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I don't want to beat around the bush, I lived in Montreal for a year and believe me, in that time you start to pick up on the subtleties. The English Canadians and French Canadians might be equal on paper, but in real time the English are above them. In Montreal strict laws over language are required to keep the city from becoming a city run by an English Canadian minority. I mean, come on if they scrapped language laws in Montreal the city would be run by an English Canadian elite within a decade. There are many French Canadians who look down on themselves in a way and look down on proud French Canadians, meaning that they prefer to be English Canadian or at least be associated as much as possible with English Canadians rather than who they are.
I just want to say that I love French Canadians and Quebec. I like them a lot more than English Canadians. The people are really nice and easy to get along with which I like. They are a lot more polite than English Canadians too, and don't go around boasting about it. The Quebec independent film industry is fantastic and huge inspiration. The Quebecois have so much to be proud about, so this is why it is crazy how many of them carry a feeling of being underneath the English Canadians. They don't walk around saying "I am beneath the English Canadians!" but you see it in their actions and mannerisms. Like they are ashamed of all things French and annoyed by French Canadians who dare to be proud.
You can't conquer and colonize a people for 250 years and expect them not to have a bit of insecurity about themselves. There is a night and day difference between how Quebecois view themselves today and how they viewed themselves a century ago. I'd say most are proud to proclaim Quebec as their nation. A century ago this was a radical thing to do. There were some who weren't afraid to do it like Henri Bourassa.
Please Acajack, Canada was never a partnership. Maybe since the last few decades Quebec has become to some level maîtres chez nous (key words here: some level). Only the most colonized of francos believe this propaganda. The Quiet Revolution was necessary because Canada WAS NOT a partnership. Until the quiet revolution it was classic colonial domination.
Oh, I fully realize that the notion of whether Canada truly ever was intended to be a "French-English partnership" is a matter of highly-contested debate. I was not expressing my view on that, but only saying that is how many people in Quebec view the country and its raison-d'être.
The Quebecois have so much to be proud about, so this is why it is crazy how many of them carry a feeling of being underneath the English Canadians. They don't walk around saying "I am beneath the English Canadians!" but you see it in their actions and mannerisms. Like they are ashamed of all things French and annoyed by French Canadians who dare to be proud.
Well, there is a well-known feeling of inferiority among francophone Quebecers. That's a consequence of being a colonised nation for so long. And it's not only apparent when francophones compare themselves with anglophones; you also see it when they talk about France, and to some extent about the US.
But honestly it's not that bad; it's just that Quebec's neighbours are English Canada and the US, two countries whose self-image is much more positive (in different ways of course). So it's really a question of contrast. When you live abroad you meet other nations who seem to very much enjoy self-deprecation. Still, it remains something I dislike very much about Quebec culture.
Just a note to show that we're not alone in this regard: when I was a graduate student we had a lot of students from Cameroon and other African francophone countries in our department. And it turns out that in some of those countries, when somebody does something very well, what people say is that he or she "does it like a white person". Yeah, francophone Quebecers may have something of an inferiority complex but it's really not that bad.
Well, there is a well-known feeling of inferiority among francophone Quebecers. That's a consequence of being a colonised nation for so long. And it's not only apparent when francophones compare themselves with anglophones; you also see it when they talk about France, and to some extent about the US.
But honestly it's not that bad; it's just that Quebec's neighbours are English Canada and the US, two countries whose self-image is much more positive (in different ways of course). So it's really a question of contrast. When you live abroad you meet other nations who seem to very much enjoy self-deprecation. Still, it remains something I dislike very much about Quebec culture.
Just a note to show that we're not alone in this regard: when I was a graduate student we had a lot of students from Cameroon and other African francophone countries in our department. And it turns out that in some of those countries, when somebody does something very well, what people say is that he or she "does it like a white person". Yeah, francophone Quebecers may have something of an inferiority complex but it's really not that bad.
What a bunch of crappola! I've spent over 40 years of working and interacting with French Canadiens both within Quebec and outside it and have never found them lacking in self esteem. This penchant many have of accusing them of a supposed inferiority complex is just more bumpf to stir the pot.
French Canadiens are no more subject to feelings of inadequacy than any other Canadian demographic. To suggest otherwise is utter bullcrap!
Inferiority complex? Not something i've ever noticed in my 40yrs in Quebec, if anything a superiority complex is what i've noticed and its continuing to grow.
Example from recent post=
Quote:
How ironic. An anglo Canadian calling Quebec a cultural backwater. You have no culture to speak of. You are just the failed Americans who were too cowardly to «grow a pair» as you seem to like to say. Anglo Canadian culture is essentially a third tier American backwater.
This is the first I have heard about Quebecers feeling insecure. Quebec culture punches well above it's weight and the rest of the country knows it. History is in the past and if you live there you'll never move forward.
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