A Frank talk about Francophones
(This essay was written in response to comments published in the link. The author’s name has been replaced here with ’Monsieur’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSiBY6UIINk)
Monsieur,
As a consequence of Britain’s legacy of military successes against France et al in the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, North America became an English-language place, as indeed did various other places around the world.
North America’s expanses were quickly filled with Europeans and Asians of every stripe, but despite its polyglot cultures, North America retained its English language. (Indeed, in modernity, of Earth’s ~7.2 billion people, ~2.5 billion speak English, while some 400 million people, mostly in failed African states, speak French.)
In the New World, both the English and the French were just two cultural and language groups not unlike all the others, except in one critical manner; unlike all the other cultural groups that flooded into North America, put down roots, and succeeded, the French remained, in your own words, a “… fiefdom of a small group of wealthy Anglo oligarchs.” You dutifully list all the legislative initiatives taken by various Canadian governments at various times demonstrating that French studies were banned.
Well, Chinese, Japanese, Jews, and other cultural groups, at different times and places, have also been subjected to restrictive and offensive laws over the intervening centuries. But guess what, these folks survived and thrived on their own, and have kept their cultures and languages alive and vibrant despite centuries of oppressive legislation.
So, why are the French in Canada unable to flourish like other cultures? Hmmm.
The French in Canada never really came into their own until they were given a security blanket: the Official Languages Act. The OLA is an odious piece of legislation that transformed Canada into an Officially Bilingual nation. Without this legislation, Francophones would have had to compete in the market place just like everyone else. However, with this babysitter legislation, BOLA, there is no need for you to be resourceful, diligent, and hard-working. With BOLA riding shotgun, you can coast; you can have it all – without having to really earn it.
Francophones immigrate down the 401 into Ontario and are instantly coddled by our French Language Services Act. Beyond whatever taxes you pay, you are not required to contribute a dime to the vast array of extras - welfare by other means - that we give you: your very own unilingual schools, school buses, school boards; cultural and social facilities; your very own unilingual television network, and your extensive network of organizations scattered across the province, each of which is dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving French language and culture, and ensuring that, if an English sign is displayed, there will be a Francophone lurking nearby to insist, nay, demand, that it be replaced by a bilingual version – even if the local Francophone population is zilch.
Now, there is nothing wrong with such organizations, per se, except for the fact that funding for them comes out of the public purse; Francophones are not required to contribute a dime beyond what you normally pay in taxes. We also pay taxes, but part of our taxes that would normally operate our bilingual schools, pave our roads, and build our subways, gets diverted to fund your Francophone groups, who, evidently, are unable to do for themselves.
And let us not forget the other side of this sorry story; while we coddle and cuddle Francophones in Ontario and the rest of Canada, Francophones daily demonstrate their utter contempt for Anglophones and everything English in Quebec. While, each month, we pump $1.3B into Quebec’s coffers, Quebecers spew us with spite and spittle.
While we are not angels, and we do have Rob Ford, we do not have the equivalent of the Charbonneau Commission - anywhere in the Rest of Canada.
Monsieur, we are told that Francophones are desperately afraid of being assimilated. Francophones, we are told, will shrivel and disappear unless we Anglos protect you from the wayward winds that gust and swirl through this 21st century world. We are told that your Francophone language and culture are so fragile, that, without our hugely expensive, intrusive, coercive, and bloated body of municipal, provincial, and federal laws to coddle and cuddle them, they would become as dust.
However, we understand that this dreadful fear of assimilation is contrived; it is an artifice. If your culture and your language were as weak and fragile as you claim, they would not be saved by immensely cumbersome bodies of legislation and massive amounts of cash.
Language and cultural attributes are sustained by people imbued with character, courage, fortitude, and competence. If you have these qualities, you don’t need all that you demand of us.
If you refuse to make the effort to stand on your own, we cannot, we will not, stand for you.
Gerry Porter, Ottawa
Mr. D. replied in French, May 3, 2014 (Google translation):
Typique give what condescendence O thank you so generous (wasp) white man to have hanged Louis Riel ... And destroyed the French communities outside Quebec.
By the way what is your contribution and your culture Canadian English blade American copy or allegiance to a foreign crown.
Not even fucking have you do a clean identiée you're a translation of your name to your Candian hymn O Canada nothing but a translation ... When you have a clean culture you a real identity may instead you hide behind multiculturalism have seen what has to be proud and want to share.
Original follows:
ypique give quel condescendence merci O si généreux (wasp) homme blanc de n'avoir pendus que Louis Riel...Et détruit les communautés Française hors Québec.
En passant quel est votre contribution et votre culture English Canadian une pale copie américaine ou une allegéance a une couronne étrangêre.
Même pas foutus de vous avoir fais une identiée propre a vous vous n'êtes qu'une traduction de votre nom Candian a votre hymme ô Canada rien d'autre qu'une traduction...Quand vous aurez une culture propre a vous une véritable identité peut-être au lieu de vous cachez derrière le multiculturalisme vus aurez de quoi a être fière et vouloir la partager
My response: Monsieur, you mention multiculturalism as something we Anglos hide behind. On the contrary; Mr. Trudeau, the elder, introduced the asinine concept. Under the precepts of multiculturalism, all cultures are deemed "equal" and are thus protected from all criticism, a cloak that shields such practices as genital mutilation, from its critics. Francophones, your language, and your culture, are, under that very same blanket, similarly protected.
As for the remainder of your response, I leave it to your readers to decipher. I'm not sure what you are trying to say.
Gerry Porter, Ottawa
