The French are our oldest and bestest friend and it’s fun to give your friend shit, I know we are probably gonna lose that friendship because we have lost our minds and that’s sucks
France has no US military bases on its soil and has refused to be entirely vassalized by the US unlike much of the rest of Europe. It’s one of few Western countries that has managed to maintain strategic autonomy in the face of US hegemony. Refusal to participate in the Iraq war is an example of this, as other Western countries like the UK followed the Americans in blindly like a dependent vassal would.
I’d venture to say most Americans wouldn’t know any of this, or think about this, when giving France shit.
That is clearly not the reason.
The French have also won the vast majority of battles and wars they’ve fought throughout their history, with a handful of notable exceptions.
And Americans can’t be bothered to read history books. It’s easier to just repeat memes that sound good to them.
I mean… Look at the news any day of the week.
Americans on the whole are incapable of understanding history at even the most surface level.
They folded like oragami in WWII, and the french have a reputation for cultural pomposity that dates back centuries so people give them shit for both. I don’t know of more than a handful of people who mean anything by it though, and the french/american cultural exchange is one of the most vibrant in the western world. Excepting politically right now (especially given the current trump BS), we’ve gotten along extremely well as nations for a long damn time and americans tend to tease their friends.
I’ve never heard the french complain about it - I have heard the french clap back with some equally devastating mockery of their own, though. Seems healthy enough.
I live in an area of the country that was explored by the French, so the names of many towns, rivers, etc are French. Locals seem to delight in butchering the French pronunciations as much as possible. Not a single one is pronounced anywhere close to correct. There is definitely an element of brotherly teasing to it.
WW2 ruined their reputation.
The Fall of France and the Vichy regime were pathetic, but the French Resistance was legendary.
They also had hundreds of years of military dominance of Europe, up until the Napoleonic Wars. Generally not so hot since then. I definitely don’t think it’s a completely deserved rep, but it undeniably exists.
I think it’s the reputation that the French got in the second world war along with Charles De Gaulle having been a MASSIVE asshole.
Thing is, the French are actually insanely good at war and often do not care about minor inconveniences like “the laws and customs of war” or “the Geneva Conventions”. It’s why half the words of the English military lexicon are French.
The French were part of the inspiration for the Geneva conventions. Due to the massive and horrific destruction the battle of Solferino caused amongst civilians.
Do most Americans give the French shit? I think most Americans don’t care one way or another TBH. Our country is famously self-centered and unaware of the rest of the world.
I do give my French friend a hard time sometimes, but it’s all in good fun. He does the same to me. I certainly do not look down upon him or his country.
The minority of Americans who do sincerely talk down about the French are ignorant and shitty, though.
Yeah this is news to me. Apparently I’m supposed to give French people shit? Sounds like a hassle.
Ignorance… that is usually the root cause
Muricans are poorly educated, half can’t read past 6th grade level and most do not read unless forced to.
In this particular case they make fun of the French for not beating the Nazis in WWII because they probably saw it in a meme somewhere but their history knowledge does not go far back enough to realize how stupid they look when they do this “seriously”
Because WWII is the only history in America. And we’ve forgotten 3/4 of that.
And the other 1/4 is mythological silliness that makes it look like the US won everything by themselves.
American exceptionalism at work. Decades of being lead to believe they are the solver of the world’s problems and the centre of the “free” world. I’d also many don’t even know that the French were involved because US education is very good at altering history to make them look superior.
US history curriculum really doesn’t spend much time talking about wars (most of it is spent talking about exceedingly boring stuff, the exploration/founding of the country, first nations cultures and sociopolitical movements like the civil rights / the vietnam protest movement / cold war), but we for sure learn about Yorktown & as a result at least some about Lafayette
I think its mostly about WW2 and Vietnam.
I ❤️ French toast, French fries, and Foie gras.
Why do educated people tolerate stupid people when the world would be a better place without ignorance?
As a native American, I can say “fuck the french” with my whole chest. I get to keep a French last name on my birth certificate for the rest of my life as a consequence of their little colonial adventures.
Honestly fuck every single old world country right in the asshole. Every last syphilis carrying flea bag immigrant can fuck right off back across the sea with your horseshit. Anyone who cannot prove their family lived on this land back before 1200 AD is to be deported immediately after being burned with branding irons.
American culture is just intrinisically aggressive and “stomp on other people/things”
I admire the French. I’d have liked to have been born French.
Since I wasn’t, though, I have no desire to visit France. France is for the French, and I’m not French.
