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I was wondering what most of you think about the 'FLQ'(Front de libération du Québec)? For those who don't know abot the FLQ; they wanted seperation of the province of Québec from Canada and a marxist government in Québec, they were socialist, militant and highly anti-US. They had planned to blow up the statue of liberty! But they were terrorists.
I personally hate them with passion but those feeling could have to do with me being a canadian, so what do others think about them?
Don't know much about them.
When you say "they were terrorist" you're saying that they were focoist? And didn't have support from Quebec?
I mean, if they are just another Weather Underground or something, then they probably wouldn't have been able to do much good.
But the idea they have sounds decent.....at least from what you described.
"Criticism must be sharp… If you do not do things well, I won't be satisfied with it, and if I offend you, I offend you, and that's that. To be afraid of offending people is nothing more than being afraid of losing votes and being afraid of having difficult relations in one's work with one's co-workers. Will I starve if you don't vote for me? Nothing of the sort. Actually, relations will be smoother if you speak out and put the problem clearly on the table… A bull has two horns because it has to fight. One purpose is for defense and another purpose is for offence. I have often asked comrades, Have you grown any horns on your head?' You comrades can feel your heads and see… I think that it's better to grow two horns,' because that conforms to Marxism" - Mao
What would you being a Canadian have to do with you hating a Quebecois Marxist-nationalist group?
"Getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried, but I can't." - Harvey Pekar
Chauvinism.
"Criticism must be sharp… If you do not do things well, I won't be satisfied with it, and if I offend you, I offend you, and that's that. To be afraid of offending people is nothing more than being afraid of losing votes and being afraid of having difficult relations in one's work with one's co-workers. Will I starve if you don't vote for me? Nothing of the sort. Actually, relations will be smoother if you speak out and put the problem clearly on the table… A bull has two horns because it has to fight. One purpose is for defense and another purpose is for offence. I have often asked comrades, Have you grown any horns on your head?' You comrades can feel your heads and see… I think that it's better to grow two horns,' because that conforms to Marxism" - Mao
Right, that's what I was attempting to get at in my rhetorical question. Sorry if I didn't make it clear.
"Getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried, but I can't." - Harvey Pekar
The FLQ is far too nationalist for me to support them. They see Quebec as being a nation for Francophones, completely forgetting that French Quebecois are at very best the second residents of that land. There are still the decendants of the indigenous peoples of what is now called "quebec", but these are an afterthought to the FLQ. The Quebecois right to autonomy comes second to the rights of First Nations self determination, of which they are still denied. Unfortunately, it looks like the Quebecois seperatists have a far better chance at soveriegnty than the First Nations do.
<span style=\'color:red\'>Liberty without Socialism is privilege, injustice; Socialism without Liberty is Slavery and Brutality.
-Mikhail Bakunin</span>
<span style=\'color:gray\'>The assumption that what currently exists must necessarily exist is the acid that corrodes all visionary thinking.
-Murray Bookchin</span>
<span style=\'color:red\'>When we ask for the abolition of the State and its organs we are always told that we dream of a society composed of men better than they are in reality. But no; a thousand times, no. All we ask is that men should not be made worse than they are, by such institutions!
-Peter Kropotkin</span>
i agree with ewok, but with a lot more sympathy for the flq, which i saw traces of i visits to quebec and in former sympathizers living in the states. i think they were a good, legit, leftist group, and not terrorists. i think in the west, armed political groups are often called terrorists bcuz of a socialized sense of hegemony, normalcy and stability of the current system, which is of course false but temporarily appears real.
I was reading about the FLQ and the October Crisis the other day. The FLQ kidnapped a bunch of politicians and the government declared martial law.
