My Quebec Does Not Include The Bigotry Of The PQ

"Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another."

– Nelson Mandela

"We must, therefore, insist. . . not only on the need to respect human rights worldwide, but also on the definition of these rights . . . for it is the inherent nature of all human beings to yearn for freedom, equality and dignity, and they have an equal right to achieve that." 

-The Dalai Lama

My post yesterday about the discriminatory nature of the PQ platform in the Quebec Election stirred up a bit of controversy. I’m not surprised. It has been my experience that those with the weakest opinions are the most likely to shout the loudest.

Most of the criticism I received was because I compared Pauline Marois, leader of the PQ, to Adolf Hitler and others of his ilk. They clearly didn’t read beyond their emotions. My statement was that the attitude of both her and of her supporters has much in common with the attitudes of Hitler and the others I mentioned. Like them, Mme Marois promotes a singular version of society that is only fully open to those that she and her supporters deem worthy. The rights of others are treated with disrespect and restricted or taken away.

Her vision is an intolerant, nickle and dime perversion of democracy.

The province may have been founded by explorers originally from France but it was built by French, English, aboriginal Canadians and immigrants from around the world. It may have started out as a Catholic society but it evolved to include citizens from every major religion and non-believers. All of them, not just the French purists, have contributed to the development and growth of Quebec and like it or not, all of them are entitled to equal respect and equal rights as citizens.

Anything that restricts the rights of some by any other group is discrimination and bigotry which no amount of huffing and puffing over what I wrote will change. Some may have been offended by what I wrote but quite frankly, I am more than just a little offended that people in this country, dans notre province, in this day and age, could so carelessly and callously justify trampling on the rights of fellow citizens.

It is an affront to democracy and to decency that has no place in a tolerant and open society.

Many of these same people were quick to point out how the current Liberal government had enacted legislation that was a response to the student riots earlier this year. That legislation did not ban protest demonstrations, it put requirements and responsibilities on those who would protest in order to prevent further violence and vandalism. It is hypocritical that those who are so quick to take away the rights of others are themselves even quicker to defend anything they perceive infringes on theirs.

I find it not only patently offensive but absurd that my wife and I pay significantly more in taxes to support Quebec society than many of those who would deny us our language and religious expression rights. Apparently inequality extends to who finances la belle province as well.

Most of the comments I received were adolescent and emotional, a few were just flat out ill informed or stupid and one made me laugh out loud.

The first came from a fellow who wrote that he stopped reading my post after the first paragraph and then went on to criticize me, not for what I had written but for what he thought I might have written. It’s hard to debate any issue with someone too stupid to actually gather facts before shooting from the lip.

Another preferred to criticize my spelling of Adolf rather than debate the issue of suppression of minority rights. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly pseudo-intellectuals hide behind petty semantics to avoid the weakness of their opinions and knowledge.

Others simply were offended that I had compared the PQ to the Nazis and I can understand why. After decades of seeing themselves as victims and justifying their xenophobic and repressive policies against minorities in Quebec, it is difficult for Quebec Nationalists to face the truth of what they are doing to minorities. They remind me of many who having discovered that the truth hurts avoid it at all costs.

My favourite critical message came from a smart wit who wrote, “If you don’t like Bill 101, take the 401.” It was a bit childish but it did have a certain creativity about it that made me laugh and didn't offer up the same pretentious, sanctimonious and pseudo-intellectual nonsense of most of the others.

The underlying message in all of the comments was that Quebec only belongs to a few, not to all of us who live in and contribute to this society and that is the real problem. It is an elitist, arrogant and intolerant attitude that permits one group to think it has priority over all others within our society.

The simple fact is that nothing of value can be built in a society where all citizens are not treated equally in all areas. Banning the religious symbols, like the kirpan or the yarmulke, of all but one group is not merely offensive, it is blatant discrimination. It isn’t the promotion of secularism, it is the restriction of symbols of those religions that typically tend to be more ethnic than French-Catholic.

The yarmulke is a small kind of beanie looking thing that many Jews wear to remind themselves that they are beneath God. How is that a threat to Quebec? Is Quebec society and culture so fragile that even a hat can undermine it? My Quebec certainly isn’t but then, I don’t feel threatened by people who hold different beliefs than I do. My Quebec has room for believers and non-believers alike and respects their right not only to what they believe but to express it in the language of their choice and the wearing of whatever symbols they see fit.

In the end, it isn’t about the hat or the kirpan or even the hijab. It really isn’t about language either. If it was, that issue would have been put to rest decades ago. 

