“The latest gastronomic sensation in France is the burger – and not just any beef patty in a bun. Only the McDo will do. You can ignore anti-globalisation protests, French cultural snobbery and antipathy over Iraq, the monkeys have not merely surrendered but are prostrating themselves at the Golden Arch. “
Et j’ai aussi laissé un message concernant ces insultes xenophobes sur le blog de Charles Bremner qui travaille dans le meme journal et qui clame à qui veut l’entendre que c’est un grand francophile.
Voyons si il condamne ou pas ces ignobles attaques francophobes ?
A classic case of racialization through animal depiction. The British, and American press has for centuries depicted anyone they wish to put down as a monkey / ape. We can thank the Simpson’s and Jonah Golberg for the association : [French = Monkey]
In the USA and in Britain, Irish immigrants were compared to monkeys and caricatured as such in the local and national media. This is why I find the Arby’s line dancing Irish Monkey ad reprehensible and racist, but given the historical amnesia of most viewers, it has not encountered much criticism.
The depictions of Barack Obama as a monkey have been met – rightly – with outrage and shock [Obama Sock Puppet] – [Mulligan’s in Georgia]. Given the fact Anti-French comments / actions are not and cannot be qualified as racism for semantic and more obvious reasons, this animalistic depiction will fly below the radar, but in its core, it is eerily similar to Anti-Irish and Anti-Black caricatures of yesteryear and today.
I strongly suggest you watch the John J Miller video, especially his opening “jokes” – they say so much about this author who seeks respectability through publication, but whose level of analysis and synthesis is akin to the base bashing of f***f.com
“A classic case of racialization through animal depiction. The British, and American press has for centuries depicted anyone they wish to put down as a monkey / ape. We can thank the Simpson’s and Jonah Golberg for the association : [French = Monkey]”
So true. It’s funny, I saw this excellent exposition in the National Library of Madrid not long ago; it was an exposition of historic prints from the Spanish war of independence (ita est, the war against the rule of Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte, king of Spain). The prints were from all nationalities, and all were quite acid and critical (especially the Spanish prints, which were understandably hostile to foreign rule) — nevertheless, the British prints were different.
Indeed, the British prints had something revoltingly racist and scornful about them which gave me a very bitter aftertaste.
For not only did they portray the French, their enemy, as sub-human beings; they also portrayed their so-called allies, the Spanish, as black-faced Don Juans from the XVIIth century. That’s the thing with the British — they’ll be “friends” with the “filthy wogs”, but will always look down upon them as “dirty dagos”, little better than monkeys.
The clearest example is that of their long-time historical ally, the Portuguese…
Here’s Charles Bremner take on the monkeys have not merely surrendered comment published in the times yesterday.
[Yes it is a bit offensive. But he is quoting the american term that was used during Chirac’s opposition to the Iraq War. They are not his words. It would have been better to put the word in quotes. Or better not to have used it at all.CB]
http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com/charles_bremner/2008/07/post-5.html?cid=123409400#comments
Here’s Charles Bremner take on the monkeys have not merely surrendered comment published in the times yesterday.
[Yes it is a bit offensive. But he is quoting the american term that was used during Chirac’s opposition to the Iraq War. They are not his words. It would have been better to put the word in quotes. Or better not to have used it at all.CB]
http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com/charles_bremner/2008/07/post-5.html?cid=123409400#comments
What do you think ?
ps hors sujet: monsieur chazelle. Je doute fort que ce soient les 15 (petits) messages par mois grand maximum que je poste sur votre blog qui sappent votre energie de bloggeur. Vous vous faites vieux voila tout. 😉
André W //Americans are actually calling us monkeys…//
The Times is an English publication, not an American one. England and the United States are two different countries.
Nor are “the English” calling you monkeys. A single English journalist has uncoupled the “surrender monkey” expression and given “monkey” a life of its own. He deserves to be roundly condemned. Have at him.
“My opponent, of course, is traveling in Europe, and tomorrow his tour takes him to France. In a scene Lance would recognize, a throng of adoring fans awaits Sen. Obama in Paris – and that’s just the American press.” – John McCain
Some positive coverage : “In Berlin on Thursday, Obama introduced himself to a massive crowd as “a proud citizen of the United States and a fellow citizen of the world,” CNN reported. And he declared that “there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.”
It was a different note from the one former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sounded in 2003, when he dismissed France and Germany as “Old Europe,” after they opposed the invasion of Iraq. “Old Europe” came under ridicule from conservative commentators and activists. Remember “Freedom Fries”? Other slurs included “the axis of weasel” and “cheese-eating surrender monkeys.”
