La caricature d’YGreck by Mr. Yannick LeMay (Journal de Montréal; September 20, 2019)
On September 27, 2019, Mayor Valérie Plante will
welcome Greta at Montreal City Hall and give her the keys
of the city.
Mr. Lemay is referring to the famous yet controversial “Vive le Québec libre” (= Long live free Québec) proclaimed by General Charles de Gaulle, President of France on July 24, 1967 (during a state visit to Expo 67) from the balcony of Montreal’s City Hall.
General Charles De Gaulle, President of France (Montreal City Hall balcony, June 24, 1967)
With all due respect to those who truly care for the environment, we cannot help not to smile at all the contradictions (driving OR even flying in/out to the demonstrations, overusing their cell phones, eating their air flown food, all this whilst lecturing us about the bad free market/capitalism and guilting the earlier generations).
This whole global climate strike movement
is somehow reminding Bambi of a 2008 movie called “The Wave” or” La vague” (“Die
Welle” in German) by Dennis Ganzel:
Over a week, a high-school teacher offers his students an educational experiment designed to help them understand how a totalitarian regime can start and how it operates. It turned the school into a police state, leading to tragic consequences…
Recently, our own Prime Minister was accused of being racist
over something he did many decades ago in different times.
Clearly in Bambi’s mind, Mr. Trudeau is not racist. He
may be an amateur Prime Minister but he is surely not a racist. He was perhaps hoisted
by his own petard because he has been acting hypocritically by accusing others
of being racist.
He has apologized and even over-apologized. Bambi just
listened to that video and wondered why he is self-flagellating to that point? He
should move on to something else now because too much may sound like not enough
in the end.
Anyhow, anyone can be accused of being *racist* against any group. Sometimes, people are accused of being racist by two opposing groups who may be in conflict.
Another example of so-called racism is the following:
When the rest of Canadians accused Quebecers of being racist JUST for having a
different cultural approach to secularism.
Yet another example can be radical Muslims (this is
not a race… it is just a religion or perhaps a culture for those who are not
observant). Many have been likely brought up to hate Jews and amalgamate Jews
with Israelis, Israeli soldiers with innocent Israeli civilians, Israeli politicians
with young soldiers just following orders, etc.
Same for the Jews (again not a race…. It is just a
religion and perhaps a culture for those who are not observant). Some may have
issues with Muslims (radical ones at least). They also have their stereotypes, etc.
Israel has a history of occupation or abuses toward Palestinians (all of them, regardless
of their religion).
Bearing this in mind, Bambi felt the need to weigh in on
two articles below about Ms. Nancy Mercier, PPC candidate in Beauséjour, accusing
her of holding “racist” views:
Why is Ms. Mercier accused of holding racist views?
Simply because she is against Sharia Law in Canada. If this is being racist,
then Bambi is also racist because she agrees with Ms. Mercier on this one. She
is not the only one. MOST of her immigrant friends, Muslim Arabs or Muslims
from other countries chose to come to Canada because of its secularity.
To be clear, only our Common Law (and Code Civil in Québec)
should apply to all Canadians, whether Muslim or not, newcomers or old
immigrants like Bambi.
Now, Bambi is not an expert of security but at the
same time she is perhaps less innocent than average good-hearted Canadians who
may not allow themselves to have opinions like Ms. Mercier because they do not
want to see themselves as being “racist”.
We may agree or not with Ms. Mercier.
We may vote for her or not.
However, for having interviewed her, I can assure that
she is far from being close-minded and racist.
From a skilled management accountant to a talented photographer. Way to go Rania! Bambi is proud of her sister’s talent 🙂 whilst being moved to see their beautiful Lebanon.
“I’m not going to accuse @JustinTrudeau
of being a racist. But he’s the master of identity politics and the Libs just
spent months accusing everyone of being white supremacists. He definitely is
the biggest hypocrite in the country.”
Bernier summarized the tragic situation in our country
so well, even in those limited words.
Bambi does not know if the blame for this would only be
on the Liberals though… Although she could be wrong, Bambi thinks that our whole
society is guilty of this sort of collective stupidity described above by
Bernier.
It is hard to govern when we desperately try to please
everyone, instead of taking tough decisions or instead of knowing when to push back.
imagine for one second the following scenario: Had Mr.
Bernier worn such costume (and coloured his skin like that), even at age 3 (not
30) he would have been accused of being a Nazi.
Same for Sheer or anyone else. Same for May.
Perhaps this is old news for Bernier as some called him racist just for having policies on taboo topics such as immigration.
Bambi was born in the same part of the world as Aladdin.
She was not offended by Mr. Trudeau’s old picture… Like Mr. Bernier, what
bothers her the most in life is hypocrisy and the double-standards.
