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What do you know about their stability? Before the arrival of White Americans, Hawaii had it's own system of government and was doing just fine.
Regardling economics, yes Hawaiii is relatively prosperous as a US state, but the majority of people enjoying that prosperity are not native Hawaiians. Hawaii's annexation occured for the sake of expanding American influence and economic power, not for the sake of Hawaiian people. And just because a nation is "third-world" doesn't mean the people there aren't happy and content with their lives.
Anyway this is completely off-topic.
You're right, many Native Hawaiians now are poor and the US didn't annex Hawaii to better their lives. But there are also many poor areas of the US as well, same with Canada. If you compare Hawaii to the other Pacific Island, it's clearly more prosperous.
I doubt people who starving to death in third world Africa are happy. When I was in India, there was nothing more sad then seeing a girl with a purposely burnt face begging tourists for money to eat.
But back to topic, I do believe Quebec would certainly not be third world if it separated from Canada and would be fine economically. However, I do believe its more prosperous being with the rest of Canada.
Read what I stated in the previous post. As I stated Northern Upstate NY, Northern New Hampshire, and Northern Vermont has a lot of Francophone communities with all the signs being in both French and English. Anecdote, but I went to school in Upstate NY, and every person that I met who was from Northern NY/Adirondacks had French Canadian ancestry.
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Originally Posted by lexdiamondz
As for what Language has to do with it, language is the primary medium by which people communicate. As it stands, most Anglophones in Canada do not and have no interest in speaking French, and Quebec is vast enough that most Quebecois really don't have to speak English unless they want to. Furthermore, Francophones in Canada have a long history of marginalisation relative to Anglophones, and until fairly recently have been treated as second-class citizens in a country that their families had been in for centuries.
It's not analogous to Spanish-speakers in the US who are predominantly immigrants.
Agree, but I believe people need to speak more than one language these days because of globalization. Like I stated, all of Canada should speak both English and French regardless if they want to or not.
You're right, many Native Hawaiians now are poor and the US didn't annex Hawaii to better their lives. But there are also many poor areas of the US as well, same with Canada. If you compare Hawaii to the other Pacific Island, it's clearly more prosperous.
I doubt people who starving to death in third world Africa are happy. When I was in India, there was nothing more sad then seeing a girl with a purposely burnt face begging tourists for money to eat.
But back to topic, I do believe Quebec would certainly not be third world if it separated from Canada and would be fine economically. However, I do believe its more prosperous being with the rest of Canada.
I'm from the "third world" and it has happy and unhappy people. Anecdotally, the first time I'd ever met someone who could be called clinically depressed was in Canada, and the only people I've ever known to commit or contemplate suicide were in NYC. There's happiness and unhappiness everywhere in the world, at every income level.
As for whether or not Quebec is more prosperous being part of Canada, that's impossible to tell. Quebec has land, resources, manufacturing and a reasonably educated population. With decent management, there's no reason why it couldn't be as prosperous if not moreso as an independent country.
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Read what I stated in the previous post. As I stated Northern Upstate NY, Northern New Hampshire, and Northern Vermont has a lot of Francophone communities with all the signs being in both French and English. Anecdote, but I went to school in Upstate NY, and every person that I met who was from Northern NY/Adirondacks had French Canadian ancestry.
...in which case obviously there would be similarities between those specific communities and Quebec. That's like saying border towns in Texas have alot in common with Mexico because Mexicans live in both places.
As for whether or not Quebec is more prosperous being part of Canada, that's impossible to tell. Quebec has land, resources, manufacturing and a reasonably educated population. With decent management, there's no reason why it couldn't be as prosperous if not moreso as an independent country.
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Ok well are you going to go ahead and manage the transition from Quebec the Province in Canada to Quebec the independant prosperous nation.. There's lots of work to do... You better get off these forums and start cracking... Tout de suite. Come back when you have important updates on your progress!
Ok well are you going to go ahead and manage the transition from Quebec the Province in Canada to Quebec the independant prosperous nation.. There's lots of work to do... You better get off these forums and start cracking... Tout de suite. Come back when you have important updates on your progress!
I think it highlights how difficult it will be for any Province to realize separation... How much work that'll entail and the challenges associated with it on so many fronts... Its nice and easy to discuss theory but when it comes to the practical side of things - the actual journey is very tough which means that any proponent of separation really does need to get down and dirty and get to work...
I don't mean to be rude, but that's got to be even more ridiculous saying Native Hawaiians have more in common with pick up driving Alabamians than Quebecois do with the rest of Canadians. Native Hawaiians, i.e. Polynesians, are not even Western, they're Pacific Island/Eastern culture and customs.
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The problem, as has been stated, is that Native Hawaiians are only one in 10 of the state's residents. Even if they still had retained those Polynesian characteristics (many of which have been lost due to acculturation and assimilation) they still don't dictate the ambient culture of the state anymore as they are now such a small minority.
As a native NYer, I can tell you that Northern Upstate NY, Northern Vermont, and Northern New Hampshire have a lot in common with South Quebec with there being are a lot of French Canadians living there. You see lots of francophone communities, signs are in both English and French, and lots of Quebecois travel to Northern Upstate NY and vice versa.
There are many people of French Canadian origin in the NE US but the truth is that French is a bit of dying dinosaur there except maybe for some towns in Northern Maine where you might be able to claim there are ''francophone communities".
The francophone reality of the NE US that you describe is that of 75 or 100 years ago, when Quebec performers sometimes included stops in places like Lowell and Woonsocket on their concert tours.
The problem, as has been stated, is that Native Hawaiians are only one in 10 of the state's residents. Even if they still had retained those Polynesian characteristics (many of which have been lost due to acculturation and assimilation) they still don't dictate the ambient culture of the state anymore as they are now such a small minority.
So those 1/10 people aren't significant? Despite some "Americanization", many Hawaiians still abide by many Polynesian culture and customs. Anyway, the point I was making the US and Canada are nations built on distinct regional cultures and ethnicities.
I don't understand why people on this board keeps referring to the rest of Canada and US as Anglo. There is nothing "Anglo" about Canada and the US, they're nations built on immigrants throughout the world and Quebec is no different now. It's like saying Mexico is culturally Spaniard because the primary language is Spanish. Heck, most of the British aren't even Anglo, only England really is. Many people of the British Isles are Celtic, who originated from ancient Spain and Portugal.
So those 1/10 people aren't significant? Despite some "Americanization", many Hawaiians still abide by many Polynesian culture and customs..
Yeah, right. I was saying they don't exist.
But seriously, in the absence of a status as a "ruling minority class" (which does not exist in Hawaii), a group that comprises only 10% of the population cannot define the local ambient culture. Anyway, not if they do not assimilate newcomers to them. Which has not happened in Hawaii. It's been the other way around.
So those 1/10 people aren't significant? Despite some "Americanization", many Hawaiians still abide by many Polynesian culture and customs. Anyway, the point I was making the US and Canada are nations built on distinct regional cultures and ethnicities.
I don't understand why people on this board keeps referring to the rest of Canada and US as Anglo. There is nothing "Anglo" about Canada and the US, they're nations built on immigrants throughout the world and Quebec is no different now. It's like saying Mexico is culturally Spaniard because the primary language is Spanish. Heck, most of the British aren't even Anglo, only England really is. Many people of the British Isles are Celtic, who originated from ancient Spain and Portugal.
Language may not be the only thing that defines culture, but it's a huge part of it. It seems like you are totally discounting it. It's not simply a means of communication like a computer binary code or something.
How many languages do you speak, out of curiosity?
Because "language doesn't matter in culture, it's simply a code for communicating" is usually something you hear from people who speak only English.
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