# Screw you guys, I like the French **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 13, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194 "2003-03-13T22:30:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Demise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@Demise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demise)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194/21 "2003-03-14T03:10:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Yumanite \* > **Could you explain how the French are being jingoistic (because I don’t see that at all)?** You mean, when they aren’t [mobbing together and tearing down McDonalds](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/812995.stm) because it’s “eroding” their culture? > [@](#): > > \*\*Beside, even if the French ARE being jingoistic assholes, I’m personally far more disgusted by the American juvenilia because I’m, you know, American. It reflects badly on me personally, and is very embarassing. \*\* Understandable. Doesn’t excuse the French though. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194/22 "2003-03-14T03:12:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuco \* > **OK, they didn’t do too well in WWII, who did? Don’t tell me loosing 1,000,000 US and UK servicemen on the ‘minor’ European front was doing well.** First off, this is just silly. Where the heck did you come up with one million combined US/UK losses. I hope you didn’t make the casualties=killed mistake. The combined losses of the US and the UK in Europe were only around 700,000. And I’m not sure how many of those US losses were in Europe and how many were in the Pacific. If you throw in French military losses you get 900,000. But if you tack on British and French civilian losses you come up with a bit over a million. Perhaps that’s what you meant, 1,000,000 US, UK and French servicemen and civilians in the European front. And to fill out the rest of your list: **Regis Philbin** - Annoying television morning and game show host. **P.J. O’Rourke** - conservative commentator and comedian **John McCain** - he really is the Arizona Senator. Also the Republican that came closest to knocking Bush out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. And a war hero. **Jay Leno** - another comedian **David Letterman** - really more of a comedian than generic entertainment person. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194/23 "2003-03-14T03:12:33Z")
Britan and France launched a _sitzkrieg_ after the invasion of Poland, it was not successful. [Phony War.](http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/phonywar.htm) [1939](http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/1939.htm) > [@](#): > > In March 1939, Britain and France gave Poland a guarantee that both would fight to protect any threats to Poland’s independence. Only four days later on April 2nd 1939, Hitler ordered his generals to make plans for the invasion of Poland. ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194/24 "2003-03-14T03:50:19Z")
Ohhh feck, this is going to go on long furhter than I ever entended to… **Revtim** From what I can gather fro ma quick google is that Regis Philbin’s claim to fame is ‘Cohost of Live with Regis and Kathie Lee (1988-present)’, hmmm. The English and French selling out to the Polish? You mean _after_ the airfields were rendered useless and Poland was taken over by the Nazis? Yes. then we said fcuk you - we’re not defending your country that has been taken over :rolleyes: One million combinded losses? [here](http://www.ww2n.com/archives/cas.shtml) suggests 542,000 out of 11,400,000,000 UK/US/USSR losses. OK I’m sorry that I gave the US/UK losses at half that of what I said before, but that still says a lot. compared to the French figure of 350,000 and the Russian figure of 8,000,000+. I’m not saying brave=number dead, but it needs to be taken into account, Neurotik - **John McCain** seems the closest to a a political spokesman, let’s see what I can find about him (really, I’ve never heard of him before now) the first thing I find is’ U.S. Senator John McCain will lead a tour of the Arizona border with Under Secretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Senator Jon Kyl, and Congressmen Kolbe and Grijalva, to address the security needs along Arizona’s border.’ well, a great treasure to national security he is :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Yumanite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b487fb/32.png) [@Yumanite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumanite)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194/25 "2003-03-14T03:52:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Demise \* > \*\*You mean, when they aren’t [mobbing together and tearing down McDonalds](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/812995.stm) because it’s “eroding” their culture? > \*\* I would call that snobbery (and vandalism in this case) rather than jingoism. I don’t approve of the vandalism aspect, but I can’t really blame them for hating **McDonalds**. (I would even venture to say that it is “eroding” American culture – and I think that makes me a snob rather than a jingoist.)😛 ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194/26 "2003-03-14T03:54:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*In March 1939, Britain and France gave Poland a guarantee that both would fight to protect any threats to Poland’s independence. \*\* I’m not breaking any new historical ground here. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194/27 "2003-03-14T04:37:05Z")
And just to add to **Tuco** ’s list, > [@](#): > > “Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion.” > –Norman Schwartzkopf [He didn’t say it.](http://www.snopes.com/quotes/babbin.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Peregrine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a6a055/32.png) [@Peregrine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peregrine)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194/28 "2003-03-14T04:42:04Z")
From the OP > [@](#): > > It was the Frenchman Descartes who said ‘I think, therefore I am’, he also invented calculus as we know it today (yes, I know Newton also has credit, but it’s Descartes notation we still use) I have to point out that it was Leibniz who came up with the winning calculus notation, but hey, Descartes was responsible for the rectangular coordinate system–where would we be without that? And Blaise Pascal founded probability theory, let us not forget. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194/29 "2003-03-14T05:31:18Z")
I think that the actions to protest France’s stance are juvenile and wasteful. It’s a shame. But the anti-French have the right to protest _as do the French._ While people ridicule the courage of the French, they forget such things as the French Underground. Gobear, I would add Colette (Gabrielle Sidonie Collette) to your list. I’ve built a “shrine” to her in my guestroom. Meanwhile, I will deliberately buy French products. I started this afternoon with imported cheese. (I don’t think that will rekindle the French Empire though…) > [@](#): > > Demise: "…So, why is it ok for the French to be jingoistic assholes, and not Americans? > > Beagle: “Because they have savoir faire.” That will keep me laughing for a while! – another Huguenot [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-guys-i-like-the-french/161194.md?page=1)