Yeh, it is rather reminicent of another time. Once upon a time, members of the French and Dutch resistance to Nazi Imperialism were dubbed terrorists as well. It is by no means a new buzz word, just a different language to frighten people with its use. I am not wholly opposed to the FLQ, indeed, I have far more sympathy for them than I do for the Bloc Quebecois, who are for the most part ubernationalists that pay lip service to socialism. Still, even the bloc is by no means the worst party we have, and If i lived in quebec, I would vote for them before I vote conservative, liberal, green, and I would flip a coin to vote bloc or NDP. But I am an Ontarian.
note: I dont vote because I think it will change a thing, I vote because it gives me arguing rights with people who cling to mainstream political beliefs. That having been said, the Canadian electoral system is far superior to that of our barbaric neighbours to the south (no offense to any americans here, I mean your systems are barbaric by comparison) in that we dont have a choice between the same damn thing but with a different animal. It is much more 3rd party friendly up here.
<span style=\'color:red\'>Liberty without Socialism is privilege, injustice; Socialism without Liberty is Slavery and Brutality.
-Mikhail Bakunin</span>
<span style=\'color:gray\'>The assumption that what currently exists must necessarily exist is the acid that corrodes all visionary thinking.
-Murray Bookchin</span>
<span style=\'color:red\'>When we ask for the abolition of the State and its organs we are always told that we dream of a society composed of men better than they are in reality. But no; a thousand times, no. All we ask is that men should not be made worse than they are, by such institutions!
-Peter Kropotkin</span>
i agree with almost everything said in ewok's above quote, minus some PC stalinist criticisms i have about the uses of the words barbaric (originally a racist term relating north africans with savagery) and american (since canadians like yourself and latin americans like me are also americans).
They're more than terrorists, they executed a political figure for fuck sakes. They also staged a terrorist attack on Canadian soil. They were the only group to ever cause a Prime Minister to declare Marshall Law and that is why I respect Pierre Elliot Trudeau a heck of a lot. I hate those cock suckers because they do not represent Canadian unity, and frankly, I cannot support that. I love Quebec, why would I want them to separate.
"Struggle until victory forever."
- Che Guevara
"Knowledge makes us accountable."
- Che Guevara
"Condem me, it does not matter: history will absolve me"
- Fidel Castro
Keep revolution in your hearts, and put your heart into the revolution.
They're more than terrorists, they executed a political figure for fuck sakes. They also staged a terrorist attack on Canadian soil. They were the only group to ever cause a Prime Minister to declare Marshall Law and that is why I respect Pierre Elliot Trudeau a heck of a lot. I hate those cock suckers because they do not represent Canadian unity, and frankly, I cannot support that. I love Quebec, why would I want them to separate.
"Struggle until victory forever."
- Che Guevara
"Knowledge makes us accountable."
- Che Guevara
"Condem me, it does not matter: history will absolve me"
- Fidel Castro
Keep revolution in your hearts, and put your heart into the revolution.
They're more than terrorists, they executed a political figure for fuck sakes. They also staged a terrorist attack on Canadian soil. They were the only group to ever cause a Prime Minister to declare Marshall Law and that is why I respect Pierre Elliot Trudeau a heck of a lot. I hate those cock suckers because they do not represent Canadian unity, and frankly, I cannot support that. I love Quebec, why would I want them to separate.
"Struggle until victory forever."
- Che Guevara
"Knowledge makes us accountable."
- Che Guevara
"Condem me, it does not matter: history will absolve me"
- Fidel Castro
Keep revolution in your hearts, and put your heart into the revolution.
I hate them too, I have a strong opposition to all nationalists.
"How you cling to your purity, young man! How afraid you are to soil your hands! All right, stay pure! What good will it do? Why did you join us? Purity is an idea for a yogi or a monk. You intellectuals and Bourgeois anarchists use it as a pretext for doing nothing. To do nothing, to remain motionless, arms at your sides, wearing kids gloves. Well, I have dirty hands. Right up to the elbows. I've plunged them in the filth and blood. But what do you hope? Do you think you'll govern innocently?"-Jean-Paul Sartre
Well as someone who has been living in Quebec for the last 10 years I figured I had better weigh in on this one...
The FLQ were very similar to the WUO, mostly angry young people who were not really involved in the mass struggles that were going on at the time.
