NationStates Jolt Archive

My neighbor said this at last thanksgiving

Me -- What are you and your family doing this thanksgiving?
Him -- French people do not celebrate thanksgiving
Me -- why not?
Him -- because the French are independent we do not need to thank anyone for anything

i was like OMFG --- um WWI, WWII, etc.

French official (dont know who) in the 1960's

"We want all USA soldiers out of France you have been here since the 1940's and it is time for you all to leave"

USA general responds -- does that include all of our dead at Normandy sir?

the french guy stfu after that :D

*edit* all the french ppl out there please dont flame me i dont dislike all french ppl just the ignorant ones (i dont like ignorant antyone BtW)

If you dislike all ignorant people, and like the French, why did you single out the French? I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!

i never said i like the french sir i just said i dont dislike all of them

and what is this farting business? either shit or get off of the pot

What UberPenguinLand said.

i never said i like the french sir i just said i dont dislike all of them

and what is this farting business? either shit or get off of the pot

Dude. You've never seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail? :headbang:

i did i see it in 5th grade it was absolutely stupid i hate monty python

My neighbor said this at last thanksgiving

Me -- What are you and your family doing this thanksgiving?
Him -- French people do not celebrate thanksgiving
Me -- why not?
Him -- because the French are independent we do not need to thank anyone for anything

You do actually know what Thanksgiving is about do you? This is almost as absurd as a friend of mine who couldn't get it through his head that as a Jew I didn't celebrate Christmas. It has no meaning to me, and Thanksgiving (for a safe arrival and a good harvest in the New World) has no meaning to the French.


And while we're on the subject how about "The French don't have a word for entrepreneur" - George W Bush.

How about the (possibly apocryphal) story about the NATO meeting where the French admiral is complaining that they always have to speak English. "Why do you arrogant Americans force us to learn your language? Why can't you learn someone else's for a change?

The American turned to the frog and said, "Son, it's because of thousands of English-speaking Americans, Brits, Canadians, Aussies and New Zealanders that you're not speaking German right now."

That settled his hash.

You do actually know what Thanksgiving is about do you? This is almost as absurd as a friend of mine who couldn't get it through his head that as a Jew I didn't celebrate Christmas. It has no meaning to me, and Thanksgiving (for a safe arrival and a good harvest in the New World) has no meaning to the French.

That's how it originated, but it's become more generalized now. Surely everyone has something to be thankful for?

Perhaps so, but it's still a specifically American holiday. A Frenchman living in America has no particular reason to be involved in it as he feels no real identification with it, it's not part of his cultural heritage. I don't imagine many Americans in France make much of a fuss over Bastille Day.

Perhaps so, but it's still a specifically American holiday. A Frenchman living in America has no particular reason to be involved in it as he feels no real identification with it, it's not part of his cultural heritage. I don't imagine many Americans in France make much of a fuss over Bastille Day.

But nobody except the French has any emotional connection to the fall of the Bastille. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, could be adopted by everyone tomorrow. Who can say no to a quiet day of thanks, spent with family and friends? Surely that kind of resonance is universal.

"Je pense que je dois vender la Louisianne aux Americains." - Napoleon Bonaparte.

The French are for the most part very fine people. I had the honor of jumping into there during the 49th and 50th year D Day celebrations. Like Americans, they are a very proud people with a much longer traditon of being world leaders. They also have a long tradition of having a very elitest government which is now around 50% communist and there in lies the the conflict with the US for the most part. It isn't the people that is the problem, it's their government.

Thanksgiving, on the other hand, could be adopted by everyone tomorrow.

No it couldn't. It's strictly a US thing. It's like Bastille Day, Guy Fawkes Night and all the rest. It's only significant to a certain nation, that nation being the US.

But nobody except the French has any emotional connection to the fall of the Bastille. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, could be adopted by everyone tomorrow. Who can say no to a quiet day of thanks, spent with family and friends? Surely that kind of resonance is universal.

That's my point - nobody but Americans have an emotional connection to Thanksgiving. Sure, we could all adopt it, I certainly don't oppose it and I doubt there's anyone who does, but it's not our holiday. Equally, you could say we should all celebrate Bastille Day as it represents a solid blow for freedom, that it happened in France shouldn't be the most pressing thing. But we're not about to adopt it because it has no resonance for us.

