State of the Habs General Discussion

[Rapala]

When the majority finally comes to terms with the death of the "Les Glorieux" era and takes a modern approach to professional sport.
We can begin to believe again.

 

[Laurentide]

There are currently only three French-speaking coaches in the N.H.L.: Julien, the Rangers' Alain Vigneault and the Ottawa Senators' Guy Boucher. If you say the coach must speak french you automatically eliminate 90% of candidates around the league. Do you not see the problem with this? That is a HUGE LIMITATION and if you don't think this is a huge limitation then you need to get your head examined pronto.

To make matters worse all of the current french speaking coaches have gone through the Canadiens organization somehow. That is how most of them got their break into the NHL. A french only speaking coach WILL NOT make it in the NHL and the reason is simple. English is the universal language. There is no reason to learn french outside of Quebec so the only people who speak french will be from Quebec generally.

And it took literally only months for francophones to turn on Cunneyworth. How many years did it take for the media to turn on Therrien, Bergevin and Julien who continue to set all kinds franchise records for being bad. At least be honest, Cunneyworth wasn't fired because he was a bad coach, people rioted because he was an anglo that's it. This ethnic bias is sickening. It's like being back in the slave days. I thought Hitler died a long time ago.

How could they protest Cunneyworth's coaching record when they were showing up to the Bell Centre with pitchforks and torches before he had coached his first NHL game? It was always and only about the fact that he was an Anglo, and a unilingual one at that. Never mind the fact that it was mid-way through a horrible season and there was nobody available who would have been any better since anyone who's any good was already employed until at least the end of that season. Not to mention the fact that the Habs were just playing out the string and needed a warm body to stand behind the bench for a few games. It's not like he was going to be around beyond the end of that season no matter what happened. It was a knee-jerk, prejudiced reaction and the Francophone media was complicit in fanning the flames. They should have known better than most that Cunneyworth was merely a place-holder but they acted as though they'd lost the Battle of the Plains of Abraham all over again.

Personally I think it was a calculated move on the part of the French media to test their own influence among the masses. They wanted to see if they still had enough clout to incite the mob. It had the desired effect, both on the masses and especially on Molson, who went to great lengths to ensure the rabble that no filthy Anglos would ever be permitted to coach "their" team (as if only Francophone fans matter)

This mentality is why Gerard Gallant is performing Jack Adams caliber coaching somewhere else right now and not in Montreal. He's got the right name, but he's not one of the chosen people because he can't pass the linguistic purity test. And if a guy with a name like Gerard Gallant isn't good enough, is it really a shock to learn that Mike Babcock wasn't either?

The reason why Quebec has been bleeding Anglos for the last 40+ years isn't because they passed a law mandating the use of French. People don't mind learning a new language if they have to. And if that's all it amounted to then a lot of the people who wound up leaving wouldn't have left; they'd have learned French, adapted to the new reality and stayed. But that was never the intent of the law. It was never about forcing Anglos to learn and speak French; it was about forcing Anglos to leave Quebec entirely. And the way that was achieved wasn't only to use the law to discriminate against the English language but to also discriminate against English people simply because they were English. They don't want a French-speaking Quebec, they want a French Quebec. And the Francophone media is comprised almost completely of people who believe in this political goal. Show me a federalist Francophone journalist and I'll show you a journalist who can't find work in Quebec. Chantal Hebert is about the only one I can think of, and she works for the Toronto Star.

 

[Rapala]

Where is the backlash?

 

[Bryson]

How could they protest Cunneyworth's coaching record when they were showing up to the Bell Centre with pitchforks and torches before he had coached his first NHL game? It was always and only about the fact that he was an Anglo, and a unilingual one at that. Never mind the fact that it was mid-way through a horrible season and there was nobody available who would have been any better since anyone who's any good was already employed until at least the end of that season. Not to mention the fact that the Habs were just playing out the string and needed a warm body to stand behind the bench for a few games. It's not like he was going to be around beyond the end of that season no matter what happened. It was a knee-jerk, prejudiced reaction and the Francophone media was complicit in fanning the flames. They should have known better than most that Cunneyworth was merely a place-holder but they acted as though they'd lost the Battle of the Plains of Abraham all over again.