The last Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry, drew jeers during his 2004 campaign because he spoke fluent French and actually gave interviews in French with European reporters.”
Scott McClellan openly admits handing down talking points to Fox News pundits. Can we infer the White House gave Bill O’Reilly and others Anti-French talking points?
From Miquelon.org » Monitoring Anti-French Activity » Proof French Bashing Came From The White House
on
Trickle-down hatred
[…] French Expatriate community and Miquelon.org, strongly suspected Anti-French Talking Points were handed down from the White House to favorable media pundits. We now have proof this was in fact how things […]
Well, French bashing was possibly encouraged and promoted by the White House spin services. But it was clearly popular and approved of by the majority of the American populace. Make no mistake.
@ Jean-Paul
Since I moved to Los Angeles, I never really felt that the french bashing was something the population approved in comparizon to the aggressivity shown on Fox… but it might be because Angelinos have an open minded view on France.
Pardon. mon ami. French bashing started long, long ago when France tried to push the U.S. into war right after the Revolution. Ever since then, from Napoleon through the establishment of NATO, the French government has acted consistently against the interests of the U.S. So don’t pretend this is something new.
All good comments above. However, given that we now know that the Bush admin regularly fed anti-French talking points to the right wing columnists and radio people, this Freedom Fries thing was a Bush concocation, and we should not use it, even in ridicule I feel. However, this is just my opinion, and I will go along with whatever NAME for the award that the webmaster chooses. I think the most important thing to consider is how the NAME will be perceived by the media, not by those of us here. Let’s see what unfolds….
So it was the BUsh admin all along? Wow, that is really the sh*ts! But I can believe what Scott M says. What a total total loss of 8 years this Bush admin has been for the USa and the world…..sigh. GREAT STORY! should wake all people up!
P. Guinta, how did France try to push the US into war right after the revolution?
After the American Revolution France was too busy struggling with economic problems (some of them rising from helping a certain British colony gain its independence) which ended up costing the King his head.
Or maybe you were talking about the French Revolution, where the young French republic was very very busy fighting for its survival. True, the French tried to ask the Americans to return the favor (with no success).
The impudence… How dare turning the tables? Let’s bash them.
Or maybe you’re talking about the American ship captured by French revolutionaries who, in their ignorance, thought they were British? Meanwhile, dozens of American ships traded with France every month, with no incident. Later the ship and crew was returned, with apologies. If I remember well the incident was exploited by “a certain press” over in the US, trying to pretend the French wanted to invade the US.
A bit off topic, but does anyone know where the term cocktail came from? From French? Here in Taiwan a cocktail drink is called a Ji-wei, which literarlly means CHICKEN TAIL, but that is not a very good way to call these kinds of drinks. One source says: “The earliest definition of this type of drink comes from the the May 13, 1806 edition of the Balance and Columbian Repository, a publication in Hudson, New York , where the paper provided an answer to the question, “What is a cocktail?”. It reads, “Cocktail is a stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters
The earliest definition of this type of drink comes from the the May 13, 1806 edition of the Balance and Columbian Repository, a publication in Hudson, New York, where the paper provided an answer to the question, “What is a cocktail?”. It reads, “Cocktail is a stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters — it is vulgarly called a bittered sling and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head. It is said, also to be of great use to a Republican candidate: because a person, having swallowed a glass of it, is ready to swallow anything else.”
Peter Guinta, yes you are referring to the XYZ affaire I believe. You are correct French Bashing generally is not new, but the current French Bashing episode is what we are writing about here. Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XYZ_Affair
Previous to the French Bashing of 2003-2007 was the 1995 Mururoa Atomic Testing Backlash, the 1967 De Gaulle comments about Israël, the De Gaulle Nato issue … Founded or not, justified or not, that is matter for debate, but the current episode was truly a sideshow designed to distract, tap into a collective prejudice.
From Fox News Sunday
CHRIS WALLACE: (…) Back in 2004, you and other Republicans went after John Kerry as being too continental, too European, in his sensibility. I talked to the Obama camp about that this week, and one of the top strategists said to me that they feel the country is way past 2004 and freedom fries and now would very much welcome European support. Do you think playing well on the European stage helps or hurts Obama back here at home?
KARL ROVE: You know, look. I don’t — I think they’re misreading it. It worked in 2004 because John Kerry’s sensibilities were so, you know, Francophile. I mean, you know, he was a European elitist.