Plus, Trudeau’s costume is not an accurate illustration
of Aladdin, let’s say. Who knows? Aladdin may have been blond with green or
blue eyes (like Bambi’s maternal side of the family).
Anyhow, poor Mr. Trudeau— the Genie (or Jinn) could
not come to help him today. He had to act with courage and fast.
He did well by apologizing to all those who have been offended
(luckily, he is experienced in apologies). For this, Bambi thanks him.
Let’s move on now to more contemporary stories.
More importantly, let’s take the time to think about Trudeau’s
promises (all his “sunny ways”). Did he keep them? Did he deliver on them?
These are the questions that Bambi prefers to focus on before voting, more than on a bad costume in 2001 (Vancouver) or in 2018 (India).
Is the Mediterranean Sea the most beautiful sea in the world?
Today, upon waking up, Bambi saw that she had an SMS from one of her sisters, sharing two pictures she took before starting her 8 AM- lecture at the Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université Libanaise, Tripoli campus (Lebanon).
By mid-day Atlantic time, Bambi received a third picture taken by her sister from her own balcony upon returning back home in Baabda (suburb of Beirut).
After 29 years in Canada, Bambi remains convinced that the most beautiful sea in the whole world is the Mediterranean Sea :)! Of course, she is saying this whilst appreciating the stunning beauty of Atlantic Canada’s beaches… and yes, she may be a bit biased here. After all, the Mediterranean sea is not only in her soul, so to speak, but also in her genes and… on her plate too (thanks to Talented Chef Luigi ?)!
OK, enough of philosophy. Here are the pictures. See for yourself! Maybe you can help in objectively answering the question in the title of this post?
Picture # 1 taken by Roula Azar-Douglas, Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université Libanaise (the Lebanese University, Tripoli campus)Picture # 2 taken by Roula Azar-Douglas, Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université Libanaise (The Lebanese University in Tripoli)Picture # 3 taken by Roula Azar-Douglas from her balcony (Baabda/Beirut, Lebanon)
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Thank you Roula for allowing Bambi to share some of the beauty of Lebanon.
Michael Lifshitz will drop off a building to raise funds for Easter Seals Nova Scotia in Drop Zone Halifax
Bambi would like to share a link to support an inspiring man (+ friend!), Mr. Michael Lifshitz travelling all his way from Ottawa to Halifax for his challenge… and what a challenge!
If anyone would like to donate
for the cause as Bambi just did, here is the link:
Easter Seals Nova
Scotia advocates
for “a barrier-free Nova Scotia and provide top-quality services promoting
mobility, inclusion and independence for Nova Scotians with disabilities”.
Easter Seals Nova Scotia
has “served Nova Scotians with disabilities for more than 80 years”:
Bambi FULLY and FONDLY supports Michael, even if she admits that she worries about him dropping off buildings (she can’t help it because she cares for him ?).
“Michael was born with a condition called Multiple Congenital
Musculoskeletal Abnormalities. In addition to wearing an artificial leg, he
walks with a cane and uses a wheelchair for longer distances. Contrary to what
many would believe possible, he became a chartered accountant and also obtained
a MBA from Edinburgh Business School.
He has built and sold successful accounting and financial planning
practices. Today, in addition to continuing a successful career in finance and
accounting as CFO and co-founder of Breakaway
Experiences, a gift experience company, he uses speaking, comedy and
writing to not only educate people as to what people with disabilities can do,
but to also inspire them to overcome their own challenges and live their life
to the fullest of their abilities”.
Michael is not only a skilled financial consultant (an entrepreneur in private practice who has worked as a financial advisor with Investors Group and with McGill University, over many years). His is also a talented comedian!
Bambi looks forward to seeing Michael soon. She dreams of welcoming him in Sackville, NB (not NS) one of these days. After all, we now have a high-rise (freezer) building in town…Oh no, maybe Bambi should not give Michael this idea ?!
Talented young Lebanese made their dreams come true in the United States and Britain
Bambi usually follows the news from Lebanon and the Middle
East with much interest.
Sadly, every day, we hear stories about security
threats or violence here and there.
Today, Bambi read and watched two pieces of good news
related to Lebanese youth talent.
First, she read about a student, called Georges Kennan,
who completed a summer research training at the NASA. Bravo!
Georges Kennan, picture taken from l’Orient Le Jour (Sept 15, 2019)
Second, Bambi’s sister shared with her the video below. Wow–Bravo to these talented Lebanese young female dancers whose team is called Mayyas. They participated in the Britain Got Talent show (earlier, Mayyas was the winner of the golden buzzer on Arabs Got Talent, AGT)!
