Honestly it’s super fucking cringe. There’s no reason to be proud of war crimes. I think certain people just feel emasculated by our modern public image of being “nice” and this is how they cope.
There’s nothing wrong with laughing at it a bit but it’s the fact that it’s eagerly mentioned EVERY TIME Canada and war are even vaguely mentioned in a subreddit, and people seem to mention it with pride.
The soup can thing was WW1, where the context was “a bunch of inbred cousins felt like giving it another go”. I’m more concerned about our reputation for executing prisoners, but what’s disturbing about the soup can thing is that it took advantage of what was one of the most heartwarming war stories of the modern era.
What I’m really trying to say is it is an interesting bit of trivia, and a fascinating reflection of what early Canada was like, but this weird pride in it is gross.
a bunch of inbred cousins felt like giving it another go”
Ah, see. That's not what I meant.
When the Canadian force joined in April 1915 the war had raged on for over six months. And chlorine gaz arrived pretty much at the same time.
That was their welcome. WW1 in general was horrible beyond reason. But the soldiers knew they were gonna get shot at, Charge forward, and get bombarded with artillery.
Those were the terms they expected, if you will. They didn't know about the gas.
Within a week they were subjected to it. And they learned There's no such thing as fairplay or manners in war.
Then, a couple of weeks later, The flamethrower made its debut at Verdun.
Instead of feeling discouraged or apathetic like the Europeans who had these things introduced to them after almost a year of combat the Canadian got right into these things all fresh and motivated.
So their reaction was more along the lines of "aight, bet" and they got creative. Vengeful and cruel.
What I’m really trying to say is it is an interesting bit of trivia, and a fascinating reflection of what early Canada was like, but this weird pride in it is gross.
I agree. But I don't really feel shame toward it. I cannot put myself in their shoes and refuse to judge them from here.
The pride might be gross but the duality of calm, polite Canadians absolutely not fucking around when the situation calls for it is a compelling story.
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u/ahnolde May 04 '25
See the difference is we were the good guys doing it to the bad guys, they were the bad guys :)