Question

[james_davis_nicoll]

Is it possible to find nice things to say about France without the ensuing discussion rapidly evolving into a U!S!A! U!S!A! U!S!A! discussion of health-care systems and such?

No.

Comments

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

The bit at the end about Australia reminds me of some old extremely acrimonious discussions on SHWI about Australia's carrying capacity.

Inevitable destination

[selkiechick]

I am not sure it's possible to discuss anything (on the internet), from space travel to adorable kittens or jello recipes without ending up in a discussion on health care systems or self aggrandizing nationalism... or both (and from there... to Hitler!).
Starting with France just makes that inevitable journey a bit more direct.

[galbinus-caeli.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but France really sucks because when I flew home from Paris on Air France last week the Coffee Maker and the Espresso Machine weren't working on the plane. It was horrible. Had to make due with wine.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't expect it to be in any broadly public forum, no.

Lots of people seem to be terribly threatened by the fact that the French are having the kind of lives they want (to the same degree that Americans are having they kind we want) and they're different from ours.

Which is a shame, because the comparisons, if I could get information I believed, would probably be interesting.

[carloshasanax.livejournal.com]

Charlie let Stevar back? tsk. The only thing people like Stevar understand is the fist. And the slap. and the kick to the crotch. and the ritual humiliation. Except I think he craves it. But I digress.

[dsrtao]

Yes, but you have to hold the discussion in French.


(I suspect any non-English language might work, actually.)

[schizmatic.livejournal.com]

Well, I lived in Canada for about six years, and noted that a discussion of things like, say, level of social services a government does/should provide quickly devolved into nationalism about the absolute moral superiority of Canada. (Although I suspect that if I'd known any Tories the flavor of said conversations might have been different).

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

They make decent cheese.

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

Chic. No one, no one, has chic like the French. This holds as true for the overseas departments such as Martinque and Guadeloupe, as well as for former colonies such as Vietnam and Senegal. A Frenchwoman knows how to present so little with an elán that nobody else can rival.

Not any accident the Fre3nch invented ballet and the swashbuckling historical adventure, via Dumas.

There is wine, also.

Love, C.

[agent-mimi.livejournal.com]

Everyone mentions the wine, but I find I enjoy Italian wines much more than French wines. I am a fan of traditional French "home cooking" meals, though.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Delacroix. Ingres. Monet. Renoir. Alfred Jarry. Boris Vian. Moebius.

[ross-teneyck.livejournal.com]

There was a time -- back before 9/11 and "freedom fries" and all that -- when I, in my naiveté, assumed that the reason that many people in the U.S. openly and broadly mocked the French was that it was obvious that we didn't really mean it. Because, you know, it would be ridiculous to actually have that level of bizarre animosity towards one of our major international allies. I imagined it was like the way that you're free to call your close friends names you would never hurl at a stranger; it's OK because everyone knows you're really best buds.

The popular U.S. reaction to France declining to jump on the Let's-Invade-Iraq-Because-9/11 bandwagon was quite the unpleasant eye-opener.

[errolwi.livejournal.com]

The thread does seem to be recovering nicely, and with minimal moderator intervention as well!

[agent-mimi.livejournal.com]

This reminds me, I did think of something new to shout during the 4th of July fireworks this year: "Thanks for the help, France!" I wish some of my redneckier neighbors had been around at the time.