Personally I think it was a calculated move on the part of the French media to test their own influence among the masses. They wanted to see if they still had enough clout to incite the mob. It had the desired effect, both on the masses and especially on Molson, who went to great lengths to ensure the rabble that no filthy Anglos would ever be permitted to coach "their" team (as if only Francophone fans matter)

This mentality is why Gerard Gallant is performing Jack Adams caliber coaching somewhere else right now and not in Montreal. He's got the right name, but he's not one of the chosen people because he can't pass the linguistic purity test. And if a guy with a name like Gerard Gallant isn't good enough, is it really a shock to learn that Mike Babcock wasn't either?

The reason why Quebec has been bleeding Anglos for the last 40+ years isn't because they passed a law mandating the use of French. People don't mind learning a new language if they have to. And if that's all it amounted to then a lot of the people who wound up leaving wouldn't have left; they'd have learned French, adapted to the new reality and stayed. But that was never the intent of the law. It was never about forcing Anglos to learn and speak French; it was about forcing Anglos to leave Quebec entirely. And the way that was achieved wasn't only to use the law to discriminate against the English language but to also discriminate against English people simply because they were English. They don't want a French-speaking Quebec, they want a French Quebec. And the Francophone media is comprised almost completely of people who believe in this political goal. Show me a federalist Francophone journalist and I'll show you a journalist who can't find work in Quebec. Chantal Hebert is about the only one I can think of, and she works for the Toronto Star.

You're killing it Laurentide! That is exactly how I see it too. Cunneyworth was nothing more than an interim warm body in a losing season. Nothing to get excited about but you know National Radicalists and all of that thought differently.

National Pride, I get it. I grew up raised by a Portuguese mother. Portuguese cheese is the best! Portuguese wine is the best! Portuguese this, Portuguese that! So I get it. But I'm not like that. I speak five different languages. I enjoy learning new languages and always make an effort to speak to people in their native tongue whenever possible. So imagine how it feels to live in a place where they consciously discriminate against an ethnic group even to the detriment of business', the economy and the local team. Radicalists got exactly the corrupt city and corrupt sports team they deserve. I don't know what it's going to take for people to wake up but I wish they would.

 

[ECWHSWI]

How could they protest Cunneyworth's coaching record when they were showing up to the Bell Centre with pitchforks and torches before he had coached his first NHL game? It was always and only about the fact that he was an Anglo, and a unilingual one at that. Never mind the fact that it was mid-way through a horrible season and there was nobody available who would have been any better since anyone who's any good was already employed until at least the end of that season. Not to mention the fact that the Habs were just playing out the string and needed a warm body to stand behind the bench for a few games. It's not like he was going to be around beyond the end of that season no matter what happened. It was a knee-jerk, prejudiced reaction and the Francophone media was complicit in fanning the flames. They should have known better than most that Cunneyworth was merely a place-holder but they acted as though they'd lost the Battle of the Plains of Abraham all over again.

Personally I think it was a calculated move on the part of the French media to test their own influence among the masses. They wanted to see if they still had enough clout to incite the mob. It had the desired effect, both on the masses and especially on Molson, who went to great lengths to ensure the rabble that no filthy Anglos would ever be permitted to coach "their" team (as if only Francophone fans matter)

This mentality is why Gerard Gallant is performing Jack Adams caliber coaching somewhere else right now and not in Montreal. He's got the right name, but he's not one of the chosen people because he can't pass the linguistic purity test. And if a guy with a name like Gerard Gallant isn't good enough, is it really a shock to learn that Mike Babcock wasn't either?

