Sure, freedom fries were kind of lame. [Archive]

clayton_e

03-20-2003, 08:39 PM

Its not just the renaming of "french fries" to "freedom fries", its the idea that an entire nation could just decide that one which has slightly opposing views (no war, but still anti-terrorist) could become ostracised just because of those views. If France had decided that the "Big Mac" should be renamed the "corporate invasion burger" I'm sure we would have had only few arrogant Americans (because of course we have a shortage of them) trashing little French cafes.

Jack Batty

03-20-2003, 08:43 PM

You've proved that there are idiotic form of protest in more that just the USA. Congratulations.

Apos

03-20-2003, 09:13 PM

Maybe they liked dark meat McNuggets better.

andygirl

03-20-2003, 09:16 PM

I saw our local MacDonald's sign advertise a "quarter pounder with freedom fries." I have to admit that I find this to be ridiculous and distasteful. I mean, what the fuck, is it considered more patriotic if you supersize?

clayton_e

03-20-2003, 09:18 PM

andygirl, If that happened in my town I would seriously consider "fixing" that sign.

Ike Witt

03-20-2003, 09:19 PM

Originally posted by andygirl
I mean, what the fuck, is it considered more patriotic if you supersize?

Considering the obese nature of a significant percentage of the population, the answer may well be yes.

andygirl

03-20-2003, 09:22 PM

Today I also saw a bumper sticker that said "You cowardly bastards, God Bless America!"

The linguistics major in me is having a field day with this.

Troy McClure SF

03-20-2003, 09:26 PM

Funny, over here we call that rioting (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/01/27/MN98171.DTL).

drm

03-20-2003, 09:27 PM

McDonalds is discusting. That restaurant has been begging to get trashed for a long long time. I figure it's just a big coincidence it finally happened in France, now.

NotWithoutRage

03-20-2003, 09:32 PM

I liked the dark meat nuggets a lot better.

sciguy

03-20-2003, 10:02 PM

On a completely non-war related hijack, I think "Corporate Invasion Burger" would be a great name for the Big Mac. But more for the way it sits like a lump of clay in my stomach than for any real political/economic reason.

MLS

03-20-2003, 10:03 PM

For some reason protestors in France felt the need to destroy a McDonald's.

Isn't it kind of silly for there to be a violent protest against McD's? After all, it's not as if somebody forced anybody to patronize them. If they are so out of place in the culture, why then, no one would go there, right? Not that I am saying McD's is a great place. It isn't, and I don't eat there myself if there's an alternative. I mean, if you had a choice of a nice sidewalk cafe or a McD's (or any other "fast food" place) it is kind of a no-brainer. Food is one thing the French do well. But rioting about it? Jeez.

Earl Snake-Hips Tucker

03-20-2003, 10:04 PM

I agree. I think "traitor taters" is a better term.

JimSox5

03-20-2003, 10:06 PM

A bit of a hijack here. . .okay, a lot of a hijack, but speaking of "freedom fries" and all, well, it suddenly occurred to me, does this mean that Larry Bird's hometown is now Freedom Lick?

Larry Mudd

03-20-2003, 10:10 PM

Tens of thousands in French anti-war demo outside Paris US embassy (http://www.spacewar.com/2003/030320212617.hn7pepkr.html)The demonstration in Paris was peaceful on the whole, except for one incident in which several students threw rocks at a McDonalds, breaking the windows of the restaurant, an AFP journalist reported. No one was injured.It only takes a coupla yahoos to spoil things.

What's newspeak for 'provocateur?'

mouthbreather

03-20-2003, 10:12 PM

Originally posted by Earl Snake-Hips Tucker
I agree. I think "traitor taters" is a better term.

Traitor tots?

Otto

03-20-2003, 10:13 PM

Originally posted by Larry Mudd
What's newspeak for 'provocateur?' "Freedom teaser."

Neurotik

03-20-2003, 10:34 PM

Originally posted by Larry Mudd
What's newspeak for 'provocateur?'
More importantly, what's the French word?

Una Persson

03-20-2003, 10:46 PM

Funny that every McDonalds I've been to in France is always packed to capacity. And I've been to several, on many, many occasions. :confused:

Fang

03-20-2003, 11:50 PM

See, the truth is, you have to understand the root causes behind the vandalism. Now I don't mean to condone it, but these things don't just happen in a vacuum. The French have clearly felt so oppressed and marginalized by our imperialistic renaming of their food that they had no other choice but to attack the McDonald's. I mean, imagine if they called American cheese "social welfare cheese" - how would you feel? In the future, if we want to prevent this sort of attack, we should enact policies which are not so culturally insensitive.

Larry Mudd

03-20-2003, 11:57 PM

Oddly enough, I've heard American cheese referred to as just plain "welfare cheese" more than once.

Medea's Child

03-21-2003, 06:19 AM

My chior gave out welfare cheese as an underachiever award. Yea, my chior had its not so PC moments.

And the fredom fries thing is really dumb, I could understand if France were actualy our enemy in this. (no, even then it'd be silly, just more logical) But they aren't, they're just bystanders who have expressed an opinion.

Muffin

03-21-2003, 06:49 AM

http://www.msnbc.com/news/885222.asp

Hentor the Barbarian

03-21-2003, 06:59 AM

Originally posted by andygirl
I saw our local MacDonald's sign advertise a "quarter pounder with freedom fries." I have to admit that I find this to be ridiculous and distasteful. I mean, what the fuck, is it considered more patriotic if you supersize? Could you alter the sign to take the "dom" off? Hell, I'd go get some if they're giving them away. Except my cholesterol is already too high.

