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Old 08-15-2013, 03:48 AM
 
Location: Canada
171 posts, read 272,778 times
Reputation: 70

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this is ane xample of quebec bashing, the microwave story is a well known urban legend:
Letter: The language police visit a bank

check out the comments below, why is there so much hatred?
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Old 08-15-2013, 04:46 AM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,042,146 times
Reputation: 30999
I wouldnt call it Quebec bashing its just a news story pointing out the absurdity of Quebecs language laws,If a government is going to enact ridiculous laws its got to own the ridicule that will come with those laws.
As for the comments below you'll always have trolls hiding behind user names and spouting out their hate on just about any subject.., however i found many of the comments insightful ,this one sums it up simply =

Quote:
Kenneth M Flecknell · Language and culture have no place in government rules. If a language needs to be protected it is already lost. Want a language, speak it. Want your culture strong, practice it. No need for laws to protect it.

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Old 08-15-2013, 05:54 AM
 
Location: Canada
171 posts, read 272,778 times
Reputation: 70
Quote:
Originally Posted by jambo101 View Post
I wouldnt call it Quebec bashing its just a news story pointing out the absurdity of Quebecs language laws,If a government is going to enact ridiculous laws its got to own the ridicule that will come with those laws.
As for the comments below you'll always have trolls hiding behind user names and spouting out their hate on just about any subject.., however i found many of the comments insightful ,this one sums it up simply =
Its own ridicule by newspapers that make up stories from urban legend?!

I don't think that quote is fair as Quebec is surrounded by anglos and just by their nature, those anglos dilute the existing culture.
You don't have the same dynamic in France. English people don't move there in big numbers to work and live and if they do, they don't/can't dilute the French culture. In Quebec, they can by putting up their own signs, shops, etc. and forcing out the French.

Last edited by qwertyjjj; 08-15-2013 at 06:39 AM..
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Old 08-15-2013, 07:06 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
26,776 posts, read 37,717,092 times
Reputation: 11550
The classic excuses that are always given for the bashing are language laws, separatism, equalization, yellow vs. white margarine colouring... you name it.

Truth is - bashers are gonna bash.

French Canadians/francophones and Quebec (don't forget "Quebec" is the PC code word for French Canadians and allows the bashers to conveniently evade the "racist" stigma) were bashed and crapped on long before anyone had ever heard of Bill 101 and the Parti Québécois.

Ask my parents. And my grandparents. And my great-grandparents if they were still alive.
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Old 08-15-2013, 07:34 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
26,776 posts, read 37,717,092 times
Reputation: 11550
Quote:
Originally Posted by qwertyjjj View Post
Its own ridicule by newspapers that make up stories from urban legend?!
.
It makes perfect sense when you view it through the prism of the higher objective of all of this: convincing as many people as possible that French Canadians are unworthy/unfit to govern themselves.

It's fundamentally an anti-separatism thing but when there were constitutional talks in the 1990s (Meech, Charlottetetown, distinct society) it was also about demonstrating that the only legislature controlled by francophones in this part of the world could not be entrusted with more powers.

Hence the very broad coverage from media both inside and outside Quebec about every single thing that happens in Quebec that is negative.

If you talk to Canadians outside Quebec it is astonishing how the average person can be well-informed about the goings-on in La Belle Province (at least the negative goings-on), and often blissfully unaware of things happening in their own backyard because the media (and I suppose the cocktail party/BBQ circuit) attention is so disproportionately tilted towards the slightest shenanigan in Quebec.
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Old 08-15-2013, 08:23 AM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,042,146 times
Reputation: 30999
Quote:
Originally Posted by qwertyjjj View Post
Its own ridicule by newspapers that make up stories from urban legend?!

I don't think that quote is fair as Quebec is surrounded by anglos and just by their nature, those anglos dilute the existing culture.
You don't have the same dynamic in France. English people don't move there in big numbers to work and live and if they do, they don't/can't dilute the French culture. In Quebec, they can by putting up their own signs, shops, etc. and forcing out the French.
Would you care to provide some proof that the Gazette article is a fabricated story as the Gazette usually doesnt run satirical type stories.
Yeah we've heard all the feigned hysteria about the Francophones being surrounded by Anglophones and how the Anglos are some how going to eliminate the Francophone culture, in several hundred years it doesnt seem to be happening, the English in Quebec represent 8% of the population, not much of a demographical threat to warrant all these draconian language laws in my opinion.
Querty being from England you may not be up on the fact that your line of reasoning on the Quebec issue has been beaten to death ad nauseum for the last 40 years, what are you bringing to this topic that is new and hasnt been discussed a thousand times before? All the regulars here know full well what each others stance is on the issue so unless you can come up with something new i see this topic as pointless.
Or are you just hoping to stir up a big storm of a topic on the Quebec issue? If so i'll sit this one out.. .

