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From: KeepExploring
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  • NOT only is this person not amazing he isnt even mediocre! I was embarrassed when I first heard this during the Olympics in Vancouver. I am further amazed at the very fact it is still around and receiving accolades from people who don't know any better! Damn drink the good SH*T it doesnt cost YOU any more! try this

    Knock knock

    and what teachers make

    you are welcome IN advance

  • Right on, my Canadian Brother!

  • I read these comments insulting him and insulting his poetry. He's an amazing poet and I'm sure all you people who say this shit could never write something like this. You only got one life to live, does it really seem necessary to go around insulting people? This is amazing and if you got nothing nice to say don't say anything at all. I'm proud to be canadian, and this guy makes me feel even more proud.

  • @13raffygirl Being Canadian is just what he says it is. He makes me flaunt my homeland and make sure that everyone knows that I AM CANADIAN! IT IS THE THING I AM MOST PROUD OF AND SHANE IS AMAZING AT WHAT HE DOES!!!

  • @13raffygirl don't post stuff on a public site if you dont want a response! What? everyone has to agree to think as you do? NOT ... contrary thinking and writing is what makes people think... going along to get along gets you NO where man. The guy is not good PERIOD and I give examples of excellence (see above) I hope he can do better... the hopes and fears of the free world are with him!

    ....

    Lets all hold hands and sing Kumbaya

  • shane koyczan is fat

  • @bradleypeters1993 not nice

  • @bradleypeters1993 Wow, you must be a genius.

  • @MrBmantheman I was being a cunt :) I love this guy

  • @bradleypeters1993 Don't forget his neckbeard! :D

  • i just got chills

  • this guy makes me ashamed to be canadian not by the poem but that he gives the stereotype of shitty neck beards

  • Proudly Canadian 

  • we are a country built on the bones of millions of bison and those who hunted them, the same people that create the vast majority of those found in welfare lines and penitentiaries. for the last half of the century we've strove to cover up these broken teeth like the graves of rail roaders who worked so hard to scratch an existance in this beautiful place manipulated by pride and race.

  • his hand motions are epic

  • Did he take that "I am Canadian" beer commercial and re-tool it for himself? Was K-Y

    needed for this self-congratulatory piece of masturbatory drivel?

  • I remember him here in Penticton working in a video store lol Super nice guy.

  • Makes me proud to be Canadian. This guy's awesome. <3

  • The Shane for The Win.

  • Why is he pretending to do sign language? I'm deaf and he is confusing me!

  • he is amazing.

  • shane, shane, so good, shane, always

  • What feel-good nonsense this is.

    The senseless destruction of the Vancouver riot put an end to this foolishness.

  • this guy makes me be proud to be canadian

  • @mrflanaganonelson Is it his neckbeard?

  • damn that fuckers is fat

  • unreal man. proud to be CANADIAN!

  • Happy Canada Day!!! :)

  • Shane Koyczan is my hero <3

  • love this so much. (he says tapestry twice tho. kills me)

  • i thought he was doing sign language when i first watched this...

  • He did a coffee ad recently. I wanna see that on here.

  • @russianfantastico Maxwell House.. i know it's fantastic!

  • That makes me proud to be a Canadian. And I live in the US.

  • @TheStbb hahaha.... to cool ;)

  • lol @ his hands

  • I love this gyu's sprit! wwwww

  • OH yeah... IM TERRY FOX!!!

  • :) LL Canada! And yes! we are very nice people :D...

  • Multiculturalism FTW!

  • canadians and their neck bears.

  • 32 people have never experienced MY CANADA!!!

  • Beautiful ... thank you!!  I'm proud to be Canadian and to have a proud Canadian deliver such powerful words to us all.

  • Wooohooo, he is going to be in my city next week. I'll be there. Good on ya fellow Canuck.

  • go to my page and check out my spoken word poetry anything that can help me make an impact and help me get noticed would be incredible your only using time and it wont be wasted either

  • 32 people are americans

  • @j03n4rd Well... that's one way to destroy the mood of a fantastic video.

  • he went to my school bitches oh yeeee.

  • he went to my school bitch oh yeeee. 

