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Why is there such a disconnect in thinking so as to prevent Parizeau, and now you, seeing the irony in your castigating people for "bloc" voting along ethnic lines when the whole sovereignty movement could be said to have as it's primary motivation, that very premise?
*sigh* ... to everyone who only reads the National Post and the Gazette, I guess. Please broaden your horizons a bit.
*sigh* ....the usual condescension towards someone pointing out the obvious notwithstanding, the whole "pur laine" nonsense didn't grow out of thin air.
Horse crap! The similarities are glaring to everyone but..........
I think a step back would be useful here.
"Ethnicity" is not necessarily about bloodlines. It's about an identifiable group that considers itself to be an "us" and that, almost always as well, others consider to be an identifiable "them". Often the beginnings of an ethnic group are bloodline-based, but things usually evolve over time and people with different bloodlines are brought into the fold and become mostly indistinguishable from the broader whole.
In this sense, the origins of the Quebec separatist movement were all about a specific ethnic group: French Canadians for lack of a better term. Descendants of the original French settlers and up until the 60s and 70s, of people who had integrated with them who were mostly of aboriginal and Irish-Scottish-English origins.
The independence movement was originally by and for this group, as this was the group that had an unfavourable position in society, because this "us" was viewed by most everyone else in the country as a lesser "them".
By the time 1995 had rolled around, however, things had evolved somewhat. Yes, it was still about an "us", but the tent had been greatly broadened. A number of people who had didn't have particularly deep rooting in the "us" had become a part of it. And became wedded to the cause.
This doesn't mean that the Oui side was as diverse as the Non side. It certainly was not.
And the separatist side still isn't as diverse as the federalist side in Quebec.
"Ethnicity" is not necessarily about bloodlines. It's about an identifiable group that considers itself to be an "us" and that, almost always as well, others consider to be an identifiable "them". Often the beginnings of an ethnic group are bloodline-based, but things usually evolve over time and people with different bloodlines are brought into the fold and become mostly indistinguishable from the broader whole.
In this sense, the origins of the Quebec separatist movement were all about a specific ethnic group: French Canadians for lack of a better term. Descendants of the original French settlers and up until the 60s and 70s, of people who had integrated with them who were mostly of aboriginal and Irish-Scottish-English origins.
The independence movement was originally by and for this group, as this was the group that had an unfavourable position in society, because this "us" was viewed by most everyone else in the country as a lesser "them".
By the time 1995 had rolled around, however, things had evolved somewhat. Yes, it was still about an "us", but the tent had been greatly broadened. A number of people who had didn't have particularly deep rooting in the "us" had become a part of it. And became wedded to the cause.
This doesn't mean that the Oui side was as diverse as the Non side. It certainly was not.
And the separatist side still isn't as diverse as the federalist side in Quebec.
That's as good an assessment as one of "my" ethnic origin could ask for.
I would prefer that grievances arising out of forced compliance either through sheer weight of numbers or actual unfairness of regulations, be given serious consideration via a recognized forum rather then allowed to simmer until they boil over. We have lurched from one crisis to another without seeming to have learned from our previous "skin of teeth" avoidance of crisis.
Here we are in 2016 after having faced down any number of situations including actual separation mandates with no better a grasp of how to get us all singing the Kumbayah song with gusto than we have of how to rid highschool of peer pressure.
There was a lot of animosity towards the PQ by people outside Quebec but this had NOTHING to do with the fact that Quebec was primarily Franco-phone but rather that Quebec had always been the spoiled child of Quebec and was since Confederation, always the main recipient of Ottawa largess. Now after over a century of buying Quebec votes, they still wanted to leave. In terms of treatment from Ottawa, Quebec had the least amount to ***** about.
My father and mother were never supporters of separatists but Dad {from Northern Ireland} and Mom {from England} who lived in Windsor and then London, upon their first trip to Montreal were quite taken aback by how subservient the French of Quebec were and how arrogant the English were. They never supported separatism by understood where the movement stemmed from.
I never would have wanted {or if possible} allowed Quebec to separate but I also know that it was perhaps a necessary movement in order for Franco-Quebecers t finally get the rights and equality that had long been denied in their own province.
As far as thinking everyone who is/was a separatist as the devil incarnate, there is/was a some truth to that but basically only in Western Canada who mostly had no real interaction with Quebecers and particularly Franco-Quebecers. Their dislike of separatists was no more so than their dislike of Torontonians or of any Quebecer, separatist or not as Tor/Mon were uniformaly disliked due to their complete control over the country's economic, political, social, media, and cultural policy.
The main thing is that the issue has basically been put to rest except for a few fast aging diehards. Canadians and Quebecers have moved on. Quebecers are now confident in their cultural integrity and have family and friends all over the country and all other Canadians are confident in their destiny and identity and no longer feel the need to have French as their second language to differentiate themselves from the Americans.
The one big irony about the entire affair is that Quebec, which was Canada's most politically powerful province, demanded independence to be rulers in their own kingdom but 50 years later, Quebec has never been so politically impotent as it has been in the last decade.
The main thing is that the issue has basically been put to rest except for a few fast aging diehards. Canadians and Quebecers have moved on. Quebecers are now confident in their cultural integrity and have family and friends all over the country and all other Canadians are confident in their destiny and identity and no longer feel the need to have French as their second language to differentiate themselves from the Americans.
The main thing is that the issue has basically been put to rest except for a few fast aging diehards. Canadians and Quebecers have moved on. Quebecers are now confident in their cultural integrity and have family and friends all over the country and all other Canadians are confident in their destiny and identity and no longer feel the need to have French as their second language to differentiate themselves from the Americans.
The one big irony about the entire affair is that Quebec, which was Canada's most politically powerful province, demanded independence to be rulers in their own kingdom but 50 years later, Quebec has never been so politically impotent as it has been in the last decade.
That's the difference between generations. Some are young enough so that any passage of time equates to "problem solved" whereas others of us have seen a decade or two of peace turn into another decades or two of hollering at each other over the back fence.
It will come to a slow simmer again; of this you can make book.
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