Miquelon.org is celebrating its first year as a watchdog group dedicated to documenting French-Bashing and Anti-French activity and monitoring the news and entertainment media. Initially, the website began as a repository for Anti-French materials found in the American Media, but before long Miquelon.org mushroomed into an advocacy project, a political archive and a noted critic of easy stereotypes and misleading information from several countries.
People from many backgrounds and many nationalities including French and American Citizens have received us with great enthusiasm. Many personal anecdotes were shared, many stories were told, as well the generosity of our frequent readers helped keep this website running smoothly and expanded our visibility. From the Utne Reader, Alan Colmes to Der Spiegel, the website was featured as a lone voice of dissent in a sea of pre-Iraq War French-Bashing. Later in the year a very prominent member of the dramatis personae also recognized our efforts.
Some readers however have let their disagreements be known, some were more eloquent than others. All correspondence was welcome, even hate mail was useful as an indicator of widespread ideas briefly held during March and April of this year. As the year wore on, most inflammatory rhetoric quickly dissipated.
To date, we still receive the odd piece of hate mail but they mostly come from one specific repository of sophomoric Anti-French diatribe. What we don’t accept however, is malicious and criminal behaviour against us or anyone else from this site or elsewhere.
Our monitoring of the televised media has revealed many trends this year, specifically the use of Anti-French jabs in the world of comedy and entertainment. The print media has proven more difficult to monitor but we received invaluable help from a network of readers across the globe that do not hesitate to forward any items of relevance.
The world of the Internet has also been a major focus of our investigative team, and we are pleased to say that most Anti-French websites have either become hopelessly out of date (FranceStinks.com) or have simply shut down from lack of interest or misguided politics (Vetolafrance.com, Frogsdone.com, Francebites.com, ThanksFrance.com, Francewatch.com, Giveitback.net and last but not least, Hatethefrench.com).
Our orientation for 2004 will clearly be focused on encouraging voter registration and political activism for French-Americans and Americans in the USA. As well, we will continue to monitor the media and Internet and hold those responsible for Anti-French attitudes accountable.
Long live the friendship of the United-States of America and the Republic of France.
A special THANK YOU to Jean-Paul B, Jean-Paul C, Nicolas V, Genny R., Jean-Jacques B, Chris P, Didier M, John de N, Emma, Dedj A, Claude F, Charles H, Jeanine E, Clément G, Philippe R, Judy A, Pascal R, Erwan E, Dennis W, Frederic W, Matthew R, Elaine C, Claude J, Ludovic T, Frank R, Caillean M, Arnaud T, Brigitte H, Rainer U, Chris R, Shannonn K, David R, Yvan P, Chris F, C.P, M.H, Jean-François B, Bernard T, Serge P, Lisa J, Clément G, Kevin F, Peter H, André L, Serge V, Richard B, Joel G, Erin F, Michelle J, Hali Z and our 100 000 readers, dissenters included.
Marc Saint-Aubin du Cormier