Yesterday morning, December 5, while in Europe persists an atrocious war of which we do not know how it will end, we discovered on the front page of the To have to the text of a journalist sent to India thanks to the support of the Transat-Le Devoir International Journalism Fund. His report chronicled the plight of some transgender women, victims of prejudice in the state of Tamil Nadu!
Last week, the rector and vice-chancellor of the University of Ottawa, Jacques Frémont, cracked down again by expelling journalists, in particular those of Radio-Canada, from the place where the Chinese ambassador had been invited to address to students. This expulsion met the demand of the ambassador of the greatest and most powerful dictatorship in the world.
We also learned recently that the director general of the National Gallery of Canada, Angela Cassie, appointed last June, had dismissed four executives of the establishment. According to her explanation, the museum being “in transformation mode”, she wanted to reorient the museum towards more diversification and decolonization.
Clearly, Angela Cassie, who has no training in museology, wants to impose the Aboriginal way of thinking about the management and programming of the museum. In other words, she wants to involve Aboriginal people more and share with them the development of the museum.
Exclusion
If we understand this language correctly, white painters, however brilliant they may be, run the risk of not meeting the criteria of the acting director general, whose experience is limited to the management of the Canadian Museum for the Rights of the nobody in Winnipeg. The fine arts are not in his field of expertise.
Justin Trudeau’s diversity policy is gradually spreading its tentacles in most cultural institutions in Canada.
We are familiar with the specifications of the Société Radio-Canada in this regard. The document is not without creating tensions even within the various services. From the prohibition of certain words on the air, to the composition of discussion panels according to criteria of skin color, religion, sex or ethnic origin, the new practices will lead, whether like it or not, reflexes of self-censorship.
The weight of word censorship is heavy. Do we realize that talking has become a trap? I notice that there is a lack of real public debates, for lack of serious debaters and places to discuss. With intelligence, firmness and open-mindedness.
Silence
Nowadays, the insult and the invective have replaced the conversation, so much so that one prefers to be silent. We no longer want to argue, assert ourselves or doubt out loud.
Do you have to stay away from the media completely to be happy? Because as soon as we follow the news, let ourselves be invaded by the media, which peddle all the dramas of the world, we know no respite. It becomes imperative to pick up.
The month of December takes us back to childhood nostalgia. Familiar songs reappear. Whether we are believers or not, there is no harm in recalling our past dreams. And to rediscover the desire to cherish those we love. We have all been Christmas children. Do not miss this appointment tinged with hope.
My best wishes to you, dear readers. I will meet you at the beginning of the year 2023.