You know, I just don't see the difference between the Anglo Society and the SAANB. Both are trying to protect their language. Both could use a little more class in doing it but one gets called bigot and the other one is respected by the Givernment, media, etc. I don't get it. Je ne comprend pas.
What 'british days' are there? I don't remember the SAANB protesting any kind of british celebrations. I notice a lot of old guys there, I don't notice too many young ones, perhaps in another few decades we won't see protests like this.
The irish have a festival in Miramichi, I don't remember seeing any french people there protesting. Lots of places have 'pioneer days' but I don't see natives protesting.
Interesting that it is members of the dominant socio-economic group that are protesting the others, not vice versa-hence the bigot remark.
Though I don't agree with their message Charles, these individuals have a right to their opinions. It is a huge testament to our society if people can speak out in any fashion without being struck down by the state. Now with that being said, attitudes will not die, as the above reader said, they will dissipate when more people become educated and acquire more knowledge. There is no question that these people exist in every faction of a particular ethnicity. I'm sure there are many crude things said by Acadiens about anglophones...that is the way they feel. But with more education and understanding comes tolerance and respect. Without this we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes as our ancestors where the cycle goes round and round in a never ending downward spiral. we can't let this happen. Vive L'Acadie!!!
The SAANB don't have to do this stuff because they've been granted credibility by the government and media. This is all these guys at the Anglo Society have but I don't agree with the forum they've chosen at an Acadian Pride day.
Frankly, by and large I don't agree with the SAANB or the Anglo Society and wouldn't shed a tear if BOTH disbanded but they're both fighting for exactly the same thing. One are called bigots, the other not. That seems intolerant right there.
With official bilingualism I assume that 'education' is going on. However, as said above, its not until the educational system embraces change that it will happen. When I was young there wasn't even a bilingual program at public schools, then one class was started about three years later but at the middle school level (and only for 'smart' kids).
It would be so much better if EVERY kid was taught in both languages from PRIMARY grades on. Studies have shown that this is the easiest time to teach languages.
There are tons of examples of this in the world. Those from India speak not only a local language, but a 'national' language (hindi) as well, and the upper middle classes all speak english.
In Switzerland there are THREE official languages and they don't have ANY of the cultural problems that Canada has (certainly no protests), and english isn't even one of them-though more and more swiss speak english which means they master four languages.
In a global economy these problems and the unilinguistic nature of public discourse make New Brunswick look primitive to outside investors and immigrants. Walk around a grocery store in southern ontario and you will hear a dozen different languages. They have 'chinese new year' and celebrations for all the nationalities and people embrace them-they don't protest them. I would even suspect that if they made Chinese an 'official language' that few people in Ontario would care.
But I also remember that if you wanted to learn english then the government paid, while if you wanted to learn french you had to pay yourself. And of course those like Charles who spoke Chiac were shut out of jobs entirely. Official bilingualism initially simply made sure that the rich kids from Fredericton got all the good public service jobs.
And as far as the remark about being able to protest, just take a look at Charles blog in June when recent immigrants had a march of their own and what happened. Pretty hard to increase immigration with stories like that going around.
I always prefer having these groups vocal and out in the open. That way things do not fester into hate. I understand their suppossed frustration that they are not being heard, mais com Acadien, I would ask them to be tolerant and demonstrate some class. I have one english parent and one french, I have suffered the wrath of both groups and would like to see one day both the Anglo and Acadian communities celebrate together without these types of protests.
Charles, by calling them bigots, you are painting yourself with the same brush as they are. As my father always told me, "Kill them with kindness!". Forgive them for they are not fully informed.
do these guys remind anyone of "white power"? Privilidged majority group protesting minorities? I like that new brunswick is a bilingual province! It makes us special and unique. Also, it makes everyone feel welcome if we can speak both languages. I think of course that these protestors have freedom of speech like everyone else; however I think they are 'bigots' like charles says. Who protests the french language at an acadian celebration. These people have absolutely NO class. On top of that, they claim that bilingualism is destroying the english language, or whatever their story is. The guy in the first picture spelled politicians, "politicans". I think HE'S the one who is destroying the english language! ha ha! I'm actually quite familiar with this man in particular. I knew before that he was sexist, but now this new entry into charles' blog confirms that he is also a racist! What a card....
