“Anglos” want to close down a French bakery
In more Journal red-raggery, we have the headline Des anglos veulent faire fermer sa boulangerie française à Montréal. Some Westmount Karen went off on a Greene Avenue baker who asked her a question in French, and suddenly all anglos are at fault.
Update: The Journal gets the anglo’s side of the story.
Blork 10:13 on 2022-05-25 Permalink
I saw someone linking to that on FB last night and I almost lost it. One anglo acts like a dick and it’s headline news. ONE ANGLO!
OTOH it’s a great experiment in seeing confirmation bias at work. The same people who talk about how Internet comments are bullshit, and how you need to apply the scientific method to data, blah blah blah will share this in a second if they’re fans of Bill 96, without even blinking (or thinking).
Daniel 10:14 on 2022-05-25 Permalink
This would be funnier if it didn’t take place the day after Loi 96 passed.
Where would we be without the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste to denounce this situation as “tout simplement scandaleuse”?
“Cet événement montre encore une fois tout le mépris et l’intolérance face à notre langue française au Québec.” I mean, it shows that when your raison d’être is to see that. Otherwise, not so much.
Thomas 10:15 on 2022-05-25 Permalink
I was pretty heavily involved with the Blue Metropolis literary festival in my early years in Montreal, and Iet me tell you Westmount Karens are no joke.
It is delightful, however, that despite the strong undercurrent of resentment towards French expatriates among the Québécois population of Montreal, the opportunity to once again vilify the anglo was too tempting to pass up and so all of a sudden this most Québécois of media outlets loves the Frenchman (for the record I have a strong affinity for France and its people, much stronger than that of the average Quebecer).
But in all seriousness, I think we can all agree that it is impossible to get a decent cinnamon bun in Montreal and if there were fewer pâtisseries à la française and just one Scandinavian bakery perhaps this situation could be remedied.
jeather 12:29 on 2022-05-25 Permalink
Ignoring the stupidity of responding to one bad Yelp review — honestly unsympathetic to everyone in this story, though I have been to and liked that bakery — I am a HARD AGREE on the lack of non-French desserts in this city. Sometimes I just want a slice of layer cake, not some kind of mousse confection. I can make a cake, but then I have a whole cake.
GC 13:04 on 2022-05-25 Permalink
<<En plus, la cliente comprend et parle cette langue», soupire Jérôme Moutonnet.
So, it would also be fine to greet a customer in English–or Italian, etc.–as long as the customer understands and speaks that language? Strangely, the article doesn't get into that…
I'm certainly not defending Harris, however, as she sounds like a piece of work. I had a flashback to the famous mosque story and wondered if TVA was just making the whole thing up, but maybe she's a real person.
Kevin 14:22 on 2022-05-25 Permalink
So long as there is one person hearing English in Quebec, French can never survive.
How sad and frightening to go though life like that.
Daniel 08:45 on 2022-05-26 Permalink
Regarding the update: I’ll be the first to admit I would never have imagined she was perfectly bilingual!
Also, lolz at the line at the bottom of the piece: “Vous avez un scoop à nous transmettre?” No telling what language “scoop” comes from there.
jeather 10:49 on 2022-05-27 Permalink
Entirely unsurprised that the store owner is now claiming he refuses to speak English as a political stance and not that he accidentally said one sentence in French.