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I (nsolicited niannscripts cannot bernrchirncd unless accoinj^anied b- a sclf-addrcsseclrnstanr]5ed enelopc.rnChroniclesrn'(il. 24, No. 5 Mardi 2(KK)rnPOLEMICS & EXCHANGESrnOn Quebec SeparatismrnThe “Letter From Montreal: Qui ShallrnOvercome!” (Correspondence, Decemher)rnby John O’Neill, who “writes fromrnDetroit,” is so riddled with errors that itrnmakes this reader quesHon the credibiliU’rnof all your Correspondence.rn1. “Jean Baptistc, the patron saint ofrnQuebec.” John the Baptist is the patronrnsaint of French Canadians. Quebec hasrnits qnota of American-st}Jc s-mbols (e.g.,rnan official flower, a flag, and even an officialrninsect), but neither the provincialrngovernment nor the Roman CatholicrnChurch has ever named a patron saint forrndie province.rn2. “[T]hc holiday is often referred to asrnLa Fete Nationale.” The Quebec governmentrnuses that designation, but therntcnn (which even sounds stupid —imaginernAmericans attending a “NationalrnHoliday Picnic” on die Fourth of July) isrnvirtuallv never used by ordinary people.rnLast June 24, m’ wife and I were caughtrnup in die celebrating crowds in a townrnfliat votes heavily for flie Parti Quebecoisrnand on the “Yes” side in separatist refcrendums,rnbut wc saw and heard only “larnSaint-Jean” as the name of die holiday.rn3. “[V]iolence and mass arrests werernthe norm [on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day]rnuntil this year. The rioting in QuebecrnCit’ was especially bad in 1996.” Thisrnhad nothing to do with politics. The “riots”rnhave stopped because the police nowrnapply a curfew and control the a’ailabilit)’rnof beer,rn4. “But more h’pical [of tiie federalistrnmedia | was die column by Joscc Legaultrn. . . ” Miss Legault is a separatist, and onrndie extreme wing of die Parti Quebecoisrnat that. A recent column of hers stated:rn”for the past four vcars, a handful ofrnsovereignists — including this columnistrn—have steadfastiy called upon [Premier]rnBouchard to get back to promotingrnsovereignh’.”rnAmerican conser^atives, from the Hieritagcrnneos to our paleo selves, don’t understandrndiat Quebec separatism is justrnanother case of affirmative action. It ensmesrnthe flow of benefits —”to makernthem feel happy staying in Canada.”rn’I’he sad truth is that the proportion ofrnFrench Canadians living directiy or indirectiyrnon federal handouts is comparablernto that of America’s black minoritv.rnWhile French Canadians, despite flieirrnultramontane Catholic background,rnshare some cultural traits with AmericanrnSouthern whites, their politicians arernmore like Al Sharpton, Maxine Waters,rnand Jesse Jackson.rn— Lionel AlbertrnKnowlton, QuebecrnMr. O’Neill Replies:rnMr, Albert might consider his own errors,rnwhich call into question his credibilit)”.rnAnyone familiar wifli Quebec knowsrnthe common and frequent reference tornthe Jean Baptistc holiday is La Fete Nationale.rnThis term did not originate withrnthe current separatist government, butrnhas long been used in modern-day Quebec.rnOf course, if Mr. Albert really believesrnthat “picnic” is a good translation ofrn”fete,” he might just be unfamiliar withrnhis province’s history and holidays. Thernliteral translation of “fete” is “festival,”rnand a more nuaneed translation wouldrnindicate that it is a festival of religiousrnand/or nationalist significance.rnMr. Albert’s contention that the termrn”is virtually never used by ordinar)’ people”rnis a source of great irony, hi an articlernin the November 1998 issue ofrnCatholic World Report, in which I challengedrnthe notion fliat Quebec nationalismrnno longer has religious significance, Irnwas careful to point out that some secularizationrnhas occurred and that the holidayrnis now often called La Fete Nationale.rnAn irate F.nglish-speakcr fromrnMontreal wrote a letter to the editor insistingrnthe saint has nothing to do withrnthe holiday and that it is now always referredrnto as La Fete Nationale. In reply torna letter of mine which was published inrnthe November 1999 issue oiFirst Things,rnCanadian scholar and journalist PrestonrnJones made a similar point.rnRegarding my reference to John thernBaptist as the patron saint of Quebec, Mr.rnAlbert engages in hair-splitting. The feastrnday of St. John the Baptist is a legal holidayrnin Quebec, and it evokes far more nationalistrnpride throughout the provincern(even among French-speakers who wishrnto remain part of Canada) than doesrnCanada Day (formerly known as DominionrnDay) a week later.rn4/CHRONiCfESrnrnrn