| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 5/30/2008 1:22:12 AM |
An also until they grow a pair and quit surrendering every time someone invades their country just to preserve Paris... Pansies
By the end of the First World War, a total of 8,317,000 men, including 475,000 colonial troops, had been called up to fight in the French Army. France suffered 4.2 million casualties, including 1.3 million dead.
Some furthur "pansies"On April 30, 1863, a company of 65 legionnaires was ambushed by 2,000 Mexican troops at the Hacienda Camarón; in the resulting Battle of Camarón, the legionnaires resisted bravely for several hours and inflicted 300–500 casualties on the Mexicans while 62 of them died and three were captured One of the Mexican commanders, impressed by the memorable intransigence he had just witnessed, characterized the Legion in a way they've been known ever since, "These are not men, but devils!"Today, legionnaires recognize April 30 as "Cameron Day."
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 5/30/2008 7:32:11 AM | My understanding for the origins of the hate/contempt is that Americans believe that the French should be subservient to them for "saving their ass" in WW2. Of course, this ignores the fact that Americans didn't even bother entering the war until 1942... three years after other nations like Canada went into action and had lost thousands of soldiers. The entry into WW2 was as much self-serving to the US, Canada, Britain, and the others as it was an act to protect democracies. Had we not stopped these regimes, we would have been next. The war would have been fought on our soil.
But of course, Americans aren't exactly the most aware geopolitically. And so you get this hate. Remember "Freedom Fries?" France was against the war in Afghanistan, and so everything French was demonized.
France is an independent nation. A democratic nation. It has values separate from the US. People in America fail to realize this. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 5/30/2008 7:38:51 AM | The US waited to get into WW2 until we were dragged into it by being attacked. Canada was serving the crown, Britain had been at war with Germany for some time already. But lets not let facts get in the way of a political point.
And no, the war wouldn't have been fought on our soil (save the aleutians, which wasn't our soil yet)
Japanese leaders stated several times that invading the U.S. would have been suicide, and that it would not happen.
Germany possessed neither the shipping, nor the forward bases needed to invade North America.
And people should drop the whole freedom fry 'point'. It never caught on with anyone I saw. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 5/30/2008 8:02:47 AM | ... I'm with Tripper on this one.... we should take the damn green lady statue in NY harbor that blocks the view of the horizon and just air lift it right back to paris and drop it right on that nasty tower....that would have the added effect of keeping people from coming here maybe too as we wouldn't be telling the world to send us their slobs...
.... wait, being a NEOCON is too easy.... no challenge... requires no thought ...
.... I don't really know many French but the ones I have known seemed like they liked Americans well enough to emulate them to a point.... I have known Quebecois and have thoroughly enjoyed them.... | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 5/30/2008 10:12:41 AM | Dont French fries come from Belgium anyway?
Personally i think the hate stems from a certain sameness.
They look out for their own interests and America looks out for theirs.
the 2 countries butt heads sometimes.
A lot of Americans dont seem to appreciate France's culture and language which is a shame.
As for ww2
Easy to talk when you came in late, the German Blitzkreieg caught everyone by suprise. There was a British force in France that got its rear handed to it too.
Pansies?
forgetting Vietnam and whats going on now? | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 5/30/2008 10:32:08 AM | | I don't hate the french, but I find them a bit rude. I have been to France many times and the whole overall attitude seems to be very negative toward other cultures, especially the US. Don't know why though. Well, I kind of do. I have spoken with many and they think the US will deculturize them, so I can understand their aversion a bit. Maybe Americans can feel this tension somehow. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 5/30/2008 11:06:12 AM |
A lot of Americans dont seem to appreciate France's culture and language which is a shame.
I think that this is precisely where a lot of the irrational American dislike for France stems from. Many Americans imagine the French to be "elitists". I suppose it's a visceral thing. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/1/2008 6:56:23 PM | [People love to hate people...... and it's psychologically satisfying to pick someone to hate who deep down you feel a bit inferior to..... culturally.... intellectually.....whatever.
...so why not the French?]
You said this perfectly. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/1/2008 7:12:55 PM | Q: How many generations does it take to learn ingratitude?
A: Trois | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/1/2008 7:19:36 PM | People "hate" the French because what they are told by the media (or in most cases,by people that they think are smarter than they are) that the French are doing things aren't in the US' interests.
Since France is a sovereign nation,w/ interests and security that will almost certainly conflict w/ our own on occasion,it's either arrogance,naivety,or just plain old-fashioned stupidity (or some combination of the of three) to believe that the French (or anybody else ,for that matter) are always going to do what we want.
If people were more well-read and based their opinions on facts and logic rather than emotions and hearsay..it would be doubtful that there would be the levels of animosity that exist against France in this country.
