# Hey, France, this isn't helping... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 3, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-france-this-isnt-helping/166263 "2003-04-03T18:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-france-this-isnt-helping/166263/1 "2003-04-03T18:26:39Z")
[War Cemetary Vandalized](http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/iraq040303/page.cfm?objectid=12800539&method=full&siteid=50082) I haven’t taken part in the France bashing going on throughout the SDMB, but this incident isn’t going to help France’s image, here or anywhere else. If France wants to put on an air of ungratefulness (is that a word?) for the assistance of Americans, British, and Canadian soldiers during the two World Wars, in whatever capacity the assistance was given, that is fine. If France wan’t to adopt a policy of non-involvement, that is their perogative. However, vandalizing a cemetery which holds the remains of people who gave their lives for France, and who have _nothing at all_ to do with the current war in Iraq, is pathetic. …and we’re the ugly ones…:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-france-this-isnt-helping/166263/2 "2003-04-03T18:31:59Z")
Well, but “France” didn’t do that. > [@](#): > > The vandalism was condemned by Jack Lang, the Socialist former education and culture minister, who represents the Pas-de-Calais region in the French National Assembly. . . Police, local authorities and ordinary people in the area were supporting the Commission in the effort to find the perpetrators. France seems to be collectively condemning the vandalism. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-france-this-isnt-helping/166263/3 "2003-04-03T19:10:31Z")
My point is that it will not help keep France from continuing to be the butt of jokes. It was an embarassing incident for the French government, to be sure, and I am sure that however the government of France feels about the US and/or our involvement in the war, they are shocked that this incident happened at all. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-france-this-isnt-helping/166263/4 "2003-04-03T19:17:20Z")
Indeed. You can’t blame all French people for this act of vandalism anymore than you could blame all pro-lifers for the few who have murdered abortion doctors. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-france-this-isnt-helping/166263/5 "2003-04-03T19:23:15Z")
Well morons that hold an entire country responsible for the act of a couple of drunk bigot 18 year olds, will probably get in a bunch about this. The rest of us will move on, and think about how much of a fucked up world we live in where stupid things like that happen. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-france-this-isnt-helping/166263/6 "2003-04-03T19:56:35Z")
I did not see [Azael’s thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174593) covering this topic as well. As his was posted first, I will e-mail a mod and ask him to close this one.