A Question of Identity

I read this afternoon that a group of big retailers will need to change their signs in Quebec to accommodate language laws that are in place. Costco, Best Buy, Gap, Old Navy, Guess and Wal-Mart are asking Quebec’s superior court whether the Office Québécoise de la Langue Française (OQLF) has the right to demand such changes to their trademarks. The OQLF wants these businesses to add French generics to their trademark, something that has been pretty common in recent years after crackdowns by French-language authorities. These generics are usually terms that describe the service or product sold by the retailer or a descriptive term that is added under a trademark name. A good example of this is Second Cup and its recently added “les cafés” before its name in order to comply with language laws. I have always wondered why a registered trademark would have to be translated, when I went to France KFC was KFC and McDonald’s was McDonald’s, people didn’t seem to have a hard time understanding what was being sold or what service was available. This is tiresome and unnecessary. The PQ is simply attempting to stir up old antagonisms. I would submit that the province has bigger issues to deal with (like the 30 000 homeless in Montreal). Language however, is a touchy and hot topic in Canada and always has been…

I find the language debate in Canada, and especially in Quebec, to be a difficult reality for me. Let me explain a little, I think that context is extremely important for this subject. Canada has always been divided about language and by default culture; we are a multicultural nation and it is normal that we may not agree with everyone on what Canada is or what it means to be Canadian. I am from New Brunswick, I am Acadian, language and my identity tied to my language has been a life long struggle. I grew up in a family where my mother’s side was francophone and my father’s side was anglophone, so I learned both languages at the same time as a child to be able to communicate with my relatives. My parents wanted what was best for me, so I went to school from pre-kindergarden to end of highschool in french (which was considered a school of privilege, a fact that I would be reminded of often by some of the neighbourhood english kids) and then did my university in english. So you could almost say that I am the poster child for the language debate, I am proud of my Acadian roots and my Anglo-Saxon roots, I believe that this is what makes my country great. I must admit that I have never been on the right side however, and this has made me the victim of bullying on both sides of the language spectrum.

As a child in NB I got beat up, called names like “frog, French fag, faggot, etc.” for being French. There were fights during my lunch hours where kids from the English school would come down to our school and pick a victim and beat them up as a group, it used to be called “Frog Bashing” (I actually have a dent on my forehead thanks to a skateboard to the head during one of these infamous bashings). My first “political” activity was egging the house of a COR NB party candidate during a provincial election campaign that happened to fall near Halloween. For those of you unfamiliar with New Brunswick politics; in the late 1980s, support for Premier Richard Hatfield and his Progressive Conservatives has collapsed because of corruption scandals in their government. As well, many English-speaking New Brunswickers were unhappy with the government’s promotion of official bilingualism (the use of English and French in public services). COR promised to repeal the 1969 Official Languages Act, which made french equal for official purposes with english on a province-wide basis. COR proposed providing government services only in areas that are mostly Francophones. The french speaking Acadian population believed this to be an anti-francophone policy, so the COR party had no support in areas with large francophone populations.

New Brunswick is officially bilingual since 1969, something that the Acadian population had to fight long and hard to achieve. I have always associated with the Acadian identity, a nation that was deported and destroyed and somehow survived against all odds. This Official Languages Act is a huge victory for a nation that was shipped off to all ends of the world, some were lucky enough to hide and continue this wonderful culture. So you can all imagine my joy and excitement to move to Montreal in Quebec for my Master’s degree, I would finally no longer be a minority but a francophone just like everyone else, I would be able to live in french. I was devastated to be welcomed as an anglophone when I arrived in Montreal, being served by people in broken-up english in stores, I didn’t understand what was going on…