There'd simply be no reason. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/2/2008 2:02:01 PM | There was a bunch of bullshit around the time of the Iraq invasion with France declining the join the coalition, they had the GALL (or should i say deGaulle?) to state that they wanted to see evidence of WMDS ... but our brilliant President Bush said, "I know they have 'em, I ain't waitin', he's a liar and we know it, I'm tired of waitin'" or some such drivel ........ and then the more patriotic (ahem,...) among us decided the French were BAD, unAmerican, and we disavowed ourselves of French fries and christened them Freedom Fries back in the day ........totally laughable.
We envy the French, they are a much freer and more open society, much more than America ......... vive la France!  | |
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NERO1
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Joined: 3/8/2008
Msg: 39 | |
| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/2/2008 2:14:14 PM | | Msg37, again I agree with you, and OP, I do not hate them at all or have anything remotely against them. Some Americans may, particularly in a certain ....demographic, probably more so. I've always admired many things about France however, personally. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/2/2008 2:22:08 PM | | Hatred helps us unite. There is a lot of division in this country, but if we can all find a common enemy we can blame that person for our problems. The French stepped up to the plate after 9/11 when they refused to support our invasion into Iraq. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/2/2008 2:31:18 PM | The French stepped up to the plate after 9/11 when they refused to support our invasion into Iraq.
______________
...and thank goodness they did refuse to support that invasion. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/2/2008 2:38:13 PM | | The French are always reticent to surrender to the wishes of their friends and always more than willing to surrender to the wishes of their enemeies. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/2/2008 10:42:09 PM |
and then the more patriotic (ahem,...) among us decided the French were BAD, unAmerican, and we disavowed ourselves of French fries and christened them Freedom Fries back in the day ........totally laughable.
Well said! And a little history on "freedom fries........On 11 March 2003, Representatives Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-North Carolina) declared that all references to French fries and French toast on the menus of the restaurants and snack bars run by the House of Representatives would be removed. House cafeterias were ordered to rename French fries "freedom fries". This action was carried out without a congressional vote, under the authority of Ney's position as Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, which oversees restaurant operations for the chamber. The simultaneous renaming of French toast to "freedom toast" attracted less attention.
The French embassy made no comment beyond pointing out that French fries come from Belgium. "We are at a very serious moment dealing with very serious issues and we are not focusing on the name you give to potatoes," said Nathalie Loisau, an embassy spokeswoman.
In May 2005, Representative Jones, having arrived at the belief that the United States went to war "with no justification", said of the "freedom fries" episode: "I wish it had never happened
By July 2006, the House had quietly changed the name of the food in all of its restaurants back to "French fries" and "French toast".
This would be hilarious if it were fiction! | |
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NERO1
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Joined: 3/8/2008
Msg: 44 | |
| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/3/2008 10:11:02 AM | ^^^ Yes. This was one of the more embarrassing episodes in regards to this topic, in recent times. I always made a point of stressing the FRENCH whenever I ordered fries during that ridiculous period. It reminded me again of that parody Will Ferrell character named "Ricky Bobby", the NASCAR driver, in the movie "Talladega Nights".  Of course we had someone with about Ricky Bobby's mentality running the administration at that time, so..... | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/3/2008 10:25:20 AM |
wait, being a NEOCON is too easy.... no challenge... requires no thought ... are you kidding? wasn't it the NEOCONS who sent troops to Afghanistan after 9/11/01? wasn't it the NEOCONS who finally overthrew Saddam and his regime and created a Democracy in Iraq? when the Democrats only talked about Saddam being a threat to the world..., it's just too easy for those NEOCONS they really should take on more challenging pursuits like the Democrats raising the minimum wage so more people can lose jobs.. or NOT doing anything to lower gas prices like they promised 2 years ago.. or not ending the War like they promised 2 years ago. Those dang NEOCONS are always following through when they say they will do something. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/3/2008 10:48:30 AM | Just like what happened in Vietnam, right? Another stunning success story.....
http://www.commondreams.org/views/041700-106.htm
Perhaps it is time to not only think but to also learn the lessons history has so clearly paraded right in front of us. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/3/2008 12:27:41 PM | Like invading Iraq was a good idea lol
An understanding of a foreign culture helps.
Not everyone wants an Ameican style system, when they have their own, sometimes thousands of years old. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/3/2008 6:58:07 PM |
Of course we had someone with about Ricky Bobby's mentality running the administration at that time, so
Indeed I think your insulting Ricky though. | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/3/2008 11:06:38 PM |
Like invading Iraq was a good idea lol so do you think we should have just dropped some bombs on Iraq to eliminate the so called WMD? like in 1998.. is that a better approach? | |
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| So much hatred but why?
Posted: 6/4/2008 12:21:31 AM | | Hindsight seems to say it was a better approach. No US fatalities and no more WMD's. Of course, any approach is better than the one this government took in 2003. | |
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