‘It’s about respect,’ say Montreal women gathered to watch results
It wasn’t their election — in fact it wasn’t even their country. But for the women who gathered Tuesday night at a Nuns’ Island bistro to watch the results of an election that could propel the first woman ever to the White House, it was a matter of respect.
“There’s been so much attention paid to this election because it’s about respect,” said Geneviève Nadeau, president of Women In Mind (WIM), as the crowd gathered at Les Enfants Terribles restaurant. “It’s not about the election. It’s about what’s going on and how we’re being treated publicly.”
WIM is a neighbourhood social network created by and for women, and most times the membership meet online to discuss the nuts and bolts of their lives — jobs, daily life, where they could use help and how they could help each other.
But Nov. 8 was different. And on a night that did indeed prove to be historic, more than 100 supporters or members of WIM decided to focus their attention on an election in another country and hope they’d be able to cheer as a very, very high glass ceiling finally crashed to pieces.
Nadeau said that while her group doesn’t usually talk politics, the course of the U.S. campaign, the rise of Donald Trump and the controversies surrounding his treatment and alleged mistreatment of women became a topic of conversation.
“Women are really amazed and that’s why there’s no much attention paid to this election ... they can’t believe that someone like (Trump), with that kind of behaviour, can go so far.
“And that’s why we’re here tonight, because (a Trump victory) cannot happen.”
But would a female U.S. president change any of the attitudes Nadeau finds so shocking?
“They’re not going to disappear,” she said. “But they won’t be rewarded (with the presidency).”
Francine Brulé, owner of Les Enfants Terribles, said the turnout showed support for “a woman that is showing us that if you want something — you can get it. Whether she wins or not — and we think she will win — she’s shown us that you have to fight to the end.”
Brulé acknowledged that female heads of state were not the rarity they once were, but added that a woman finally winning the top job in the U.S. would be “amazing.”
“It wasn’t that long ago that it wouldn’t even have been an option.”
Caroline Tremblay, who happened on the WIM gathering as she walked into the bistro, was taken aback by the Hillary Clinton T-shirts worn by some of the patrons and the Democratic candidate’s placards planted outside restaurant.
But she said that even if she hadn’t intended to find herself in the middle of a political statement, she was happy it was being made.
“What’s happening in the States is utter madness,” she said. “I just hope it ends after tonight.”