You have every right to voice your opinion and I have every right to disagree in any language I choose. In respect to your presumed preference to english I will respectfully reply in that language.
I beleive that knowing more then one language builds value that will better enable your kids to compete in a global economy. French is not a fading language, it is one of the world's major languages. I have been able to use my ability to speak french to conduct business in France(5th largest economy in the world), Quebec, Carribean, Africa and other European nations. When I sell my product in those markets, I pay my taxes in NB, which help provide your children with an education in the language of their choice. And I can tell you that over the years, that has been a lot of $$, simply because I could communicate with my clientele in their language of choice.
Here's some facts about the french language that you might find interesting:
French is also an official or administrative language in several communities and international organisations (such as the European Union, International Olympic Committee, World Trade Organization, NATO, FINA, FIA, UCI, FIFA, World Anti-Doping Agency, United Nations, African Union, International Court of Justice, IHO, International Secretariat for Water, International Political Science Association, International Bureau of Weights and Measures, European Broadcasting Union, ESA, Universal Postal Union, Interpol and so on) and is among the six official languages of the United Nations and of all its agencies. While the status of French as the leading language for international communication has declined since its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries due to the rise of English, it maintains a prominent position.
French is an official language in Switzerland. It is spoken in the part of Switzerland called Romandie. In Belgium, it is the official language of the Walloon Region (excluding the East Cantons, which are German-speaking) and one of the two official languages of the capital, Brussels (Bruxelles), along with Dutch. Officially Dutch and French have parity in Brussels. However, in practice the French language is more dominant among the city's residents. Conversely the Dutch language dominates among the city's largely non-resident (in Brussels) workforce. It should be noted that French is not an official language or even a recognised minority language in Flanders, although there are some districts in Belgium along linguistic borders that have special compromise linguistic regimes. It is one of the official languages in Luxembourg, along with German and Luxembourgish. It is also an official language, along with Italian, in Val d'Aoste, Italy. It is the official language of the principality of Monaco and is spoken by a small minority in the principality of Andorra.
In the Americas, French is an official language of Haiti, although it is mostly spoken by the upperclass and well educated while Haitian Creole is more widely used. French is also the official language in France's current possessions of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, St. Martin, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. It is also an administrative language of Dominica and the U.S. state of Louisiana.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language
Knowledge is power, the more languages we can speak, the better chance we have for survival. I would even go as far as to suggest our schools should be teaching intro spanish so that NB companies can leverage that ressource to conduct business in those growing markets.
And regardless of your stance, I respect your choices and wish your children the best of luck in their future endevours.
I think the biggest difference between both is that the SAANB never formed a political party(CoR) that threatened to remove anglo rights. Like any debate, there are always groups that take it too far and that was CoR. If there message would have been one of tolerance to make sure any rights that were given to francophones didn't remove rights from the Anglo community, they would have been more respected and listened too. Instead they reverted to rhetoric and propoganda that was non factual.
Not quite true, we did have the Parti Acadien in the 70's and 80's who wanted to split the province in two along linguistic lines. Pretty intolerant in my view. The problem lies in that one cannot question French in this province without being called a bigot. C'est triste.
That was before my time, so I apologies for the misinformed post. You are right, people do throw out the "b" word quite often, but is that any different then elsewhere in the world where a minority's point of view is questioned?
15 comments:
I wonder what it would be like,celebrating British days,IN ACADIAN TERRITORY.