They proclaimed socialism, and had some limited ties to the Black Panther Party(this was from what I have heard from antecdotal evidence initiated by the Panthers who saw the Quebecoise correctly as an opressed minority waging revolutionary struggle at the time). I think there were far more interesting things going on in the labour/communist movement at the time but again, history is written by petty burgeoise intelectuals so the Iniversity students stole all the thunder...
The sad legacy of the FLQ is that although at the time they were very left wing and anti imperialist, the people who have been active here are now very right wing, anti immigrant and anti communist.
I think many canadian youth oppose the legacy of the FLQ for the same reason as many american youth I have talked to opoesed the Panthers, that is Chovanism/subcontious racism.
The seperatist movement has been very influencial in the left here, with the unions being some of the biggest bases of support for quebec seperarism, but this has also had serrious negeative impacts with the unwillingness of the union leadership and much of the intelegencia to be openly critical of the seperatist parties(bloc and PQ).
I will include a recent NEFAC article written by members from quebec city that articulates our position on "the national question".
Notes on the National Question
NEFAC North Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists.
http://anarchistblackcat.org/ Strongly moderated International Anarchist Communist discussion board.
Anarkismo.net International Anarchist Communist News and Views. Multilingual.
Libcom.org Class Struggle Resource.
Labourstart. Where labour unionists start their day.
FLQ are losers because they represent separation from Canada (where I'm from), however, a group like the IRA represent unity and the end of oppression. That's why I hate the FLQ.
"And behold, a pale horse, and the name that sat on him was death and Hell followed with him." - Revelations 6:8
"Condem me, it does not matter: History will absolve me." - Fidel Castro
Out of interest, why do the IRA represent "unity"? The republicans want unity for Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, the loyalists argue they want to retain unity for Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, so they both argue they want unity. Unless I've misunderstood what you're meaning by the term??
For the "comrades" who said they hate FLQ because they wanted sovereignty for their nation; you're straight up fucking KKKanadian nationalists, and fuck you.
The land known as Kanada is made up of many oppressed nations denied their sovereignty. Communists should lay their priority on the First Nations people winning their struggles. We should not allow Quebec nationalism to ever take priority over the First Nations. In that sense, the FLQ was chauvinist. Also, back in those days ('60s-'70s) Quebec was a lot more oppressed by Anglo Kanada - all the bosses were Anglo. Now Quebec has it's own bourgeoisie as compradors of KKKanadian bourgeoisie. This is how the Kanadian bourgeois bought off Quebec, and some would argue (such as PCR-RCP(OC)) that Quebec is even an imperialist country in itself now. That said, Quebec is still a nation of people which deserve the right to build it how they choose. The absolutely least important thing for communists is what so-called "Kanadians" think about Quebec. Fuck white-KKKanada!
For the "comrade" that says Quebec isn't all Francophone; have you ever even been to Quebec? Only in Montreal will you find 50% English and 50% French speakers. The rest of Quebec is about 90% French.
And for the "comrade" calling himself FidelCastro who likes PET; FUCK PET. This martial law was a nice excuse for the RCMP and CSIS to arrest over 1,000 leftists - not just in Quebec - all over KKKanada. Many people involved with the party I support were arrested and held for periods of weeks to months with no explanation, many lost their jobs/apartments/etc because of this. PET was a complete tool of Anglo-Kanadian imperialism and a fucking reactionary anti-communist POS.
FLQ were NOT terrorists. Since when was targeting politicians terrorism? IMO attacking coroporate buildings, political and military sights is NOT terrorism. Bombing subways and food courts is, but then again western imperialist armies are slaughtering civilian zones all the time well we eat drink and live like petty-bourgeois workers; on their blood.
Neo-Maoist rants: http://marcelthemaoist.blogspot.com The Commie Geek: http://mistax1337.blogspot.com
You are a sadly missinformed individual, "comrade".
Neo-Maoist rants: http://marcelthemaoist.blogspot.com The Commie Geek: http://mistax1337.blogspot.com
I hope Quebec seperates. I will move to montreal. The conservatives will never win in quebec. I hate alberta.
