When I say "as a whole," I don't mean "every single part of the whole," I mean, as an aggregate perception of the total "noise" coming from the group.

Similarly, Canadians "as a whole" have a grudge towards Americans. This does NOT mean that every single Canadian has a grudge, not perhaps even the majority.

As I noted to you in IM, I should perhaps have written this as a seperate essay, rather than reposting a comment without the context.