Starting Something Ideas

7 posts / 0 new

Thu, 2021-09-23 11:02

Pondering

Other than my vote and personal behavior I have zero impact on politics or what happens in the world. Attending the odd demonstration feels useless.

I can't start something alone but we and rabble could start something that might take off and be broadly supported by activists in most movements. So far I have failed to hit on an idea that resonates with anyone.

How about using Canada Day to publicize facts about Canada such as the number of people in Canada who are homeless on Canada day. How many people die of overdose on Canada Day? How many people living below the poverty line? How many children waiting for treatment for autism and other disorders? How many communities waiting for clean water?

As Canadians celebrate Canada it would be a good day to remind ourselves that there are many Canadians who are not in a position to celebrate.

I'm not stuck on that idea. I just wish we could come up with something.

Fri, 2021-10-08 14:21

lagatta4

Canada Day is a non-event in Montréal, so none of the activist networks I'm involved in see any reason to use it for anything. Other days have become clearer moments to speak out against continuing mistreatment of Indigenous peoples.

With the pandemic shutdown, the more fun and positive aspects of la Fête nationale - the myriad hyperlocal celebrations - have pretty much disappeared. I've never taken part in the big staged events since they moved off Mont-Royal years ago; such a passive and apolitical gathering.

The most recent truly mass event that took place here was the climate protest with its around half a million participants.

Fri, 2021-10-08 14:23

lagatta4

The most recent truly mass event that took place here was the climate protest with its around half a million participants.

Fri, 2021-10-08 18:04

Pondering

Even though you may not attend Canada Day is enthusiastically celebrated in Montreal and it is not muted. The majority of people celebrating are at the big staged events and they are very apolitical. People just want to party. There is even a Canada Day parade.

I said this:

The above would be cause for thought. I have no problem with doing the same on Fete Nationale but it would be odd to limit the numbers to Quebec. After all, 70% of Quebecers wish to remain Canadian.

There is no way the Quebec government is going to make Quebec cities the best cities for homeless Canadians to live in.

Legault has 62% popularity rating. So far the progressives of Quebec don't seem particularly successful.

Fri, 2021-10-08 20:32

lagatta4

You're such an enthusiastic Canadian that you wrote "behavior" in American... Of course you also misspelled la Fête nationale, but that is expected on the part of angryphones.

There are a hell of a lot of rightwing politicians in English Canada too. I hate Legault for obvious ecosocialist reasons, and also for his deep contempt for the Indigenous nations.

But Ontarians elected Doug Ford... as much a rightwing pile of shit as Legault.

I call utter bullshit on Montréal enthusiasm for Canada day... once I was in that area where the pathetic parade takes place. Happily, far more people attend Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Sat, 2021-10-09 00:37

Pondering

Let's start with QS

https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/quebec-solidaire-clarifies-i...

But the substantive criticism, the subject of the most controversy in QS, was the agreement’s inclusion of amendments to the party’s program providing that a Québec solidaire government would act from the outset as the government of an independent Quebec, and its proposed Constituent Assembly would develop a draft constitution of an independent Quebec that would then be submitted to a popular referendum for approval.

Thus the ON-QS agreement alters what has been Québec solidaire’s favoured mechanism for accession to independence. As I have noted in previous articles, since its founding in 2006 the party has insisted that the constitution to be drafted by its proposed Constituent Assembly need not necessarily be the constitution of an independent Quebec, that it could simply be, for example, a proposal for greater provincial autonomy within the Canadian constitutional regime – even though Québec solidaire itself would fight for an independent Quebec within the Assembly......

Thus the ON-QS Agreement in Principle, with its amendments to what the QS program says about the mandate of the Constituent Assembly, represented for some QS members a sea change in a basic part of that program. A typical reaction was that of Jean-Claude Balu, chair of the QS orientations committee. In a vigorous dissent, Balu noted that from the outset of the process of defining its program, QS had made a rigorous distinction between its support of Quebec independence and its conception of a constituent assembly that is a “fully sovereign assembly of citizens open to everyone.”

I am not alone in my dissatisfaction with the way the merger with ON changed QS.

It is not unreasonable to ask a political party to prove themselves before conducting themselves as though the province is independent.

Sat, 2021-10-09 02:30

Pondering

lagatta4 wrote:
You're such an enthusiastic Canadian that you wrote "behavior" in American... Of course you also misspelled la Fête nationale, but that is expected on the part of angryphones.

.

Only a bigot would call someone an “angryphone”. I find spelling challenging so I put a lot of effort into my posts. I run out of steam on putting in accents.

I wrote nothing in "American" as that isn't a language. I studied ESL, teaching English as a second language. I guess you are not up on the” latest” in language theory which accepts the evolution of language. The way most people speak a language becomes the correct way to speak it. We don't speak old English or old French because languages evolve whether traditionalists like it or not.

I like the old British spellings in part because it brands me as Canadian which is false pride. I also find it a bit pretentious because like it or not Canadian English is being Americanized and not just spellings. It isn’t a problem. I certainly don’t think Quebecers are stuck on using British spellings. The purpose of language is communication. The easiest spelling is the best as it facilitates communication.

As to my enthusiasm for being Canadian, I am anti-nationalism. Nationalism is dangerous.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism

It further aims to build and maintain a single national identity, based on shared social characteristics of culture, ethnicity, geographic location, language, politics (or the government), religion, traditions and belief in a shared singular history,[6][7] and to promote national unity or solidarity.[3] Political scientists describe such nations as “imagined communities” and nationalism as an “invented tradition” in which shared sentiment provides a form of collective identity and binds individuals together in political solidarity. A nation's foundational "story" may be built around a combination of ethnic attributes, values and principles, and may be closely connected to narratives of belonging.[8][9][10] Nationalism can preserve and foster a nation's traditional cultures, and cultural revivals have been associated with nationalist movements.[11] It also encourages pride in national achievements.[12][13][page needed] The moral value of nationalism, the relationship between nationalism and patriotism, and the compatibility of nationalism and cosmopolitanism are all subjects of philosophical debate.[8] Nationalism can be combined with diverse political goals and ideologies such as conservatism (national conservatism and right-wing populism) or socialism (left-wing nationalism).[4][14][15]