It feels like I'm beating a dead horse...

I received an email today, forwarded by a former colleague who actually somehow thought that I'd be okay with it. It's a copy and paste forward email of things supposedly said by the Prime Minister of France... The opening line to email was:

finally, there is not just me who thinks like this .... and it feels good ...

The email goes on to say:

Prime Minister François Fillon has offended some Muslims by saying:

"Our official language is french, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, or any other language. Therefore, if you want to be part of our society, learn the language!"

"Here is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE. And we offer you the opportunity to enjoy all this. But if you have enough to complain, you take our flag, our commitment, our Christian beliefs, or our lifestyle, I strongly encourage you to take advantage of another great French freedom "THE RIGHT TO LEAVE". If you are not happy here, then leave."

And a whole slew of more ignorant crap that I'm too lazy to translate from the original French. I decided to google this and found a web forum for "Women's Rights in France" where a woman from Tunisia posted about how she was wondering what brought all this about and the French tore her a new one for no reason, telling her to stay in her country and that they didn't want her. Amazing. I have a friend who recently immigrated to France and I've got to tell you I'm worried about what the French think about her.

The email closed by saying:

Perhaps if we passed this email amongst ourselves, Americans, Canadians, Europeans, all citizens of the world would find a way to stand up and begin to speak and spread the same truths.
If you agree, please forward this message.

The only truth this email is spreading is: Whoever forwards this email TRULY is the stereotypical asshole with a small shriveled little heart and a closed mind.

Have a nice weekend,

Muchacho Enfermo

Best candy EVER

I can't stop eating this stuff! So I'm publicly proclaiming my love for it.
Where do you find Mexican candy in Montreal anyways?
Marxe... I'm going to need more of this!

Muchas gracias y un abrazo para ti!

Muchacho Enfermo

This. Is. Wrong.

Just in case you missed it, I circled the word HATE.

As some of you know from my previous posts I take a few classes at a local college.
In a place of higher learning, where most of the people I see and meet aren't white, I'm shocked to see such ignorant behavior. People come to this school to study, to get jobs, to contribute to society. Every possible sub-culture has a "club" in this school, from the Asian Student Association, to the Christian Student Union, to the Jewish Student Council, to the Punjabi Speaking Students Club, to the Spanish Club and even the Muslim Student Association (just to name a few).

A few weeks back, I had a decent chat with some of the students from the Muslim Student Association when they held a bake sale for a local food bank. I had awesome food from all over the world and talked about (what else) politics and I even schooled a few of them on the teachings of the Koran. It was entertaining as hell and most of the kids I spoke to agreed wholeheartedly with what I had to say and the one who didn't was ridiculed by his fellow Muslim students for being an idiot.

The picture is taken from a staircase directly above the Muslim Student Association's rooms and is meant to be seen by as many Muslim students as possible. Such a blatant act of ignorant hate and disrespect for people of other cultures upsets me to no end. We are a country of immigrants: when the French arrived the First Nations were already here we were guests in their country, then the English came, the Irish, the Scots, the Chinese and eventually people from all over the world. Get with the program people, we are a multi-cultural and plural society. If you can't deal with it become a survivalist and live in your basement, this land belongs to all of us.

Racism and intolerance is just wrong. period.

Muchacho Enfermo

Anti-Communist Blog Award

A few days ago I was awarded by Zurama the 2009 Apache Prize for being a tireless fighter against communism, As is tradition I must now bestow this award to bloggers I think are deserving.

I'd like to pass this award on to everyone in the Cuban blogosphere, from the well-known to the not so well known, from those in Cuba, to the expats, to those working tirelessly behind the scenes to bring freedom to a people and a voice to those who don't have one. This prize is for all of you.

Muchacho Enfermo

Off Topic: Help a friend!

VOTE HERE

The video is in french... but a friend of mine is a finalist to get on Deal or No Deal Quebec edition and I'd really appreciate the votes to help him get on!
So just click and vote.

Women's Rights Activitst Murdered in Kandahar

Sitara Achakzai, a woman with both German and Afghan citizenship had returned home in 2004 with the hope of helping rebuild her country. She was a prominent women's rights advocate, an elected official and a voice for progress in a country that sometimes seems hell bent on reliving the past. Her husband was teaching chemistry at Kandahar University, she was trying to help run a country. They both believed they could make a difference.

Kandahar is out of control, public assassination of women who dare voice their concern and their desire for society to move forward have been murdered on behalf of the Taliban. Minutes before her death Achakzai turned to a friend of hers, another female elected official and said: “I'm not afraid of death, I can go and get killed and it's no big deal.”

The sad state of affairs in Afghanistan is often downplayed in the media or at least does not have the prominent place it should seeing as we have thousands of Canadians there trying to help rebuild a country. Between the recent executions of prominent women and the newly passed (and now under revision) rape law, it seems clear that there are two forces at work here, in what seems to be a never ending tug-a-war, the progressive Afghans and those hell bent on keeping the status quo.

A friend close to Achakazi who wishes to remain anonymous was quoted as saying: “I want the world to understand how every person in this crazy place is feeling because this is a wake-up call to all of us that we could be next. The sad thing is nobody cares, it seems.” And perhaps her most poignant remark: "...this is how our country repays people. I have no faith in my government. I have no faith in the Taliban. I have no faith in the international community.”

I wish I could suggest something to help these courageous women, these progressive thinkers, but the only thing I can do from here is write about them and give them a voice from the this little blog. Trying to fix Afghanistan is kind of like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle with kids from all over holding the corner pieces. Except in this case the kids trying to bring you the corner pieces to help you finish the puzzle keep getting killed and no one does anything about it.

"I have no faith in the international community."

(source for quotes the G&M)

Muchacho Enfermo