Bambi would like to thank Dr. Mathieu Bock-Côté for tweeting about the following:
If you think that Dr. Bock-Côté is over-reacting, listen to these CTV so-called journalists talking about the French culture and the French language.
Pay attention to how they talk about the Académie Française with much ignorance and an unclassy intellectual attitude. At least one of them said that she lives in Montreal and apparently spoke French. Mmm, how can someone speak a language without being more appreciative of other cultures and traditions?
Of note, one of these TV show women went as far as talking about Québec as a “tribe” (which could be true, like all nations or silent majorities, had she not been that negative in her comment).
Of course, while talking about the French language, one of these TV show women could not help not to bash Québec’s Bill 21 on state secularism. It is classical in English-speaking Canada to do so while mischaracterizing the latter, regardless of our opinion about it.
Did CTV receive funding from our federal government? If so, why is our OWN tax money funding such non-sense? Anyhow, Bambi is happy she does not watch TV at home to have to listen to such mediocrity of sociocultural public discourse.
To conclude on a positive note, Bambi is happy that in her own family, her father-in-law who is originally from Toronto (yes, anglophone) is now likely much more fluent in French than her! Most importantly, he has GREAT respect for Québec’s values and culture. It would have been perhaps enriching (and surely fun :)) to invite him to this TV show. He would have certainly brought another perspective to the show (even if he has legitimate reasons for not being fond of laws like Bill 21…). Sadly, nowadays, we do not want to listen to and engage with different perspectives. We are perhaps too intellectually lazy or too conformist for that. We prefer the non-sense of political correctness instead of the richness of public debates. How sad, isn’t it?
To listen to this show called “The Social“, please click:
https://www.ctv.ca/shows/the-social/does-the-french-language-need-to-be-protected-in-canada-s8e209
It is generally agreed that CTV = Conservative TeleVision. It is a private network unlike CBC. I’m impressed Bambi is making progress in discussing with terms like ‘English Canada’ and ‘French Canada’ and neither of these being limited by geography.
I had never heard of ”The Social” before but my first impression was that it’s intended as an imitation of ”The View” for airheads or housewives. Having watched this Canadian program just once now, I can say it is more intelligent than that. The Indian woman was very clever in her comments as was Jan Wong; both bring enriching perspectives. The blonde woman I appreciated the least, however, her point was about national academies for language. If that is Bock-Cote’s main reason for calling it Quebec-bashing, he is wrong. It is a question we discussed in linguistics courses at universities and it seems some languages are well suited to having a national academy based on their national character and other factors while others are not. For example, English is a far too welcoming and global a language to be tied down to just London, unlike the roles Paris or Madrid play for their languages.
Bock-Cote’s approach is anecdotal not scientific and I also strongly doubt he understood what was said on the panel if he even watched the show at all.
Thank you Fred for your kind words (and in your comment about another post too).
For Bambi, the Conservatives seem to be the two sides of the same coin as the Liberals on many issues (this Social show seems to be a good example actually :).
This being said, thanks for explaining that it is rather private and conservative. However, they did get bailed out by our federal government. This means they are NOT independent as people tend to be loyal to the hand that feeds them.
Perhaps you do not see the Québec bashing because you are an expert at it (at least on this blog) :). Could it be?!
You seem to forget the different cultural mindset behind the French language. This is its richness and beauty:
https://www.academie-francaise.fr/
Dr. Bock-Côté is one of our smartest intellectuals in the country. You may not like him because he is for the sovereignty of Québec. At least, he has principles in life in addition to his brain and great mastery of the French language. He does understand English, but he speaks French.
This being said, thanks for sharing your insights!
I was able to analyze and comment on the external links, but Bambi’s comments make less and less sense. I tell it like it is and sometimes use a reverse approach to expose what life would be life in Kebekistan if their own laws were made to apply to the majority and not just harass the minority. The gap is especially jarring with all the worst laws designed at alienating, ostracizing and expelling people, as has been going on since before Bambi was born. It’s not just me who says so.
Some other questions to think about include ”Is Bill 101 applied to the afterlife with segregation so francophone Kebekistanis don’t have to hear or see other languages? If not, wouldn’t they be totally alienated and ill-at ease in heaven and forced to decamp to hell?” and ”If Bock-Cote is such a great intellectual how come he’s not included on the pan-Canadian lists of public intellectuals like this one which includes francophones and separatists and at least two other of Bambi’s friends?
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/canadian-intellectuals-academics.php
Dr. Bock-Côté is highly respected in France, not just Québec. Indeed, he has been recruited to France for one whole year! Congratulations to him and bravo to France for knowing how to appreciate his talent!
Thankfully for us, he will keep writing opinions in Québec and participate in the QUB radio shows as well as the very interesting La Joute TVA program commenting the news with his colleagues, including Mr. Thomas Mulcair and others:
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/08/10/mathieu-bock-cote-recrute-en-france
Here is the impressive list of his books:
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/contributor/author/mathieu-bock-c%C3%B4t%C3%A9/