi and smile and people open doors for me (I use a walker) all the time. I find when I smile and say hi so do they.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Yes, it happens too, and I have seen it reported. It is not as frequent though. I think to be in denial about race issues in this country is common but sooner or later people need to acknowledge the problems and do more to fix them.

Actually, white people being shot by police happens about twice as frequently as black people being shot by police. The number represents a lower percentage of the white population vs the percentage of the black population shot by police. But, since the total number is much higher, the frequency would have to be as well.

 

[Dentam]

Actually, white people being shot by police happens about twice as frequently as black people being shot by police. The number represents a lower percentage of the white population vs the percentage of the black population shot by police. But, since the total number is much higher, the frequency would have to be as well.

I worded that poorly. Here is an article that talks about it in more depth. You're right, when adjusted for population, blacks are 2.5 times as likely to be killed by police and also more likely to be unarmed at the time. There is a real issue happening here. It's not just being made up.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-by-police-yes-but-no/?utm_term=.922094e270f1

 

[SirDuff]

You must be digging for it then, I haven't seen the reports. And it is very close in frequency. There are race issues, no doubt about it but all of these police shooting are not racial and to claim they are is ridiculous.

Do you mean "not all" of the shootings are racial? Or "all are not" racial? The word order actually changes things. I'd agree with you with the former wording, but not the later.

 

[JoeA]

I live in Tennessee. We do not have open carry here, so if I see someone in a public place who is not a uniformed officer carrying a gun, I would assume that they the intent to use that gun for violence.

And having said that, if I were looking at a room full of people who were openly and legally carrying guns, how am I to know that they're all good people who aren't planning to do something violent with that weapon? Quite frankly, an open carry state is the perfect cover for somebody who wants an easy way to reach the place where they plan to do something violent. If open carry is the norm, then anyone can walk around with a gun, legal or not. A room full of people carrying weapons makes me think that the chances of someone using weapons is greater.

Every day we see people who are licensed drivers who violate traffic laws while driving two tons of metal. Why should someone carrying a weapon be any more law abiding?

How many shootings occur in gun free zones vs a room full of "open carry"? You'd be nuts to think you can use the open carry law to "sneak" into a room and shoot. As posted earlier, they wouldn't be a bad guy for long.

I was hiking the other day and came across a guy carrying openly and honestly, he was the least of my worries on the trail.

I have also walked into a restaurant while openly carrying. Why? I just left the range practicing and felt the gun was safer on my side as opposed to being left in my car where someone could break in and steal it.

This is off the original post/topic so apologies, but people carry for different reasons. Some because they can, some because it is insurance they hope they never need, and some because they honestly feel for their safety (for a myriad of reasons).

 

[MillauFr]

Another disaster while driving to/from Disneyworld. Everyone worries about guns and violence when it is a 2,000 lb box of steel that will most likely cause death and destruction... Hope these girls can recover...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...national:homepage/card&utm_term=.ee88943fd31d

 

[luvsJack]

Do you mean "not all" of the shootings are racial? Or "all are not" racial? The word order actually changes things. I'd agree with you with the former wording, but not the later.

Not all of them are racial. Are some? I don't know. Are the majority? I don't believe they are.

 

[cabanafrau]

Okay so a couple more shootings have happened since I last posted. I realize that they are far apart and the last one in a school. I have set my course and taken in the good advice that I have been given. What is nagging me though are the posters who said their piece in a bit of a nasty way (don't come into our Country ect) that show the attitude that one should be wary of, especially if they are carrying a gun. Since most posters have been very nice you hope and assume that they majority of people will be as well. I always try to be very pleasant and nice to people and usually that does help. I am sure I will have a great vacation.

One thing I would like to say though to many Americans. Canadians do not live in Igloos, we all do not have dog sled and if you come to Canada where I live don't expect to go skiing until probably (at least in the last several years) January. You would have better luck going skiing in one of the many States that gets a lot more snow than we do. The area that I live in is SOUTH of quite a bit of some of the States in the U.S. LOL

Wait, you're complaining about misconceptions about where you live?

Posted from just outside a warzone, north of parts of Ontario, Canada. Or I guess as some refer to it, the land where we live by Jon Snow's motto.

 

[Magpie]

...where we live by Jon Snow's motto.

Um... you all know nothing?

What IS Jon Snow's motto? (I mean, other than, "Don't trust that adorable freckle faced boy whose life you saved.")

 

[cabanafrau]

Um... you all know nothing?

What IS Jon Snow's motto? (I mean, other than, "Don't trust that adorable freckle faced boy whose life you saved.")

If this thread is to be believed, apparently so. I cannot get past someone coming here to post loads of misconceptions about another country, yet seriously complaining a large proportion of that country is ridiculously(insultingly) ignorant about theirs.

I can't figure out what would compel someone to vacation in and travel through a country filled with such violent ignoramuses? But then again, I do live in the land where we apparently know nothing.

