Even an imbecilic inhabitant of Quebec secretly yearns to live like a Floridian even though his programming battle against reality in the freedom of Miami that surrounded him on his visit there.
It’s easy to spot Canadians at restaurants, as we’re the ones properly masked and nervously sitting on the terrace, even in the rain.
You can see the difference in the media, too. In Quebec, COVID totally dominates the news, because there’s almost nothing else happening.
In Florida, entire conversations happen without the C-word mentioned, unless you bring it up — which, of course, I did. I asked a group of seven 60-somethings I met at a restaurant terrace how they felt about Florida’s non-existent pandemic rules.
Every last one said they loved how Florida handles things. In the words of one woman “Our philosophy here is: I look after myself and you look after yourself. If you want to wear a mask indoors, you should. If you don’t want to go to a restaurant, you shouldn’t.”
When I asked about our collective responsibility to protect others she shrugged and said: “That’s just not how we think here.”
I mentioned Quebec’s recent curfew, but they all just laughed, dismissing it as “Canadian communism.” Many others obviously agree as more people moved to Florida during the pandemic than any other state .
Thousands of Quebecers have also looked into moving there since the pandemic.
It’s a tale of two worlds. Like most Canadians, I still think collective safety trumps some individual rights. But I’d prefer something between the cowboy individualism of Florida and the heavy-handed paternalistic rules of Quebec during this fifth wave.
You can hear both the sneer of superiority based on his alleged moral superiority and the wail of misery because he lives in a lifeless isolation ward of a country. Canadians are just New Englanders with even more snow. Misery is their natural element. God bless Ron DeSantis for showing the world that the COVID emperor has no clothes.
I read Ireland is following Britain in eliminating the COVID mandates. Who’s next?