Originally posted by Anton The Penguin:
A few questions to those anti-French people on this board:
a) do you think that The Statue of Liberty should be taken down or hated because it was French-made and a gift from the French to the States because of 100 independent years?
b) do you think that the French should change the colour of their flag because they are using your colours or vice-versa?
c) why should a country have to help another one in a war which it disagrees with, and if it doesn't agree to help, then it will be hated by the other country?
d) why do you think that changing French fries to Freedom fries is offensive to the French at all; especially when French fries are fatty, heart-attack causing pieces of dried up shit that were never French in the first place?
e) what is the point of discriminating France/the French when that is exactly what your country is supposed to be fighting against; discrimination...in fact, your country stands for freedom and equality. A contradiction? Damn right.
f) no matter what you say, your president is nowhere [b]near as suave and calm as Chirac.
g) France hasn't caused any wars since...what...Napoleon? Where as you have...let's see Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, spring to mind...along with a lot of secret bombing in places such as Libya, Laos, and Syria to name a few...France is a peaceful nation, no matter what you say.
h) how much would you people hate French Muslims?
i) are babies
never going to be called Claude, Pierre, Renard, or Marcell again?
j) name one American person who you can sincerely say was a better general than Napoleon.
k) this is more a question for people like Saladbar or Hollywood Hagan; how bad has anti-France gotten over there?
l) isn't a pacifist "country of love" better than one which causes numerous deaths and wars, in its own way? Maybe people in America are possibly better off in there than in France, but SERIOUSLY, France has not been responsible for many deaths since Napoleon...although the 95 nuclear testing was disgusting, America did its fair share as well. Also, how much freedom of speech does America have, really? I doubt you'll give me any convincing evidence...
m) and for a fun note: while you are making all these anti-French jokes, the rest of the world is making jokes about
you. Just to point that out, not to say anything immediately "bad".
Thank-you, and
think about it.
-Penguin [/b]
I spent the better part of last week arguing with one of the young posters about the war and the reasons for it. I'm still not convinced about all the reasons, but I don't think that affects my "anti-French" judgement. For that I have many reasons.
For your comments a&b, the statue is symbol and a gift, and really is irrelevent to any discussion of international politics. The flag? I wasn't aware that France, or the US had a legal claim to red, white, and blue. What about New Zealand? Netherlands, Norway. Again, an irrelevent discussion topic and one I hadn't heard until your post.
Item c is one I take issue with. The issue with France wasn't about getting their help, or even their support. I don't think anything the French could've added to the effort would have made anything go easier of smoother. Unless Napolean is around, going to France for military help is hardly viewed as necessary. It is about the threat of a veto in the UN Security Council that was the most irritating threat. France owes it's very seat on the Security Council to the United States - bought and paid for with thousands of lives in 2 World Wars, primarily the second. More than it's place on the council, it owes it's very existence. Germany ran over France like roadkill. Imagine the Oktoberfest celebrations that would be taking place today in Paris if we took the "peaceful" approach.
Items d & e are again, irrelevent issues since the French really have nothing the Americans want, so there really is no boycott or discrimination. No one really cares about "French" or "Freedom" fries, or about French imports. The wine is over-rated and nobody bought Puegeots or Renaults anyway.
f: I'm not even a Bush supporter, but give me a strong leader like him over the calm and suave Chirac any day. Robert Redford is calm and suave, but I don't endorse him as a leader.
g: Check the Vietnam debacle closely. The conflict in Vietnam began as a French issue when it was referred to as French Indochina. I know it's hard to believe, but France abandoned the area in turmoil and chaos.
h: what do French muslims have to do with anything?
i: I don't think there was a whole lot of demand for Claude, Pierre, Renard, or Marcell in the first place. Maybe as names for poodles, not kids.
j: I'd sent an American first team of Grant, Sherman, Pershing, Patton, and Lee against the accomplishments of Napolean. Anytime.
k: for saladbar and HH
L&M: I know no one has ever told me that I can't say anything I want, or what to say or think. I am free to form my own opinions, say what I think, do what I want. I'm sure the French people don't wish they lived in the US, and the US people aren't sorry they don't live in France. I'm happy here, and really couldn't care less about the opinions of other countries. As for the jokes, it's very easy to make jokes about the French and a lot of fun. Don't ignore the ability of the Americans to make fun of themselves, or criticize themselves. Check out the political cartoons, read Doonesbury, watch the Letterman/Leno bits. Comedy Central ran a series called "That's my Bush". If that's not evidence of freedom of speech, then what would qualify?