 

[NotUrsula]

They have HBO in Canada? Who knew? (joke, folks)

As to police shootings, my firm belief is that in the VAST majority of cases where a cop shoots an unarmed person of any race, it's a mistake caused by a panic reaction. For some reason that officer is losing control, and reacts in a way that is disastrous in someone carrying a deadly weapon. Does that excuse it? Not at all; that is why police officers are supposed to be trained to handle such situations, but in too many cases the training takes a backseat to a nervous reaction when the chips are down (and in more cases, the training wasn't good in the first place.) Are there racist police officers? Of course there are, but I don't think that anything close to all cases of an unarmed black suspect being shot by a white officer are the result of racist beliefs (and conversely, nor do I think that all cases of a black officer shooting an unarmed white suspect are, either.)

There is also one aspect that I don't think we discuss nearly enough: police officers who chose the job primarily because they like power. There are a fair number who do. Officers like that are natural bullies, and a bully with a deadly weapon and a presumed right to use it is a very volatile thing. Put that officer on a beat in an area that is all-white, and I'll bet anything that his or her percentage of questionable confrontations with suspects is exactly the same as it would be in an AA neighborhood.

 

[ronandannette]

If this thread is to be believed, apparently so. I cannot get past someone coming here to post loads of misconceptions about another country, yet seriously complaining a large proportion of that country is ridiculously(insultingly) ignorant about theirs.

I can't figure out what would compel someone to vacation in and travel through a country filled with such violent ignoramuses? But then again, I do live in the land where we apparently know nothing.

Not going to get into it with the OP but honestly, those are stereotypical hyperbolic inaccuracies that get repeated about Canada but NOT ever in my experience something real people anywhere actually believe. Not anybody anywhere, and saying so is kind of one of those "urban myths" that people sometimes embellish as having actually happened to them. All Canadians live in igloos? Please!

 

[Dentam]

There is also one aspect that I don't think we discuss nearly enough: police officers who chose the job primarily because they like power. There are a fair number who do. Officers like that are natural bullies, and a bully with a deadly weapon and a presumed right to use it is a very volatile thing. Put that officer on a beat in an area that is all-white, and I'll bet anything that his or her percentage of questionable confrontations with suspects is exactly the same as it would be in an AA neighborhood.

I agree with everything you said but especially this last point. I believe the same is true for many politicians.

 

[cabanafrau]

Not going to get into it with the OP but honestly, those are stereotypical hyperbolic inaccuracies that get repeated about Canada but NOT ever in my experience something real people anywhere actually believe. Not anybody anywhere, and saying so is kind of one of those "urban myths" that people sometimes embellish as having actually happened to them. All Canadians live in igloos? Please!

You mean it's not snow and igloos 24/7/365? I always wondered why the bridge didn't have dogsled lanes for all those Canadians who work here and go back and forth everyday. I mean I assumed they had no idea they were traveling through a warzone five days a week because TV and electricity probably wasn't really common in igloo living. It's so weird you never see the Property Brothers renovating a single igloo on their show.

 

[ronandannette]

You mean it's not snow and igloos 24/7/365? I always wondered why the bridge didn't have dogsled lanes for all those Canadians who work here and go back and forth everyday. I mean I assumed they had no idea they were traveling through a warzone five days a week because TV and electricity probably wasn't really common in igloo living. It's so weird you never see the Property Brothers renovating a single igloo on their show.

That's because this guy is verrrry territorial - kinda like a polar bear. He's the expert on igloo rehab:


We've got our own celebrity chefs too - you know, the ones who can whip up just about anything with pine cones and whale blubber?:

Suser Lee, Chuck Hughes, Lynn Crawford, Roger Mooking

 

[tigercat]

Whew. I keep trying to say things and they keep being totally taken out of wack. Not a large part of the population says that about Canada I did not say that. I have met many people on my travels and are really good friends with others. Of course you will meet the rude, inconsiderate, and uninformed person when you travel because you are usually dealing with a large amount of people. And it would not matter where you go you will probably meet some of those people, even in Canada. People are people everywhere and you get what you get from them. I enjoy talking to people and have learned a lot about many different countries and cultures that way.

I asked the question because I am not at all used to having people just carrying around guns. I am seeing things on TV and wanted to get the feeling from people living in the areas we will be traveling through what the exact situation was. I have received the answers and will follow the advice given. I have my maps all planned out and can't wait to go on my trip.

As for the funny things people have asked me about Canada...I posted on another site yesterday. I had been talking back and forth and then was asked how much snow we usually got and when did we have time off from having it. At first I thought it was a joke but it wasn't. This time I just left things go. As I will this thread.

Thank you for the advice and the information. I appreciated it.

tigercat

 

[wvjules]

I asked the question because I am not at all used to having people just carrying around guns. I am seeing things on TV and wanted to get the feeling from people living in the areas we will be traveling through what the exact situation was. I have received the answers and will follow the advice given. I have my maps all planned out and can't wait to go on my trip.

tigercat

They don't! I have never seen anyone carrying around a gun. (A hunting rifle while hunting doesn't count.)

Do you think that every American you meet is going to be holstering a side arm and be ready to shoot at any moment?