Not All the French
I recently talked to an associate of mine of French descent, and he was upset with me for my French Bashing. I did a little self reflecting, and yes, I have been very intolerant of the French. My comments have not been accurately aimed at those that should feel shame and dishonor, and any Frenchmen reading my blog could assume that I am somehow a French Hater. So let me start here with an apology. To all the people of France and of French heritage, if I offended you or insulted you, then I humbly, and publicly apologize. Hold on, don’t get to excited, this apology comes with some provisos.
I work with some hard corps French Foreign Legion operators and I value their friendship as well as the remarkable skills they bring to the team. These men are warriors and competent soldiers. It is not any reflection on them that the FFL has never won a battle. If the military leadership that makes the decision to fight or run, chooses to run away and hide, that does not mean all French soldiers are cowards. If Politicians are telling their soldiers not to fight because of political reasons, then the military is not responsible for the dishonor, the Politicians are.
I do have an issue with the policies of France. Serving in Iraq has given me a unique perspective you can only appreciate from over here. The world was duped in the beginning of the war, when France refused to go along with the United Nations resolution to remove Saddam from power. France made it sound like they were morally against the liberation of Iraq, when in fact France was in league with Saddam. The reason Saddam thumbed his nose at the world, was because he believed France could stall or misdirect the UN. They could not. When the Multinational Force arrived in Iraq, we find evidence of Frances violation of the oil for food program, and also of violations of the embargo.
The French government will criticize America for its policies of over aggressiveness, but then we see that the bunny huggers in charge cannot quell a riot by a few Islamic extremist. And when the Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy says publicly that the rioters are "scum", Sarkozy is ridiculed and called intolerant. Why cant the French call scum, scum?
In 1968, there was a movie called, The Devils Brigade, about the USA/Canadian unit that fought in WWII. One scene that I remember, was the Canadian Major Cliff Robertson, trying to explain why the Colonel should do something different. The Majors reason was, that at the battle of Such and such, the Canadian army used a different tactic. The American Colonel played by William Holden, pointed out, that the Canadians lost the battle of such and such, and the American Colonel wasn’t going to use tactics that have proven failures, just because that was how it was always done.
In modern times, America has critics from all over the world telling her what to do. French are saying we should talk more, yet it’s citizens are burning the city down. Why would America change it’s policies to placate countries that have shown failure? The former Surgeon General under Bill Clinton, Joycelyn Elders, gave some advice on how to raise a drug free child. Unfortunately, her son was in prison for drugs. Why would anyone take advice on raising a drug free child from her? Before you criticize America, forget your intentions and look at your actions. Then shut up. Until your Countries policies lead to the prosperity and Freedom enjoyed by Americans your just blowing hot air.
If you are a Frenchmen or descendent of Frenchmen, and you feel I have slighted you unjustly, I apologize. But if you are a vocal Bush hater, Anti America protestor, or you hide in your room while the world around you collapses, then I stand firm in my criticisms. Ladies and gentlemen, shame is a powerful motivator. If someone is ashamed of their actions, they may change their behavior. But with out the feelings of remorse, negative behaviors are sure to be repeated. Maybe if the French Military and French Government stood firm and learned to fight, then we will never have a repeat of Hitler walking into France and the only challenge presented was a waiter saying, “table for 100,000?” If the people of France are ashamed that they let a few Muslim thugs, and scum, burn down their cars and homes and shops, then maybe in the future someone will go outside stand up to the terrorist and the cars and buildings will never be burned again.
Mother always said, that in order for a joke to be funny, it has to have some truth in it. Stop doing things we can laugh at, and we will stop laughing at you. BUT AGAIN, if your not one of the people that has offended anyone else with arrogance and condescending diatribes, and you are not one of the handful of French that are used in jokes because of irresponsible or dishonorable behavior, then my dislikes are not aimed at you. If you are one of the millions of wonderful French Persons in the world that has never bothered anyone and goes through life with a positive outlook, then don’t put yourself in the same category as the dregs I pick on.
I work with some hard corps French Foreign Legion operators and I value their friendship as well as the remarkable skills they bring to the team. These men are warriors and competent soldiers. It is not any reflection on them that the FFL has never won a battle. If the military leadership that makes the decision to fight or run, chooses to run away and hide, that does not mean all French soldiers are cowards. If Politicians are telling their soldiers not to fight because of political reasons, then the military is not responsible for the dishonor, the Politicians are.
I do have an issue with the policies of France. Serving in Iraq has given me a unique perspective you can only appreciate from over here. The world was duped in the beginning of the war, when France refused to go along with the United Nations resolution to remove Saddam from power. France made it sound like they were morally against the liberation of Iraq, when in fact France was in league with Saddam. The reason Saddam thumbed his nose at the world, was because he believed France could stall or misdirect the UN. They could not. When the Multinational Force arrived in Iraq, we find evidence of Frances violation of the oil for food program, and also of violations of the embargo.
The French government will criticize America for its policies of over aggressiveness, but then we see that the bunny huggers in charge cannot quell a riot by a few Islamic extremist. And when the Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy says publicly that the rioters are "scum", Sarkozy is ridiculed and called intolerant. Why cant the French call scum, scum?
In 1968, there was a movie called, The Devils Brigade, about the USA/Canadian unit that fought in WWII. One scene that I remember, was the Canadian Major Cliff Robertson, trying to explain why the Colonel should do something different. The Majors reason was, that at the battle of Such and such, the Canadian army used a different tactic. The American Colonel played by William Holden, pointed out, that the Canadians lost the battle of such and such, and the American Colonel wasn’t going to use tactics that have proven failures, just because that was how it was always done.
In modern times, America has critics from all over the world telling her what to do. French are saying we should talk more, yet it’s citizens are burning the city down. Why would America change it’s policies to placate countries that have shown failure? The former Surgeon General under Bill Clinton, Joycelyn Elders, gave some advice on how to raise a drug free child. Unfortunately, her son was in prison for drugs. Why would anyone take advice on raising a drug free child from her? Before you criticize America, forget your intentions and look at your actions. Then shut up. Until your Countries policies lead to the prosperity and Freedom enjoyed by Americans your just blowing hot air.
If you are a Frenchmen or descendent of Frenchmen, and you feel I have slighted you unjustly, I apologize. But if you are a vocal Bush hater, Anti America protestor, or you hide in your room while the world around you collapses, then I stand firm in my criticisms. Ladies and gentlemen, shame is a powerful motivator. If someone is ashamed of their actions, they may change their behavior. But with out the feelings of remorse, negative behaviors are sure to be repeated. Maybe if the French Military and French Government stood firm and learned to fight, then we will never have a repeat of Hitler walking into France and the only challenge presented was a waiter saying, “table for 100,000?” If the people of France are ashamed that they let a few Muslim thugs, and scum, burn down their cars and homes and shops, then maybe in the future someone will go outside stand up to the terrorist and the cars and buildings will never be burned again.
Mother always said, that in order for a joke to be funny, it has to have some truth in it. Stop doing things we can laugh at, and we will stop laughing at you. BUT AGAIN, if your not one of the people that has offended anyone else with arrogance and condescending diatribes, and you are not one of the handful of French that are used in jokes because of irresponsible or dishonorable behavior, then my dislikes are not aimed at you. If you are one of the millions of wonderful French Persons in the world that has never bothered anyone and goes through life with a positive outlook, then don’t put yourself in the same category as the dregs I pick on.
posted at 10:26 AM
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