(no subject)

[teddog]

Can anyone explain how the motion of Quebec as a nation inside Canada is going to work? On the surface, I'm slightly offended and confused. However, I might be reading it wrong.

As far as I can figure it out, the motion is making the Québécois a nation of people within Canada and not all of Quebec. See, the only difference I see is language. Many school kids learn about Quebec culture in French class and I already knew a lot of the stuff mentioned during these lessons because I grew up with them! I have a Quebec heritage dating back several generations even though my family is Anglophone. Because I can barely speak French, I am outside of this new nation, even though the culture is very similar.

And what about the other different cultures in this great land? The Acadians strike me as a big example. The east coast sure isn't like the west coast and there's lots of unqiue cultures inbetween. Heck, Thunder Bay was worlds away from Southern Ontario, yet if you tried to claim that each different culture inside Canada could be seen as its own nation, someone is going to call you on entitlement issues.

Which is my problem with this new motion. The Bloc is obsessed with proving how different they are. If they weren't from Quebec, they wouldn't be able to get away with it.

/bitter Canadian

Although, I will admit that the government is starting to get it right with our dealings with China. According to the Globe and Mail, Harper told Chinese officials that "he would not sacrifice human rights on the altar of the 'almighty dollar'". Hopefully, they'll act on this claim.

Comments

[msp-hacker.livejournal.com]

From what I've heard about this, it sounds like the Québécois is all swept up with Nationalim. Which I've never, actually, paricutarly understood in any reasonable manner, other than to say that Yep, that's Nationalism! Or recognising the nastier strains of Jingoism.

But it's almost useless argueing with people who say that say that they belong to a diffrent nation, because the definition of Nationalism is so vauge that just about any group of people can go "We are so a nation!" and you can't really prove to them that they aren't a nation.

This is also why I'm not very good at explaining nationallism, other than telling people to go look at Europe during the 1800s, especialy the German and Italian consolidations, and how Easten Europe keeps sub-dividing into smaller and smaller countries as people demand ethnic-nations.

[commanderteddog.livejournal.com]

See, if you say you believe in a united Canada, separatists will call you a Canadian Nationalist. Yet, it is clear that they themselves are Nationalists, but to this construct of Quebec in their heads. But, Canadian Nationalists and Quebec Nationalists are obsessed with sovereignty.... and there's where I get lost...

Canadian Nationalism in itself is odd. Because of my leanings on Quebec, I am often labeled a Nationalist. I'd perfer to call myself a patriot, but the Patriot Act made that term dirty here.

[msp-hacker.livejournal.com]

I don't think you should be lost, because if you want an united Canada you would be a Canadian Nationalist, and if you wanted a sepreate Quebec, you would be a Qubecian (is that right? Quebecos?) Nationalist. In both cases, they want their individual unit to have soveignty over the areas they say is their particular nation.

That bit sucks about patriot becoming a dirty word, though I haven't heard the word much around here either unless in was in the context of the War for Independence studies. Though its not because of everyone despising the act. At least, I don't think it's because of the marketing naming of the act, as even the people who still support it don't use the word even in situations that it would make sense to do so.