'Elbows up, Canada'

By Jon Dunbar

"Elbows up." The phrase conjures images of hockey violence, gloves dropped, teeth knocked out.

When Canadians booed the U.S. national anthem at the start of a hockey game, in direct response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff provocations, it seemed surreal and a bit childish — but oh so cathartic. Sports can hardly reflect the complexities of the real world, and what happens on the ice is no substitute for diplomacy or conflict.

But it certainly sent a message when Canada, a liberal democracy beleaguered with economic and territorial threats, went on to trounce that Goliath on their own soil in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. That victory over a global superpower, one apparently in the throes of a technofascist coup d'etat, is a message that I hope Americans received and understood properly in context.

During last year's election cycle, many Americans insisted the world was laughing at them under the doddering leadership of Joe Biden, and no amount of non-Americans could convince them the reality was exactly the opposite. Their claims later evolved to say that with Trump's return to power — claims that, mind you, came years after the failed violent coup of Jan. 6, 2021 — we are no longer laughing. That much is true — Canadians are too angry to laugh, and we're booing as America continues to debase itself.

America has been hellbent on alienating — or possibly subjugating — its allies, in a supposed effort to leverage its military might to gain an upper hand in trade, while also clearly seeking to realign with Russia (and by extension, Russia's battlefield ally, North Korea). With the pretense that it was about stopping the flow of fentanyl from its northern border mostly abandoned, Trump's aggressive rhetoric threatens my country's economy and sovereignty. In hindsight, we all could have seen the signs of this coming, although it's been far more devastating than Trump's chaotic first term. But Americans voted for this and now they are forced to suffer the consequences, no matter how destructive it gets.

While many of my American friends seem to just shrug and suggest if we wait a few days, Trump will likely move on, Canadians are taking action. We know Trump is a demagogue who spouts blatant falsehoods and spreads hate, but Canadians will not stand idly by when our borders are threatened. We have no choice but to resist, to show that we won't submit in the face of Trump's "might makes right" Manifest Destiny mindset.

These developments have united Canada like nothing else, with people coming together from Ottawa, where a leadership transition is taking place, to conservative Alberta, my home province, to the French-speaking, sometimes-separatist Quebec.

Americans have severely misjudged Canadians' stereotypical politeness, which isn't based on docility in the face of a superior force, but on principles of dignity and fairness that America itself likes to think it once championed. In any geopolitical, economic or athletic conflict, America has the weight to throw around and may even sometimes come out on top, but not without a fight. And Canada will make sure it's a fight that leaves their noses a bit bloody, too.

As our federal and provincial governments have been setting up retaliatory tariffs, Canadians are also responding with consumer boycotts. Here in Korea, boycotting U.S.-made goods isn't likely to have much effect — especially as Koreans seem to be responding to similar trade threats by increasing spending to tilt the trade deficit — but I'm doing my part anyway. It just feels wrong to buy American goods, wherever I am, and the time may come where Koreans respond similarly, though I hope things don't get that ugly.

On the bright side, I've lost a few kilograms in the last couple months by cutting American products, like McDonald's and Coca-Cola, out of my diet.

I recently found myself in an American-owned restaurant, suddenly confronted with questions of whether boycotting America meant I had to boycott my friend's business as well. And the answer I reached is that, no, I will not participate in tearing apart local community bonds.

That is what our adversaries — namely Russia and China, but also Trump — want, and have wanted for years: to drive wedges in alliances, break up our community ties and collapse the global order into smaller, isolated pockets that are easier for them to dominate. It sets up another trap we must avoid. Just because America is acting adversarial toward us does not mean we should allow our own countries to also slide into autocratic rule and isolationism.

I hope that in this trade war, Canada demonstrates good sportsmanship as much as possible, even as the Americans continue cheating, extorting, threatening and betraying allies worldwide. This is a fight we won't win with hockey games or on-the-ice violence. Elbows up won't fix the problem alone — it's only a readiness posture we can maintain while waiting for Americans to do the right thing. After all, our economies are too deeply integrated, and a recession in the U.S. certainly means recessions for trade partners. Let's hope America comes to its senses, before everyone gets their teeth knocked out — and that afterwards, we can set the jerseys aside and restore our friendship.

Jon Dunbar is a Canadian copy editor at The Korea Times.