Josee Legault- Out to Lunch Once Again.

The Montreal Gazette's resident separatist, Josee Legault has her own take on the cancellation of the re-enactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham debate. In today's piece she provides her particular spin and posits that it wasn't really the threat of violence by extremists, but rather public opinion, both anglophone and francophone that forced the cancellation.

I don't have any problem with Ms. Legault speaking for her separatist constituency, but she clearly has no understanding of Anglophones and what we are thinking.

Although this issue is a swirling controversy in the French media and in sovereignist circles, it is a non issue to anglophones. In the great scheme of things, the re-enactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham is less important to anglophones than who will get kicked off American Idol this week.

Francophone school children have it drilled into them, early and often by their sovereignist teachers that the battle was a disastrous and humiliating defeat, ever after to be known as 'La Conquete', Quebec nationalist's very own version of the Palestinian 'Al Naqba.'
Anglophones also learn about the Battle in school, but it's importance sits somewhere between Jacques Cartier sailing up the St. Lawrence and the Louis Riel rebellion, boring historical facts easily forgotten with the passing years. I'll bet you that until this month a large portion of anglophone community couldn't tell you what the Battle of the Plains of Abraham was and where it took place, it is that forgettable to us.
It's a difficult notion for nationalists to comprehend, the fact that we don't care or think about the things that they are passionate about. We don't watch 'Star Acadamie' and we wouldn't recognize one out of five guest on 'Tout le Monde en Parle'. The immense consternation that nationalists feel over the Battle doesn't translate in the least to our concern.

Now as proof of the anglophone community's rejection of the re-enactment based on the merits of the sovereignist's position, she cites several English language editorials. What Ms. Legault fails to understand is that without the threat of a violence, nobody in the English media would have cared or written about the controversy.
The event only became an issue to anglophones when the threat of a violent confrontation arose.
Based on that threat, anglophones immediately gave the issue their attention and rightly advocated for the cancellation of the event based on safety concerns. That's it. Period.

Ms. Legault is your polite, garden variety type of separatist, loath to give credit to the radical Reseau de Resistance (RRQ) and it's unrepentant hardliner, Patrick Bourgeois for the victory. The group did an bang-up job scaring the crap out of everyone, by introducing a level of anxiety to the equation. They never said that there would be a violent reaction, but made sure the implication was there. Well-played!
How Ms. Legault can forward the idea that the threat of violence was not the over-riding consideration in the event's cancellation is not only self-serving but beyond belief. She spins an unbelievable yarn of wishful thinking.

At any rate, I hope Ms. Legault and M.Bourgeois remember to thank the National Battlefields Commission for planning this event and giving the sovereignists an issue to sink their teeth into.
'Humiliation' and 'Insult" is what keeps the militants motivated and sovereignty movement alive. I haven't seen true separatists so happy and passionate since the run-up to the last referendum.
The only downer for the separatists is that Ottawa caved so quickly, they were just starting to have fun.