La partie la plus perspicace de l'histoire But as part of its own "special relationship" with the United States, France refuses to cede the world stage to the Americans. French identity is similar to American identity—France sees itself as a great nation worthy of power, the birthplace of democracy, and a culture and system of government that the world would be wise to emulate. Which is why, in the end, France will go along with the Bush administration on Iraq. If France vetoes a Security Council resolution, and the Bush administration goes to war anyway, France will have been proved powerless. But if it accedes to the war after demanding more evidence, it will be able to claim that it influenced American policy—whether it's true or not. Germany will likely stand on principle and oppose the war. But France would never do such a thing. As a U.N. diplomat said last week, "It matters to matter for France." Cette partie nous indique beaucoup de ce que nous devons savoir concernant les priorités du Français, pour être vue en tant que bien, pour ne pas se tenir avec l'honneur.
Interesting article with a lot of good points. It pretty much clarifies my thoughts on the whole matter.
The gist is correct, they don't really hate us, they just resent the fact that some obese slob from Appalachia has enough money to go to Paris and abuse them for not having NASCAR on the tube in the Orsay
The Ugly American If you've ever seen how idiotically many American tourists behave overseas, you know why everyone hates us. When I was in Paris with some friends in '98 I saw a family of Americans walking down the street carrying bags from.... wait for it.... the Disney Store and The Gap. These morons had flown all the way to France to shop at the same stores they could go to at their local mall. And yes, as if to intentionally complete the stereotype, the whole family was sadly obese. Even one of my friends who is the most completely and frustratingly apolitical person I know said "Christ, they make me wish I was Canadian or something." But hey, at least they were too out of shape to be out rioting like the Brits and Germans did later that month so I guess we can all be thankful for that.
Posting pictures of girls wearing little other than a US #6 jersey in the USMNT forum. I'm trying to get it removed, because the pictures I posted, while they were from porn sites, were less racy than a lot of things that have been posted on BS. It got moved to FFA and is under the title "Another Reason why Dave Regis is worthless". Alex
Well, of course it's their right. It's also the Frogs' right to (correctly IMO) look down their noses at them. Good article. I think it hits the nail pretty close to the head.
I thought the article was OK, until I read the article that this guy was responding to. http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030210&c=1&s=alterman1 Alterman's article is substantially more rigorous in its analysis. To cite one simple, but important, thing, he does a great service by defining "anti-Americanism." (I didn't say it was perfect, but it's hella better.) What makes the Slate article especially weak is that it's essentially the intellectual equivalent of the dick joke. Yeah, it's easy to make fun of the French. I'm all for that, in the context of being a clown on bigsoccer. But if the writer actually wants to be taken seriously, he fails. To cite the biggest elephant in the room, he just wants to talk about the French. Alterman's argument is about France, Spain, Italy, Germany, etc. Once you read his article, you'll see the contrast with the Slate piece, and why the Slate piece is so bad. Yeah, I check Slate most days, but this article is a good example of what I DON'T like about much of its political writing. It's a superficial reinforcement of conventional wisdom, with just enough erudition to fool the reader into thinking he's learnin' somethin'. This article is a mirror. It's not a window.
Don't forget that the French are pissed at use because Lance Armstrong keeps winning their Bike race and they haven't been able to frame him yet.
Re: Re: The Ugly American It's also our right to rag on them mercilessly for being obese sloppy morons.
Of course! That's it then. It actually is pretty ridiculous what they put him through. Read the SI Sportsman of the Year profile. Then of course there is the shame at finishing behind a US Soccer team in the World Cup. No wonder they think their whole world is being turned upside down.
http://www.expression-publique.com/expression-publique/resultat.php?adresse=imageusa Not a scientifc survey, but an interesting look at how the French view the US.
The diplomatic tango will continue as it has in recent times. The French will object to ANYTHING the US does and we will publicly feign being annoyed, privately dismiss everything they say & go about our way. And the French - as they're wont to do - will cave in to every demand we make of them. The French are a much more compliant ally then people here give them credit for. The 2 roles are clearly defined & understood (power broker vs. largely insignificant finger pointer). Much easier IMO than dealing with the Saudis or the Pakistanis.
Re: The Ugly American And then I ask myself: what's better: 1) All American visitors are polite and respectful, I'll get marginally better service on Ile de St Louis 2) Keep the slobs going over there, they drive those frogs nuts and that's priceless I'm inclined to 2
Re: Re: The Ugly American That's cool as long as you then don't whine about "those rude snobby French persons". If you want to act like a moron, don't go pissing and moaning when you're treated like one. Deal?
Re: Re: Re: The Ugly American It's not something I have any control over, anyway. But I can get a Rabelaisian chuckle from the American tourists in France. This is the American dream, a chicken in every pot and a burger on the Champs Elysees.