FLQ and the ordinary man

The blades of the Moulin à paroles [Google translation] have been peacefully turning on the Plains of Abraham since 3 p.m. yesterday. The event pays tribute to people here and everywhere, who, by their words, their writing or their voices, have shaped this part of the world. It salutes the pride to exist still, despite the ice, the cold and the loneliness. It reasserts memory over oblivion.

Over 150 texts have been selected for their significance in the history of Québec and to the nation canadienne, texts such as:

• Historical references to the Great Upheaval (1755), Robert Nelson's Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada (1838) and Lord Durham's Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839).
• Lyrics such as Claude Dubois' 1978 song about the French Canadian tale La chasse-galerie and Adolphe-Basile Routhier's Ô Canada (1880).
• Recipes from Jehane Benoît's [Google translation­] Encyclopédie de la cuisine canadienne (1963).
• Selected passages from Mordecai Richler's The Street (1969).

Among these texts, one in particular caught media attention, the FLQ manifesto. French media reported the news with the whole spectrum of pros and cons whether the text should or shouldn't be included. English media on the other hand, generally leaned toward the cons, questioning the sovereigntists' acumen for associating with the manifesto. Perhaps, René Lévesque's reaction to the discovery of Pierre Laporte's body on October 18th, 1970, best illustrates this enduring sentiment: "If they really thought they had a cause, they killed it with Pierre Laporte and, by disgracing themselves in such a way, they more or less smeared us." "S'ils ont vraiment cru avoir une cause, ils l'ont tuée en même temps que Pierre Laporte et, en se déshonorant ainsi, ils nous ont tous plus ou moins éclaboussés."

I see the FLQ for what it was, young criminals who called for extraordinary measures. The majority of Québécois did as well on October 15th, 1970, when the Gouvernement du Québec formally requisitioned the intervention of the Canadian army in "aid of the civil power" under the National Defence Act. All three opposition parties, including the young Parti Québécois, rose in the National Assembly and agreed with the decision.

I can't say I was very familiar with the FLQ manifesto. I assume I was like the majority of Québécois and had only heard excerpts on television reports of the October Crisis. All I see in it is resentment. I gather it illustrates why some people see the sovereignty movement as fueling on anger and phantoms of the past. I'm sure some hardline sovereigntists still do, but that's not the message being conveyed by sovereigntist leaders in recent decades. They know all too well that a viable independent Québec would need a strong Canadian partner.

The Moulin à paroles [Google translation] is obviously an event in favor of sovereignty. But at the end of the day, regardless of your intent or your political bias, it's pretty hard to talk about significant moments in Québec's history without referring to the FLQ manifesto.