  • I get the shivers every time. Hell yeah! We made it be!

  • im friends with him on facebook lol

  • Best tourism commercial I've ever seen

  • As an american I truy love our canadian & mexican allies & we're not just the united states of america because of our history or our people but beause north america truly is united we shall always be allies,friends,brothers,sister­s we are canadians,mexicans,cubans,amer­icans & we are what the world dreams to become but most importantly we are a family that shares history together & makes history pure & important..god bless canada,god bless the united states of america,and god bless mexico

  • This was one of my favourite parts of Opening Ceremonies. I am SO proud to be Canadian!

  • 31 people have to pay for health care

  • its not what you say for i know already is true but the way you say it i see in your eyes you do beleive for we are canadian ;)

  • @PoliticsStudent shut up you obviously don't realize that most Quebecers want to be in Canada and being proud to call myself both canadian and a decedent of Quebec

  • wow 454 peaple LOVE canadians 31 peaple HATE Canadians

  • @bakerman777 shut the fuck up... you suck at life, canadas better than you every day

  • What makes this any different from the drivel we hear on beer commercials?

    Canada is a huge country, and most of the people that live in it never see beyond their homes. People from Calgary resent Toronto, even if they've never been there. People from Toronto don't even know Calgary exists. People in Quebec don't even want to be Canadian. Aboriginal people were forced to become Canadian.

    The idea of a civic nation is a sham. It's time we stopped pretending that we're so much alike.

  • @PoliticsStudent If you're Canadian I hope people hate you as much as Justin Beiber

  • @PoliticsStudent  my first impression exactly. I was waiting for the "I am Canadian" at the end.

  • I have adored every canadian i've ever met. such kind people.

    <3

  • @jackalope616 On behalf of all Canadians, thank you.

  • @jackalope616 IM CANADIAN

  • @jackalope616 its not a steryotype when its true. i would know

  • @jackalope616 Why thankyou :) <3

  • @jackalope616 thank you from Calgary Alberta Canada!!!

  • @jackalope616 I love my country because of that :)

  • Saw him live today...HOLY SHIT HES AMAZING!

  • @WASTELANDDRUMMER

    I was at roots n blues as well! We were blessed with his words today too. Bought his disc! Soooo awesome!

  • ps...is he reciting this out of order or just a snippet? where's the line about buffy saint marie?

  • @Londa1027 This is the version he gave for the bid to win the Olympics and when Vancouver won he expanded it for the opening ceremonies.

  • @saoirse56 that makes sense. cheers!

  • c,mon CAmexiCANs...that's north america...canada, mexico, USA (america)...we are all north americans...we are all people...lol

    im all for patriotism, but i cant stand bigotry. cant we all just get along. i love canada, america, and mexico....

    i get so sick of this war of nations.

    get over it

  • hes amazing he inspires ma poetry xD

  • T___T Somehow this video became part of my school assignment.

    Ohhh, how I loathe your poetic smartness.

  • Youtube should never allow a vuvuzela option on any Shane Koyczan video.

  • @minneapolis7967 Everyone has their own taste I guess, yours happens to be wrong, but it's your own :p

  • @minneapolis7967 Then, don't watch it. Simple!

  • HE NEEDS TO STOP MAKING HAND GESTURES ANNOYING ME AHH!

  • (y) , i love Canada ! :)

  • Fuck these Canada vs USA bullshit comments...Shane Koyczan displayed real pride, hospitality and fantasy instead of empty phrases! This slam poet guy showed a positive inch to the world. I'm a slammer as well, like him, and I respect his simpathic patriotism. Thanks to Canada state for using slam poetry as state-image and Olympical Opening! Greetings from Hungary, slammers!

  • Go Canada.You guys really did a great job.Vancover was AWSOME!

  • This guy is everything Canadian. Happy! Loving life! Talking about how Canadians are more than just nature, hockey and land, while talking in front of a green screen on one of the most polluted waterways in Canada. His statements are so hypocritical in so many ways.

  • He came to my school today :)

    he was really funny, and good :P

  • I met this guy personally.

  • Very nice, though most of what he recited probably applies alot more to America than it does to Canada.

