For those unfamiliar with Quebec politics, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about with those s-words, “sovereigntist” and “separatist”. Or why the use of one or the other can get people all up in arms.
Here’s Pauline’s take on the issue:
Sovereignty, after all, is a noble cause in our age especially in a democratic setting. Who would have the heart to deny a people their sovereignty?
Separation, on the other hand, can be messy.
Just ask any pair of conjoined twins.
So, it’s a case of spin, whitewashing, Disney-ficiation, the end justifies the means, etc. etc. Whatever.
To that I’ll just add that most separatists would prefer that we use neither word; both are in dreaded English.
The real point of that blog entry, which was obscured because I danced around it for various reasons, was that the very same person who wrote the letter to the Gazette (nit picking about separatist/sovereignist) had written some rather offensive Usenet posts a couple of years ago.
Just follow the links from the entry referenced.