They folded like oragami in WWII, and the french have a reputation for cultural pomposity that dates back centuries so people give them shit for both. I don’t know of more than a handful of people who mean anything by it though, and the french/american cultural exchange is one of the most vibrant in the western world. Excepting politically right now (especially given the current trump BS), we’ve gotten along extremely well as nations for a long damn time and americans tend to tease their friends.
I’ve never heard the french complain about it - I have heard the french clap back with some equally devastating mockery of their own, though. Seems healthy enough.
I live in an area of the country that was explored by the French, so the names of many towns, rivers, etc are French. Locals seem to delight in butchering the French pronunciations as much as possible. Not a single one is pronounced anywhere close to correct. There is definitely an element of brotherly teasing to it.
It was the same way with Canada, too.
I don’t blame them at all for being pissed and questioning whether we actually meant some of our teasing considering what our fucking criminal pedo Nazi government has been up to for the past year and change.
Because “the revolution” to the French is not the one in 1776. Nor is it “the revolution” for most of the world. The French Revolution was the big one for most of the world.
That makes a cataract of meaning for the USA.
Americans and Europeans disdain the French over WW2 with little regard to the damage done to human life in France during WW1. There are still uninhabitable zones in France from the world military poisoning swathes of land in WW1 with shells, mines, munitions, and corpses.
They are both called WW for a reason. They are inextricably linked.
I mean… Look at the news any day of the week.
Americans on the whole are incapable of understanding history at even the most surface level.
Mostly because they lost in WW2. The Americans had to save them. Kinda the same in WW1, they just skip over the stalemate and say the Americans had to save them. Also they refused to help in Iraq.
In addition, they gave us the Statue of Liberty.
A French politician actually called for it to be returned—to be clear, it was just a single politician, not the whole government—and the Trump administration said (very heavily paraphrasing), “No, it’s ours, and also you suck for being invaded by Germany, so we deserve it more than you.” However, I personally find it ironic that the administration is so attached to it, given the famous poem inscribed on its base that is inseparable from the signifiance of the statue:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
It’s a fucking travesty that we still have the statue. We are no longer worthy of it.
It’s right where it should be. NYC’s continuing legacy as a hub of culture and diversity should be an example for the rest of the country. Better things are possible and we need symbols to rally around.
You never were.
Removed by mod
Ignorance… that is usually the root cause
Muricans are poorly educated, half can’t read past 6th grade level and most do not read unless forced to.
In this particular case they make fun of the French for not beating the Nazis in WWII because they probably saw it in a meme somewhere but their history knowledge does not go far back enough to realize how stupid they look when they do this “seriously”
Short memories
Nobody is mentioning Vietnam? That’s the source of boomer complaints IME. France “abandoned” the US and the industrial war machine convinced the American veterans that it was France’s fault that the greatest military in the world couldn’t defeat communist Vietnam.
I ❤️ French toast, French fries, and Foie gras.
I admire the French. I’d have liked to have been born French.
Since I wasn’t, though, I have no desire to visit France. France is for the French, and I’m not French.
Ignorance, propaganda and probably racism.
I can imagine that many African and East-Asian countries have their own strong opinions on the French and with better reason than the USA.
The French are our oldest and bestest friend and it’s fun to give your friend shit, I know we are probably gonna lose that friendship because we have lost our minds and that’s sucks
No idea. governing system idealism wise we should be like two peas in a pod. One of my I wish I had done differently was I wish I would have taken french rather than spanish. Partially because the sentence structure is more similar and partially because of canada. The other option would be german because I was stem and did some choral things here and there.
Do most Americans give the French shit? I think most Americans don’t care one way or another TBH. Our country is famously self-centered and unaware of the rest of the world.
I do give my French friend a hard time sometimes, but it’s all in good fun. He does the same to me. I certainly do not look down upon him or his country.
The minority of Americans who do sincerely talk down about the French are ignorant and shitty, though.
Yeah this is news to me. Apparently I’m supposed to give French people shit? Sounds like a hassle.
They aren’t educated. Simple as that. Many can’t even find their own country on the map, let alone tell which continent it is on. Forget history.
I’m 1/4 French Canadian, I have my own feelings about France.
Out of curiosity it would be really neat to here them. no sarcasm. Or if I am prying let me know.
