It's all of us as Canadians, as citizens of a pluralistic democratic country, who are retreating, who are afraid, who show little courage. I'll just use the example of the University of Ottawa and my president as an absolute example of lack of courage. I think that's the main reason. It's that we're moving backwards and are prepared to make concessions on words, first of all. As soon as we make concessions on words, then we're going to make concessions on things, on concepts, because words don't mean nothing. Words carry meaning. A word alone is a definition. It takes on its meaning in a sentence.
When we dance around the word beginning with the letter “n”, there's no one in the room right now who doesn't know what word the letter “n” refers to. To me, it's nothing more than hypocrisy. I absolutely agree that the word has a racist connotation. I agree that we must be mindful not to hurt others. However, as Albert Camus said, when you name something wrongly, you add to the world's misery. We start by retreating on things like words. It starts with something as simple as a word we won't say. Then, it's a concept that we won't confront. Then it's a course we won't teach. That's what happens after that. Then there's a professor who says that he is thinking of taking a sabbatical this session because he needs rest and doesn't want to be in constant confrontation.
So what has changed is us. At some point, all we have to do is put our fists on the table and not back down. I taught a philosophy course that covered big philosophical questions. These big philosophical questions—