Beyond Freedom Fries and Indignity: On Francophobia
Francophobia (coined in the late 19th century), French bashing, or
Gallophobia, the American racism and bigotry of choice, has been around
for too long to go away. Many of the things said in Francophobic
discourse would be totally unacceptable if they were aimed at any other
group. We have the internet to thank for reminding us in the US
about how critical of the French we have been as far back as 1945
112 Gripes about the French
http://www.e-rcps.com/gripes/
and of course, renowned Canadian journalists Jean-Benoît Nadeau
and Julie Barlow have enhanced our understanding of this issue in their
Sixty Million
Frenchmen Cannot Be Wrong (Naperville, IL: Sourcebook, Inc.,
2003).
The most recent and quite politcized frenzy appears to come from a
confluence of situations 1) 911 galvanized an OK to mass open
verbal and symbolic expression of patriotism among Americans. 2)
Once France raised objections to our choice to go to war in Iraq, a
politically engineered pro-patria campaign found a convenient Judas
figure in France. It was easy to sell France's objection as
betrayal, because of the emotional state of the public and the
complicity (knowing or unknowing) of a press which had been under
attack for liberal bias. To a certain extent, French bashing became a
form of entertainment (Bill O'Reilly, more recently Glenn Beck, and
others) 3) Add to this the residual of Francophobia that
pre-dated the war, some of it in objection to the independence of
Gaullist politics under Chirac, and the socialist legacy of
François Mitterrand. 4) Before this, there is
the underlying malaise created by cultural, economic and military
conflicts between French and English-speakers, both in Europe and North
America. Of course there are neo-con activist authors who have
devoted whole books to venomous attacks, such as
Kenneth R. Timmerman, The French Betrayal of
America (New York: Random House, 2004)
Thomas L. Friedman flattened the world of many a Francophile with a
mean-spirited article in the September 18, 2003 New York Times,
in which he claimed France was "becoming our enemy".
Miquelon.org published the reaction of the Editor in Chief of The French Review:
GUEST EDITORIAL [Miquelon.org]: Christopher P. Pinet, Editor in Chief,
French Review FEBRUARY 2004
http://www.miquelon.org/editorials/ChrisPinet-2004.htm
This is essentially the article which appears in print in the AATF
National Bulletin, Vol. 29.4 (April 2004).
The political villainizing of France has been effective, even beyond
the era of active boycotts. According to Rasmussen polling
Wednesday December 21, 2005, 57% of American voters had an unfavorable
view of France. 31% believed that France was our enemy in the war
on terror.
There is a ray of hope in the erosion of some the political symbolism
created to diminish and demean the French image in the world. Do
you remember the "Freedom fries'' issue on Capitol Hill shortly after
the beginning of the war in Iraq?
The Congressional renaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_fries#The_Congressional_renaming
What has become of those responsible for the renaming?
On June 16, 2005, North Carolina congressman Walter B. Jones joined
with three other Congress members (Neil Abercrombie, Dennis Kucinich,
and Ron Paul) in introducing a resolution calling for the start of a
withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq to begin by October 2006.
Also in 2005, Jones made a public admission that he wished the renaming
had never happened.
'Freedom fries' lawmaker's U-turn
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4086380.stm
Do you want 'Freedom Fries' with that? Where will Bob Ney be
working next year? Well, it certainly won't be in Congress, but
he might learn to really treasure the word "freedom". August 7,
2006, with an ethics scandal cloud still hanging over him, sixth-term
Ohio Congressman Bob Ney officially decided to no longer seek
re-election in Ohio’s 18th Congressional District.
Rep. Bob Ney won't seek re-election
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060807/ap_on_el_ho/congressman_withdraws_4
Prosecutors Opt for Wide Probe of Rep. Ney
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/28/AR2006042801879.html
Some time in July, "Freedom fries" and "Freedom toast" quietly became
"French fries" and "French toast" again on Capitol Hill cafeteria menus:
Hill fries free to be French again
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20060802-125318-3981r.htm
Republicans abandon 'freedom fries'
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060802-034946-6028r
No More 'Freedom' for Your Fries
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2271625
Au revoir, freedom fries
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/04/opinion/edfries.php
I have watched
Miqelon.org
http://www.miquelon.org
SuperFrenchie
http://superfrenchie.com/
stand their ground against the folly of Factor Freaks and other
French-basher roadies. But I only recently discovered that we
have a Franco-American Congressional Caucus, a
French-American Foundation
http://www.frenchamerican.org/
and
THE TOCQUEVILLE CONNECTION
http://www.adetocqueville.com/
The French are and have been our
"real" allies for a long time, even before the
Treaties of 1778 Between the United States and France (Avalon
Project)
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/france/fr1778m.htm
I say this as I reflect upon their efforts to be our partners in peace
for the most recent crisis in Lebanon, even though we still have
differences:
U.S. and France back resolution to end Lebanon fight
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/06/america/web.0806resolution.php
Today, because of the collaborative effort with our ally, the UN has a
cease-fire resolution to implement. All of us should be mindful of the
mound of other evidence that points toward
France's friendship and support:
France, our ally then and now.
http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0606&L=flteach&T=0&P=88914
The war on terror today
http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0606&L=flteach&T=0&P=43508
Today, August 15, 2006, I watched Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's Colbert Report
do a brilliantly deconstructive summary of the "Freedom Fries" era in
the Congressional cafeteria. He had an electric deep fryer under
his desk and some personalized bottles of Heinz Ketchup as he spun his
mirth. His tongue in cheek remark that the "Freedom Fries" etiquette
was the most meaningful thing done by this Congress demonstrates that
the fashion of highly political, mean spirited Francophobia may soon
wind up having the kind of mileage you would expect from a gargantuan
Hummer.
When will we discover that we cannot learn a method to win the "war on
terrorism", while our hearts are learning from the same book of hate as
the enemies who would terrorize and kill us?
TennesseeBob Peckham
Globe-Gate Research