  • Oh Canada!

  • Canada = New Asia.

  • Brilliant!

  • I love This Guy

  • Like I said, multiculturalism is not without problems and those that you mention are a small minority and have already been identified and are being addressed within the immigration process. Throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water without a coherent replacement policy is not the answer. Many women of South Asian descent are doing very well here and are leaders in their communities as well as in the broader Canadian community, and are at the forefront of dealing with gender issues.

  • A "coherent replacement policy" would be not giving away citizenship so easily. Every immigrant should have to wait ten years for citizenship. 90% would not have to worry. Their employment and residency would be protected. But those who don't fit into our country or who commit heinous crimes could be booted out. A bogus refugee claimant is here for 4.5 years. What a joke. We are the doormat of the world. Even EU citizens try for asylum. We offer a passport of convenience for too many.

  • If Quebec's "line in the sand" is the solution to the problems of Multiculturalism - we are all in big trouble! Because we will fragment into a million little states who want to go to war with each other to prove that "our way" in the only "right" way. I will stick with multiculturalism - thanks...

  • If multiculturalism means accepting people of other cultures and races into our country and allowing them to keep aspects of their culture that mesh with the dominant culture in this country, I am all for it. However if their culture is about the subjugation of women, honour killings, homophobia, clitorectomies, and keeping separate, then

    yes I want a line in the sand. Now, I realize the vast majority of immigrants do not believe in these things. However, those who do are not welcome.

  • You can ask the Mohawk of Quebec about that Province's policies about culture and their attempt to keep their burial lands safe from developers about what it is like to be stoned on a bridge while groups (that included women and children) were trying to escape a war zone to safety over a bridge. Or maybe you want to ask it's own French citizens who want their children educated in english how they feel when they cannot do that. I was born in Quebec and had to move because of racism.

  • You can ask the women of South Asian families, who like my sister in law, were tossed out of their family because they dared marry a white man. Honour crimes are not as uncommon as you think. Multiculturalism is a 2 way street. No one is emigrating from Canada to the Sudan or Pakistan. They come here for our economy, rule of law and freedom. If they don't like our ways or cannot follow our laws, they need not come. We have done enough accommodating. There has to be glue keeping us together, too

  • Dope! I like your work man. Drop by my channel and check me out if you don't mind. I'd like your opinion.

    Peace.

    H

  • let me rephrase that...a Canada for Canadians BY Canadians.

  • Anti-Americanisms unsubtly wrapped in incendiary American bravado... to me this insecure posturing is part of a much greater inferiority complex that we're grapling with, however taboo it is to openly state. Republic envy. the Monarchy is the most uncanadian institution viewed in this "new patriotism" vein. A Canada for Canadians will hopefully end this "definine us" fad through a new nation building experience reliant only on ourselves.

  • What, if anything, could inspire this new nation building experience?

  • That is like saying that Democracy is a failed experiment - it also is flawed, but it beats the alternative. I think you need to learn to speak for yourself rather than all Canadians. I think you are just a closet racist.

  • I am not a closet racist. Racism is evil. However, I don't swallow the party line regarding culture. I am glad what Quebec is doing about the hijab. It is nice to see the progress made in regards to native people and acceptance of people around the world. However, we don't have to throw away our core values. When the recent immigration boom (early 90's) happened, many feared speaking out in fear of being labelled racist. At least Quebec has the balls to say there is a line and don't cross it.

  • Quebec often just does what France does - France has race riots based on so many non-white, non France born, non christians immigrants being unable to find a job. If Quebec ever separated and I was living there, and I was not white or french, I would get to the border just as fast as I could so that I could declare Canadian citizenship - and I am sure that they were be a literal stampede of people doing the same thing. So no, Quebec does not impress me with their copying of France's policies.