"I do not like this word "bomb." It is not a bomb. It is a device that is exploding."
- Jacques le Blanc, French ambassador on nuclear weapons

Liverbreath']They also have a long tradition of having a very elitest government which is now around 50% communist and there in lies the the conflict with the US for the most part.

They have a broadly left-wing, arguably socialist government (and one that often is composed of multiple parties in coalition), not a communist government. There is a real difference.

"I do not like this word "bomb." It is not a bomb. It is a device that is exploding."
- Jacques le Blanc, French ambassador on nuclear weapons

Probably because to the French a bombe is a kind of dessert and bomb a very ugly sounding sort of word in French. He clearly intended to say explosive device but due to the different way English and French work he ended up with device that is exploding. How good's your French?

Another one.

"China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese."
- Charles De Gaulle, former French President

And another

I have tried to lift France out of the mud. But she will return to her errors and vomitings. I cannot prevent the French from being French.
Charles de Gaulle

They have a broadly left-wing, arguably socialist government (and one that often is composed of multiple parties in coalition), not a communist government. There is a real difference.

I find that very interesting, that they would refer to their socialists as communists, probably much the same as we often do here when expressing contempt for them. Then again, maybe they figured it was a term we could better relate to, but they did use the word communist in describing them.

Liverbreath']I find that very interesting, that they would refer to their socialists as communists, probably much the same as we often do here when expressing contempt for them. Then again, maybe they figured it was a term we could better relate to, but they did use the word communist in describing them.

Must have been a derisive term used by people who do not sympathise with left wing politics. France is a very divided country between left and right, but there are few (if any) communists in the French government.

Perhaps so, but it's still a specifically American holiday. A Frenchman living in America has no particular reason to be involved in it as he feels no real identification with it, it's not part of his cultural heritage. I don't imagine many Americans in France make much of a fuss over Bastille Day.

I should imagine most Americans who live in france do indeed celebrate bastille day. There is nothing praiseworthy in being parochial. Especially when you choose to live in another's parish. But I guess some people have to be miserable bastards, even on St. Patrick's day. :(

Also, the Canadians have thanksgiving as well. (But theirs is earlier).

If you dislike all ignorant people, and like the French, why did you single out the French? I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!

You beat me.

That's how it originated, but it's become more generalized now. Surely everyone has something to be thankful for?

We would if your culturally imperialistic ilk would shut the hell up and stop insisting that your culture must be adhered to, lock, stock, and barrel, by all others. Or stop going to other countries and complaining "what's the matter with all you foreigners, why don't you speak English?" If both of those happened I'd be thankful for a slightly increased degree of human enlightenment.

Thanksgiving wasn't even celebrated in America until after the Civil War (it was suggested before then, but noone really bothered with it). Even after that the South rejected it for a long time as a relic of "Northern Aggression."

If it's fairly recent for America to celebrate it then why the fuck should the rest of the world. It's not like we just invented this concept of gratitude and everyone thought "hey! that's a great idea," but now refuse to sign up for the greeting cards.

BTW, the actual holiday of reflecting on the blessings of the past year is, in most cultures, traditionally the New Year.

I should imagine most Americans who live in france do indeed celebrate bastille day. There is nothing praiseworthy in being parochial. Especially when you choose to live in another's parish. But I guess some people have to be miserable bastards, even on St. Patrick's day. :(

Also, the Canadians have thanksgiving as well. (But theirs is earlier).

Ya, but you can't count them they do everything American with a little twist to pretend it's all their own. They play American Football, but with a slightly shorter field and call it Canadian Football.

"The French don't have a word for entrepreneur" - George W Bush.



If he said something like that, why haven't I heard of it by now?

Ya, but you can't count them they do everything American with a little twist to pretend it's all their own. They play American Football, but with a slightly shorter field and call it Canadian Football.

True that. America Junior even celebrates July 4th on July 1st or something weird.

If he said something like that, why haven't I heard of it by now?
Because you didn't look, Mr. know-it-all? (http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22The+French+don%27t+have+a+word+for+entrepreneur%22&meta=) :rolleyes:

But nobody except the French has any emotional connection to the fall of the Bastille. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, could be adopted by everyone tomorrow. Who can say no to a quiet day of thanks, spent with family and friends? Surely that kind of resonance is universal.


I can..me and the colonel dont get along

i did i see it in 5th grade it was absolutely stupid i hate monty python
Not making friends here

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/bush.htm

This thread is the worst on the board at the moment. Everyone says stupid things, we could go on about bushisms for days.

Locked for trolling.