Last edited by jambo101; 08-15-2013 at 08:39 AM..
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Old 08-15-2013, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Canada
171 posts, read 272,778 times
Reputation: 70
Quote:
Originally Posted by jambo101 View Post
Would you care to provide some proof that the Gazette article is a fabricated story as the Gazette usually doesnt run satirical type stories.
Yeah we've heard all the feigned hysteria about the Francophones being surrounded by Anglophones and how the Anglos are some how going to eliminate the Francophone culture, in several hundred years it doesnt seem to be happening, the English in Quebec represent 8% of the population, not much of a demographical threat to warrant all these draconian language laws in my opinion.
Querty being from England you may not be up on the fact that your line of reasoning on the Quebec issue has been beaten to death ad nauseum for the last 40 years, what are you bringing to this topic that is new and hasnt been discussed a thousand times before? All the regulars here know full well what each others stance is on the issue so unless you can come up with something new i see this topic as pointless.
Or are you just hoping to stir up a big storm of a topic on the Quebec issue? If so i'll sit this one out.. .
18 Feb
Montreal brasserie Holder received a visit from an inspector who recommended taping over the on/off switch on the microwave, replacing the word steak (which is actually an accepted French word) on the chef’s chalkboard grocery list with bifteck and removing the “W.C.” sign indicating the washrooms.
Even francophones are waking up to Quebec’s language folly | National Post

Mar 1
Lecas's decision to go public with the letter from the language inspector has prompted other restaurateurs to come forward. One told how he was ordered to cover his microwave's on/off switch and the redial button on a telephone with tape because they were in English.
The chef's grocery list, which was written on a kitchen chalkboard, was also found to have broken the law: steak frites may be a staple of Parisian bistros but, according to Quebec law, biftek is the only acceptable term.
Quebec language police try to ban 'pasta' from Italian restaurant menu | World news | The Guardian

May 15
Next up: a microwave. This seemingly innocent machine hides its evil by presenting the employees with hot Pizza Pockets and mom’s leftovers. Within this evil lie several words, written only in English. No, not even their own, private microwave is safe from the hands of the language police. Among these forbidden words: open and time. These frighteningly English words carry with them the desire to eradicate the French-speaking population of Quebec. With a few adjustments, employees will soon be able to safely heat up their favourite dishes in French.
Letter: The language police visit a bank

The embarrassment deepened when other restaurant owners revealed they had been ordered by inspectors to tape over the “on/off” button on a microwave, and not use English words on their shopping lists.
The new, heavier-handed Quebec language regime - The Globe and Mail

LOT OF MICROWAVES AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ALL WITH DIFFERENT WORDS BUT A SURPRISINGLY SIMILAR STORY. NOT EVIDENCE AS SUCH, JUST INTERESTING.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jambo101 View Post
the English in Quebec represent 8% of the population, not much of a demographical threat to warrant all these draconian language laws in my opinion.
.
Also, 8% in Quebec is not the same as 60% in Montreal (french speaking)
It is also clear that, slowly, the proportion of French-speaker has been decreasing in Montreal, although much more drastically on Montreal Island than in the surrounding areas. This is due to a large amount of immigration to Montreal Island. In fact, 30% of island residents are not native to Canada. If immigration continues at its present levels, by 2046, only 47% of residents of Montreal and Laval will use French as their primary language.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jambo101 View Post
Or are you just hoping to stir up a big storm of a topic on the Quebec issue? If so i'll sit this one out.. .
no but isn't that what the newspapers do every day?

Last edited by qwertyjjj; 08-15-2013 at 09:08 AM..
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Old 08-15-2013, 09:40 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
26,776 posts, read 37,717,092 times
Reputation: 11550
Quote:
Originally Posted by qwertyjjj View Post


no but isn't that what the newspapers do every day?

As I said, the coverage is a tad... inordinate.

I mean, why is someone in Montreal saying "je ne parle pas anglais" (nicely or not) front page news? Happens in places like Ottawa and Moncton with French hundreds of times every single day.
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Old 08-15-2013, 02:07 PM
 
Location: Toronto
2,802 posts, read 3,839,110 times
Reputation: 3153
Quote:
Originally Posted by qwertyjjj View Post
]

check out the comments below, why is there so much hatred?
I read some of the comments. Didn't see any of the hatred you are referring to. Pretty tame by most comment section standards.
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Old 08-15-2013, 02:30 PM
 
Location: USA (dying to live in Canada)
1,028 posts, read 1,872,129 times
Reputation: 412
God Bless Quebec, I live you!
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