  • You seem to want to put me in a ideological box. Sorry. I am all over the political spectrum with my beliefs. Many Canadians seem to believe that questioning multiculturalism is equal to racism. If you are one, then I overestimated you. i love my country, but I feel we are sheep. To many white Canadians, it seemed like anything we had to do to accommodate the newcomers was fine, because that was the progressive thing to do. If you questioned it, you were deemed things like a "closet racist"

  • This poem while maybe not his best, did strike a chord with many Canadians and in the end that is what is important. If hockey and beer make up part of the "glue" that holds that nation together, then I am ok with that, but there is more... I do find your argument a bit cliched and unoriginal however. Dig deeper - that's where the new Canadian patriotism is. I don't find you un Canadian at all, you just haven't bought what Canada is selling, yet.... because you haven't been immersed in it.

  • I refer you to Shane's "The Crickets have Arthritis"

  • Maybe this comes from the harshness of the land or maybe the harshness of worlds from which many of the immigrants have come. We are not identified by religion or language or race, we are identified by our common experiences and our common environment (figuratively), that is what the Maple Leaf Stands for. True. North. Strong. Free. So why not identify yourself when away - as someone who will help others and who knows how to ask for help when needed. I believe this is called "community".

  • @jazzy19001

    We seem to take a lot of pride in being humble, so much so that ironically we brag about it now. I find the new Canadian patriotism to be a scary beast. It is based often not on who we are but who we aren't. Shane is talented but this poem is cliched and unoriginal. i saw it in a beer commercial. If that makes me "un Canadian" in your view, well it ain't the first time.

  • Every "ism" can be scary. But I don't think that there is anything "new" or exceptionally scary about Canadian patriotism, it was there all the time waiting for an opportunity for expression or outlet. If you read my previous comments, I stated that Canadian nationalism is not based on what we are not - it is based more on realizing who and what we are. I have listed several of those attributes below. The Olympics in general are cliched and unoriginal in many ways. The Greeks, the flame..

  • @jazzy19001

    Telling the world you're polite is like telling the

    world what a great guy you are. You just don't do it.

    I live in BC which according to many people's license

    plate is the "greatest place on earth". It's this moronic

    boasting that I find so annoying. We are a beautiful,

    tolerant and fair country.We never used to be like

    this but now we are bragging about who we used to

    be. In reality we are becoming more American in

    our patriotism.

  • That's what you are supposed to do in the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics - share with other cultures what makes you you, and a little bragging is expected. I don't think it is moronic - it is just not in your comfort zone. It wasn't like a "I'm King of the World" moment or anything. I am sure that we will soon go back to unassuming apologizers, so no need to worry.

  • This country now has a prescribed world view that one dare not challenge. Here are the main points:

    1. We are better than the USA

    2. Multiculturalism is perfect. Criticism of it is racist.

    3. Everyone is equal and a kid in Grade 5 who works at a Grade 1 level should be promoted to Grade 6 because it's good for his self esteem.

    The new Canadian nationalism is be based on anti-American rhetoric and self congratulatory viewpoints. Add in minor differences between us and the US and voila...

  • I don't think this country has 1 prescribed anything, let alone a world view.  Goodness - you like to simplify and then make grand statements based on those oversimplifications! lol - I thinks you are just stirring the pot. I give up, you are being silly now. ; )

  • Imagine saying that multiculturalism is a flawed experiment. That is social suicide in this country. Why? Because it goes against Canadian orthodoxy. Yes, there is a world view. It is anti-American. It is the little brother complex. In our view, they don't fully respect us, so we are resentful. We have a sense of smug superiority and blow up little differences (zed/zee, coloUr, better beer, health care, supposedly more humble) when in reality we are very similar. Yep, it's an inferiority complex

  • The dude has talent, but he plays to that part of our national psyche that scares and repulses me. Do my fellow citizens take pride that most of us say zed rather than zee? This poem smacks of that lame beer ad from a few years back. We are like a teen dressing like a goth trying to differentiate herself. I have lived 7 years abroad and been to more than 50 nations. When I see our flag on a backpack, I ask myself why it is there. Pride in being Canadian or fear of being seen as an American?

  • what about having a quebec flag on our backpack :)...not fear of being seen as a canadian, well for me at least

  • I am sorry for you that you do not get "it". I lived "several years abroad" as well, and being away can make it harder to "get" because I think it is human nature to start to more closely identify with "the other" that one is surrounded by. Kind of like "Stockholm Syndrome." The meaning lies in more than in the words. It is in the cadence, the rhythm as well as the imagery. It is like the sound of the river you live near, or the ocean, the ebb and flow, it is the heartbeat of a nation.

