Paris 2028
Posted on 01/19/2004 1:51:04 AM PST by kattracks
During the debate on the war on Iraq, the American public realized that France was not our ally anymore. In fact, when France’s Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, was asked whom he wanted to win the war, he flatly answered: “I don’t know”, and 33% of his countrymen wanted Iraq to win… Now, supposedly, the relationship between our two countries is warming up. But, nothing has changed: France’s anti-Americanism just keeps on reaching new highs.
A month ago, “The Man who ruined 2003” was the title on the cover of the conservative, popular French newsmagazine L’Express. The picture on the cover was not that of Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden or Yasir Arafat, but that of George W. Bush. We would expect that from a communist newspaper or an Islamist one but not from a right wing French weekly. In this appalling article, we learn that President Bush did not succeed in the war in Iraq or for that matter in the War on Terror or in the Middle East in general. But that he was very successful in creating a worldwide chaos where violent acts are only increasing by the day: they blame Bush policies for triggering the terrorist attacks in Riyadh, Casablanca and Istanbul. Finally, our “messianic” President is engaged in an “imperialistic” war, a “crusade” against the “forces of evil.”
The following week, right after Saddam’s capture, the French liberal daily Liberation ran a column calling it “shameful” to show Saddam in this condition-with the long beard and hair- and adding that the US should get the “Oscar for Bad Taste.” The French media is more concerned about the image of the bloody dictator than the fact he was captured! How convenient since it enables them to hijack the real news: a US success.
But, best of all was last week’s issue of the least anti-American weekly, Le Point, which had a special section entitled “France punished by the US.” In one article called “Diktat on Air France,” the journalist seriously argues that the terrorist threats against Air France flights during Christmas were just an excuse for the US to “destabilize Air France.” So for him, the “paranoid” Americans’ only goal was to financially damage the French airline. Diktat is a very strong word referring historically to the Versailles Treaty of 1919 when the victorious countries in WWI forced draconian punishment to the losing Germany. Thus, according to the journalist, now the victor- the US- in the War in Iraq is unjustifiably punishing France for not having sided with them. So, being cautious by canceling flights and probably saving some French lives, is just accessory to the real reason: the US wanted to bankrupt Air France.
France is indeed very good at conspiracy theories. It is not a coincidence that the book, 9/11: The Big Lie, from the French author Thierry Meyssan was a best seller in France for over a year. This book supposedly proves how no plane ever crashed on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. It also states that Bin Laden was a US agent paid by Bush to destroy secret CIA offices in the World Trade Center.
Unfortunately, I am not making this up: this kind of argument is very common in France. To get a sense of this phenomenon, let’s just take a look at a recent French bestseller list: After the Empire, France against the Empire, The Devil’s Footprint, Bush’s Secret World, The New World Disorder, Washington and the World… Of course, the terms, empire and devil, refer to the US.
In this list can also be found some American authors, who are part of the Left anti-US crowd: Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky and Norman Mailer. The French media is very happy to find some of our countrymen or residents to denigrate the US. For example, Liberation had an op-ed piece from Patrice Higonnet, a French professor at Harvard, called ”The triumph of the American fundamentalism.” Higonnet thinks America is “schizophrenic,” “more religious, more puritan, more nationalist, more arrogant” than ever before because of President Bush. According to him, America is victim of “a fundamentalist radicalization” and he goes on to compare Bush to the Wahabi imams—the Islamist extremists who inspired Al Qaeda. Are we dreaming? If Mr. Higonnet detests our country so much, why does he stay at Harvard instead of going back to France, where everything is so much better?
Liberation does not stop there: they had another op-ed by Christopher Newfield, professor of American culture at the University of Santa Barbara. This intellectual thinks that France is becoming more American by the day and that they should be very careful not to ever become like America, which would be the worst thing that could happen to it.
Now with all this in mind, how can one expect French people not to be anti-American? Such brainwashing is ubiquitous, from the press to TV networks and books, presenting only one choice: to hate us. When another point of view, favorable to the US, comes along, it is not publicized at all. For example Alain Hertoghe, a journalist from the Christian daily newspaper, La Croix, wrote a book entitled An All-Out War: How the Press Misinformed Us on Iraq. He did not get any press coverage, any publicity. Why? Because his outstanding book shows extensively and statistically how the French press took sides during the war in Iraq. Studying the five major French newspapers, he found out that out of 164 titles about Iraq, 135 were actually against Bush (“the irresponsible, violent, imperialist, fundamentalist” American leader) and only 29 against Saddam Hussein. Furthermore, he proves how the French press lied in reporting the situation on the ground in Iraq just to justify their anti-Americanism. What do you think happened to Hertoghe after the publishing of this book? He was fired, a few weeks ago, by La Croix for obvious reasons: criticizing the French press does not go well; if only he could have done like everybody else and smeared America…
France has a long history of anti-Americanism, which has now turned into an obsession. Everything negative occurring in the planet, or for that matter even in France, is the fault of the USA. Blame it on America has turned into a national sport.
