Thursday, March 18, 2010

Quebec Intellecutals Not so Smart

Last week I predicted that Quebec's Human Rights Commission would come down hard on the niqab and burqa and am only surprised that it happened so quickly. As I said then, the handwriting is on the wall, public opinion is solidly against women wearing veils in public. The Commission ruled that the RAMQ (Health Commission) could ask a niqab-clad women to remove her veil for the purposes of taking a photo for it's ID card and that any request to be served by a female be ignored.

The commission further ruled that members of the general public could not request to be served by another worker in the case of being confronted with a government employee wearing headscarf, nor ask to be served by someone else because the clerk speaks with an accent (Duh!)

The second ruling is not as stupid and unnecessary as it sounds. It is becoming somewhat of a public sport to taunt women wearing not only veils but head scarves. The anti-religious movement is growing bolder and bolder.

On Tuesday a group of mostly academics published a declaration demanding that the province become officially and practically secular (very much like the United States government.)

In a published document entitled "Déclaration des Intellectuels pour la laïcité" (Declaration by Intellectuals in favour of Secularism) a group of mostly academics puts forth the case for keeping religion out of public life.
The first thing that struck me is their profound conceit in naming themselves "intellectuals" a term usually bestowed upon oneself by others. I can't fathom a group of Anglos publishing a manifesto and calling it a "Declaration by V.I.P.'s in favour of Secularism.)

It must be a cultural thing, because I have actually seen a room called the "Salle de reception VIP" at Montreal's Trudeau airport. Again, in English culture, it is presumptuous and uncouth to refer to oneself as a "VIP" or an "Intellectual."

At any rate the so-called 'declaration" is a legal-like defence of secularism and pretty much repeats the old arguments as to why Quebec public life should be religion-free. I won't get into that discussion here.

What bothers me is the incredible intellectual dishonesty in Section Two of the declaration entitled;
2. La laïcité fait partie de l'histoire du Québec
(Secularism is part of the Quebec History)

This section is utter nonsense. Anyone who signed, should be ashamed to have put their name on such an obvious misrepresentation.
The declaration sets out to prove that the drive for secularism today, isn't anything new and certainly not a reaction to the current debate over immigrants, accommodations, Hasids, veils, Islamists and Kirpans, etc. etc.

Ridiculous. If you believe that statement, I've got a good deal on some swampland in Florida for you.

The declaration gives one or two lame-ass examples of the so-called attempt to rid Quebec of religion in the past, but as everyone knows, Quebec has been dominated by religion and the Catholic Church for 350 years, with a break from that domination beginning only in the 1960's. The power of the Church wasn't really broken until the mid 1970's, so any talk about a history of secularism is trash.

The following statement in that declaration neatly sums up the 312 word, nonsense account of how Quebec has always cherished secularism;
"Secularism is part of the historic landscape of Quebec"
Whaaaat!!!! Ha! Ha! Ha! I can't think of any statement less true.

Before the 1960's Quebec was the least secular jurisdiction in North America.
The Church's control over the people of Quebec was so absolute that priests told women how many children to have and men what kind of work to do. They even imposed their own poll tax. Priests were wielded more power than elected politicians!

Even public schools were run by the Church and this until the 1970's.

Until the schools were finally de-confessionalized, French speaking Jews, Muslims and other non-Christians were sent to Protestant English schools because Priests wouldn't tolerate heathens sitting in the same class as Catholics.

Even in these Protestant English schools, a healthy dose of Christianity was doled out on a daily basis, starting with the morning rendition of the "Lord's Prayer" and a selection from the little red hymn book, that each student kept in their flip-top desk. Every Quebec-bred, non-Christian over fifty years old can belt out "Onward Christian Soldiers" with the best of the Sunday school crowd.

Secularism in Quebec. Where? When?

A crucifix still sits over the Speaker's chair in Quebec's Parliament and town councils across Quebec still insist on Christian prayers before town hall meeting.

To pretend that Quebec had a inkling of secular tendencies in the past, is a blatant lie, because it hardly has any now.

J'accuse!!

By the way, looking over the long list of signatories I couldn't find an Anglo name and of course the manifesto is only available in French..... How's that, for the open and plural society that the declaration describes!

17 comments:

  1. Do you want a truly secular community? Have them remove Mont-Royal cross, along with crucifixes at the National Assembly and the City Hall.

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  2. A Naughty Moose said:
    It is clear, we must break all bonds from the evil Church, Mosque, or Synagogue and bow to the mighty all knowing intellects. Oh mighty intellects we shall obey and worship you each Sunday as you preach your word on your holy pulpit of “Tout monde en parle”. Glory be to the almighty Landry, Parizeau, and Marois, Amen.

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  3. Troy...It's the provincial assembly, because, as far as I know, Quebec is not a nation, but a province.

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  4. Problems like women wearing the veil should have been considered BEFORE immigration was allowed from those countries where it is practiced. This was a cardinal error in my view.

    The unfortunate legacy of Catholic schooling is because of Quebec and came about largely as a result of Francophones migrating to other provinces and then demanding Catholic (I.E. French) schools for themselves. The current situation is absurd. There are Catholic schools allowed in seven of the provincces. Either Catholics are entitled to special treatment or they are not! It should be all or nothing. I would mention that the USA has never allowed the public funding of one single Catholic school. In a sense the burkha wearers of today are similar to the Quebecers who migrated to Ontario and Manitoba after confederation. The problem is both groups didn't know in advance where they stood and thus naturally began pushing the envelope.

