BLOWING THE DOG WHISTLE, JUST AUDIBLY ENOUGH
Parti Québécois leader’s tolerance of Blanc’s blunders an odd double standard
So far during the 2018 Quebec election campaign, allegations of drunk driving, involvement with a company whose business practices would be illegal in Quebec, and calling for Islam to be banned have been grounds for candidates to step down or be shunted aside.
But comments about forgetting to celebrate Hitler’s birthday and dropping N-bombs? Not so much.
Parti Québécois candidate Michelle Blanc continues to push the limits of what is considered acceptable discourse from someone seeking elected office in Quebec. And PQ Leader JeanFrançois Lisée’s minimization of her diatribes and ongoing defence of her blunders stretch the notion of the kind of conduct that will be tolerated from public officials.
A litany of troubling tweets, blog posts and statements attributed to Blanc have been piling up since the campaign got underway.
Early on, Blanc was forced to apologize for suggesting a CEGEP professor who outs members of far-right groups might be a pedophile (after being sent a cease-and-desist letter, that is). And she admitted to referring to a Bell employee as a “little n-----” for mistaking her deep voice for a man’s on the phone. Blanc, the candidate for Mercier, is a transgender woman and took umbrage in a tweet she later deleted.
Lisée dismissed those comments as “human error” and the unforgiving nature of the digital age.
“It’s not an excuse … but (Blanc) is a politician at the beginning of her career and must learn not to answer every insult on social media,” Lisée said.
During the weekend, Lisée attempted to turn the tables on B’nai Brith after the Jewish organization wrote a letter raising concerns about past social media posts from Blanc that it considers anti- Semitic.
In 2011, Blanc remarked on Twitter: “merde, I forgot to celebrate Hitler’s birthday last week.” In 2007, Blanc wondered in a blog post “am I racist?” while complaining about the Hassidic Jewish community and noting, “it would be much simpler for them and me if they disappeared from my view, like they want to do the impossible and make me disappear from their view.”
Lisée’s response was to make B’nai Brith’s issues public and then accuse them of bullying. This time he downplayed her past pronouncements as criticism of a religion and — Hitler reference notwithstanding — professed himself appalled by the suggestion they could be construed as anything more than legitimate questions.
Indeed, during a decade of socially divisive debate over what constitutes the reasonable accommodation of minority rights, criticism has often served as convenient cover for the stigmatizing, stereotyping and scapegoating of religious groups by secularists who see any sign of faith or difference in belief as a threat.
Blanc is an author, LGBTQ activist and supposed social media expert — though one might question the latter credential given her history of controversial and offensive online outbursts. Then again, she seems to be quite skilful at walking right up to the line that separates free speech from hate speech and stomping all over it. Despite B’nai Brith reservations, another group, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, called her generalizations about the Hassidic community “regrettable,” but insisted Blanc is not really anti- Semitic. Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard said Blanc’s words “crossed a red line” but stopped short of demanding her ouster as a candidate.
Ironically, Blanc’s craftiness may make her an asset to Lisée as identity politics inevitably rear their head on the campaign trail. Lisée has had to dump two candidates whose extreme online statements were indefensible. Pierre Marcotte had to be ditched in Nicolet for calling Islam a “menace” and suggesting it should be banned “like pit bulls.” Before the writ was dropped, the PQ had to nix the candidacy of Muguette Paillé in Maskinongé when she was outed for frequenting far-right websites.
After expressing his “disgust” at Marcotte’s remarks and insisting the PQ doesn’t have an Islamophobia problem, Lisée’s defence of Blanc would seem like an odd double standard. (Or can he just not afford to lose another candidate?) Then again, keep in mind Lisée’s head-swivelling track record for blowing the dog whistle of identity politics himself before rapidly retreating.
He was one of the chief salesmen of the PQ’s charter of values during their short-lived minority government, only to distance himself from the dress code after the party was booted from office. During his PQ leadership campaign, he worried about women in burkas concealing AK-47s and lambasted a rival for wishing Muslims a happy Eid. Then in his victory speech, he extended a hand to anglophones and minorities and later launched an effort to diversify the PQ.
Lisée couldn’t ignore the extreme views of Marcotte or Paillé, but perhaps Blanc blows the dog whistle of intolerance just audibly enough to be tolerated in a campaign as fear and loathing emerge as a potent force.
She seems to be quite skilful at walking right up to the line that separates free speech from hate speech and stomping all over it.