The main origin for that feeling is the media and the intellectual crowd. But, contrary to what is happening in the US, it is not only confined to the Left. Everyone from the Greens to the Center to the Right and the Far Right agree on only one statement: America is EVIL.
I find the French attitudes offensive.
The article is merely seeking to inform us of their atrocious beliefs.
This jackass and two of his friends even followed my niece and her friend out of the store. They continued harassing them from behind for a block, laughing and heckling like the French cowards they were -- until a burly Englishman appeared from nowhere.
LOL.
My niece said this black "Adonis" . . . her word, not mine . . . filled out a Michael Jordan jersey like Arnold Schwarzenegger, had a deep voice like James Earl Jones, and was as fiery in his hatred of the French as I was. The trio of Frenchmen, as they're prone to do, slithered off without protest after being confronted.
My niece and her friend treated Adonis to lunch and she found a friendship that'll probably last a lifetime. Adonis and his wife are coming to Texas in June . . . to stay with our family for a month.
So, even in France, the Brits remain our loyal allies.
Understood, and apologies offered. Americans are not known for their talents as diplomats. But we're the best friends you could ever want. And these friends are telling it like they see it. Their grandparents and great grandparents (mine included) have fought in two wars recently to liberate your (sometimes) sorry carcasses. That gives us a lot of room to get offensive! And that's not fair, either. I would much rather have your support and friendship as a fellow freedom fighter than lose it because we are criticizing too harshly. But we must be critical. We really believe there were French fingers in those SAM boxes before they were discovered in Iraq. And we do believe your polls that expressed a strong tendency for French people to want America to lose. And when we read about German youth believing that Mossad pulled off 9/11, we're doubly affronted. What we would like is for people like you to get out into the streets and light some bonfires for liberty, figuratively speaking. Bring conscientious change to your political landscape! Beat down the doors of your "silent majorities." There have to be fellow compatriots who want France to be French (in a non-racist sense) and Islamists expelled from both French territory, as well as influence over French interests.
If ever our friendship is disolved it will not be due to Americans giving up on the French. And the anti-French rants you read around here are usually not racially motivated. We're talking about France's recent history. I don't have to mention Charles Martel, but I will. If anything, America needs to follow the French lead in this case.
Me neither!
If France was invaded I would be all for sending “inspectors” for 12 years or so, if the inspector’s safety could be assured.
:-)
The French love to object to everything American, be it fast food, EuroDisney or the trend toward English words being adopted into the French language. While they're busy objecting to these perceived threats to French culture, the blind fools simultaneously permit Muslims to flood across their borders.
If they don't want anything "American" to sully their culture, I doubt that a single American would care. It's their culture, they should certainly try to preserve it. However, this obsession with opposing the U.S. at every turn is evidence that the French have learned little from their own history. The policy of hating America and embracing Islam will turn out badly in the end. The Maginot line lives.
I live near France (in Germany) and travel there often. I do not see anything close to that harrassment though. People in Strasborg, Nancy, and Metz treat me just fine. It is only the anti-Christian zealots in France (for some reason there a lot of them) who hate Bush and, by large, America.
BUMP to that. Wow! Such a thoughtful post, short and well understandable. Hatred against the US is unjustified, at least for Europeans. Therefore, I can say that I hate those who spread unjustified hatred!
She was supposed to go over there the fall semester in 2003 and the fall semester in 2004. She's going to Spain instead. Since the family all had to kick in to pay for it, we nearly canceled it altogether. A semester in Europe is supposed to be fun for a 21 year-old young lady. I'm an "old school" uncle . . . and I refuse to send my niece somewhere where she'll be abused. However, she's convinced us Spain is okay. We'll see.
There's quite a few FReepers, good ones by the way, who are French. I wonder if the rest of the folks in France realize just what kind of chasm has opened up between us. I can't help it . . . my anger at the French probably won't ever go away. Luckily for them I'm old and fat. LOL.
If you'd like me to ask my niece about any particular areas, let me know. She was one of a large group so she should know if some areas are better than others. She just complained about Paris to me.
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