Mayyas charmed all the judges of Britain’s Got Talent, as you can see in the video below (if you take the time to watch).
No life is not black or white: Let’s help youth see the light of hope between the shades of grey
Bambi’s current post is a quick comment to an article by Naomi Klein that she just read in the Toronto Star (Sept 14, 2019) and entitled “Maxime Bernier attacked Greta Thunberg’s autism. Naomi Klein says autism made the teen a global voice of conscience”:
Bambi cannot help not to weigh in on the conclusion of
Klein’s article before commenting on its introduction because, in her mind,
encouraging a black and white view in youth is worrisome. This is even a bigger
threat than climate change or Maxime Bernier’s clumsy yet possibly hurtful
words. Bambi will explain in the following paragraphs:
It is surprising how Naomi Klein, a brilliant
middle-aged writer/activist and a mother, forgot how teen brains are not fully
developed yet.
Whether with high functioning end of the autism spectrum
disorder (i.e. Asperger syndrome) or not, all youth go through adolescence.
Adolescents typically have trouble understanding all the
nuances or complexities underlying experiences and behaviours.
Thus, adolescents typically tend to see the world in black
and in white or in good and bad. In other terms, they have a simple view
of what is good and bad, what is right or wrong, etc.
To add more complexity to the above, adolescence is a
time of dramatic and rapid biological in addition to psychological and social
changes.
There is an increased risk of depression, regardless
of any complex care need like autism spectrum disorder.
Plus, child and adolescent epidemiological data
generally agree that before puberty the rates of clinical depression are
similar in girls and boys. However, gender differences tend to begin to appear
during adolescence.
Greta is an adolescent girl with autism. It is well
known that teens with autism spectrum disorder often experience medical mental
health disorders, such as anxiety and clinical depression (depression usually
goes hand in hand with anxiety). They may also have medical physical problems
and challenges in transitioning to adulthood.
All this is of course independent of any climate
change crisis (or breakdown, to use Klein’s term). Imagine with concerns about
it then?
Thus, adults have the duty to simply support youth
during their adolescence journey and transition to adulthood.
Of course, like Greta, youth with similar conditions
can teach us about life. They can inspire us in many ways with their
intelligence and ability to focus on matters for a long period of times
(obsessions).
Furthermore, let’s not forget that we all have a bit
of Greta in us. By this, Bambi means that we can all have autistic traits. This
being said, Greta’s story of mental health issues is not a secret. It is
actually public: her mother published a book and Bambi has read her mom’s
tweets or interviews.
In a clinical depressive episode, people (young and
old) may have a black and white
view of the world.
Once again, it may be unwise to
encourage both Greta and her young peers to remain trapped in this view.
Bearing this in mind, Bambi would like to comment now on
the introduction of Klein’s article. The author started by writing about how
Mr. Maxime Bernier “insulted” Greta (in one tweet out of a series) by stating her
mental health struggles in order to score a certain point.
Yes, he did not choose the most sensitive words, Bambi
sadly agrees. However, he had the humility to clarify his thoughts afterwards. How
many politicians have the courage/humility to do so?
Bambi watched/listened to the video of Klein with Greta
and her other talented peers. What a smart, friendly, and funny girl this Greta
?!
Klein was excellent
in general and happy to meet Greta. However, at one point, she took the time to
mention Mr. Bernier’s story to Greta and her American audience, without any
apparent consideration for Greta’s feelings. Perhaps she asked her privately
before if she can ask this question? Who knows? Luckily, Greta seemed to joke
about this story. Perhaps she has already learned to develop a thick skin like
politicians? Good for her then!
As for Bambi, she would have preferred to see Klein debating
with Bernier about Greta’s comments: “To solve the climate crisis, we have the
money in the banks. Just give it away”.
Anyhow, it surprising how an experienced writer, like Ms.
Klein, omitted to cite her references properly. Specifically, she started her
article by informing us that Mr. Bernier is the “leader of the *extremist*
People’s Party of Canada”. However, instead of inserting a link to his
political party and letting us see for ourselves his extremism, she inserted/cited
an article in the Toronto Star about him. Instead of showing the readers the
bio of Mr. Bernier, she inserted a link to another (biased) article about this
politician.
Mr. Bernier’s words may have been interpreted as being
insulting to Greta. Klein’s words could be said to be insulting the Toronto
Star readers’ intelligence.
To come back to Greta, Klein added: “In fact, a big
part of what has made Thunberg such an inspiring figure, is the fact that she
is a living proof that diversity — in her case neurodiversity — is absolutely
key to the survival of our species”.
Well said… but what about the (intellectual, political,
and scientific) diversity? Doesn’t this matter anymore?
