French Voted World's Rudest and Most Boring....

[MysticalMom]

in British Poll.

"To add insult to injury, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph put the boot in on Saturday by saying in an editorial that the French stank." "The French may like to think that Chanel No 5 is their scent but we all know that garlic and stale Gitanes are much more representative."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060520/ts_afp/afplifestylebritainfrancesocietyoffbeat

 

[SamSpade]

This actually surprised people? (Like the founder, in the article). I thought rude and boring was a kind of badge of honor in France, a kind of national identity.

 

[Larry Gude]

Well...

This actually surprised people? (Like the founder, in the article). I thought rude and boring was a kind of badge of honor in France, a kind of national identity.

...it could be surprising as the media have been telling anyone who will listen, for some time now, that the whole entire world doesn't like us as much as they used to, implying that we're the rudest and most borish.

 

[SamSpade]

...it could be surprising as the media have been telling anyone who will listen, for some time now, that the whole entire world doesn't like us as much as they used to, implying that we're the rudest and most borish.

This always bewilders me on some level. I chat - albeit sparingly - with folks around the world, usually when I have the nerve to defend the US on public forums - and I usually get creamed by dozens of anti-US types. And their refrain is anti-Bush, anti-war, anti-you name it, and their biggest beef - so they say - is the current administration.

This doesn't surprise me terribly - many of those I talk with online hail from nations whose leadership would be considered "liberal" in this country - so, I'm basically arguing with the equivalent of Democrats.

But THIS is the part that always gets me - sooner or later, whether it's someone from Europe, or Latin America or wherever - they bring up crap that has nothing to do with the current administration. Or the previous one. Or the one before that. They'll moan about "cultural imperialism", the ugly American, the fact that we use this amount of the world's scarce resources, or that we're rich and stingy, that we're lazy bastages who got our wealth solely by exploiting the poor of the world or we consider ourselves the world's policeman or that we've always been warmongers and that we actually USED nuclear weapons in war - blah blah blah.

What does this tell me?

They don't like us, and it has nothing to do with Bush or Clinton or Reagan or Carter or Ford or Nixon etc. They don't like - US.

BUT

This is the part that REALLY gets me - *almost* to the last one - they'd all love to live here. A couple would not, because when you argue them into a corner they say otherwise, but most would. They'd love to own a house, have a nice job, maybe some property away from the city, have a car, keep more of their paycheck. Basically, the American Dream. So while they widely profess to hate *hate* HATE us, they wouldn't mind having a slice for themselves.

Bastages.

 

[Railroad]

...it could be surprising as the media have been telling anyone who will listen, for some time now, that the whole entire world doesn't like us as much as they used to, implying that we're the rudest and most borish.

'Scuse me, mister, is this where I get in line for the frog-flogging?

And it ain't garlic and stale cigarettes. It's armpits. When at sea with NATO, we hated to be positioned in formation downwind from the French ship. The stink was awful.

And in port, we would steer clear of the bars where the Frogs (French) and the Pommies (Brits) were, so we wouldn't have to put up with their fights.

 

[PJay]

This always bewilders me on some level. I chat - albeit sparingly - with folks around the world, usually when I have the nerve to defend the US on public forums - and I usually get creamed by dozens of anti-US types. And their refrain is anti-Bush, anti-war, anti-you name it, and their biggest beef - so they say - is the current administration.

This doesn't surprise me terribly - many of those I talk with online hail from nations whose leadership would be considered "liberal" in this country - so, I'm basically arguing with the equivalent of Democrats.

But THIS is the part that always gets me - sooner or later, whether it's someone from Europe, or Latin America or wherever - they bring up crap that has nothing to do with the current administration. Or the previous one. Or the one before that. They'll moan about "cultural imperialism", the ugly American, the fact that we use this amount of the world's scarce resources, or that we're rich and stingy, that we're lazy bastages who got our wealth solely by exploiting the poor of the world or we consider ourselves the world's policeman or that we've always been warmongers and that we actually USED nuclear weapons in war - blah blah blah.

What does this tell me?

They don't like us, and it has nothing to do with Bush or Clinton or Reagan or Carter or Ford or Nixon etc. They don't like - US.

BUT

This is the part that REALLY gets me - *almost* to the last one - they'd all love to live here. A couple would not, because when you argue them into a corner they say otherwise, but most would. They'd love to own a house, have a nice job, maybe some property away from the city, have a car, keep more of their paycheck. Basically, the American Dream. So while they widely profess to hate *hate* HATE us, they wouldn't mind having a slice for themselves.

Bastages.

True. I too have done the same in defending the US on other forums. Hate us is an understatement. Tho, they'll respond they do not hate the American people. Ha. Then turn around and say we're ALL fat. That one always gets to me. Also, they like to bring up the past, slavery, etc.

Honestly, I think they're jealous.

 

[SamSpade]

True. I too have done the same in defending the US on other forums. Hate us is an understatement. Tho, they'll respond they do not hate the American people. Ha. Then turn around and say we're ALL fat. That one always gets too me. Also, they like to bring up the past, slavery, etc.

Honestly, I think they're jealous.

I think that has something to do with it - not all, because in some parts of the world, it's fairly chic to hate the U.S. Probably for some of the same reasons it's cool in some circles to bash Christian churches - *they're* not going to cut your head off on live TV or issue fatwas against your family, if you insult them. Insult the U.S., and the tanks aren't going to be rolling into the square.

It's always chic to insult the guy on top. In high school, you made fun of the prom king or queen, the football team captain or the head cheerleader. Why? Well, because they were highly visible people with flaws like everyone else. Europeans don't sit around busily b!tching about the Belgians or the Swiss. Asians don't b!tch about the Bhutanese or the Malaysians but they might about the Japanese - and they don't DARE b!tch about the Chinese or Koreans. I use to tease an old Canadian girlfriend that Canadians griped about the United States, because secretly, they all wanted to BE American. While reacting with mildly feigned disgust, I commented further that that is why most of them live so close to our border - they have their noses pressed against the glass.

Having always been American, I can't understand their gripes. I have to suspect some of it is constant conditioning. (My Canadian gf used to repeat what I've heard often enough in other venues - Americans think they're great because they're conditioned by constant propaganda to believe so. I told her sometimes "propaganda" is STILL true). After all, I could give a crap what these folks do and say about us most of the time. I've been to forums where they do nothing BUT reprint articles critical of the U.S. - as if we were the only news item worth reading. I can't get my mind around such obsession. The fact that I don't care further aggravates them - but it's like being concerned with an obsessed *stalker*. It's not my problem, it's theirs.

 

[Bruzilla]

Everytime I've been to France the French were very nice... but I was dealing with their Navy. I think that the people of every European country that borders the Med stink. Try standing in a room full of Sicilians on a hot summer day... it'll kill you!