Notice Me, America
I’m willing to take the bad with the good.
Hi, America!
Quebec here. Remember me? You were actually quite interested in me back in 1775, how time flies! How are you?
Ugh, shouldn’t have asked that.
Anyway, I just wanted to check in, let you know that I’m still right there, very close to you. I’m watching what’s going on right and I’m worried about you. But you must get that all the time.
I’m not here to tell you what to do, America. Really. I’m not trying to meddle or anything, I know that’s frowned upon. I just want you to know that I support you.
I took to the streets. Mostly for myself, but also for you. I probably wouldn’t have done it if you didn’t start the movement first, though. You’d be proud. The protests were mostly peaceful, except for a few people who thrashed a music store and stole guitars. Whatever.
Have you looked at the photos of the protests? Well, if you had, you’d have seen that I wrote signs in English, even though I speak French most of the time. But, you know, I figured that French is not that inclusive of a language anyway. So much gendered stuff, ugh! And also, I really wanted you to see that I am fighting for the same cause as you are. That’s also why I’m writing to you in English. It’s always been that way, after all. I speak French, you speak English, I learn English, no big deal. No big deal at all.
America, I feel like we are the same. Our pasts are intertwined, we’re not perfect, but we’re still trying to do the right thing.
Right?
The truth is, I admire you. I admire your values, your culture, your social media activism… Everything! And when it comes to social movements, well, I also enjoy adopting them and making them my own. For real! And I am willing to take the bad with the good. The division, the destruction, the useless outrage, the mob mentality… Yes, yes, and yes! I can do it too!
Right now, there’s a petition to fire a local news correspondent in D.C. because his tongue slipped, and it sounded like he was about to say the N-word live on T.V. Last month, a supermarket had to pull out a T.V. ad [link in French, sorry about that] in which the comedian was wearing a fat suit because people complained it was fatphobic. Isn’t that the kind of controversies that are familiar to you? Well, now we have them too! Isn’t that amazing?
Some people say that I don’t need that, that I should be different from you. They tell me that I should be more sophisticated, more like Europe. But when I try to stand up for myself and my identity, I get the side-eye, and I’m told to take it down a notch. Yes, I am still pretty different from you, but that doesn’t mean I should feel left out, right? I’m trying real hard to fit in for once, damnit!
Anyway, I’ll try and check in with you more often. I think there are a few things we might learn from each other.
Talk to you soon!
Love,
Quebec
P.S.: I talked to the rest of Canada about that whole invading thing. That’s not happening. Sorry.