Something that pisses me off

French bashing. Can't stand it. The French have been nothing but cool to me.

Of course, when I went there, I made an honest effort to speak french. I didn't try to stick out like a sore American thumb. And I was polite.

France and the French are really a very cool.

If I was a black jazz muscian back in the day, I might have gone there to live.

I wish folks in this country will lay off bashing this country's oldest and staunchest ally.

Enough is enough.

Now Belgium, on the other hand...

I moved to Quebec to learn French. I found the Quebecois were great to me...but I'm from BC and was told there is a special fondness for British Columbians in Quebec.

However, that said...Quebecois seem to dislike alot of groups

We went over with my grandparents last summer, for the 60th anniversary of D-Day. When people found out that my grandfather was a veteran of D-Day, they couldn't do enough for him, it seemed. "Merci beaucoup, mon ami", etc. .

:)

same way. I tired of Franch bashing and UN bashing.

I was not French bashing...I was pointing out that when I visited France some of the people were less than friendly to me, because I am a US citizen (I speak Spanish, but no French - and English).

Gotcha! :P I don't understand the resentment either - it's stupid. Apparently they were reluctant to participate in an unjust, illegal war :shrug:

See ya in 4.

:hi:

They supported us in the first Gulf War (with real combat troops on the ground), the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, the war in Kosovo and sent troops to Afghanistan. They did oppose our wars in Vietnam, and invasions of Grenada and Panama, and of course the war in Iraq. But few objective persons can fault them for that.

I think they are the only major power that the US has never been at war with.

actually, the french considered us pretty much a colony until after the war of 1812; they stopped our shipping as much as england did. but not since then


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

We went into Vietnam to save the French from a total meltdown. We took over their colony so that they could pull back and focus on Algeria. Of course, they wanted it back after we settled things down but we all know that never happened.

They, as much of Europe after WW11, were facing a stiff political push from communists. Eisenhower felt they should help out anyway they could, funding anti communist mercenaries in Greece and Turkey, helping the British and French hold the Mediterranean for democracy.

Also, we almost went to war with France and Britain in 1956 when the Nasser government of Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. The French and British persuaded the Israeli government to invade Egypt at the time to recapture the Canal. The British and French were going to offer naval and Air support.

Well, the Russians sided up to Nasser and we were left with egg on our face because neither London or P{aris thought they needed to discuss the situation before the tanks rolled....

So, we basically shut the whole thing down. The British understood, the French did not. De Gaulle used the event as a means of consolidating political power and started up the anti-American sentiment in France.

Eisenhower felt they should help out anyway they could, funding anti communist mercenaries in Greece and Turkey, helping the British and French hold the Mediterranean for democracy.

As far as I'm aware of the anti-communist mercenaries in both countries didn't really like much about democracy. In fact, if I remember correctly, we support the "Reign of the Generals" in Greece for a long time, how many thousand dissidents did they kill again?

That's what they were telling all of us back here in the good old US of A...

Anyway, to be totally accurate, it was Truman who started with the Mediterranean stuff....

Almost every car near where I live that has a "Boycott France" bumper sticker on it has a Bush/Cheney sticker next to it, too. :mad:

Really, all it's saying is, "you don't suck up to us enough so we hate you".
Freepers have the mentality of spoiled 7 year old children.

they are very cool. and their language is gorgeous.

As a result, I share your disgust with French-bashing. That's why I confront it on the (mercifully) rare occasions that I encounter it these days.

Now Belgium, on the other hand...

Miserable fat belgian bastards....;)

*image of John Cleese in the garden* "I hate 'em.....!!!"

:0

this is why the turd maggot repub politicians hate them.They have culture,art and question authority.Okay so they don't know how to rock&roll and started discos we should be big enough to forgive them for that because they gave the world food & wine and Bridget Bardot.

did the work of four american divisions. I don't like it either honest.

makes me feel terrible too--people who do so have no understanding of how the French helped us win our own independence in this country; have no idea of how our two countries' have histories which interweave each other.

And besides, the French were RIGHT about the war in Iraq being a mistake.

I view France as our honest friend. Anyone can tell the biggest superpower in the world they can do no wrong, but a true friend tells you the truth. That, in my opinion, is what France did. Their big "sin" was to request 30 more additional days for inspection and to tell Powell that his "evidence" of Iraq having WMD was insufficient. Well guess what? It was insufficient. Iraq didn't have WMD and France was right. If we had listened, then we wouldn't have to fly in so many flag draped coffins...not to mention the thousands of broken American soldiers and Goddess only knows how many dead and wounded Iraqi's.

And on a more personal note, I have yet to meet a French person I didn't adore. My daughter currently goes to a French school here in Texas and she's doing incredibly well. She's four years old, learning French and Spanish and just the other day she blew my mind doing arithmetic (and subtraction). She's FOUR! She told me in the car that "5 and 4 make 9". I almost wrecked the car. I had to pull into a parking lot and call everyone I know to brag. I'm taking my first French college course and she has already corrected me on my pronunciation. *sigh*

but i personally haven't met any french people i could stand to be in the same room with. maybe it's just the french that are rich enough to afford travel to america. but lord god . . . the ones i've met are way off the top of the asshole meter.

