I wonder how sovereigntists of good faith, people who aren't racist, people who don't hate Canada and who believe in the sovereignty movement as a progressive and inclusive ideology, feel about having a blithering idiot like Mario Beaulieu represent them as the public face of the sovereignty and language movement.
Mario Beaulieu isn't very bright, he can't add subtract or make any real sense of statistics. He appeals to the uneducated, the rabidly paranoid English haters who lap up any nonsense he puts forward as long as it's trashing Canada, Anglophones or Ethnics.
Back in January, he and his various organizations championed a movement to force stores to add English descriptors to their names (that case is now before the courts) telling us that it is only normal because all over the world, local languages take precedence over trade names and trade marks.
At a news conference held by the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de la Mauricie (SSJB), Guy Rousseau, told us;
"The OQLF requires merchants whose image is English, to add a generic term or slogan in French.
For example, "Toys 'R' Us" could become '"Toys 'R' Us Magasin pour enfants'
"If you're in Norway, it is normal to display in Norwegian, likewise in Japan. Why would it be different here? Link{fr}
Low and behold, nothing could be further from the truth. Toys R Us, is Toys R Us all around the world, in Norway, Japan and even in France.
Bullshitting comes easy to the SSJB, because few in the media call them out on their distortions, fantasy and outright lies, but one commenter under that story did.
"Before commenting, Mr. Rousseau would do well to check the facts... It's funny, we spent 17 days last summer in the Scandinavian countries, including Norway. One thing that struck us was the number of Burger King, Subway, McDonalds we saw, all displaying the name in English. In Copenhagen we even saw the prestigious Royal Copenhagen - more English than that ... Also, I'm sure that Mr. Rousseau would be disappointed to learn that in all the shops we visited, staff were happy to serve us In English." Link{fr}What a bunch of dopes.
I published a blog piece debunking the myth that the world uses local descriptions of internationally known stores, and readers, after that humble blog piece was published, the SSJB never made ridiculous argument again.
Read the blog piece for yourself, especially if you are inclined to accept the SSJB as any sort of authority. OQLF Demands Descriptors, the World Laughs
Mr Beaulieu and his ilk are so rabidly anti-English, that even store names composed of proper names, (which the law allows for) gets his goat.
And so he demands that Reitmans change its name or add a descriptor, perhaps morphing into Reithomme.
As for Simon, the clothing retailer named after its Scottish founder, Mr. Beaulieu would probably deem the name acceptable as long as everybody used the French pronunciation of Cee-Mo.
Such is the pettiness of the man and the movement.
Beaulieu showed his worldliness while conducting a march in downtown Montreal demanding that all non-French sounding names be changed and encouraging people not to shop in the like of Tony Hillfinger (sic) or Inside Exchange.(sic) He also implores shoppers to boycott MEXX , Bell, Birks, and Levis, to name just a few.
Why?... Read : Language Militants Fiddle While Quebec Burns
Now Beaulieu is undertaking another fantasy campaign that posits that Canada is undertaking a vicious campaign of Quebec-bashing that has gone so far, that it very well may have contributed to Richard Bain's attack at the Metropolis night club.Hmm.
Mr. Beaulieu held a splashy news conference denouncing this insipid Quebec-Bashing to much media attention as is always the case.
The campaign is centered around 101 signatories to the manifesto, a symbolic number alluding to Bill 101, but the truth is that precious few public figures were willing to sign on.
Mario Beaulieu started soliciting big names to sign his manifesto back in September, writing hundreds of letters, with little success.
In fact, most 'names' are staying away with a ten foot pole.
Here Sophie Durocher, of Le Journal de Montreal, explains why she won't sign the manifesto. Link{FR}
You can consult the names of those who signed on, where you'll find the usual suspects of artists, writers, failed politicians and journalists, none but a handful known outside the borders of Quebec . Link
I'm going to take the weekend to study the manifesto and those who signed on and will provide a new blog in the spirit of that which debunked the French descriptor initiative.
Just in passing the first name that caught my eye on the list was no other than Gilles Proulx, Quebec's most virulent and hateful Anglophobe, who should know that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
The second name that caught my eye was failed PQ candidate Tania Longpré who became famous when her Facebook conversation attacking the Jewish General Hospital made headlines.
All this hoopla over manufactured and phony slights serves only to cloud Quebec's financial meltdown, especially on a day where Quebec's credit rating was downgraded.
But hey... let's not talk about that.
