Tales Of The OLF

I went out with some friends last night for some pizza and subs - real Italian pizza and subs not that crap made by foreigners who claim they make the 'best' pizza. As has become an all too familiar part of the national discourse the topic moved towards the twats in the OLF.

Apparently the restaurant was honored with a visit from the Quebec version of the Gestapo who took issue with the word 'Trattoria.' The inspector suggested it be changed to 'Terrasse.' The owners pointed to her that terrasse is not trattoria and that perhaps she should go back and do some research.  Of course, in the mindset of a lowly nationalist, it's perfectly fine to insult and trample on ethnic words since, in their minds, their language trumps all others. The restaurant held their ground and never received a visit from the aggressive jerkoffs again.

The welcoming classic 'trattoria' apparently threatens the French language.

Again, it ain't got nothing to do with protecting language at this point and everything to do with state sponsored language discrimination. Nothing else, nothing more. Those assholes don't protect shit, they demean French.

Everywhere they go they're told to fuck off.

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Which led to a comment from a friend who said I'm going medieval on the Parti-Quebecois. Shit, thinkers in the Middle-Ages were probably more progressive than the PQ. But yeah, I'm going full blown cuckoo on those boobs because they deserve every ounce of criticism for their bullying.

Aside from their outrageous xenophobic tendencies, they also have no problems pumping populist-driven cultural collective nationalism at the expense of economic well-being. Sure, to some Quebecers, being endowed with a bureaucratic-socialist-union mindset, blind to them is the consequences of such action.

But what about those with an entrepreneurial spirit?

Here, we're the enemy. Just listen to the rhetoric. They never ask "how can we help small-business?" Nah. It's always "private industry should be viewed with skepticism." What follows is a massive regulatory system that brings this economy to a screeching halt.

If Quebecers truly cared about their province they'd ask the reactionary PQ to give it a rest. That their outlook is not set up for the 21st century. That their standoffish behavior helps no one.

In the USA conservatives are beginning to make noise about the need to make English the official language of America fearing the growth of Spanish.

It's a thinking that threatens the rights of people to speak in the language of the choice. Language is a fluid thing. If people think English is important they will learn it. If not, brush up on your Spanish.

I don't know if English is really under threat but listening to conservatives there they sound an awful lot like the PQ here. Not saying there aren't valid reasons made by them. What I'm saying is when you open that can of worms you leave yourself open to all sorts of potential abuses on civil liberties. Quebec is public enemy number one as the province continues to bear this point out.

No sense in fearing things. Yet, we keep living scared shit.

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Quebec claims it's being vigilant in its defense of French. Right now, it's restricted to sign laws. Just like Bill 101 is being ratcheted up, who is to say the next step is to expand the empire of restrictions? Why stop at signs? Maybe English radio may one day be forced to speak in French for a part of the day. Maybe English language book published here will have to come with bilingual or French titles. Speaking English in public? Well, people do get lectured by French zealots for doing so.  And it happens more than we care to admit or think.

Who knows where this can go but if there's one thing Pauline 'The Hobbit' Marois has shown is that Quebec has bought a sled and embarked on a slippery slope.

There's absolutely nothing enlightening in the PQ.

Nothing.