You know, I just don't see the difference between the Anglo Society and the SAANB. Both are trying to protect their language. Both could use a little more class in doing it but one gets called bigot and the other one is respected by the Givernment, media, etc. I don't get it. Je ne comprend pas.
What 'british days' are there? I don't remember the SAANB protesting any kind of british celebrations. I notice a lot of old guys there, I don't notice too many young ones, perhaps in another few decades we won't see protests like this.
The irish have a festival in Miramichi, I don't remember seeing any french people there protesting. Lots of places have 'pioneer days' but I don't see natives protesting.
Interesting that it is members of the dominant socio-economic group that are protesting the others, not vice versa-hence the bigot remark.
Though I don't agree with their message Charles, these individuals have a right to their opinions. It is a huge testament to our society if people can speak out in any fashion without being struck down by the state. Now with that being said, attitudes will not die, as the above reader said, they will dissipate when more people become educated and acquire more knowledge. There is no question that these people exist in every faction of a particular ethnicity. I'm sure there are many crude things said by Acadiens about anglophones...that is the way they feel. But with more education and understanding comes tolerance and respect. Without this we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes as our ancestors where the cycle goes round and round in a never ending downward spiral. we can't let this happen. Vive L'Acadie!!!
The SAANB don't have to do this stuff because they've been granted credibility by the government and media. This is all these guys at the Anglo Society have but I don't agree with the forum they've chosen at an Acadian Pride day.
Frankly, by and large I don't agree with the SAANB or the Anglo Society and wouldn't shed a tear if BOTH disbanded but they're both fighting for exactly the same thing. One are called bigots, the other not. That seems intolerant right there.
With official bilingualism I assume that 'education' is going on. However, as said above, its not until the educational system embraces change that it will happen. When I was young there wasn't even a bilingual program at public schools, then one class was started about three years later but at the middle school level (and only for 'smart' kids).
It would be so much better if EVERY kid was taught in both languages from PRIMARY grades on. Studies have shown that this is the easiest time to teach languages.
There are tons of examples of this in the world. Those from India speak not only a local language, but a 'national' language (hindi) as well, and the upper middle classes all speak english.
In Switzerland there are THREE official languages and they don't have ANY of the cultural problems that Canada has (certainly no protests), and english isn't even one of them-though more and more swiss speak english which means they master four languages.
In a global economy these problems and the unilinguistic nature of public discourse make New Brunswick look primitive to outside investors and immigrants. Walk around a grocery store in southern ontario and you will hear a dozen different languages. They have 'chinese new year' and celebrations for all the nationalities and people embrace them-they don't protest them. I would even suspect that if they made Chinese an 'official language' that few people in Ontario would care.
But I also remember that if you wanted to learn english then the government paid, while if you wanted to learn french you had to pay yourself. And of course those like Charles who spoke Chiac were shut out of jobs entirely. Official bilingualism initially simply made sure that the rich kids from Fredericton got all the good public service jobs.
And as far as the remark about being able to protest, just take a look at Charles blog in June when recent immigrants had a march of their own and what happened. Pretty hard to increase immigration with stories like that going around.
I always prefer having these groups vocal and out in the open. That way things do not fester into hate. I understand their suppossed frustration that they are not being heard, mais com Acadien, I would ask them to be tolerant and demonstrate some class. I have one english parent and one french, I have suffered the wrath of both groups and would like to see one day both the Anglo and Acadian communities celebrate together without these types of protests.
Charles, by calling them bigots, you are painting yourself with the same brush as they are. As my father always told me, "Kill them with kindness!". Forgive them for they are not fully informed.
do these guys remind anyone of "white power"? Privilidged majority group protesting minorities? I like that new brunswick is a bilingual province! It makes us special and unique. Also, it makes everyone feel welcome if we can speak both languages.
I think of course that these protestors have freedom of speech like everyone else; however I think they are 'bigots' like charles says. Who protests the french language at an acadian celebration. These people have absolutely NO class. On top of that, they claim that bilingualism is destroying the english language, or whatever their story is. The guy in the first picture spelled politicians, "politicans". I think HE'S the one who is destroying the english language! ha ha!
