Dangerous Language Rhetoric Fails to Convince

Chateau Marois

In order for a language or culture to be threatened, it obviously takes another language or culture to threaten. Whether true or not, French language militants have been shouting loud and long that it is the English language and culture that is menacing the survival of French in Quebec.

The unfortunate extension of this argument is that, if English culture is threatening, it's Quebec's English citizens, who are to blame, in some major or minor way.

So inured are Quebecers to anti-English rhetoric from radicals that they no longer recognize attacks on English citizens as good old fashioned racism, which it is.
If one were to point this out, as I am doing now, shock would likely be the reaction by the francophone majority.
Quebecers as Racists?.....Never!

A couple of days ago, Pauline Marois' aide told reporters that she was about to close a sale on her famous mansion on Ile Bizard; 

"The sale of the property was not conditional on the buyer being a fluent French speaker, Marie Barrette, Marois's press attaché told the Journal de Québec.

"There were no sale conditions related to the origins of the person, but even better if it is a francophone. It's nice. That makes one more in Quebec," Barrette told the paper." Montreal Gazette Alternate Link

I almost fell over reading the statement and was inclined to paraphrase the Bible, 'Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they say!'
The spokesperson actually made it a point to tell reporters that Madame Marois did not include a clause excluding potential purchasers based on their origins which, as any high school student could tell you is not only racist but quite illegal!
So congratulations to Madame Marois for her courage in not excluding any potential buyer, based on race, creed or colour!

Imagine dear reader if you met with your local Century 21 agent, say in Montreal West, and made it a point to tell her that you wouldn't insist on a clause barring French Canadians from buying your house.
She'd probably think you a nutbar and racist extraordinaire. She'd be right.

But these type of racist public statements go unchallenged in Quebec every day.

And so it has unfortunately become commonplace in the media and among separatist politicians to disparage Anglos and allophones as less than desirable, a negative disturbance in the force, citizens to be tolerated, but never accepted as equals.

"We must work to develop policies to keep Montreal francophones from leaving the island and create conditions for more francophones to return." Pierre Curzi - PQ

What does this statement say about how Anglophones and Allophones are perceived by separatist politicians?

I daresay that if one were to ask Mr. Curzi if he viewed Anglophones and Allophones as less worthy or desirable citizens than francophones, he would bristle with indignation.

But Mr. Curzi's view that there are too few francophones on the island of Montreal is just a polite way of saying that there are too many Anglophones and Ethnics. 
If one were to point out that calling on francophones to settle in Montreal as a patriotic duty is nothing but naked ethnocentrism and racism, he would reject the notion because, as he would tell us,  French is the 'natural state' of Quebec that must be preserved.

So I wonder how Mr. Curzi would view a City of Ottawa politician calling on Anglophones to reoccupy Vanier, a district that has developed a large francophone population. What if that politician complained that anglophones were losing their historic hold on the city? 
Or how about an Israeli politician asking Israeli Jews to move to Jerusalem to alter the balance with Muslims?
Burlesque comparisons?.....readers will judge.

In Laval, alarms have been sounded that too many anglos (especially Greeks) are invading the landscape. Militant French language groups have demanded that countervailing measures be taken to re-establish the primacy of French, but nothing concrete is proposed. Link{Fr}
So what exactly do they propose to reverse the undesirable Anglo/Greek invasion?

I've written about the problem of those militants wishing to protect the French language crossing over the line into ethnocentric territory before.
$2,000 Fine for Speaking English
Revisiting Hérouxville 

Latent Racism in Quebec a Sad Reality

 
Everyday the likes of Gilles Proulx, Mario Beaulieu and Pauline Marois bombard the media with messages of hate and disrespect towards Quebec's minorities, warning francophones of the dire and diabolical threat that we represent towards the preservation of the Francophone culture in Quebec.
They speak openly about English as inherently evil and dangerous and somehow fail to understand that they are talking about fellow citizens!
It's dangerous and evil talk, meant to drive Quebecers towards hate and animosity, a wedge meant to tilt enough towards the promised land of sovereignty, through fear and hate.

But while some people bite, the thirty year campaign of vilification has largely failed.

Incredibly, most francophones ignore the hyperbolic forecasts of gloom and doom and the nasty representations of Anglos and Ethnics, this to the utter consternation of the radical mouthpieces, who keep on yelling FIRE!, without much response or panic from the public.

Thankfully, Quebec francophones are imbued with a healthy disrespect for authority and don't particularly enjoy being manipulated or told what to think or do.
Perhaps it is in response to centuries of domination by the Church where an entire province was instructed how to conduct their personal lives, even how many children to have.

For Quebecers who live in these dangerously 'at risk' communities, anglos and ethnics don't seem to be the problem that the language supremacists insist that we are.
The campaign to trigger troublesome language confrontations remains unsupported by the overwhelming majority of those francophones who reside or work directly on the linguistic firing line. 

Despite decades of harping on the English and ethnics, it seems that the only place where the campaign has any traction at all, is in the hinterland, where there are hardly any anglos or ethnics at all!
Call it  'fear of the unknown'

Again, much to the consternation of radicals, Anglos, Allos and Francophones get along rather nicely where they actually co-exist and in fact almost one third of anglos choose a Francophone life partner and over two thirds of them end up sending their offspring to French schools.
The intermarriage rate between francophones and allophones is equally impressive.

Given the level of disrespect and hate spewed by French language supremacists, it's a wonder that the atmosphere between francophones and anglophones remains so positive.

Readers, I travelled this province from one end to another professionally for over thirty years, during which time, I have never been disrespected for being an Anglophone and that hasn't changed a whit over the years.
People recognize my very strong French as sometimes imperfect, but it hasn't mattered at all, my  effort to conduct business in French appreciated.
Back in 1995, during the referendum campaign, a business trip took me up through Saguenay-Lac St-Jean region and just to see what kind of reaction I'd get, I wore a big NON button.
I thought I'd be accosted or at the least given a tongue lashing by one or the other, but it never happened.
Some people asked if I was an organizer and a few people came up to me to tell me in whispers that they'd be voting No.

Despite all the harsh  rhetoric by radicals, Quebecers remain a kind and gentle people, of that I'm convinced and I remain happy to live in the most exciting and stimulating city in Canada.

Of course I bitch and moan the whole year long, largely because I'd like this province to be better, but like most Anglophones who live here, Quebec remains MY home and native land.

You may agree or not agree, but on this point my opinion cannot be swayed...

.....And so readers, positive is where I'd like to finish up the year.

As Christmas approaches, the majority of Canadians are feeling good about themselves, their family and the society they live in and this happy atmosphere is contagious, as most non-Christians will readily admit.

In this spirit, I'm going to do no bashing, complaining or harping until the New Year, at least.

On Friday, I'll tell you a marvellous story of Quebec public workers doing their job superbly....I'm not kidding.