French Hatin'
 

You hate the French. Why?

No, really. We can't seem to mock them enough in this country. Its in so many forms from the simple "frog" to "cheese-eating surrender monkey". I hear more terms smearing these people than I do the scary, dreaded Arab terrorist! What's the deal?

And while we're at it, how come we give the Canadians such a hard time? Is it because Canada's basically a France's cousin?

Canada's identity is based on two things

1) "We're not Americans"
2) "Some of us speak French"

So what's not to mock?

I think that hate is the wrong word.

Words more along the line of derision, disdain, fervent disregard, etc fit the bill more accurately.

J'aime des choses françaises. Toutes les choses françaises.

Ok I used a translator, but I did take 5 years of French in HS. :D

Putting down the French? I think it's just silly. :rolleyes:

Some sponge-headed Americans despise the French because the war-mongering administration told them to. Remember Freedom Fries? I don't believe those dim bulbs make up the majority, it's just that the voices of the stupid are easier to hear than the silence of the smart.

I don't hate the French. I've been there a half dozen times, and found the people to be decent. I've also spoken at length with many here in America about various issues. I have a lot of respect for them. I was horrified when many senior Republican politicians were openly mocking them a year ago. Freedom fries. That's total B.S., and those leaders should be ashamed. High ranking government officials should not publicly mock and ridicule an ally.

Having said all that, I've been know to mock the French with my friends. France is a very easy target. They take themselves way too seriously. With their "superiour culture" and their legislation to keep english words from creeping into their language. Their laws to keep foreign stuff off their airwaves. The whole British vs. French cultural rivalry is centuries old. America identifies with the British. Sure, France has culture. So does every other European country. They aren't special.

I never thought about the French one way or the other until I had reason to stop briefly in France on one of my visits to Switzerland (now quite sometime back). The French people I encountered seemed to be faintly disdainful and looking down their noses. I don't know any French, so the language barrier probably didn't help things, and I know you can't judge an entire nation by a couple of people having a bad day, still it put me off the French somewhat.

Ditto Mari.

I also visited France once. Although I cannot speak French, I did try, rather than expect THEM to speak English to me. In every other country I've been to, the people are thrilled that I will at least TRY to speak their language rathe rthan assume that THEY speak MINE and then have the nerve to get annoyed when they don't. Many people (Spain eg) even had fun flipping through my handy-dandy translation dictionary as if they'd never seen one. Not the French. They were openly hostile to me and my (pathetic) attempts to make myself understood. I was even asked to leave a bistro because they didn't want passers-by to think it was an American hangout.

Ever since then, I've had tremendous fun butchering their language whenever I can.

Brian

We make fun of the french because it's so easy. They seem to have no sense of humor themselves (Jerry Lewis, anyone?) but the Canooks are good sports and a lot of fun and not snooty at all. My mother is a french-speaking Canook and I've spent a good bit of time in Canada. She's from a town that descended from a bunch of fur trappers--not much snootiness there, that's for sure! I felt very at home in Canada but I doubt if I will ever go to France. Their waiters scare me.

I'm quite fond of France and a sucker for a French accent.
When I was a little kid (60s-70s)my brother and the neighbor kids would play war as good American kids do, right after sundown- oncoming cars were nazis. I was a girl so the main role open to me was nurse. That sucked. Borrowing from movies, I chose to be in the French resistance, dodging car lights too, with my own version of an accent. (of course then my brother would slug me.)

France and Canada are both amazing countries well worth exploring. Its been my experience that as much as the "snooty" French stereotype is valid so is the classic "Ugly" American tourist. Which is to say both are exagerated, usually by the other.

The whole Ira Einhorn thing pissed me off, but I never ate a freedom fry. I guess I'm indifferent about the french at this point.

Hahaha. Oh that takes me back. Playing Star Wars with my friends and being the only girl ........the amount of times I ended up being Princess Bloody Leah ( or however it's spelt) waiting for Luke Bloody Skywanker to "come and rescue me"........

Anyway.....yes...the French. I had a nice time in France. The people were lovely and made my ex and me very welcome. I had just a few words remembered from my french lessons in school but the fact that I made an effort to communicate in French seemed to endear me to the people I met, so that often I was given a little impromptu lesson and left the shop or cafe wiser to the language than when i had entered.

Not everyone had the patience to deal with the badly spoken tourist but most did.

I think of France and Germany ( and the other European nations but mainly those two) as being inextricably linked with Britain. We are each other's history.

Americans can be ridiculously stupid about the French. I wear a beret in the winter to keep my head warm and people assume I'm foreign.(french) ......"Where u frum?" Now I make a point of wearing one just to rub it in the faces of the ones who make the most assumptions:freedom fry eaters. I can tell them by their nasty smirky faces or under the breath comments in passing. Try it and see how stupid your fellow americans can be!
Note: Don't wear it into a bar.(I'm not going to explain this one)

Good Americans:
Pouring bottles of good red wines in the gutter in anti-french protest, just CRIMINAL!!

I have a beret, but it's one of those red military ones. You know, like the Guardian Angels wear? And those snazzy special forces units?