I'm actually quite familiar with this man in particular. I knew before that he was sexist, but now this new entry into charles' blog confirms that he is also a racist! What a card....
I never picked up on the spelling too funny!
I just wish people would get over it and move on. We are better for it today. Does anyone know if that group has a blog?
I would want my kids to learn something more important than a fading language for petes sake!
Sheep!!
Dear getwithit,
You have every right to voice your opinion and I have every right to disagree in any language I choose. In respect to your presumed preference to english I will respectfully reply in that language.
I beleive that knowing more then one language builds value that will better enable your kids to compete in a global economy. French is not a fading language, it is one of the world's major languages. I have been able to use my ability to speak french to conduct business in France(5th largest economy in the world), Quebec, Carribean, Africa and other European nations. When I sell my product in those markets, I pay my taxes in NB, which help provide your children with an education in the language of their choice. And I can tell you that over the years, that has been a lot of $$, simply because I could communicate with my clientele in their language of choice.
Here's some facts about the french language that you might find interesting:
French is also an official or administrative language in several communities and international organisations (such as the European Union, International Olympic Committee, World Trade Organization, NATO, FINA, FIA, UCI, FIFA, World Anti-Doping Agency, United Nations, African Union, International Court of Justice, IHO, International Secretariat for Water, International Political Science Association, International Bureau of Weights and Measures, European Broadcasting Union, ESA, Universal Postal Union, Interpol and so on) and is among the six official languages of the United Nations and of all its agencies. While the status of French as the leading language for international communication has declined since its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries due to the rise of English, it maintains a prominent position.
French is an official language in Switzerland. It is spoken in the part of Switzerland called Romandie. In Belgium, it is the official language of the Walloon Region (excluding the East Cantons, which are German-speaking) and one of the two official languages of the capital, Brussels (Bruxelles), along with Dutch. Officially Dutch and French have parity in Brussels. However, in practice the French language is more dominant among the city's residents. Conversely the Dutch language dominates among the city's largely non-resident (in Brussels) workforce. It should be noted that French is not an official language or even a recognised minority language in Flanders, although there are some districts in Belgium along linguistic borders that have special compromise linguistic regimes. It is one of the official languages in Luxembourg, along with German and Luxembourgish. It is also an official language, along with Italian, in Val d'Aoste, Italy. It is the official language of the principality of Monaco and is spoken by a small minority in the principality of Andorra.
In the Americas, French is an official language of Haiti, although it is mostly spoken by the upperclass and well educated while Haitian Creole is more widely used. French is also the official language in France's current possessions of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, St. Martin, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. It is also an administrative language of Dominica and the U.S. state of Louisiana.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language
Knowledge is power, the more languages we can speak, the better chance we have for survival. I would even go as far as to suggest our schools should be teaching intro spanish so that NB companies can leverage that ressource to conduct business in those growing markets.
And regardless of your stance, I respect your choices and wish your children the best of luck in their future endevours.
Anon 7:19
we do, it's called Victoria Day..
Spinks,
I think the biggest difference between both is that the SAANB never formed a political party(CoR) that threatened to remove anglo rights. Like any debate, there are always groups that take it too far and that was CoR. If there message would have been one of tolerance to make sure any rights that were given to francophones didn't remove rights from the Anglo community, they would have been more respected and listened too. Instead they reverted to rhetoric and propoganda that was non factual.
Not quite true, we did have the Parti Acadien in the 70's and 80's who wanted to split the province in two along linguistic lines. Pretty intolerant in my view. The problem lies in that one cannot question French in this province without being called a bigot. C'est triste.
That was before my time, so I apologies for the misinformed post. You are right, people do throw out the "b" word quite often, but is that any different then elsewhere in the world where a minority's point of view is questioned?
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