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  5. Quebec's government will be truly secular when the law giving tax exemption for church property disappears.

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  6. No, i don't want to argue because all your writings are crap like your idols Bill Johnson, Howard Galganov, and all these rednecks that want that all the world ''speaks white''

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  7. Why is anglos feeling like a target when someone say Rhodesians ? Sorry, can you explain to me ?

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  8. Why oh why did I move back to this country? It is quite amazing though, the thought processes of the "intellectual." Since coming back I see there are many.

    Also I notice government workers here in QC do not read the law as it is, but translate it to how "they see it in their opinion."

    On that note...I am almost we will come across and suffer many many more intellectuals in the future.

    I can't wait to leave again. Next time permanently!

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  9. I suggest you to watch that video
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuQc-yAZNUA

    Regards,

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  10. "The Church's control over the people of Quebec was so absolute that priests told women how many children to have"

    I have a Francophone acquaintance in a small town northwest of Montreal. He said that a priest in the town used to tell the women that he would "personally help" them have more babies if he felt their families weren't large enough.

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  11. "No, i don't want to argue because all your writings are crap like your idols Bill Johnson, Howard Galganov, and all these rednecks that want that all the world ''speaks white''"

    Has TQS been running the Roots series, or what? Rednecks? When did pasty white Catholic Francophones start to identify with the African Americans of the South?
    You must've forgotten that the same Francophones that populated Quebec are part of the very same wave of colonialism that brought slave operated plantations to Louisiana.

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  12. Anyone who thinks that Quebec today is free of quasi-religious dogmatism is deluding himself. The dogmatism still exists, it’s only that the object of reverence has changed. Today, it’s no longer Jesus, the Pope, or the Catholic Church; today it is La Loi 101. It is just a law to many of us, but for many Quebecois de Souche it is like a tablet with 10 commandments.

    You want proof? Just try to question a single tenet or provision of 101 in front of a Pure Laine Quebecois. A lot of them will fly off the handle. By questioning the law, you insulted them. Their reaction will be identical to that of an Evangelical Christian faced with the challenge against the literacy or inerrancy of the Bible.

    Add to that radical secularism and a strong left lean, and you’ve got the Quebecois dogma. Most politically-involved Quebecois today are: French language purists, strongly leftist, and radically secular/atheist. Hardly any one them deviates from this fixed paradigm and this rigid mind set. Lucien Bouchard pointed it out recently, and stated that he broke with this political movement because it radicalized on all 3 fronts. Mr.Bouchard has always been a black sheep of the separatist movement. He was always more centrist, agnostic (not religious but not anti-religion either), and now he challenged the third tenet of the dogma as he apparently got sick of linguistic cleansing peddled by his former friends.

    So the dogmatism is still around, alive and well, going strong in this society. Let’s not kid ourselves. It may not be purely religious, but it is certainly religious-like.

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  13. I'm sure that you're all SMARTER ? :)

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  14. To Anonymous at 10:14 PM:

    Smarter than you. That's for sure. You're a bloody idiot.

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  15. ''Anonymous said...

    To Anonymous at 10:14 PM:

    Smarter than you. That's for sure. You're a bloody idiot.'' My father is stronger than yours... NahNAhan... i think your answer can respond by herself ! HAHAHA :)

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  16. Ironic that my 7 year old daughter and I were going through her mandatory Religion work book today. As I had made the decicion last year to put her in the french school system...I was horrified to discover the catholic brain washing that was being taught. I had to explain to her how it was very unlikly, that one man walked around the world collecting two of every animal and some how shoved them on a boat. As well I had to explain that god did not live at the church and that the priest was certainly, definatly not god or chosen by god...as if they had been I am sure that their media coverage latly would have had a more saintly Public relations twist. I wasn't sure if I was relieved to find out that she had missed so many precious religous classes because her and another english child, a spanish child, along with the mentally impaired and academically challenged french children are getting "special classes". Perhaps these self proclaimed secular intellectuals would like to have a meeting with the Société St-Jean-Baptiste and discuss bill 103 with the "liberals". Perhaps they can find more dogmatic B.S To further limit the human rights of the individuals under the guise of protecting and preserving a language and culture. All the while padding their pockets with canadian equalization payments and taxing the crap out of the quebec residents!! Now the bigotry of the politicans hauling in as many immigrants as they can with promises of religous freedom, political freedom, and good jobs to then find themselves meet with language laws and the religious laws from the self appointed secular intellectuals, whom are backed by the Société St-Jean-Baptiste. While mandatory religion class is teaching good old bible stories for "morals". Immigrants are getting all the benefits of the quebec lower class. Unlike the educated children of all the french upper class who can speak both languages, and get the "good jobs" in or out of quebec. The english have crap jobs and feel like the representatives of the evil oppresors. The immigrants well they are truly the ones being oppressed. Oppressed by no other than, the secular intellictuals whom are backed by the jean the baptist society. Rhodesians!!! HAHA try CHINA. They like toting secularism infact they are really into smashing the religious idols of tibet. They must have a self appointed society of secular intellectuals too!

    http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/06/04/quebecs-self-defeating-language-fetish/

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