Okay, so it seems as though the French are always the butt of some joke or another. Television, movies, poems, general public; we all seem to get a good laugh at the expense of the French.
And not just jokes, but in general as well. I know people that bash and complain about French Politics, foreign affairs, diplomacy; it never ends.
And we're not the only ones:
"PARIS (Reuters) - The French dislike themselves even more than the Americans dislike them, according to an opinion poll published on Friday.
The survey of six nations, carried out for the International Herald Tribune daily and France 24 TV station, said 44 percent of French people thought badly of themselves against 38 percent of U.S. respondents who had a negative view of the French."
I have no doubt, as the article says, that relations between France and the United States dropped immensely after the French began to speak out against our war in Iraq. However, is that really reason enough for so many people to hate them? Perhaps hate is a strong word; to dislike them?
Additionally, this type of thing has been going on forever. The English were at war with the French for how long?
Will this view ever change?
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When my dad and I were in Paris (at two different times), we admitted that they treated us incredibly well. No animosity, nothing but good food, drink, conversation, and company.
However, while dining in the 4th arrondissement with my Parisanne friend and her group of well-educated friends, we got to talking about politics. They don't agree with our government; but they disagree with theirs even more. We didn't like Chirac; they don't like Chirac. Etc.
I'm going to sleep now.
"Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity--and I'm not so sure about the universe"
-Albert Einstein
All the French bashing evident in the US today is old news. As you correctly pointed out the English and French have been bashing each other for years.
The English mock the French for being effiminite, pretentious, arrogant and rude.
The French mock the English for being uptight, uncultured, arrogant and rude.
Today the US mocks the French the most. But both France and England are both as bad as each other when it comes to mocking America.
It's one big bash-off.
One good shot from the French was this joke. I'm sure most people on this site will know the particular type of American this is aimed at. So you'll see the humour in it.
How many Americans does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 100; 1 to screw it in and 99 to chant "U.S.A, U.S.A., U.S.A...."
I have a lot of English and French friends as well as American, and there's been some genuinely funny bashing on all sides. Even if most of it is childish and at times assinine. Every now and then a really funny bashing emerges and it makes all the pettiness worth while just for one of those rare moments where people are forced to laugh at themselves. People being able to laugh at themselves is what stops them hating other people.
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I am the people my mother warned me about.