The reason why Quebec has been bleeding Anglos for the last 40+ years isn't because they passed a law mandating the use of French. People don't mind learning a new language if they have to. And if that's all it amounted to then a lot of the people who wound up leaving wouldn't have left; they'd have learned French, adapted to the new reality and stayed. But that was never the intent of the law. It was never about forcing Anglos to learn and speak French; it was about forcing Anglos to leave Quebec entirely. And the way that was achieved wasn't only to use the law to discriminate against the English language but to also discriminate against English people simply because they were English. They don't want a French-speaking Quebec, they want a French Quebec. And the Francophone media is comprised almost completely of people who believe in this political goal. Show me a federalist Francophone journalist and I'll show you a journalist who can't find work in Quebec. Chantal Hebert is about the only one I can think of, and she works for the Toronto Star.

incredible the amount of B.S. you just wrote.

RDS operate in FRENCH, and has a FRENCH speaking audience, they do not have any reason to bother with the english people at all, none, for RDS if there was no english spoken in this world it would not change anything, niet.all their shows are in french, all their viewers understand french and all the advertising is in french.

most journalists do not tell their allegiance, so let's not pretend you know it all (from the outside no less),

as for your diarrhea about the "state of the anglos" in the province, you've picked your text directly from an old paper, paranoid, thinking the whole french speaking population is separatist and responsible for Octobre.

 

[ECWHSWI]

You're killing it Laurentide! That is exactly how I see it too. Cunneyworth was nothing more than an interim warm body in a losing season. Nothing to get excited about but you know National Radicalists and all of that thought differently.

National Pride, I get it. I grew up raised by a Portuguese mother. Portuguese cheese is the best! Portuguese wine is the best! Portuguese this, Portuguese that! So I get it. But I'm not like that. I speak five different languages. I enjoy learning new languages and always make an effort to speak to people in their native tongue whenever possible. So imagine how it feels to live in a place where they consciously discriminate against an ethnic group even to the detriment of business', the economy and the local team. Radicalists got exactly the corrupt city and corrupt sports team they deserve. I don't know what it's going to take for people to wake up but I wish they would.

plese, tell us you are not serious ? you're playing the victim card ? really ?

 

[Laurentide]

RDS operate in FRENCH, and has a FRENCH speaking audience, they do not have any reason to bother with the english people at all, none, for RDS if there was no english spoken in this world it would not change anything, niet.all their shows are in french, all their viewers understand french and all the advertising is in french.

And the guy coaching the Habs has to face the media on a daily basis. Now how much fun do you think it would be for RDS and all the other French media outlets if they had to sit through a press conference conducted entirely in English because the coach didn't speak French? You think they want to have to translate everything he says, especially when many of their ranks can barely speak English themselves? No, they want a French guy who can give them answers in French so that they can make their deadlines and know that they quoted the guy correctly. They would prefer, to use your expression, "not to have any reason to bother with the English people at all." Having a ti-gars behind the bench allows them not to bother. Having French speaking scrubs like Desharnais on the team (and campaigning for their continuing employment even when they suck) who can supply the French media with quotes en francais, allows them not to bother.

 

[ECWHSWI]

And the guy coaching the Habs has to face the media on a daily basis. Now how much fun do you think it would be for RDS and all the other French media outlets if they had to sit through a press conference conducted entirely in English because the coach didn't speak French? You think they want to have to translate everything he says, especially when many of their ranks can barely speak English themselves? No, they want a French guy who can give them answers in French so that they can make their deadlines and know that they quoted the guy correctly. They would prefer, to use your expression, "not to have any reason to bother with the English people at all." Having a ti-gars behind the bench allows them not to bother. Having French speaking scrubs like Desharnais on the team (and campaigning for their continuing employment even when they suck) who can supply the French media with quotes en francais, allows them not to bother.

yeah RDS is an evil corporation created by evil separatists, they're campaining for 100% french and ethnic cleansing...


guess it would make for a great novel.