I was later explained by people who, seeing as how I did not have a Quebec accent, that I had to be an anglophone, I did not even have the chance to prove my french roots: I was already labeled as a bloke (btw to all of you who insult anglophones with this term, it is simply an informal term for man or boy). I still to this day get called an anglophone on an almost daily basis, even by people who know me and know that I am an Acadian. I am not a Separatist, I do not believe that Montreal is english (I find that it is a beautiful mixture of french, english, creole, arab, and many other languages and cultures), I find that there are more important things for us to figure out before we start talking about a country that is Quebec. I have a question for the Quebecers out there: What are you so afraid of? French is abundant and strong, take it from the Acadians that survive in an Anglo-Saxon world and still maintain a beautiful and rich culture. Also, I have heard many times by Sovereignists that they would work with First Nations to insure a compromise if Quebec became a state, why are you not trying to find compromise with anglophone Canadians? Is it still because of a war that happened hundreds of years ago? Isn’t it time to pick yourselves up by your boot straps and try to find peace? I find that Quebec is still morning a defeat that occurred hundreds of years ago, Acadians I find celebrate the culture that somehow survived after a mass deportation and oppression. I think that you could learn a lot from these francophone neighbours.

Also, I find that nationalism is dangerous; more and more I am finding what I find to be xenophobic and racists comments by people around me or even politicians. This last provincial election was filled with hate speech and close-minded arguments. It breaks my heart to see people act hateful towards anyone that is not them. I find that more and more we are faced with an “us” vs “them” debate in this province and I can only see bad things come out of it. It is Ok to fight for what you believe in, but it is best to do it with everyone’s happiness in mind. My mother speaks with great pride about how her province is officially bilingual, something that she didn’t always have, but that she is thankful to have today.

I wait and hope for the day where I will be recognized as the francophone that I am, even if it is different from the definition that others have… Just because I’m different does not mean that I am not what I identify myself to be… I still believe that Quebec is a multi-cultural society, even if my Premier says that it is not a Quebec value… I also hope that one day our federal government will recognize Acadians like a nation, just like our neighbours Quebec. I am however, never interested in separating from this country; a nation is stronger than a country.

«Les Acadiens sont un peuple, et un peuple est plus fort qu’un Pays. Un Pays est une institution, mais un peuple est plus fort qu’une institution, car il a une âme, il a des rêves, il est vivant….» (Antonine Maillet)

 

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Punk Belongs to the Fighters!

Remember where you were the first time that you heard that first punk rock song? The first official punk song that I heard was We’re Only Gonna Die by Bad Religion, I had however  heard many metal covers of punk classics like Last Caress/Green Hell by Metallica. The first song by a punk band though belongs to Bad Religion, and I will always remember where I was and the feeling that came over me. I was at my friend Brandon’s house and he had taken a dub tape from his brother’s room, the sense of urgency just wanted to make me go out there and fuck some shit up! That summer afternoon forever changed me and began the journey that I have been following ever since for truth and change. It got me to thinking, what is the true essence and purpose to this social movement? As we all know, here in North America at least, it has pretty much been co-opted and become just another flavour/option in your closet. We are now caught up in debates over what is “real” punk and whatever commercial radio is telling us what punk is, I’m looking at you the Sum 41’s and Simple Plan’s of the world, so what is this real punk that was so dangerous 35 years ago? This weekend is the 35th anniversary of the Sex Pistols’ arrest because of their attempt of playing their version of God Save The Queen down the Thames river on a boat, it was at this moment that punk rock’s political snarl had never been louder. You will not hear of these types of actions in the US and the UK these days, the birthplace of the punk rock movement, the snarl has become nothing more than a whimper.

Look to Moscow, where three women have been detained and face up to seven years in prison because their band, Pussy Riot, staged an anti-Putin “punk prayer” in a cathedral. Amnesty International now classifies them as prisoners of conscience. Next is Banda Aceh, Indonesia, where six months ago officers hauled more than 60 punk off to re-education camps, sheared off their Mohawks, removed their piercings and forced them to bathe, change clothes and pray. Or Iraq, where human rights groups report that dozens of emo kids, the followers of punk’s tender-hearted offshoot, have been slain by extremists since February, when the government’s interior ministry released a statement equating emo style with devil worship. Burmese punk bands have to practice in secrecy to avoid arrest. Rebel Riot told a German magazine Der Spiegel, “In Burma, punk is not a game.” At the top of Cuba’s dissident music scene, Porno para Ricardo play nose-thumbing punk anthems despite years of police harassment, including lead singer Gorki Aguila’s latest arrest in February. Members of the Iranian punk rock band The Yellow Dogs have recently won asylum after fleeing from Tehran two years again, where playing rock music is punishable by flogging, fines, and jail time.

