Canada's online magazine: Politics, entertainment, technology, media, arts, books: backofthebook.ca

Politics, tech, media, culture and more, from a Canadian point-of-view

  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Science and Tech
  • Living
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
You are here: Home / Politics / Quebec: The Casserole Symphony

Quebec: The Casserole Symphony

05/24/2012 by backofthebook.ca 1 Comment

Image: Montrealers bang pots and pansBy Montreal Simon

In many Montreal neighbourhoods last night people were banging pots and pans in another casserole symphony of protest. The latest tactic in this awesome struggle.

“It’s a nightly ritual known as les manifs aux casseroles, that sees hundreds of people step out of their homes, armed with pots and pans. At the stroke of 8 p.m., they start to bang on their kitchenware.”

And just about everybody in the province was talking about yesterday’s massive demonstration.

Meanwhile in the rest of Canada, judging from the coverage on the CBC, this was the Big Story.

Which at least helps explain why Andrew Coyne would begin his latest ranting rave against the Quebec student movement by quoting Milan Kundera.

“The fantasy of the Grand March . . . is the political kitsch joining leftists of all times and tendencies. The Grand March is the splendid march on the road to brotherhood, equality, justice, happiness; it goes on and on, obstacles notwithstanding, for obstacles there must be if the march is to be the Grand March.”

Because Kundera never understood the new Czechoslovakia, and Coyne will never understand the new Quebec. And that it’s a different place, a distinct society, a nation.

Take the recent long weekend for example. In English Canada it’s named after a German-British Queen, who never set foot in The Great White North, and imposed her sexual repression on everyone, while lusting after her colonies and her butler, not necessarily in that order.

And wore black most of her life.

Image

Scary eh?

While in Quebec they call the holiday Journée Nationale des Patriotes or National Patriots day . . .

Image: Mural of national patriots

After the patriotes of 1837, who fought to free us from our colonial masters in London.

Who included these English-speaking rebels. Now all but forgotten in the rest of Canada.

Coyne also can’t seem to recognize the special role education played in allowing Quebecers to finally becomes masters of their own house or maîtres chez eux. Or how the students are reclaiming the promises of the Quiet Revolution.

And he completely ignores the deeper malaise. Bruemmer in The Gazette, citing Anais Détolle, a PhD student at Concordia: “What many students and Quebecers are angry about is being forced to pay more for university while the government is seen as wasting money on construction corruption or reaping huge rewards from mining royalties. It is a continuation of the Occupy Movement that railed against a sense of social inequality, a sense it’s the wealthy and the corporations that dictate policy here and around the world.”

Oh well. It doesn’t really matter eh? I’m pretty sure most people in Quebec care as much about what Andrew Coyne has to say, if they’ve even heard of him, as they care about the adventures of Charles and Camilla.

Anyone who thinks that this world doesn’t have to change is either deluded or a Con.

I wish more Canadians would resist the Harper regime like the students are resisting the Charest regime, and with them the people banging their pots and pans . . .

And maybe one day they will.

But right now Quebec is a different place.

And from 1837, to the Quiet Revolution, to 2012, the struggle continues . . .

 

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Andrew Coyne, Canada, National Post, Postmedia, Quebec, Quebec protests, Quebec student strike

Subscribe to BoB by e-mail or RSS

Comments

  1. Vas says

    05/24/2012 at 5:39 pm

    Mouvement Historique
    https://vimeo.com/42796371

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Google+
  • Living
  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
Fire sale sign

Fort McMurray: Shopping time!

By Brady Tighe We’re now officially in the aftermath phase of the northern Alberta wildfire crisis. The fire is long gone, and everyone with a home to return to is back in its … [Read More...]

Nathan Cullen

Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking

By Alison@Creekside The most interesting and innovative idea to come out of the first meeting of the all-party Special Committee on Electoral Reform, or ERRE, was Nathan Cullen's suggestion, … [Read More...]

Trudeau on quantum computing

The Trudeau gush fest is getting old

By Jim Henshaw There have been several bewildered as well as angry accounts coming out of the USA lately about how little media time has been spent covering the Democratic Presidential Primary … [Read More...]

Rick Meyers in Nanaimo Pride Parade

My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade

By Frank Moher On this dreadful day, I don't want to write about the shootings in Orlando. I want to write about my friend, Rick. Rick lives just outside of Nanaimo, a city of about 80,000, … [Read More...]

Stephen Colbert on Late Night set

Triumph of the drama nerds

By Frank Moher Two drama nerds have recently moved into high profile positions. Before I name them (or perhaps you’ve already guessed who they are; or perhaps you’d like to scroll down and look at … [Read More...]

From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon

Originally published on Our Rape Blog, the author's account of the aftermath of a violent sexual assault. By Mary Fraughton Have you ever played Hearts? It’s a card game. For our purposes, … [Read More...]

First Nations defending Lelu Island

The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

From Creekside: The B.C. provincial government is trying to green light the construction of a massive LNG terminal on Lelu Island in the Skeena Estuary -- Pacific Northwest LNG, backed by Malaysian … [Read More...]

Google

Follow Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

RSS CBC News



Recent Posts

  • Fort McMurray: Shopping time!
  • From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon
  • Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking
  • The fish hotel
  • Hatred on an Alberta golf course
  • The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”
  • My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade
  • Our selective sympathy
  • The Water Bomber, The Frogman and The Great Canadian Novelist
  • Komagata Maru: The story behind the apology

Tags

9/11 Afghanistan Alberta bad behaviour books British Columbia business Canada Canadian military Canadian politics CBC celebrity computers Conservatives crime environment family film G20 Globe and Mail internet Jason Kenney journalism Justin Trudeau law Liberals Maclean's music National Post NDP newspapers oil sands online media Ontario Quebec RCMP religion sports Stephen Harper television theatre Toronto U.S. Vancouver women

Archives

The Video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

Pages

  • About
  • Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in