Quote:
Originally Posted by RyLucky
From reading some responses here, I predict that there is a divide in attitudes between Quebec and Western Canada on this issue.
I can't speak for all westerners, but usually when I hear a view about white or anglo people becoming an "under class", I immediately am uncomfortable because (in the west at least) that is a common view of the kind of people who deny white privilege. In my opinion, attitudes that feel threatened by immigration and diversity are archaic and potentially racist.
Quebec clearly has a different experience with language laws, and has been bathing in a context of french v english for two hundred years. I'll admit that most Westerners do not understand the Quebec-specific issue related to language and immigration. However, Quebecers/Québécois should know that when westerners hear Gilles Duceppe/PQ/BQ and other Quebec politicians relate immigration to ghettos, ban minority religion dress and custom in public, etc, we think of how these attitudes/policies would be interpreted in our culture, and the conclusion is that these attitudes/policies are considered extremely (unacceptably so) conservative. Of course, I don't mean to paint all of Quebec with one brush; I know there are many stances on this issue. Nonetheless, these conservative attitudes seem to be tolerated in Quebec more so than they are in the rest of Canada, probably because French speaking people see themselves in the defensive position, which I understand, but it makes for a delicate and uncomfortable issue from the outside.
The very fact that this forum is using English excludes certain viewpoints and gives privilege to some potential contributors over others. I'm sure there is somewhere on the internet where this issue is being discussed in Mandarin and French with very different attitudes prevalent.
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Surprisingly, Vancouver has a mentality that is different from the rest of Anglo Canada. There are some White Vancouverites who feel that this is just a symptom of a broader problem, and compare the situation in Vancouver to the Quiet Revolution in Quebec. In Quebec, it was a substantial Anglo minority that had all the wealth and power. In Vancouver, some White Vancouverites feel that the Chinese constitute that wealthy and powerful minority.
I think such a view is utterly stupid and bizarre, but the growing anti-Chinese sentiment in Vancouver is difficult to miss.
It's sad, really.
Back on the specific topic, I think even beyond the principle / theory (whereby I think that the government should not dictate private signage language), as a practical matter, this is not something worth spending tax money on. To establish a Quebec-style language police in BC would be the stupidest way to spend taxpayer money. There are so many substantive issues; if I were a taxpayer in Richmond or BC and such proposals were floated around, I'd be pissed about how my taxpayer money is going to solve a non-issue (and that's a polite characterization).
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