Fortunately I've had a much different experience. Every country has their fair share of idiots though and France isn't any different. I don't get the opportunity to meet many French people who are here visiting. Those here in TX I've met work and live here and are pretty cool. I've met some French tourists while I lived in Tokyo, but they were great...a little too great, we partied pretty hard together.

I've met Russian tourists that didn't impress me in the least but whenever I start to over generalize all Russians, I just humbly remind myself of the drunk American in Tokyo who had a screaming fit in McDonald's because they wouldn't accept his American dollars as payment for a big mac. Talk about embarrassing behavior. (true story)

it is so insane

Les Freepeurs sont des idiotes.

we did not have an "enemy of the week." The Russians no longer serve as a good enemy and Saddam has been overthrown...so the French it is.

Gotta keep Americans focused on some "other" to hate or else they may begin to look inward and see that things are not going so well right now and may want to hold Bush and his friends among Dems and Pugs accountable (think FRENCH Revolution here)

but apparently liberals, all Muslims, and all Arabs aren't enough to hate. Apparently the French must be hated as well. Poor Franklin must be rolling in his grave.

they saved our asses in the revolution at Yorktown! we never would've won and if we had, no way we lsat more than 10 years. they made sure we won and then survived! we are DEEPLY in their debt!

Yesterday while watching the History channel they are advertising a show about the French Revolution. Sounds good right? Well at the end of the advertisement it said something like... For 2 hours it won't kill you to love the French. Totally pissed me off. WTF! I'm tired of it. My mother-in-law is French. I love her to death and I worry about her all the time. Why the hell do people have to be so ugly? It gets old.

(History Channel ad: "For 2 hours it won't kill you to love the French".)

I was totally appalled, as was my wife. WTF are they thinking ?

Ran into the legendary "Paris State of Mind" and didn't like it. I suspect she ran a little of the Ugly American act and got what she had coming. Speaks not one WORD of French....

Guess she won't want to be my support when I ride Paris-Brest-Paris...Oh, well, "Je suis perdu!"

C'est La Vie!

If you're cool with the French, they're cool with you.

I knew that going there.

I boned up on my nifty french phrase book, showed some patience and humor and generally played it cool.

Things went nicely.

BTW, if you ever get a chance to scope out the French Riviera, you must go.
That place is the bomb!

Vive la France!

That's one helluva ride! Quite the memorable experience I am sure! You must be quite the randonneur! :hi:

But if you're gonna set your sights on something, you may as well go for all the baguettes, ne c'est pa?

Best part is, the next one is in '07, then '11 after that, so I have a few years to get ready (financially as well as physically)

I've done several "Metric Half-Century" rides, which is a fancy way to say I can handle 32 miles easily....

I respect France immensely. Compared to the French the Germans - and the Americans - are barbarians. I very much hope that France keeps up it's resistance to the American imperialists - and that Germany will keep sailing along.

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Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

I've been to France three times and loved it every single time. One of my favorite memories of all time was walking down Rue Cler on a crisp, sunny autumn Sunday morning. It was like a dream. sigh...

Or rather, we have to adopt a split-personality attitude to the French. We bitch about them at every possible opportunity, but then we buy loads of houses over there, drink their wine by the bucketload, eat vast quantities of their cheese and other foods, take most of our holidays there &c.&c.

The English Channel is the dividing line in the biggest love-hate relationship in the world.

(Oh and as we call 'French fries' chips, we never had to bother with the idiotic 'freedom fries' nonsense.)

states something like "it is okay not to hate the French for 2 hours" ?! Bugs me every time I see it.

Earth to History Channel -- the French said there were no WMD, said invadind Iraq was the wrong thing to do, etc. And they were right.

I thought it seemed a little crass. Of course, the large majority of B/C ads I saw during the election was on the History Channel. Kind of makes me wonder.

At the last place I worked, the CEO of our company boycotted all things French because of the Iraq War. :eyes:

My last name is French, so I always make sure to pronounce it as Frenchly (made up word, I know) as possible to hopeful elicit a stupid comment from any freeper who might be nearby.

to a jazz club in Paris called "Le Chat Qui Peche", where Donald Byrd and Miles Davis were playing. I think it was 1958 or '59. I got the impression that, they would have felt just as at ease and "at home" outside the club, which was heart-warming, since the UK has always been sadly racist.

Closer to home, our crowd went to a folk club in Wood Green (London), where an African Canadian called Champion Jack Dupree was performed. And what a character he was!

In the late fifties, lads didn't wear the stuff they wear these days: ear-rings, nose-rings, what have you. But Champion Jack had an emerald stuck in one ear-lobe! That kind of maverick flamboyance blew us away! he was a great performer too.