Ugly and proud

Just when we thought things were getting pretty quiet on the home front — and might have stayed that way for the rest of the summer — Montreal city councillor Marvin Rotrand has to poke at that wasps' nest of political unease by aiming a few ill-advised words in the general direction of Montreal's English-speaking population.

Those words, as everyone knows by now, were "ugly Anglos."

Rotrand's barbs were supposed to be directed at certain residents of demerged cities on the West Island. But let's face it, as the proud, undisputed leader of the demerger movement and by far the most vocal anti-Agglom voice on the island, Westmount should be counted first and foremost among that group, even if it is geographically removed from the West Island by a few miles.

'Ugly Anglo' may be meant as an insult, but it is even more insulting to be overlooked by Mr. Rotrand. After all the placard-waving, door-to-door canvassing and referendum preparations, nobody deserves to be called ugly more so than Westmounters.

Westmount's role as the angriest of Anglo communities — hence, we can assume by Mr. Rotrand's definition, also the ugliest — is something that we continue to thrive on. Not only is it ultra-cool to despise mega-Montreal after all the low-down shenanigans of the past decade, in Westmount it is practically a way of life. If, in the course of your everyday activities, you regularly come across an item bearing the words 'Hands Off My City' somewhere around your home, you have a good idea as to how well-engrained the whole anti-megacity mentality has become in this community.

Of course, 'Ugly Anglo' is a far cry from the much-celebrated Westmount Rhodesian comment of yore — in fact it may not even merit a mention in the Bowser & Blue songbook — but the ensuing public outcry against Mr. Rotrand's comments has ensured its notoriety for quite some time to come. An apology was demanded of Mr. Rotrand at last Monday's Montreal City council meeting, and was one was given, albeit with the clear explanation that his words were taken completely out of context. Fair enough — but no words can assuage Mr. Rotrand's insult-by-omission, however unintentional.

You want ugly? Never mind the West Island. Look right here in Westmount!