Furthermore, Klein noted that people on the autism
spectrum disorder are “intensely vulnerable to bullying” because of the
neurodiversity.
Interesting point with which Bambi agrees. However, what
about their intensive vulnerability to political child use (abuse?)?
Anyhow, Bambi worries about how Greta will fare in the
long-term given all this premature fame in life. Is she really equipped to deal
with it? Of course, her parents are there to protect her. However, they can
also end up suffering from fame by proxy or from their own fame (as activists
or as artists). Indeed, numerous examples of young Rock or Hollywood stars
teach us that fame is challenging. After becoming famous, it is hard to turn
back. The pressure can become unbearable for all, especially for an adolescent
(with autism and/or co-occurring other medical problems).
Klein also wrote about how, “at age 15, she decided to
stop doing the one thing all kids are supposed to do when everything is normal:
go to school”. Is this an insinuation
that it is OK for other kids to stop going to school now to be like Greta.
According to Klein, “pretty much *every aspect of our
economy* would have to change if we were to decide to take climate change
seriously, and there are many powerful interests that like things as they are”.
Isn’t this solution too extreme (not Bernier then ?)?
Klein concluded her article as follows: “Because if
the emissions have to stop, then we must stop the emissions. To me that is
black or white.”
This white and black view scares Bambi. Although she
may be wrong, it can lead to an intolerance for any developing nuance in one’s
own thinking and… in others’ diversity of opinions.
It is one thing to lecture adults. It is another thing
to play the same game with adolescents. Indeed, Bambi is concerned not about
the climate problem per se (although this is important) but rather by the whole
world-wide “circus” or drama around Greta/the climate. Even someone as
accomplished as Naomi Klein seems to be inflating her own public image with
Greta’s brand name.
Teens usually have existential questions concerning values,
love, friendship, parents, the future, society, morality, religion….and
justice. They naturally question everything. They judge adults. Sometimes they
do so very harshly because, as mentioned above, they cannot see the nuances yet.
They are also searching for and building their own identity. They remain
vulnerable, despite their increasing autonomy.
To conclude this post, school is usually important for
children’s education all the time, not just from Monday to Thursday. Plus, it
costs money to skip all these Fridays. Instead of strikes (where many kids are
just excited by skipping school), let’s help youth keep focused. They will need
their focus and hard work to graduate. Some of them will eventually train to
become the scientists of tomorrow. Those scientists who will innovate solutions
to the world’s climate change problem.
Bambi would like to briefly comment
on an article by Ms. Katie Tower in the Sackville Tribune (September 9,
2019) entitled “Sackville town council could undergo salary review”
“I knew what the compensation package was when I ran for office and I’m
happy with it”.
Tower’s article continues to read as follows:
“Evans said he doesn’t support the idea of pursuing any kind of salary
review, either by council itself or by a citizen-led committee. He said council
is paid well, both in terms of salary and benefits, which includes a life,
health and dental package.
“If you add those two together and you compare it to every other
comparable-sized municipality in New Brunswick, we’re the best compensated,” he
said. “We seem to be doing very well.”
Mmm… Bambi has three burning questions for Councillor Evan:
(1). Is your comment just an expression of an innocent virtue signalling?
(2). Or does this “Look at me, I am so good (always better than others)” attitude also serve to prevent your current or future colleagues from a potential wage increase?
(3). Maybe you do not need an increase yourself, for whatever reason. Good
for you but what about others?
Regardless, your input on this matter may be perceived as being uncollegial.
Ironically, this could backfire on you in the outcomes of future elections.
Bambi would like to share a deep thought by Mr. Stéphane Laporte from La Presse that made her smile. This journalist’s daily thoughts can be quite sarcastic yet always clever.
Thought of the day by Mr. Stéphane Laporte (La Presse, Sept 13, 2018)
“Jagmeet Singh could become Prime Minister of Canada, but he could not become a primary (or elementary) school teacher in Québec” (Bambi’s translation).
«Jagmeet Singh pourrait devenir premier ministre du Canada, mais ne pourrait pas enseigner dans une école primaire au Québec» (Mr. Laporte’s original French text).
This thought reflects the cultural difference in the conceptualization of secularity between Québec and the rest of our country.
Yes, we can smile (and even laugh) at ourselves in any situation; of course, with all due respect to Mr. Singh (and his peers from all the other parties), to Canada, and to Québec (needless to say here that Bambi supports its laws, including Bill 21).
After reading this thought, Bambi felt the urge to be even more sarcastic than Mr. Laporte (it’s Friday night ?). She could not help not to think to herself:
Justin Trudeau could hardly remain Prime Minister of Canada, but he could easily become a school teacher again, even in Québec.
