Another interesting article from The Gazette.
Don Macpherson: Jean Charest, in it for the moneyed
Mr Macpherson criticizes severely and rightfully Jean Charest for being « a servant not of the public interest, like Lévesque, but of his own interests, and of those of rich patrons such as Paul Desmarais. »
What I find interesting in this article are Macpherson’s praises for Lévesque.
« Quebecers may seek out the video out of curiosity, for a rare public glimpse behind the gates of Sagard at the private lifestyle of one of their richest families. If they do, they will also see their premier appearing to enjoy the private company of ostentatious wealth, in surroundings that would have made Lévesque chafe.
And that may reinforce a negative image of Charest as a servant not of the public interest, like Lévesque, but of his own interests, and of those of rich patrons such as Paul Desmarais. »
« They don’t seem to make political leaders like Lévesque anymore, men or women of the people with whom voters can identify. »
Lévesque, the big bad separatist, was a great political figure and a great man.
On a dit de lui que l’histoire dira qu’il fait partie de la courte liste des libérateurs de peuples.
J’ai récemment écrit que Jean Charest n’était qu’un gnome d’État. La comparaison avec Lévesque ne le fait que paraître encore plus cruellement petit.
Michel Patrice 
Charest has not killed anyone yet. He has also not yet referred to anglophones as « les autres ».
Nobody, even PI fools, killed anglos or such.
And CHarest is a neoliberal fool.
Stop sprouting anti-québecois/souverainiste trivel, who insult the progressives like QS too.
As I said before, Charest is a weak leader and has no pensée politique.
Lévesque, in Point de Mire, would stand before his blackboard and explain his audience the nationalisation of electricity, the situation in Middle East, the relation between the patronat, the state and the unions, and so on. Lévesque assumed that people were intelligent.
Charest’s political thought is limited to sophisms and catch phrases.
Lévesque était aimé des siens et, à sa mort, les gens l’ont pleuré. J’imagine mal qu’à la mort de Charest, les gens soient bouleversés par la mort de cet homme qu’ils méprisent.
« Pour faire de grandes choses, […] ; il ne faut pas être au-dessus des hommes, il faut être avec eux. » (Montesquieu)
Ignorez le, il me semble orangiste-‘WASP’ power,
Je suis plus ou moins à l’aise avec l’idée de l’ignorer en lui disant qu’il n’est qu’un WASP orangiste. M. Krug a bien sûr, selon moi, des préjugés aussi visibles que le nez au milieu du visage et je crois qu’il haït sincèrement ce que je suis et possiblement ce que nous sommes.
Je me contente de répondre à ses arguments, à soulever ses contradictions et à souligner ses préjugés. J’essaie de le faire sans l’attaquer personnellement, d’abord, simplement parce qu’il est plus vieux que moi. Je me vois mal crier des noms à un homme âgé.
Aussi, il est en colère et il en veut aux québécois pour toutes sortes de raisons : la peur ressentie durant la crise d’octobre, le bouleversement de son petit monde confortable quand nous avons voté la loi 101, le départ hors du Québec de plusieurs de ses amis et parents, etc. Ça ne va pas me faire pleurer, mais je peux comprendre qu’il soit en colère.
À ceux qui nous traitent de monstres, je ne répond pas qu’ils le sont eux aussi, je réponds simplement que nous ne sommes pas des monstres. Et celui qui apparaît alors monstrueux est celui qui s’entête à continuer à crier « oui, oui, vous êtes des monstres! »
Michel, you are the one who is a bigot. You are the one who believes in collective rights being used to supress civil liberties. You are the one who reeks of arrogance when you speak with ignorance of someone’s comfortable little world. You are the one who lives in your smug little world like someone tearing off the wings of a butterfly. You are the one who was not even born when Levesque, whom you did not know personally, played to the crowd and referred to some of his fellow citizens as « les autres » Unfortunately for you your fellow citizens will never give you the satisfaction of voting Yes.
I was telling Ubbergeek that you were angry at quebeckers and that I could understand that you were angry.
« Petit monde confortable » was not meant to be patronizing nor contemptuous. I was refering to the fact that the Quiet Revolution changed your world and that it was a sudden change, that it was not a change that you decided, not a change that you welcomed and that it was imposed on you.
And regardless of what you think, I can understand your resentment.
So, essentialy, I was telling Ubbergeek that there were causes to your ressentment.
In a earlier post, Moving On, a Moving Documentary, I wrote something about expatriated anglo-montrealers. I wrote :
« Their story is tragic. Tragic as in greek tragedy. I think it is tragic because you can blame french quebeckers all you want but french quebeckers, unpleased with their situation, had to do what they did and those six english expatriates look like innocent bystanders taken in the storm of history. »
Missing my point, you then replied with a heartfelt list of remontrances.
You will note that I have never called you a wasp, a orangist, a rodhesian or a bigot, I have never blamed you for not speaking french (I know you speak french, but anglophones are often (wrongfuly) blamed by francos for not speaking french…), I have never blamed you for your supposed arrogant belief of the superiority of your own kind, I have never blamed you for Canada’s will to assimilate us, and so on. I have never blamed you for all this because, to me, you are a » innocent bystander taken in the storm of history ».
_______________
P.S. Of course, I speak with ignorance of your personnal situation because I know little about you personnally. Yet I know about the social dynamics of the last decades.
P.S. Of course, I did not know Lévesque personnally. Also, I did not know personnally, for instance, Samuel de Champlain, yet I can have an opinion about him and about his place in our history.
You can be as mad as a mad dog at the way things went, you can swear and curse the fates, but when it comes to the end, you have to let go.