Larry Mudd

03-23-2003, 04:22 PM

...but at least we didn't attack French based businesses.As far as isolated idiots are concerned, I think the French would have to put theirs on double-duty to catch up:

Vandals target French Cleaners (http://www.modbee.com/local/story/6411239p-7356678c.html)Fire destroyed the French Cleaners in Modesto early Wednesday, and later that morning the owners discovered obscene graffiti at their Turlock store and pellet holes in a window of the Ceres store.The destruction and damage came on the eve of the U.S.-led attack on Iraq, for which the United States tried and failed to get French support at the United Nations.

[...]

"The media were all over the French, with the french fries and the 'freedom' bread," said Pierre Frik, who owns and operates French Cleaners with his wife, Samira.
Frik, who became a U.S. citizen after immigrating from Lebanon in 1977, is Assyrian, not French. He and his wife opened their trio of French Cleaners stores in January 2002, and chose an Eiffel Tower logo to go with the name.
Sucks to be an middle-eastern with a "French" sounding business-name-- Good for double-points from xenophobic thugs.

Miller

03-24-2003, 12:55 AM

Originally posted by Neurotik
More importantly, what's the French word?

Okay, one of us was just whooshed. Was it you or me?

Zenster

03-24-2003, 02:03 AM

French fries will always be French fries, as with French roast coffee, French letters and French toast. This does not prevent the French government from being craven, sniveling, retarded, protectionist, disloyal and cowardly morons, it merely means that fine California wine will now sell like hotcakes.

Any questions?

Celyn

03-24-2003, 02:06 AM

Why not just call them "chips" you mad overseas lot?

:):):)

Kitfox

03-24-2003, 02:47 AM

'Cause then we'd have to call chips "crisps" and offer them in flavors like "prawn cocktail" and "liver and onions", and I just don't see that happening...

And so what if the French burn a McDonald's, they'll never get rid of them. Damn things are worse then cockroaches...

ctr22

03-24-2003, 04:38 AM

Hey muffin, what does your link have to do with french fries or McDonalds?

jjimm

03-24-2003, 04:53 AM

Originally posted by Larry Mudd
Tens of thousands in French anti-war demo outside Paris US embassy (http://www.spacewar.com/2003/030320212617.hn7pepkr.html)It only takes a coupla yahoos to spoil things.

What's newspeak for 'provocateur?' This happened in Dublin, Ireland, too. A thousand people protested on Thursday evening, and rocks were thrown at the embassy windows. Haven't seen the US media jumping on that, though.

Mnementh

03-24-2003, 07:14 AM

Originally posted by jjimm
This happened in Dublin, Ireland, too. A thousand people protested on Thursday evening, and rocks were thrown at the embassy windows. Haven't seen the US media jumping on that, though.

Isn't that a bit different, though? I mean, if you're hurling rocks at an embassy representing a certain country, you're expressing your displeasure with the agency that officially represents that country. Not just a highly recognisable brand name which happens to come from that country. Not that I like either, really, but it makes a lot more sense to me to be going after a government office than a restaurant.

jjimm

03-24-2003, 07:31 AM

Mnementh - I was referring to Larry Mudd's link about the Embassy protest - see my post and Larry's link.

curly chick

03-24-2003, 08:16 AM

jjimm

03-24-2003, 08:54 AM

The American embassy, according to Newstalk 106, live on the scene.

Short

03-24-2003, 12:57 PM

French's Mustard is still a-okay (http://www.bhgpr.com/release.cfm?prelease=398), thank god.

The sudden patriotic rage against the French and Germans rivals Duct Tape mania as the most surreal aspect of the war.

Demise

03-24-2003, 01:27 PM

It's obviously becoming a French tradition (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/812995.stm) to assault McDonald's (http://edition.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/04/19/france.explosion.02/).

kaylasdad99

03-24-2003, 01:56 PM

Originally posted by Zenster
it merely means that fine California wine will now sell like hotcakes.

Mmmmm, California wines (http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Main/Feature_Basic_Template/0,1197,1586,00.html)

Gorgon Heap

03-24-2003, 01:58 PM

From your second cite, Demise ...

No one claimed responsibility, but police were said to be looking at the Breton Revolutionary Army, a small, separatist group that favors independence for the Brittany region.

In other words, the BRA wants independance for Brittany.

Undergarments and pop culture aside, France has got some issues.

pizzabrat

03-24-2003, 02:05 PM

Huh? McDonalds' are always being attacked in France. This isn't new at all. This has nothing to do with anything.

Muffin

03-24-2003, 08:00 PM

Originally posted by ctr22
Hey muffin, what does your link have to do with french fries or McDonalds?

It gives a pretty good explanation why many nations no longer give the USA the benefit of the doubt, and are no longer willing to assist the USA. Thus France and a great many other nations not supporting the USA over Iraq.

Sublight

03-24-2003, 08:40 PM

There were anti-war protests in front of McDonald's in Japan, as well.

Damn those cowardly, traitorous Japs! If it weren't for us, they'd all be talkin'... uhh... Japanese.

clairobscur

03-25-2003, 06:54 AM

Originally posted by Miller
Okay, one of us was just whooshed. Was it you or me?

Sorry for the hijack, but I've been wondering for quite a long time : what does "whoosed" mean? I read it quite often on this board, I couldn't figure out its meaning.

By the way, concerning Mc Donalds...this brand became sort of a symbol of all possible evils, including but not limited to : globalization, american imperialism, bad hollywood movies, broke little farmers, GMO, exploitation of the third world, etc...It's true to such an extent that some years ago a Mc Donald in France was bombed (and a young woman cleaning the outlet killed)....by *Breton nationalists*. The reasons why someone wanting Britanny to become independant from France thought that a Mc Donald (as opposed to say, a french official building) was an obvious target is anyone guess....