The "Hey, let's bash France" thread

[PSLguy]

As "vogue" as it is to bash on france for all sorts of reasons, some of you might brush up on your history before choosing their military as one of them.

Allow me to paint you a mental picture of life in france in 1914. You have 8 best friends all your age coming out of school, a fine great war breaks out and everyone is excited to go get some revenge on "zee germans". For the first year despite declarations otherwise, French soldiers are the only ones doing any real fighting and dying. After 4 years, of 8 men in your unit 2 are dead, 4 more are maimed and you and 1 other are lucky enough to be "unharmed". Of your 8 friends your age who set out 3 are dead and 4 are wounded.

Now, almost 10 years before the germans try it again in 1939, you and your surviving countrymen scream for quick action when hitler moves back into the rhineland, against the treaty of versaille. No one else lifts a finger. When things progress, with the memory of what happened the last time france held out against germany waiting for help that was again painfully slow in appearing, you might think about that... You might have some understanding of why france today has such an ingrained pacifist mentality...

just trying to cure ignorance and offer a little perspective.

[KnoxVegas]

just trying to cure ignorance and offer a little perspective.

You can join me tilting at windmills anytime. Since when has truth and perspective counted for anything on these boards?

[sohotrightnow]

As "vogue" as it is to bash on france for all sorts of reasons, some of you might brush up on your history before choosing their military as one of them.

Allow me to paint you a mental picture of life in france in 1914. You have 8 best friends all your age coming out of school, a fine great war breaks out and everyone is excited to go get some revenge on "zee germans". For the first year despite declarations otherwise, French soldiers are the only ones doing any real fighting and dying. After 4 years, of 8 men in your unit 2 are dead, 4 more are maimed and you and 1 other are lucky enough to be "unharmed". Of your 8 friends your age who set out 3 are dead and 4 are wounded.

Now, almost 10 years before the germans try it again in 1939, you and your surviving countrymen scream for quick action when hitler moves back into the rhineland, against the treaty of versaille. No one else lifts a finger. When things progress, with the memory of what happened the last time france held out against germany waiting for help that was again painfully slow in appearing, you might think about that... You might have some understanding of why france today has such an ingrained pacifist mentality...

just trying to cure ignorance and offer a little perspective.

Why do you hate America?

[Beta]

As "vogue" as it is to bash on france for all sorts of reasons, some of you might brush up on your history before choosing their military as one of them.

...

just trying to cure ignorance and offer a little perspective.

Yes France was not wanting to have another war...that's why handing Czechoslovakia to Hitler in the Munich Agreement was such a noble thing to do...considering that Czechoslovakia covered about 50% of Poland's southern and western flanks.

If you give a mouse a cookie....

[StrykerFSU]

"The Guns of August" should be required reading in schools but I don't think that France has an ingrained pacifist mentality. See: Indochina, Algeria, Lebanon, the Suez Canal, Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Bosnia...I think the pacifism you refer to was really Chirac's anti-Americanism and resentment of the large role of the Anglo world in shaping global policy.

Also, in my experience the French outside of Paris love Americans or at least don't openly despise them like Chirac did. Of course, Chirac's approval ratings were actually lower than Bush's (low 20s) so take that for what it is worth. I, for one, love a good French joke but am certainly willing to give them the benefit of the doubt after they elected Sarkhozy.

Maybe the world media has done just as good a job at painting the French to be a bunch America hating, terrorist appeasers as they have at portraying all Americans as a bunch of racist cowboys bent on subjugating the world.