Folks, thanks for the replies, and I realize the issue is the current controversy, but the hostility goes far deeper than the XYZ affair, which to me seemed a good place to start. Former French President Francois Mitterant said, “France does not know it, but we are at war with America. Yes, a permanent war, a vital war, a war without death.” Anti-Americanism is woven through the entire fabric of the state. People forget their undermining of the Security Council, their sharing in the corruption in the Oil-For-Food scandal and their cynical complicity in the Rwandan genocide. The most famous Frenchman here is Pepe Le Pew. The “friendship” we get from sacrificing our soldiers in two world wars comes from the people, not the government. But even there, only 5 percent of French people say they admire the U.S. Writer Denis Boyles calls it a “craven, anti-Semitic, insecure, hypocritical, hysterically anti-American, selfish, overtaxed, culturally exhausted country, bereft of ideas, fearful of its own capitulation to Islam…corrupted by lame ideologies, clinging to unsupportable entitlements, crippled by a social elite and a multilayerd bureaucracy.” I might add that the French press mimics the government by repeating its anti-American statements. France eagerly joined in rounding up Jews for the Holocaust and makes a tidy profit arming enemies of Western democracies. A French-U.S. alliance is a myth. We joined briefly to defeat Germany twice. That’s about it. Their military is — except perhaps for the Foreign Legion, which isn’t really French — notoriously inept. And the XYZ thing wasn’t so innocent since the French seized 300 American ships doing trade with England. Remember: France’s favorite Americans are John Kerry and Jerry Lewis. And don’t forget DeGaulle and his raging ego who rejected participation in NATO. The government also wouldn’t let U.S. warplanes fly over French air space to whack a terrorist dictator in Libya. Because the French buy Libyan oil and sell them jets. I could go on and on, but I’m very close to bloviating.
1) Denis Boyles is a notorious French Hater, anyone who writes a book titled “Vile France: Fear, Duplicity, Cowardice and Cheese” >can hardly be taken seriously
2) I refuse to be held – or to hold anyone – perpetually and collectively guilty for the actions of some forefathers (Vichy – Antisemitism – Colonialism).
3) I could go on a rant here and remind you of Henry Ford’s blatant anti-semitism, his Nazi decorations, IBM’s collaboration (those inked numbers on concentration camp victims were IBM codes), Joe Kennedy’s admiration for Hitler, Prescott Bush’s involvement in pro-german companies during World War II, the fact the shoulder patch of the US Army’s 45th Infantry division was the Swastika … but what would be the point, if you wish to carry on your French Bashing, who’s to stop you?
4) the Jerry Lewis Myth was deconstructed many times before, especially by SuperFrenchie
Sorry, but we’ve heard and read it all before, your bashing reads like a Sunday psalm.
Peter : 5% !! Where did you guet your figures ? Gallup and Pew agencies wouldn’t agree with you… Even Germany have a worse opinion of USA than the french (not mentioning countries like Spain or Greece) according to them ! Denis Boyle is a neocon writer and would-be journalist, with a very personnal opinion, not to say partial, on France : I bet this guy had never set a foot in France.
Concerning or dirty little business in Africa (and also anywhere), well, here you’re right and the french gvt is incredibly arrogant to give lessons to any others countries in this planet. But, Peter, tell me, how many dictators USA helped and supported until today in South America, Middle East (Saudi Arabia for example), and even Africa… Sure, the french have no right to lecture United States about this topic, but, in an other hand, why should we suffer your conservative “hollier than thou” attitude ?
“military is — except perhaps for the Foreign Legion, which isn’t really French — notoriously inept”
You idiot — foreign soldiers were a minority in the legion, and none of its officers were foreign. It’s just “foreign” because it admits foreigners in the first place (unlike the national army, which obviously does not admit foreigners), it doesn’t mean it’s exclusively made up of foreigners.
I spent many years on several boards arguing with many American rightwingers. The funny thing is that the most conservatives are debating with exactly the same points, it sounds more like long learned prayers than thoughtful opinions (WW2 loosers, Jews deportation, NATO withdrawal, Rwanda genocide… mixed with historical aberrations to make us even more diabolish) and of course in their mind, the States hold the moral high ground. Yesterday the “niggers”,the “gooks”, today the “surrender monkeys”, who’s turn tomorrow in their hatefest ? Fascists, that’s all what they are. So sad such despicable people can spread their hate so easily in the American medias.
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