 

[Laurentide]

It isn't something that occurs on a corporate level. It doesn't need to. In the French media, pretty much everyone who matters is already a sovereignist so it isn't something that they need to discuss at board meetings. It is just the normal state of things in those work environments and anyone who's opinions differ from the majority probably keep it to themselves. It's at the reporter's level where these prejudices roam free. All sports reporters of every language group share a couple of things in common: they're all lazy and will try to take the easiest path possible to get the job done, and they're all looking for a free lunch. Why do you think the club has a press lounge and supplies them with free food and drink at the Bell Centre for every game? Having a French coach, over and above any political aspects that might ensue, is just easier for the majority of reporters covering the team. If you're a Francophone reporter, being able to speak with the coach or with a player in your language, without the need to have things translated, is just plain easier. And since they don't get that perq in any other NHL city, you'd better believe they want to keep it the status quo in Montreal.

 

[ECWHSWI]

It isn't something that occurs on a corporate level. It doesn't need to. In the French media, pretty much everyone who matters is already a sovereignist so it isn't something that they need to discuss at board meetings. It is just the normal state of things in those work environments and anyone who's opinions differ from the majority probably keep it to themselves. It's at the reporter's level where these prejudices roam free. All sports reporters of every language group share a couple of things in common: they're all lazy and will try to take the easiest path possible to get the job done, and they're all looking for a free lunch. Why do you think the club has a press lounge and supplies them with free food and drink at the Bell Centre for every game? Having a French coach, over and above any political aspects that might ensue, is just easier for the majority of reporters covering the team. If you're a Francophone reporter, being able to speak with the coach or with a player in your language, without the need to have things translated, is just plain easier. And since they don't get that perq in any other NHL city, you'd better believe they want to keep it the status quo in Montreal.

Ok, so what you're saying is, you'r in your 70's, you're white male and speak english only, you also suffer from paranoya


right ?


(I mean, we all know there's nothing to support your B.S., but the reason why you don't will be funny as hell to read)

 

[Pickles]

yeah RDS is an evil corporation created by evil separatists, they're campaining for 100% french and ethnic cleansing...


guess it would make for a great novel.

Sorry but separatists are racist and discriminatory I don't know what you world you live in but I remember them wanting to infringe on the rights of Muslims to wear hijabs and burqas.

When Cunnyworth was named interm coach those bastards were out in front of the Bell Center handing out Quebec flags. If any group knows how to play the victim card its the separatists. All in the name of protecting the French language.

 

[Laurentide]

I won't be in my 70's for almost 2 more decades but thanks for playing. Also thanks for doing what thin-skinned nationalists always do: project their own fears on to others. The only people in Quebec who are paranoid and xenophobic are the pequistes, not the Anglos. Pequistes choose to believe that the world is out to get them while Anglos can simply quote the text of Bill 101 to prove that the persecution they continue to suffer under is real. You're not technically paranoid if people really are out to get you.

 

[ECWHSWI]

I won't be in my 70's for almost 2 more decades but thanks for playing. Also thanks for doing what thin-skinned nationalists always do: project their own fears on to others. The only people in Quebec who are paranoid and xenophobic are the pequistes, not the Anglos. Pequistes choose to believe that the world is out to get them while Anglos can simply quote the text of Bill 101 to prove that the persecution they continue to suffer under is real. You're not technically paranoid if people really are out to get you.

not paranoid, exactly.

 

[ECWHSWI]

Sorry but separatists are racist and discriminatory I don't know what you world you live in but I remember them wanting to infringe on the rights of Muslims to wear hijabs and burqas.

When Cunnyworth was named interm coach those bastards were out in front of the Bell Center handing out Quebec flags. If any group knows how to play the victim card its the separatists. All in the name of protecting the French language.

in a world where everyone knew the peep in front of the BC couldnt name more than 2 or 3 Habs players
in a world where not every single french media is separatist
in a world where not every french speaking québécois is separatist
in a world where its normal for a corp who has 99.9% french speaking customers to focus on french speaking customers
in a world where Octobre 69 happened 50 years ago, not last week
in a world where there's obviously (and unfortunately) still people playing the victim card while being part of the majority in this country, continent and planet (seriously, people should stop doing this, it's Pejorative Slured).