Anyone worried about their upcoming trip due to possible war?

[Donald - my hero]

Not to discourage you, but there have been several attacks in Paris so I don’t really think it is any safer there.

Our reasons for not going to the States have nothing to do with fear for our safety but are in direct relation to the policies of the current administration. Any fear you might have seen me express is just general worry over the ramification of any escalated responses to the game of chicken being played out. I'm just overly sensitive to anything that involves potential unrest anywhere in the world.

 

[tgropp]

As a Canadian living in Canada, most of the people I knew (myself included) got their news from CTV, CBC or Global affiliates.

I certainly didn't say that Canadian new outlets were alone in their efforts to sensationalize. Many American stations are equally as guilty (CNN chief among them). But, those stations are geared toward delivering news to the American public, and its not the fears of the American public that were being discussed on this thread.

Agreed Gina. I feel safer in the U.S. Than I would anywhere else in the world. As far as news media, it's all about ratings and let's not forget what groups control certain media outlets and what their agendas are.

 

[mshanson3121]

We are Canadians living in the USA (since early this year). One thing we have really, REALLY noticed is that the Canadian media likes to sensationalize and over-hype anything that occurs over the border. Fear and panic keep many people tuning in for the next newscast, or buying tomorrow's newspaper.

I am in no way trying to minimize the horror that occurred in Las Vegas or any other attack (terror related or otherwise). I am also not belittling or criticizing anyone's personal fears. But the reality is, we all have as much of a chance of getting hit by lightening as dying in one of those random acts of evil ..... and most of us don't hide under the bed during a rainstorm.

Just remember that the media (social and mainstream) all have a very specific agenda. Most of my friends back home think we're living in the midst of some sort of social chaos, but that couldn't be further from the truth. We leave in five days for our next trip to Orlando, and we are not concerned about war, terror attacks, or any other dangerous event in the slightest. I'm more worried that we're going to get rain on our MNSSHP day .

Actually quite the opposite. The Canadian networks give it very little coverage compared to the Americans. The Canadians by far have the most balanced coverage. The American networks however (which many Canadians watch), by far wear the crown for sensationalism. Though actually, I'll come back and amend that. The crown for sensationalism goes to the non-mainstream news sources like The Rebel etc... that like to come up with conspiracy theories etc... THEY get the crown. And the sad thing is, they are the ones that are rampant all over Facebook etc...

 

[pigletto]

News is no better or worse than it ever was. They are all in the business of selling gloom and they do what they need to do to get ratings. I find small local networks the better of the options, but not by much. I can barely stand their coverage of a storm even and that's on both sides of the border. I don't base my concerns on sensationalism.

A perfect example was the coverage post Fort Lauderdale. It didn't even come close to the truth. The agenda was very clearly to not disrupt tourism or scare people. Look at the coverage in January compared to the official investigative report of that day that was released this weekend. Why was only ONE news station reporting what actually happened? The bias runs in both directions. Everyone has an agenda.

As far as the chances being as good as being hit by lightening.. I can't back up or make a solid case for how I feel without delving squarely into political territory so it's pointless to belabour the point. I won't support the current state of things. I think I've said all I can safely say on the matter at this point without running afoul of the Dis guidelines.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Actually quite the opposite. The Canadian networks give it very little coverage compared to the Americans. The Canadians by far have the most balanced coverage. The American networks however (which many Canadians watch), by far wear the crown for sensationalism. Though actually, I'll come back and amend that. The crown for sensationalism goes to the non-mainstream news sources like The Rebel etc... that like to come up with conspiracy theories etc... THEY get the crown. And the sad thing is, they are the ones that are rampant all over Facebook etc...

I never said that Canadian networks give American current events more coverage than the American news outlets . Of course American news will feature more coverage of things happening within their own country. And, I'm not sure you're aware, but there's a huge population difference between the two countries. There are simply way more people here who are seeking news updates, meaning more news outlets who broadcast.

I am amused by your statement that Canadians "by far have the most balanced coverage". I think that would be tough to prove, especially given the more limited news resources available to those living outside of the USA. There is a clear bias on BOTH sides of the border......and we've been able to see both first-hand.

I will agree wholeheartedly that US broadcasts are also sensationalist......Good Morning America has become my source for a daily morning giggle, on the days that I can stomach watching. And as for stations like the Rebel, well.....there are still people who get their "news" from the Enquirer, too. If a person looks hard enough, there will always be SOME media outlet to support their beliefs and opinions, regardless of how "unique" they are.

 

[bankr63]

Hmm, I always enjoy a good statistical conundrum. In the US about 50 people per year are struck by lightning. So far in 2017, 461 have been killed, and 1627 injured in mass shootings in the US. Odds are better of becoming a mass shooting victim. Just offering the facts, not a commentary.

As to the Canadian vs. US media, I find that we in Canada don't fixate on the US that much. I get 90% of my US (mis-)information from the TV's at the gym which display both Fox and CNN (fun to watch both at the same time!) I find the Canadian media (I mostly watch CBC) to be fairly dispassionate. Unless there is a major incident like LV, CBC will do a quick piece on what POTUS tweeted today, and then go back to discussing Justin's Star Wars socks. There has been lots of coverage of the US refugee crisis in Canada on our media, not so much SOTB (last night's revelation; our refugee board is so overwhelmed with US refugees that a normal 6 week processing time may be stretching to 60 MONTHS).

From the months I spent living in the US, I found what I craved when I returned to Canada was World news. The US media was woefully inadequate at covering anything outside of its own borders. Biggest piece on CBC last night was the Catalan independence movement and vote. I don't recall seeing that discussed in any detail on CNN yet.

 

[Best_Vacation_EVER!]

We're not worried about war because I think that it doesn't make any sense for most of the actors in the game.....

When I went in December 2016 I was surprised about the number of Americans who wanted to talk about this and asked about what a Canadian thought about DJT being elected. Mostly I just said that 1/ Canada and the US have been strong allies and friends for a long time and that I hoped that we'd always have each others interests at heart and 2/ that ultimately that US citizens decide how their country is run and that as a visitor it wasn't really my place to comment about how things turned out but I hoped they'd always realize the value of 1/.

I really hope that when we visit in 2018 that both are still true.

 

[Sprockie]

I totally agree. If I had I said I was worried about possibly being in an airport shooting before our trip in January on here I'm sure lots of people would have rolled their eyes at me too. Guess what.. I was.. and the only positive to come from that is that when people run their mouth about how other people should feel and roll their eyes at someone's safety concerns , I dismiss them right away.
Do I think everyone should be quaking in fear? No. But I will NEVER make someone feel small or stupid for taking their safety seriously. TBH.. I am not comfortable in the United States right now. We went back twice after the Fort Lauderdale incident and we spent an awful lot of time looking over our shoulder. We are walking through metal detectors to get into theme parks.Announcements telling you if you "See something, Say something" are running in movie theatres. Other people can normalize that. I can't.

We just missed the Ft. Lauderdale airport incident by a day. We were at our hotel when it all unfolded and spoke to a lot of people who were checking in that night after leaving the airport with no purses or luggage, babies and children in tow with nothing but what they had on. I remember saying to my husband that if we were one day earlier and caught in the airport, my U.S. travelling days would be over. So you're brave and good for you for going back and showing your kids how to move on.

 

[dis_guy]

My in-laws flew out of FLL an hour before the incident there. We were very concerned but they didn't even know about it until they were home watching the news.

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

One word sums up this thread "WOW"