# Leave Us Abuse The French....... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 16, 2000, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521 "2000-08-16T01:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/41 "2000-08-16T16:08:38Z")
**Spider** , I’m not quite sure whether that was a thinly veiled insult or not, but never mind. Nobody has a problem with your annoying house guest. Hell, if I was in your position I’d be hopping mad, and rightly so. The only problem I had is that you used it as an excuse to label all French people. For what it’s worth, I don’t believe you’re a genocidal maniac. But please pick your words more carefully before you let fly at millions of people because of one ill-mannered individual. You may well not be xenophobic at all; but if all I have to go on is posts like that one you sure as hell look like one. This is a message board; there’s no way for me to tell with any accuracy how sarcastic you’re being. That’s when people get labelled racist, or xenophobic, or whatever else. ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/42 "2000-08-16T16:13:54Z")
French artists? Goddard, Bridget Bardot, Jaques Demy, Truffant, PIcaso (not french but spent much time in Paris), Marcel Duchamp, Catherine Deneuve, Clouzot, and many others. Thank you but I will take my Young Girls of Chambourd any day. ---
**Author:** ![Spider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Spider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spider)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/43 "2000-08-16T16:14:18Z")
Good enough for me, Mattk. That was a thinly veiled insult (I was rather proud of it actually) but i take it back. I think we’re straight now. I was making a generalization, it was meant to be taken in :rolleyes: form, there was confusion, but we all good now. Thanks for being cool about it. I still don’t like tourists. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/44 "2000-08-16T16:29:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spider \* > \*\* > You know, among all these educated people, its kind of sad to find individuals who need :rolleyes: or [sarcasm] to tell them how to interpret something. If you really believe I am a xenophobe or racist, hey, whatever. In my opinion, racists have one purpose: septic tank liners. > > Anybody who understands I have a problem with a houseguest and not genocidal tendencies, you get props. > > Anybody who thinks I really believe I am superior in any way to anybody else b/c I live in NYC, go chase yourself. > > I really can’t believe I’m getting more flak for my anti-french-guy-in-my-apartment than I am for my clearly hypocritical stance on tourists. > > Iampunha, comeon, you’re smarter than this. > Mattk, comeon. \*\* 1. When we do not know the individual who is addressing us, some of us are more apt to take him/her for his/her word. I see no reason to do this here, when I do not know you well enough to know if you are being sarcastic or serious. 2. I do think racists have some purpose . . . to show us why we should nto judge people by how they look or the language they speak or other things, but by who they are 3. I can see you having a problem with your houseguest, but using him as judgment for an entire nation is a bit much. 4. With the somewhat pompous manner in which you stated the bit about living in NYC, I find it hard to believe you didn’t see anyone would take you at your word. 5. I find it relatively useless to argue about hypocrisy with hypocrites. Somewhat like trying to reason with someone who will not listen to you. All I can say is that I hope you are never a tourist so you don’t encounter exactly what you are describing. 6. I am smart enough to know that it is wiser to take someone at their word on a message board such as this when such strong views are voiced and the person sees nothing wrong with it . . . AND when it is not obvious by such tags as you indicated earlier that the person is joking. With people I know better than you, I do not as often assume such seriousness to be the case. That said, it’s nice to know you don’t hate the French with a passion because of one bad apple - er, frog:) In the future, you may want to avoid assuming that people will know you’re being sarcastic in cases where you discuss killing entire nations and cab drivers who shoot patrons in the back of the head. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/45 "2000-08-16T17:04:21Z")
I know I really shouldn’t say this, but I find the idea of a New Yorker complaining that someone else is rude, obnoxious and smelly, extremely amusing. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/46 "2000-08-16T17:15:17Z")
Why’s that, wolfy? They may be stereotyped as being such, but does that mean every NYer smells horrible, is incredibly rude, etc? ---
**Author:** ![Spider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Spider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spider)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/47 "2000-08-16T17:18:06Z")
Wolfman, run. Run while there’s still time. You racist. ---