French was declared an official language in Canada and the country has spent billions educating non-French speaking Canadians in the French language. It has opened up government services so that any Canadian can interact with their government in the official language of their choice and has created thousands of employment opportunities that were formerly unavailable to French-speaking Canadians.

It did not lay the issue to rest. Instead, successive Quebec governments further eroded the rights of minorities and circled the wagons around the province with draconian language laws and language storm troopers whose job it is to harass citizens over words. So petty is the attitude that the language inspectors actually run around measuring the size of English vs French on signs and it doesn't get much more narrow-minded than that.

It’s about one small group in the province who believe that their society should only be open to those who were born French and who come from families that have been part of Quebec for a number of generations. They are the ‘pur laine’;  those who can trace their ancestors back to the original inhabitants of New France. It is this group who believe that all other citizens of the province are lesser than they are and are a threat to their heritage and culture. 

Literally translated, pur laine means pure wool. Figuratively it means that one is pure in heritage. Sounds a bit like the Aryan racial purity message doesn’t it?

It is the reason for my comparison to Hitler and the Nazis. They too were focused on one group as being the only true inheritors of the nation and like white supremacists and others of their ilk today, were more concerned with racial or cultural purity than equality.In the end, it is simply a denial that other citizens of your society are equal to you and have made an equal contribution to the prosperity, culture and growth of that society. 

Consider these PQ policies in context of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Article 1:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Clearly, the PQ’s policies on language and religion are in direct contradiction to the fundamental human rights as set out by the United Nations. If Quebec was an independent nation with Mme Marois' policies in place, it would be classified by the UN as a rogue state in much the same manner as North Korea, Syria and Iran. Isn't that something grand and noble to which to aspire!

Article 18.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Mme Marois and the PQ would deny this fundamental human right to any who wish to manifest their religion in public because she and her supporters are threatened by religious symbols and outward signs of faith. It’s almost sad to see so little confidence in your culture that it is so easily threatened by the others practicing and expressing their faith.

Article 26

(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

The PQ would deny the right of non-francophone parents to choose the kind of education they wish for their children. It further denies the rights of individuals and their fundamental freedom to choose the education of their choice. God! Even Japan, which was at one time one of the most xenophobic nations on earth, requires its students to study English as well as a third language while the PQ are steadily trying to march our society backwards.

It isn’t, however, only the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that Mme Marois trashes. She is already on the record as saying that her party’s Declaration of Secularism trumps the Canadian Charter as if, in her arrogance, she has the right to overturn constitutional law for Canadians living in Quebec. What she forgets to mention is that her policies also violate Quebec’s own Charter of Rights and how her supporters rationalize that, escapes me.

Clearly, while there are those in Quebec who talk a great deal about democracy and democratic rights, they are less prepared to honour the fancy words they throw about when their own bigotry gets in the way.

There was a time when Quebec was one of the most vibrant cultures in the world and definitely in North America. Montreal was considered one of the world’s great cosmopolitan cities but now it is seen as just another sad city with crumbling infrastructure and signs most tourists can’t read; a symbol of an ailing society.

At a time when the world is tearing down barriers, a small narrow-minded and bigoted intelligentsia in Quebec, have been erecting a wall around the province. It is like trying to build a dyke to prevent the future from flooding in and it is doomed to failure. 

The only questions that remains now are how much longer will some Quebecors continue to allow themselves to be deluded into believing that discrimination of others is justifiable? How much longer will they reject the true meaning of democracy in favour of the cheap, intolerant visions being fed them by a pur laine elite?

But most important of all,  how much more damage will be done by weak-minded bigots and cynical political opportunists, like Pauline Marois, before our Quebec society is once again free to pursue its full potential that embraces and celebrates the diverse culture and heritage of all of our citizens?

RELATED

National Post: Dear Ms. Marois, does my chai pendant count as a banned ‘religious sign’?

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/08/16/jon-kay-dear-ms-marois-does-my-chai-pendant-count-as-a-banned-religious-sign/

Montreal Gazette: The PQ’s cynical, offensive ‘charter of secularism’
http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/Editorial+cynical+offensive+charter+secularism/7095306/story.html

Ottawa Sun: PQ's conspicuous signs of intolerance
http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/08/15/pqs-conspicuous-signs-of-intolerance


Only The White Hoods Are Missing In Pauline Marois' PQ
http://bearsrant.blogspot.ca/2012/08/only-white-sheets-are-missing-in.html

© 2012 Maggie's Bear

all rights reserved

The content of this article is the sole property of Maggie's Bear but a link to it may be shared by those who think it may be of interest to others