  • Being Canadian is not expecting things to go right all the time. Being Canadian is knowing that bad things often come in threes. Being Canadian is resilience. Being Canadian is not expecting to be top dog every time, but givin' er anyway. Being Canadian is about putting out a hand to those for whom times are tough, because we know that could realistically just as well be us. Being Canadian is not about a feeling of entitlement, it is about compassion.

  • USA all day!

    Walt Whitman though wrote our patriotic poems.

    This guy though is amazing, I love his work!

  • Shane I'll be honest, I never particularly liked you and I know you weren't a fan of me.

    Here I am ooking at you all these years later and you're looking like this which is to say bigger than before when you were already unhealthy....... dude you need to take control of your health, you are going to die before you ever realize your goals.

  • @johnny07652 So America won the worl Juniors 3 times Canada won 15. Never been to Alberta i see, amazing place. If anything we are being less like America, its called racism get over it. And no we don't have to have HYBRID cars, we hve higher immitions standerds cause we aren't pigs like Americans

  • @Potts132 At least Americans, like me, know how to spell "emissions standards". You aren't pigs like Americans; you're pigs like the British, the same rotted teeth and big ears and big chins. Canada SUCKS ASS!!!!

  • @johnny07652 If you didn't notice i also missed the "d" in world, maybe it was a typo? Just saying, Nice debt by the way

  • @johnny07652 U'all invented slack jawed inbreds..with big ears..U every been to Detroit or Buffalo..or about 30 other hell hole cities U'll have in your stars and stripes country..aids and poverty are the norm..when U go broke soon I'll do a jig to say fucken EH..!!.. Never ever wonder WHY YOUR THE MOST HATED PEOPLE ON THE PLANET..ever.

  • @gobblinmeat

    seriously? You think that BC is a symbol of suppression because of a name?

    The governor general during the prorogue served an almost unprecedented role. She is there to fill a chair and 99% of the time thats it. You think the queen sits on a big throne and plots her dominion over Canada? When exactly was there something you wanted to do but couldnt because Britain suppressed you? Just Get over yourself and enjoy this wonderful nation for what it is and not what you wish it was.

  • Its about identity. Being authentically west coast and canadian. As we still have symbols and other imperial remnants that are a emblems of supression, its a constitutional right and civic responsibility to wish for more for your country and affect change. These factors in BC continue to challenge our identity and subvert modern canadian values. Enlighten yourself on the CCR because the last thing its about is fear and suspicion of the monarchy. I will gladly send you or anybody links.

  • If its so imporatant have the appearance and run like a repubilc then why not actually become a one?

    Citizens for a Canadian Republic. Time for change. Visit the website and get involved.

  • To diss Shane Koyczan is to never have seen him perform. This is one of very few spoken word artists to make me weep.

  • I love this poem it's so inspireing

  • Yes fatass, Canada is the only country where people say thank-you and please.

    Dumb Oink pig

  • Republic definition...

    "a state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; spec. a state without a monarchy. state in which the form of government is founded on the body of citizens. state which is not a hereditary monarchy"

    -Oxford English Dictionary

    The head of state of Canada is the Queen of Great Britain. Wake up people. Time for change.

    (Don't confuse this with "Republican" as in George W. Bush is a member of the "Republican Party.")

  • actually, thanks to prime minister Trudeau, the constitution act of 1982 gave canada full sovereignty. the queens role is purely symbolic. we pretty much run like a republic as do a majority of other countries that were formerly under British control.

  • @sarahpython

    he is standing in front of a city in a British controlled province. Symbolically of course...

    If we're so sovereign maybe we should change the name from "British" Columbia to Canadian Columbia....Or, just be secure enough with our country to abandon balkanizing adjectives.

    btw, during the olympics parilament was prorouged. research what process is involved in that, then tell me how sovereign we are.

  • @gobblinmeat okay buddy you win. we are horribly suppressed by the crown.

