It's sickening that it took what happened on Friday to get people to stop hating France.

[Ken Burch]

Especially since the French never did anything to deserve that hatred in the first place.

I hope the "freedom fries" crowd feels at least slightly embarrassed now.

[AuntPatsy]

1. The sickening reality is that they are not n the least embarrassed. Not in the least...

[Travis_0004]

2. Was anybody still hating on France

I would assume most people were over that 10 years ago.

[Shandris]

5. With nothing but Republican family members...

...and living in a Red State, you'd think I'd have heard at least ONE SINGLE TIME in the past decade about someone hating France, but I got nothing.

It must be one of those newfangled 'one person did it, so it means {INSERT GROUP IDENTITY LABEL HERE} support it!' things.

[tavernier]

7. I hear it almost everytime I'm in a group

and the subject of travel comes up. Since I vacation in Paris every few years, I mention it as one of my favorite places. Invariably there will be at least one person in the crowd who needs to insult the country. Usually it starts with how terribly the french treat americans (they've heard), and how dirty the the cities are (they've never been), and my favorite... How bad the food is. 😂😂😂 And yes, they are always republicans who still carry a grudge that France would not stand with Bush and Cheney re. the Iraq war.

[Shandris]

8. Wow, that's just beyond sad.

I really can't imagine how someone could still be upset about that, but then again I suppose every now and then you still even hear the old anti-Japanese Pearl Harbor tripe too. I think I lucked out (...in a relative sense) with the group I got related to, because they aren't much like the ones I read about here.

I don't think I could handle it if they were. Heck, if they were HALF of what some of you deal with, I'd go insane.

[tavernier]

16. Oh yeah, they're out there.

I get these attitudes and comments quite often. Perhaps it's the age group... I'm talking about people 50 and above. And yes, I have from time to time heard the old anti Japanese tripe as well.

[Lizzie Poppet]

3. Our oldest ally, our first friend. Francophobes can go fuck themselves.

[Yorktown]

4. Anyway, national stereotypes are so stupid

You can find the whole rainbow in France or the US:

Marine Le Pen isn't cool and not every American is Dick Cheney.

[left on green only]

6. I Participated In Another Thread Pretaining To This Topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027348479

I agree with some others in this thread in that I was never really aware that this right wing meme was embraced by anyone, except perhaps by a few from the sociointelligence strata who eat most of their meals while glued to the Fox news channel that is so proudly displayed on the public viewing screens at their local McDonalds outlets.

[JustAnotherGen]

10. I was aware of it

And it is reflected in the comments of the "tweeters" on the Right making political points for the Republicans that were prominent in the news back then.

[JustAnotherGen]

9. France to Veto Resolution in Iraq - 2003

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/11/international/europe/11FRAN.html

And I agree - and I've also been around people with an ignorant resistance to France. The country I deliberately made a point to travel to at least once a year - multiple times in 2007-2008 - during the freedom Fries stupidity.

I was in France in May 2007 watching the Chirac turn over to Sarkozy on television with French citizens.

Whats funny is that if you really dig into it - Chirac followed opposition but received the most press because well - He was the President of France.

Fast forward to last Friday.

The theater - the gun man /bomber who said this was for Syria and Iraq needed to turn off Fox News.

He missed the whole thing where the people I was with that May night in 2007 in Ramatuelle gave me a light ribbing (they knew I detested Bush and out He Who Is Stupid needing to have read a book or two on their Algerian War.

Two of those women I hold in my heart and are okay, safe and sound in Paris.

But one - Mona - pointed out on Facebook that that if they want to be mad about Syria that is fine with her. But she took issue with them blaming France for Iraq. She had last time I checked more than 70 likes from her fellow French women and men - and this American woman in NJ.

[Tipperary]

11. Who hates France?

I love France and I am happy to say I never met anyone who "hates" France.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

15. I've never had a problem with France either

I'm sure I probably had some ancestors from there a long time ago. I know my great grand parents were Québécois. Sometimes I wish they never came to the US because then I'd be Canadian. I have run into a few not so bright folks that thought Maine was a part of Canada though.

[Vinca]

12. Anyone obsessed with a hatred of France is suffering from paranoid delusions.

I guess that's most of the GOP.

[FLPanhandle]

13. I live in a red county with plenty of republican friends and neighbors

I never heard anyone hating on France except for a brief moment in time over a decade ago.

[Iggo]

14. They just hate Muslims more.