I am then remembered of the last time that I was down on the Bowery in Lower Manhattan, when I was shocked to see a high-end menswear boutique with 1 000$ jackets hanging against brick walls covered in seditious scrawls and yellowing concert posters.  The bored-looking clerk sitting on a small stage that looks like a replica from a club, but this use to be a club: the former home of CBGB, the club where American punk was born, now a temple for commerce and nostalgic kitsch! A visit at the ancient site will leave most a little depressed. While punk’s heirs around the world continue to defy autocrats, risking their freedom to stand against social injustice and economic polarization, it has been years since British and American punk has had this raw influence. There are still bands out there that sing for change and standing up against the system, but these voices are getting more and more silent in the former scenes. It seems that even the Occupy movement has been co-opted by major label artists trying to make a buck, Miley Cyrus with her Occupy Wall Street flavoured video for “Liberty Walk”, Jay-Z’s Rocawear profited by selling 22$ “Occupy All Streets” T-shirts; which he never donated any profits to the Occupy movement and they called fouled, he did not even blink. What this means is that, if you don’t print your political message on a T-shirt, your message won’t sell. It should be said that the Sex Pistols don’t sell either, not that Universal is not trying when they reissued “God Save the Queen” as a 7-inch to celebrate the anniversary mentioned above and to cash in on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Fans even tried to push it up the charts, which flopped, but the refrain – “No future, no future, no future for you!” – seems relevant as ever thanks to the global economic crisis and widespread unemployment happening in North America and Europe.

Punk today belongs more to Russia and Iraq, Myanmar and Indonesia, than it does to its birthplaces. Like any movement steeped in dissent and nonconformity, punk’s moral force grows with government suppression. As authoritarian regimes crack down on rebel rockers, their efforts to censor subversive voices often backfire by attracting attention from international media and human rights activists. I am sure that you are maybe wondering how can we inject punk with that moral force that we all felt during the first summer of musical discovery?

Living in Montreal, I am feeling some social unrest in my city and feeling like it is reaching a boiling point; and I have no idea how it is going to end honestly. People protesting the F1 Grand Prix for their blatten disregard for human rights, their glorification of the objectification of women, and this being a party for the rich by the rich. People are getting fed up with the further widening of the gap between the rich and poor, and they are starting to stand up to tell us that it will no longer stand. The whole student protest mouvement is much too complicated to briefly mention here, go check it out for yourself on the internet (just don’t trust solely the major media outlets and look around), see what this all about. Briefly, it’s about people entering the work force already drowning in debt and never being able to get out of it. But since the implementation of Law 78, it has become everyone’s fight for human rights and their rights to protest their government, I mean even the UN is saying that it’s not cool and they are keep an eye on the situation. It was even responded by the Education Minister who told the UN to fuck off and that they have other things to worry about like Syria instead, I am curious to see how this is all going to end. This weekend there has been about 30 arrests by day at the Grand Prix celebrations and scenes of blatten police brutality. So what is the state of punk in Montreal?

The Pussy Riot detainees have inspired protests and fundraisers in Berlin, Krakow, London, Melbourne, Prague, San Francisco and beyond. They’ve made headlines around the world. Expected to face a judge on charges of “hooliganism” in the coming weeks, the bandmates will soon be performing on a larger stage than they ever could have imagined. A global audience will be watching their trial. Some of us wish our own countries still made music that could rattle the windows in, say, the White House or on the streets of Montreal. Real punk — cheeky, risk-taking, rude, sloppy punk — belongs to fighters. Let’s hope they remind the rest of us how it’s done. I have always lived my life by asking “What would Joe Strummer do?”, and I think that he would tell me to take to the streets and inject punk with the fight that made it so great!

 

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