**Author:** ![JavaMaven1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JavaMaven1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JavaMaven1)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/48 "2000-08-16T17:44:13Z")
I toured France about 10 years ago; I never ran into any rudeness, even though my French is sorely limited. Why hate them, really? They have a different way of life, just like any culture–and if you’re uncomfortable with it, then just stay the fuck away from it. Besides, I love the Louvre–looking up through the glass pyramid, from the inside; it makes me feel like I’m in a giant glass of gin and tonic. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/49 "2000-08-16T18:02:26Z")
Well as long as im coming clean about my racism I guess I should admit to being and anti-Wesleyite. I hate people named Wesley. I have met about 6 Wesleys, all pricks.They are all stuck-up, wormy, little sycophants who deserved to have large numbers of railroad spikes driven through various points of anatomy. ---
**Author:** ![tradesilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tradesilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tradesilicon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/50 "2000-08-16T19:01:34Z")
Fuck That! You don’t get to pick on Wesleys! That’s where I draw the line! I can see how nothing is off limits to some of you stinkin’ haters. I tolerated the picking on French, and New Yorkers in this thread. But NOT WESLEYS!! Dammit, someone has to stand up for the little people. You can just take your incensitive, Wesley-hating ass to New York, and get spat on by French Tourists staying at Spiders House! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/51 "2000-08-16T20:08:15Z")
Wolfman: Go fuck yourself. Says, Matthew Wesley McLauchlin ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/52 "2000-08-16T20:10:39Z")
make that seven 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/53 "2000-08-16T20:49:46Z")
Wy only experience with a Wesley was the character portrayed on Star Trek. Hmmmm. Hmmmm. [thinking] Ok, that’s it, we have to exterminate the lot of them. Except for of course those who’s first name is not wesley. I wouldn’t want to do anything to matt here. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/54 "2000-08-17T00:49:23Z")
I started this thread when I was annoyed by the absurd conceit implied in the Yahoo verdict. (By the by, this is not an apology. I never apologise for anything I post in The Pit. That’s why I put this crap in The Pit in the first place.) Snails, frogs’ legs—Damn Frenchies ain’t fishin’; theys eatin’ the bait!! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/0ea827/32.png) [@Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zaphod_Beeblebrox)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/55 "2000-08-17T21:11:49Z")
I was going to post a long, indignant reply. Then, I noticed that the OP was written by someone who couldn’t spell “collaborate,” and it made it all feel much less important for some reason. Well, aside from the fact that saying that the French collaborated with the Nazis is a gross simplification. ---
**Author:** ![bradysg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc348/32.png) [@bradysg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bradysg)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/56 "2000-08-18T01:52:45Z")
_cough_ Vichy _cough_ ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/57 "2000-08-18T05:04:45Z")
_cough_ de Gaulle _cough_ ---
**Author:** ![Grendel69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7bcc69/32.png) [@Grendel69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grendel69)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/58 "2000-08-18T05:23:30Z")
\ Bridgette Bardot \ ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/59 "2000-08-18T16:45:14Z")
Grendel, you are revolting!! Stay **away** from my grandmother! ---
**Author:** ![NiceGuyJack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/niceguyjack/32/3069_2.png) [@NiceGuyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NiceGuyJack)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521/60 "2000-08-18T19:53:13Z")
About nine years ago I fell for a French girl. I fell hard, like watermelon dropped from a tall building. The word “love” could not even begin to describe what I felt for her. She was the light, I was the moth. I was drawn and I could not pull away. Yeah friends warned me, but did I listen? How could I? When she turned her big beautiful eyes at me I became deaf, blind and mute. Oh but do I wish I had listened, do I wish I could have seen, I wish I could have spoken. I was a tootsie roll. All was sweet and dandy while she was sucking the candy. But when she got to the tootsie roll, she began to chew. Yeah she chewed and chewed, and I was still deaf, blind and mute. When she got to the stick she threw me away like some disposable garbage. I was used up. She ran away with a Dutch Economist, (I wonder how long he lasted?) Our relationship lasted six months, it took me six years to recover. Unfortunately, I now feel ill every time I’m exposed to anything French. No offense, it’s just that it brings up my memory of her, and for some reason my immediate reaction is to reject my lunch. I’ve never loved again. She cured me from that crap. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leave-us-abuse-the-french/29521.md?page=4)