Love to Learn, Learn to Love.

JuicyLesson 166: More Aislin election cartoons over the years … Shout outs as well to the young at heart including: Nathalie (x2), Diana, Brenda, Carl, Jock, John Fasciano – the editor of my upcoming book – and Hilton. Thanks to Ezra Soifferman for helping me out of a jam not of my own making, I swear, not in any way, and to Jase B.

First thing is that I realize that de youth of today, the generation immediately following ours, those as old as forty, do not know their Quebec/Canada history as well as I had hoped that they did which impacted on their understanding of Aislin’s cartoons.

For instance, a shout-out to the intelligent, talented, compassionate and caring MCAS worker, around forty years of age, who never even heard of Levesque, let alone know what he looked like, and in caricature, fugget aboud it.

Shout outs as well to the young at heart including: Nathalie (x2), Diana, Brenda, Carl, Jock, John Fasciano – the editor of my upcoming book – and Hilton. Thanks to Ezra Soifferman for helping me out of a jam not of my own making, I swear, not in any way, and to Jase B.

And what’s more, from some of the feedback I’ve been getting, I believe that most visits to www.AJuicyLesson.net have so far emanated from the above-mentioned cohort, those kids between the ages of thirty and forty.

What I am trying to say is that the cohort from which most of my visitors come doesn’t appear to know Quebec history well enough to “get” some if not most of Aislin, especially the cartooning he did prior to the birth of this cohort thirty-five years ago in 1980, the year of the first referendum which got stomped 60% NO vs. 40% YES, a victory so total that only one of Quebec’s administrative regions – Saguenay-Lac-St.-Jean – voted for the OUI/Yes.

I will therefore add some explanation beginning with one from yesterday where Levesque on the left tells Bourassa and everyone in Quebec to take a Valium.

This was on a famous date in Quebec history, November 15, 1976, when Rene “Quebec” Levesque and his PQ (PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS for you non-Canadian and or non-Quebec readers [2]), won the provincial election, bringing a separatist government into power for the first time.
[2] I have visits from as far away as India, Azerbaijan, England, and Hong Kong.

A really surprising turn of events – could have knocked the Anglo community over with a feather…and then they leave …lots and lots of them; hence yesterday’s toon with a cute-assed naked little Levesque waving bye-bye … “Did we get his wallet … ” Check them out.

You have one today with cute little Levesque sliding down Robert Bourassa’s long nose – and “long” is putting it mildly, very mildly. But look closely at Bourassa’s face. There are two noses there, perhaps even three! A true momentum-builder for Levesque during the late 80’s – early 90’s leading to a close referendum loss for the “OUI” in 1995.

Notice how the cartoonist Aislin – Terry Mosher is his real name – treats the following people in terms of how he presents them graphically:

Rene Levesque – treated pleasantly, kind of sad-sack, sometimes portrayed “uncutely”.

Trudeau – pretty much the same as Levesque but with some ugliness like in 1980 Night of the Long Knives cartoon which I have Not had the time to even look for as yet.

Yesterday’s Juice (#165) contains some information about the screwing Quebec took at that constitutional conference. The offshoot was that Quebec has never officially signed the 1982 Canada Act, Trudeau’s patriated constitution. Today’s featured cartoon (see above) reprises the one a previous JL, appropriate to that particular sequence of events. GET IT.

Robert Bourassa of the Nose – very unpleasant treatment

Parizeau – in his cups, drunken floozy-type

Lucien Bouchard – the pope wrapped in the flag, biker

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And a final shout out to my dear and good friends Hilton Ruggles and John Fasciano, the latter the editor of my book as well as the provider of gems like this one from the humble, dignified and wise Mother Teresa:

Everything is God’s work.
I have done nothing of myself.
I am nothing but a little pencil
in the hands of God.

Not only does she see herself as a “a pencil” but also as “little”.
Really respect that. Or respect that, really!

Peace.

2 Comments

  • Jase B. says:

    This 39 year old didn’t vote in 1980, but I remember the large ‘NON’ red button pins. I’d like to think I get most of the Aislin cartoons, but it takes a prof like you Jerry to remind us youngsters of the finer points from past politics. I’ll speculate that those 30-40 in age must have been from your most memorable and meaningful classes taught? Thanks for continuing to educate Jerry, Jase B. Bialik ’92.

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