  • i'm guessing you've never travelled and had the difficult task of explaining canada to other people. or had to define your countrymen without the simplistic "we're polite," which is another way saying submissive & ignorant. or maybe ud say, "we're not american" and then start yelling because we're so alike..yet Different. So yes, it suppresses ppl like u from thinking critically of Canada because u dont really want to know facts.

  • I'm a Canadian who has not only traveled, but LIVED around the world. I spent a large part of my youth in China, and if you think it's hard to define differences between Canada and the states, try explaining it to someone who hates america and doesnt care what you have to say. But you know what, never once did i say "we're polite" I didnt SAY anything. I behaved as a Canadian would, and the people I've met have come to know us in that way, and personally i prefer that to all this bickering

  • CITIZENS FOR A CANADIAN REPUBLIC

  • He was amazing during the opening ceremonies. I simply loved his performance.

  • Why would your Spanish friends care about this self-congratulatory sermon to our supposed greatness. we're a glorified colony whether you know it and like it or not. I wouldn't want to see some high falutin notice me patting on the back from another country... unless it had gone through certain hardships and transformations. As proud as I am to be Canadian and want to make it a better place, we still suffer from a growingly bombastic inferiority complex as this poem illustrates. CCR.

  • We act like a Republic. We talk like a Republic. It's time to grow up and become one.

    Citizens for a Canadian Republic.

  • With this particular style, he would seem more appropriate in front of a a pulpit. I don't care for it at all.

  • ummm..whats with the comment right before mine? Unreal.

    This is so f-ing amazing - so beautiful - does anyone know if there's a way to find this with spanish subtitles??! I want to share it with some good friends in Spain...

  • "WE ARE MORE"

    Time to reform our relationship to the British Crown.

    Sovereignty & Solidarity for Canada in 2010.

    Citizens for a Canadian Republic!

  • CITIZENS FOR A CANADIAN REPUBLIC!!

    visit the CCR website and join the Facebook Group.

  • I'm British and I don't think anyone in Britain thinks of ourselves as the "parents" of Canada, but much more like brother or sister - both children of the same ideal - a bond made up of a certain indefinable spirit, a belief in the goodness of people and of the triumph of co-operation and friendship over competition and suspicion.

    Those national traits we leave to our friends south of the 49th parallel ;)

  • "Our G8 and G20 partners still -- justifiably -- regard us as somewhat awkward junior relatives who cannot stand completely alone and persist with this embarrassing connection to a foreign country far away...where [a]re the rallies of ordinary intelligent Canadians who are so ashamed that in 20[10] we still cant cut the strings to Mummy England?"

    -Allan Fotheringham

  • THIS IS AMAZING.. and everything said defines Canadians :)

    I LOVE BEING CANADIAN! <3 and i will always take pride in that!

  • Citizens for a Canadian Republic.

    Up the Republic!

  • What talent. Loved him at the Olympics.  Check out Grandma's got it going on.

  • the greatness of his poem is only eclipsed by the greatness of his neckbeard.

  • didn't he do this at the olympic opening ceremonies?

  • I am an American born, with Canadian blood and much of my bloodline reaches North through BC and to several other providence, and I just think this guy sums up how amazing Canada can be, and makes me proud to know I have two amazing countries to live in.

  • hallelujah!

  • johnny07652: u think all canadians are fat? well check this out.

    USA:

    Obesity Rate (Male) 31.1%

    Obesity Rate (Female) 32.2%

    CANADA!!!

    Obesity Rate (Male) 17.0%

    Obesity Rate (Female)19.0%

    fat ass americans.

  • just pointing out facts here dipshit.

  • @johnringo113 yank here it has to be more for both i work in detroit let me tell you their are a lot of fat people both ways but i think we got more on average.

  • @johnringo113

    hate is an illness.

  • incedible poem.. but he is talking WAY too fast.

  • its his style man

  • Wow! As a Canadian, I just came here to listen once again to this amazing poet. I can't believe I read more than one comment by noadlor. I know your emotions are high...we are all on a high right now. The Olympics were amazing and Canada represented itself well! Please keep your negative comments in check! You are doing NOTHING for our rep right now!