The Hopeless Racism of French Canadian Culture

For those of you who don't follow Canadian news (which I would reasonably assume to be pretty much anyone who doesn't live in or come from Canada), there's been a little problem going on in Canada for some time now with one province, called Quebec.

You know its funny, because here in South America I constantly get asked "but don't they speak french in Canada?" when my English is noted; some people with slightly more knowledge (proving again how a little knowledge can be a very bad thing) might state "oh, no, you see half of Canada speaks English, and half speaks French".

Its then that I have to explain to people that NO, in fact, only one-tenth of Canada speaks French, and they just impose it on the rest of us.  Lately, though, they seem more interested on engaging in Ethnic Cleansing of their own Province in their endless orgy of cultural insecurity.

You see, the Quebec government, who already has laws on the book making it illegal to post signs in English without BIGGER french words on the sign, and above the English; and who have recently gone on a pogrom of shutting down Italian restaurants that used Italian words for pasta instead of the alleged french words for them no one knows or has any clue about; and who have recently declared that public employees will speak only in French (so that, for example, a Paramedic should respond only in French to a critically injured anglophone begging for help, even if he's incapable of understanding them); and that same Quebec government that declared that children must be educated only in French, even on Canadian Army bases even if it means that children of anglophone soldiers temporarily posted to Quebec will essentially lose 1-2 years of their education and possibly fall behind their peers forever because of being unable to understand anything the teacher says; has now decided to propose in law what they hypocritically call a "Charter of Values" which makes it illegal for public employees to wear any kind of "religious symbolism" (again, note that in Canada "public employees" includes things like all paramedics, teachers, doctors, and liquor store employees).  The government of Quebec provided handy guidelines of what they want to allow (on the left) or forbid (on the right):

Note how the symbols to the right are all the "ethnic" ones. 

All this has proven a lie that anyone with half a brain knew was a lie, but that the Quebecois kept trying to pretend otherwise: namely, that the Quebecois are sophisticated progressives, and that the evil "Anglos" (especially those unwashed rednecks in Western Canada!) are the horrible racists that would oppress them and destroy their precious culture!  The French Canadians, thinking themselves better than the rest of Canada, wanted to believe that somehow they are at the avant-garde of social values. 

Only we knew none of that was true since way back in the second sovereignty referendum, when the leader of the independence movement and head of the Quebecois-nationalist political party declared that it was unfair that the independence movement was lost because of "the Ethnic Vote". 

"But wait!", you say, "how do we know that this isn't all just a "rogue government", some kind of unpopular extremists that do not accurately represent the views of the population that elected them? I mean, after all, they're a minority government, right? I'm sure most Quebecois are actually enlightened tolerant people and not the horrible racists you're trying to make them out to be, Pundit!"

That would be a good point, if a recent poll conducted by one of the largest survey firms in Quebec showed that support for the "charter of (racist) values" was at 66%, but higher still (71%) among those that would be considered by the PQ to be the "real" Quebecois, those for whom French (or the rustic yokelisms mixed with borrowed anglicisms that passes for "French" in Quebec) is their mother tongue.

"Ok, but.." you say, "I'm sure that if in ALBERTA, that evil den of conservative-voting illiterate cowboy evangelical christian white men, there was a similar theoretically-proposed law, it would have even MORE support!"
Actually, no.  A poll done by the Forum Research Group nationwide showed that BY FAR, the support for "legislation outlawing religious clothing and symbols such as hijabs, turbans and skullcaps from being worn by public employees" is VASTLY higher in Quebec than in any other part of Canada. 

As for redneck Alberta (the "texas of canada" and the constant hated enemy of Quebec embodying everything they dislike in their make-believe-progressive minds), it scored 39% support.  Which was in fact 1% less than in Ontario (the central English-speaking capital province, and usually considered the urbane center of English-speaking Canadian culture; who like to look down on westerners almost as much as the Quebecois do).  So in fact, Albertans are less racist than Ontarians. But they're WAY less racist than the Quebecois.  The numbers show, without a doubt, that the Quebecois are by far the Raciest Racists in Canada.



What's more, it seems support for the ethnic cleansing (now that the language-cleansing is complete) of government offices is growing. An earlier poll had support at 58% and now its up to 66%.  That's because the PQ is playing all the right moves in manipulating the idiot-buttons of separatist/"nationalist pride" (as in, pretending Quebec is a nation, not as in national Canadian pride). That's what this whole charter is about, after all: an intentional move to deepen rifts in Quebec society and promote racism among native Quebecois to try to push for another referendum on breaking up Canada.
The "Ethnic Vote" is the PQ's enemy in this, and the manipulation of the sense of "French" cultural superiority makes it very easy to imagine (after decades of playing on fears that the English-speaking Canadians would somehow "wipe out" Quebec "culture" even though we hadn't bothered to do so in 200 years thus far) that the idea of dirty unwashed "ethnic" foreigners coming in hordes to Quebec and seeking to outbreed (or worse, INTERbreed! Oh the humanity!) the natives until they steal their precious frenchness away from them is a menace to their way of life. And of course, the more than Anglos, Muslims, Jews, and the English-speaking press and the Canadian Federal Government speak up about how much of an utter atrocity this Quebec government's legislation is, the more that the PQ can create an "us vs. them" scenario.  But the blame falls squarely on the francophone population of Quebec, for WANTING to believe this bullshit scenario. 

And it all comes from a deep sense of cultural insecurity.  The rest of Canada is famously multicultural, and that's what they don't get about Albertans, for example.  Growing up in western Canadian cities, I was surrounded by Trudeau-era immigrants to Canada (shit, my parents WERE Trudeau-era immigrants, they just happened to be less conspicuous): from China and South Asia, from India and Pakistan, Sikhs and Muslims, Buddhists and Korean Evangelicals, lots and lots of Eastern Europeans and Latin Americans, a huge wave of immigration out of a US-Republican's worst Night Terror, to the point that Vancouver is no longer a majority-caucasian city. 
And while I'm not going to pretend that I never heard or saw racism, on the whole, multiculturalism WORKED.  Most Canadians loved the influx of new cultures and ideas and traditions and languages (and of course, foods!).  In Edmonton (Alberta's provincial capital) we even have a huge yearly festival to celebrate multiculturalism (as do many other Canadian cities).  And for anyone my age or younger (and I'm not that young; I mean anyone who's formative years were during or after the Trudeau years, from about 1969 onward), it was just normal. We didn't feel (and again, there are always unfortunate exceptions, but by "we" I mean the majority of us) "threatened" by immigrants or an "ethnic vote".  Mainly because we felt confident in our culture, and its ability to grow and prosper.

The Quebecois do not have that confidence in their culture.  For all their bluster, they fundamentally distrust their own ability to succeed as a culture.  Which is why they are a frightened and intolerant culture.  Its why having to interact with new cultures, new ideas, new traditions or new languages are all appalling THREATS to them, rather than something to be welcomed.   They imagine themselves surrounded by enemies, because they fundamentally do not trust that their own culture would be able to handle itself or prove worthy in an environment where there was an equal playing field.
Its kind of sad, really, and hopeless for them, in the long run. But in the short run, their ongoing campaign of persecution of both Quebec Anglophones (many of which have been families living in Quebec for over 200 years now) and of Muslim, Sikh, and Jewish minorities, is just grotesque and must be condemned by the world.

RPGPundit

Currently Smoking: Lorenzetti Volcano + H&H Beverwyck