Except the hate has been spewing from the media, both political parties, and various Presidents for 30 years now. “Cheese-eating surrender monkeys” is a line from an early 90’s Simpsons episode. I just watched a Dilbert episode on DVD (circa 2000) that mocked the French.
Franco-American relations really began to go sour in the mid-to-late '60’s with the deGaullist movement in France. As France was in decline as an imperial power, deGaulle decided to move into the Cold War as a new superpower- a “third way” government, offering moderate socialism in contrast to Soviet communism or American capitalism. As a result, they withdrew from NATO and began blocking U.S. activities in the U.N. and in the world stage; they actively encouraged Quebec seperatism and spread money and military equipment to countries they thought would support them in their skirmishing with the U.S.
So for 30 years, France has been trying to prove itself to be a relevant world power by leading opposition to the U.S. This co-incides with a nativist movement within France that fears losing French culture to globaliztion; as the largest symbols of that globalization are traditionally American companies- McDonalds, Walmart, Disney, Universal Studios, etc.- the French backlash against globalization has oftentimes been indistinguishable from French insults to American culture (e.g., blocking American movies from being shown, heralding the farmer who threw a brick through a McDonald’s window, etc.)
WordMan’s metaphors are the most apt. We’re the big dog on the world stage- economically, militarily, and culturally. France used to be the big dog, and wants to be the big dog, and therefore attacks us in order to seem more important. We respond by mocking them for their failures (WW2 and later military actions) and our cultural differences.
Ascribing this hatred to the “Bush White House” or “the Republican Party” is merely the sign of someone so wrapped up in their partisanship that they can’t see straight. Lyndon Johnson had plenty to say about France and deGaulle, none of it flattering.
The British have never been at war with the French. You are thinking of the English-French War (14th Century), a war during which the Scots were allied with the French.
The French have always gone their own way. The recent animosity is purely because they didn’t roll over and do what they were told when the US demanded it. Plus your average American has absolutely no idea how much they owe the French from the war of Independence.
So, um, were those the Scots that Henry V was fighting at Agincourt? As we all know, England lost much of its holdings in France when the Scots were roused by the Scottish hero Joan of Arc (or, as she is known in her home town of Edinburgh, Joannie a’ Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrc). Ooh! Ooh! Then it was the Scots that the Duke of Wellington beat handily at Waterloo, ten years after Admiral Nelson had dealt a crippling blow to the Scottish navy! Of course, that was only after the 7 Years’ War against the Scots- known in America as the Scottish and Indian War- during which the British managed to capture the Scottish colony of Quebec (which has always been a problem for Canada, as it has forced a ‘dual-language’ program there, as no Scotsman speaks an intelligble form of English.)
So, what, you completely ignored the post directly above yours where I show how this animosity goes back 30 years?
I think it’s partly that people just need to hate. You’re a racist if you hate based on color. It’s also not pc to hate soley based on religion.
The only safe countries to hate and severely criticize are mainly white and well to do countries. This means us Americans can publicly make fun of the Canadians much more than the Mexicans also.
The movie “Stand by Me” (1986) also has an anti-French joke and was playing on my families vcr just when some French exchange students stopped by. They were being introduced while the joke was said probably didn’t catch it, but I was a bit embarrassed.
Oui, c’est un expression tres mechant, mais je pense que ses actions l’ont merite.
Excusez mon francais; c’est tres mal, mais il a ete de dix ans depuis que je l’ai etudie a l’ecole, et j’ai besoin du babelfish pour les mots plus durs. Comment vous dites “rusty”?
D’oh! I think you might be right. Although ad hominem attacks are disallowed in Great Debates, they might be okay here. I’m not as familiar with IMHO. It just startled me is all. Sorry. Back to your flames.
Gosh, are you like a real life perfesser, or sumpin’?
Your condescending history lesson and armchair assessment of my political philosophy aside, a sneering comment from the Bush campaign about John Kerry looking “French” seems to qualify as Franco-bashing from the higher levels of government and the party. And I’m sure nobody noticed that you so cleverly parsed out the portion of my post that didn’t fit in with your arrogant assessment of me.
I would also point out that neither Lyndon Johnson nor deGaulle qualify as “recent”, per my post.
This quote from Mark Twain ought to be a fair indication that bad mouthing the French is not new: “France has neither winter or summer or morals–apart from that it is a fine country”
You could say the same thing about California.
Maybe it is an affectation we picked up from the British. British xenophobia is pretty broadly recognized, non-Brits being passed off as “mere foreigners” and of course us Americans as “colonials.” Just as the Irish were so happy when the Italians began immigrating, we all need someone who we can, rightly or wrongly, feel superior to.
To denigrate the French because of a lack of military success since 1869-- up until the unification of Germany, France had been the bully boy of Europe for 500 years or more-- is just a cliche, a device to mask your own insecurity. It is knocking the top hat off the plutocrat. It is knocking on the door of the neighborhood bad guy an running. It is an ego inflating pretense. It is the ignorant and uncultured’s excuse for their own ignorance and lack of culture.
I got to admit that Degaulle was a major pain in the ass.
