2014 Quebec election campaign- the bull evolves

                           

I always felt that politics should not affect my daily life. However, from the start of their getting power the pequistes have done just that.  As an allophone in Quebec, I have watched so many twists and turns of the sovereignist movement in Quebec during the decades and every twist and turn has made my head spin. From the time of the Camille Laurin shock therapy Bill 101 that led Head Offices to leave Montreal for Toronto and left many allophones gripping with 20% unemployment. Meanwhile the mobile anglophones moved down the 401. Then we had the Rene Levesque resignation and the separatist reincarnation when he died. There was the period of the many turncoats from federalist to separatist or vice versa. We had Claude the squealer Morin, to Lucien Hamlet Bouchard to Jean Lapierre and finally Francois TwoFace Legault to the filthy rich PKP. 

There was a time that maybe the sovereignist movement had history on its side. However, this is the 21st century when an app can instantly translate anything and so is language that important? We have lived through decades of the Quebecois soap opera where the question has always centered on whether to separate or not to separate? It is apparent that any slackening of ne touchez pas la loi 101 has led to a backlash from the strident sovereignist movement. This has come to my attention on twitter where francophones have complained about being served in English in Montreal restaurants. This is not my impression as allophones have always served me in French and only spoken to me in English when I would initiate a conversation in English.  It reminded me of the time I had moved to Toronto and had to take my Chinese friends with me to certain restaurants because the menu was only in Chinese. Imagine this in Quebec?

                           

                           

I prefer calling our two solitudes the two distortions. The sovereignists are spectacular at distorting the reality of our daily lives. Their french language is threatened ( bulldoodoo), they are being discriminated against (baloney). The pequiste talking heads have made it a habit of attacking the various immigrant groups during the years from the jews to the italians and greeks to the muslims. The muslims particularly agitate the pequistes because of their rigid religious ways.  The anglophones enjoy playing the victim as they retreat to their wealthy existence. The allophones the true victims of this charade suffer miserably as the two distortions fight for a larger slice of the pie. The reason why sovereignists never tried to appease anglophones or allophones was because that was the point of the movement. They wanted to remove the anglo domination and impede the immigrant allophones from becoming upwardly mobile. They understood there was no reason to seek the enemy's support.

This election campaign has brought forth some new ideas. The Pequistes thought they hit the jackpot with their Charter of Values based on some backlash legislation formulated in France. This legislation is aimed at who exactly? It is aimed at francophone muslims who came here to improve their lives. Honestly, I sometimes cringe at veil wearing women, but I respect their right to wear what they want. My grandmothers wore the same thing when they came from Italy. Gradually, they stopped wearing veils because they understood they were outdated. There was no law needed as they became  acculturated to North America. I can only accept that we forbid these items where there is a concern for public safety or hygiene. There should be no other reason in a democratic country or province. Secularism should never trump freedom of religion and expression. This is the gist of democracy. 

The campaign has brought forth some interesting ideas that have never been enunciated in the past.  Jean Charest never had the cogliones to say he wanted to sign the constitution, or that french kids should also learn english, or that english was the language of business worldwide and that necessitated that some workers know english. Omg Phillippe Couillard the minorities have waited so long for somebody to say that. A non practicing brain surgeon Couillard speaks his mind unlike the lobotomized liberals of the past like Charest, Ryan, and Bourassa.

There has been a backlash against PKP who entered the fray for egotistical self centered reasons and immediately the left wing of the pequistes or what is left of them revolted. As an allophone or anglophone only a masochist would vote for any party that backs this vulgar charter. Quebec Solidaire leader David a backer disappointed when she refused to answer english questions from reporters. She does understand that minority groups make up a good part of the lower class and they want their kids schooled in english and french so they could become upwardly mobile? Francois Legault another backer thinks running the province is just like running a business. He is a turncoat and inevitably he hopes to become another Lucien Bouchard.  Mr. Harper I mean Mr. Legault society is not a question solely of the bottom line. As for the elitist Pauline and her elitist uncompromising party let us hope a devastating defeat will put this lactic acid lot to bed for good.  They should become like those old one hit wonder pop groups that appear on PBS to old fogey fans to bring back the good old days. Let us hope.