Anglos spoiled

I find it funny to read the dismissal of one anglophone's call for a reality check towards French-English relationships by another anglophone ["Quebecers unite!" D. Awasti, Letters, Oct. 7 vs. "Anglo integration," T. Dunlop, Oct. 14].

The argument used by Mme. Dunlop seems to be a sort of denial reaction or a rationalizing of the typical anglo lack of curiosity towards other cultures. On one hand she says, "As an anglophone, I have full sympathy for the francophone impulse to keep their culture from being washed over," and on the other, she complains about "the relative lack of decent jobs for anglophones." That doesn't sound like full sympathy for her society of adoption.

How many months does anyone think a unilingual francophone could survive living in Toronto without learning English? I can hear Mme. Dunlop (and other unilingual anglos) hiding behind the United States for their lack of knowledge of Quebec's common language (despite their long-term living in this province). It's funny because whenever I hear about English-Canadian culture, I always see it contrasted against the United States' culture ("We are so different, we have almost nothing in common"). The "English continent" argument I find intellectually dishonest coming from an English-Canadian.

The reality is, Quebec should be as French as Ontario is English. "Let's treat Quebec like any other province," the other province premiers always say. Mme. Dunlop's complaint about the "lack of decent English jobs" is really a testament to how spoiled and impudent Quebec's anglos can be. When a québécois moves to Ontario, does he complain about the lack of decent jobs for a unilingual francophone or file a complaint that learning English is a infringement to his individual right (like English federal employees do in Ottawa). No, he just learns the common language, and assumes everybody around him does the same (when in Rome…).

And he doesn't speak French first and then broken English "when in doubt" either. I think Mr. Awasti's attitude is the right one. Merci.

» Simon Leclerc

Shame is healthy

Anatomie de l'enfer filmmaker Catherine Breillat is misinformed ["Rag time revolt," Oct. 14]. Shame does not mean pretending something doesn't exist. If you respond to a performance by vomiting, you definitely aren't pretending. Shame means you're conscious of impropriety as impropriety, which is not an objective reaction but a moral one. And being capable of that is far more important than obeying some narrow "journalistic code" by watching the film to completion, as Breillat suggests.

How can a perfectly sterile perspective like hers tell us anything about the original value of intimacy? For that she needs a healthy sense of shame that recognizes borderlines too precious for plain public exposure. Now to what extent a person reacts may vary (from feeling uncomfortable to fainting), but the moral sensibility remains.

Consequently, film directors who would rather be shameless should at least know the classification and warning pertaining to their work. Of course, we can't expect an emotional terrorist to understand.

» L.S. Cattarini

Canada's mattress

I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I had to with this article I read. This goes out to the guy who wrote in to Sasha under the pseudonym Suddenly Celibate Single Guy ["Meat Market Letdown," Sasha, Oct. 14].

The dude writes that he can't find any singles bars - meat markets, as he calls them - in Montreal and complains about the fact that he's not getting any sex because of that. Listen, dude, if you were in Vancouver, let's say, or maybe Boise, Idaho, I don't know, I would understand this rant but this is Montreal. Montreal is like Canada's mattress - it's one big bed, this city.

I'd never heard anyone with a complaint like that before. I'm absolutely amazed. Maybe you've got one eye in the middle of your forehead or curvature of the spine or a hair lip. I don't know what your problem is, but it's just amazing that someone's saying that there are no meat markets in Montreal, no singles bars. You go to any bar, there are so many single women looking for it, it's unbelievable. You're lost, dude, you're lost.

» Anonymous

Morency collaborator thrilled!

I just read Gabriel Morency's column on the Expos leaving Montreal ["Last out," Sports Rage, Oct. 7]. You have the best radio guy out there in your city. Great hardball-type reading on here. I look forward to reading more Morency articles now that I have found your Web site.

By the way, I've been on his show Friday nights for the past two years and was with Morency at the Super Bowl in Houston.

» Myk Aussie, Calgary

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