Quebec Gov't Tells Veiled Muslims "Go to the back of the line"

[Cat_Whisperer]

@Hypnagogic_Jerk

<snip>And this rejoins what we discussed earlier in the thread about Quebec having a tradition of holding divisive debates in the public sphere, while in the rest of Canada these things are not discussed openly (although the Albertans’ reaction indicates that this may be changing). <snip>

I wish we could have meaningful debates on cultures publically here, but it is not encouraged at all.

[Hypnagogic_Jerk]

Interesting posts, Spoons and Cat Whisperer. I’m not ignoring them, in fact there are a few things I want to say, but I’ve been busy with travel the last few days and I won’t have Internet access this weekend. And we could actually start a thread in GD on Canadian culture(s) and what it means for the country’s future that its population/economic/cultural centre is moving westward. (This is what Cat Whisperer’s last post made me think about: as the importance of Alberta and the West in general in Canada increases, bringing about a perspective that is different from Toronto’s, Canada’s cultural debates could be profoundly affected.)

So if I don’t take a few minutes to respond tomorrow, I’ll do so next week, maybe in GD.

[Muffin]

@Hypnagogic_Jerk

And we could actually start a thread in GD on Canadian culture(s) and what it means for the country’s future that its population/economic/cultural centre is moving westward.

It makes me want to move back to Quebec.

[RickJay]

@Spoons

– Ontario seriously considers allowing Islam’s Sharia law in family law arbitration matters. In the end, it doesn’t; but the subsequent debate probably would never have happened in Quebec or the US because the whole issue wouldn’t be even considered in the first place.

Which states prohibit a couple from selecting a person versed in Shariah law as their arbitrator or mediator?

A Jamaican immigrant, Albert Johnson, is shot and killed in his own home by a Toronto police officer for threatening the officer with a gun. The Jamaican community is in an uproar–didn’t they know that defending one’s home by any means possible is part of Jamaican culture?

1. It was an axe, not a gun.

2. There was evidence that Johnson was shot after being subdued, and the officers involved were actually charged with manslaughter, which understandably upset people. Somehow I doubt the officers were charged with a criminal offense because of “Jamaican culture.” It’s simply a complete fiction to imply that public outrage over the incident was because of some weird aspect of Jamaican culture. People were angry about the Johnson shooting because they believed it was a goddamned murder. Finally,

3. The Johnson shooting happened at a time that the Toronto police department was not covering itself in glory in the eyes of the public. It was a year after the controversial Buddy Evans shooting, and various other stupidities had caused a loss of confidence in the force.