Knocking the French

8/31/2009


Marie...

I love it ! And love you for printing this !

" We The People, For The People , And By The People ." God Bless America !


Cheers...Joe....

Sorry, Marie, but I don't like anything that knocks the French or smacks of phony, wear-it-on-your sleeve patriotism.


One of thousands of French men and women who saved countless American lives on D-Day and what followed was Alfred Marie, 18 at the time. Although being caught would have meant summary execution, he sent messages to England with a small radio. Detailed were German positions, troop movements, etc. I met many like him and still have a number of friends in France. They are great people.
Whoever wrote that piece needs to learn how to spell DeGaulle. It might add a little credibility.

I get a lot of these kinds of forwarded around the world stuff. There is always something to agree with. Like Marie, I am a proud American but these forwarded email epistiles pull the strings. The hidden hate is there in some cases. In this one, the dislike of the French. I have to agree with Dick on this one, Marie, it was a biased attack geared to American pride with not one valid truth.

Love,
Betty

When I receive messages like this and am asked to forward it, I smell political motivation. There is always some truth associated with these messages, but the negativity is the motivation.
Any time we see messages that "wave the flag," people tend to support it. Saying anything negative implies that you are not patriotic. We can be thankful that there are people like Dick who cuts through the crap.

I like Marie and I like the French people and France also.

Marie,

I know you meant no offense.

I am proud to be an American. I think many times we do good for other countries.

We've been fortunate to be able to travel. My husband and I try to be kind to others, showing others we come from a country of kind people. Abe does that every day in Germany, but like he says, mistakes have been made and we need to continue to work on improving.

This is a good country we live in. We are fortunate to have the freedoms we do and be able to speak out places like this.

Colin Powell is one of our best.

Carol

Marie,
my comments in no way were intended to disparage what you posted. It was a general statement.
I'm sure that most any country, if they wished, could make a post that showed the things America has done that were horrible and left a blemish. Many try to think we're above reproach, that whatever we do is okay. We have screwed up miserably on numerous occasions. We have killed many innocent people. The familes of those innocents don't forget who was responsible. There are many reasons to hate America as well as love it. Posts that tend to put down another person or country to make us look good is not something to be proud of.

I didn't mean you should remove your post, Marie. I just get upset with things like that.

Thank you, Marie. I know you did not intend to offend or upset anyone.

I'm going to say this cautiously because I'm not "taking sides" in regard to the original post or any of the pro and con comments that followed.

What I want to do is ask if it's not a form of censorship for us to concern ourselves as writers about whether one or more of our readers is offended by our work. Causing offense is not our intent, but when views differ and styles differ and politics differ, when one of us tells a joke or states a belief or writes a novel, the chances are pretty good somebody won't like it.

If we then change our work or remove it from circulation, we're allowing the statement "I'm offended" to become a new form of peer-pressure censorship. I do not see that as a good thing because it's becoming all too prevalent as though the new "Kings-X" around the country is shouting "I'm offended."

Such comments cause well-intentioned writers to pause. But when they force us to cease and desist, they cause great damage to our freedom of expression.

Malcolm

Marie,

Come on--fess up--you stayed awake-- sometimes all day--thinking, "What can I post to upset my good friend Dick?"

Reminds me of the time we went canoe camping and Dan came and stood by me. He was two and when I stepped into the boat, he went head first into the lake.

As we fished him out of the water, Dave yelled 'WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?'

My sarcastic reply, "I stayed awake all night planning it."

Malcolm,

No one told Marie to remove her post. They merely disagreed with it.

At that point, the poster is free to disagree back or remove the post. In this case, I concur with Marie.

Malcolm is right. I didn't want Marie to remove her post, I just said I didn't agree with it.

Everyone is right in my sight!

Malcolm wrote:

What I want to do is ask if it's not a form of censorship for us to concern ourselves as writers about whether one or more of our readers is offended by our work. Causing offense is not our intent, but when views differ and styles differ and politics differ, when one of us tells a joke or states a belief or writes a novel, the chances are pretty good somebody won't like it.

If we then change our work or remove it from circulation, we're allowing the statement "I'm offended" to become a new form of peer-pressure censorship. I do not see that as a good thing because it's becoming all too prevalent as though the new "Kings-X" around the country is shouting "I'm offended."

Such comments cause well-intentioned writers to pause. But when they force us to cease and desist, they cause great damage to our freedom of expression.

Malcolm

I think there is a difference between someone not liking something and being offended.

No one forced Marie to cease and desist.

Sometimes writers have no idea how something they have written will be taken by others. Messageboards are a big help with getting that information.

Carol

Maybe I am wrong--if so, it would not be the frist time. Marie did not write the post, she posted an email.

It seems to me it was more polite for people to give their views than to ignore the post.

We are all different. That is good.

Malcolm,
I agree with what you wrote. Freedom of expression is important. Marie made it clear that she was "passing it along" and obviously thought it had merit. The comments that ensued was no reflection on her, but on the content. It alerts us to be on guard against propaganda that is not helpful but harmful.
I was stationed in Chatteroux, France before DeGaulle made the decision to close all American military installations. Unfortunately political moves affect the average person who tend to harbor resentment against an entire country. When France opposed the invasion of Iraq the French were suddenly on our shit list. Their action proved to be right.
We need to keep in mind that people of all nations are human and have similar desires. Politics are most often at the root of hate and that includes blind patroitism.

Abe,

I'm personally very fond of France, though I find some of their attitudes about one thing and another somewhat alarming and/or humorous. There are times when it appears that France picks on the U.S. more than warranted even though they aren't always wrong.

But this is nothing new. European countries have been trading slams and rebukes and humorous repartee amongst themselves for years. Sometimes the whole thing is no more meant to be personally offensive any more than the taunts and jeers between fans at a college football game.

Yes, I know, some of the stuff gets nasty, and each of us has to draw the line at what we're personally willing to read or listen to.

Malcolm

Damn right, I am proud to be American!

Good job, Marie, you perked up the forum.

Well I'm not an American but I'm proud to be able to get to know you all. I certainly appreciate your input.

David,

I love the Brits. Make a poem for this thread. Please!




Dr Malice

Why does this always happen when I'm away? My preference would be that email messages of this nature should be posted on the poster's blog with a link to that blog (myspace, blogger, wordpress etc.).

Dear Marie,
I am so sorry.

Love,
Betty

Betty Fasig wrote:

I get a lot of these kinds of forwarded around the world stuff. There is always something to agree with. Like Marie, I am a proud American but these forwarded email epistiles pull the strings. The hidden hate is there in some cases. In this one, the dislike of the French. I have to agree with Dick on this one, Marie, it was a biased attack geared to American pride with not one valid truth.

Love,
Betty

You are right, Betty!