Freedom
fry fiasco big fat anti-French mess
Aneya Fernando
Imagine this: you’re in a debate class and instead of one person against
you, the entire class is. No, the entire school is. This has
happened to me.
Being an American in France is a tough way to live, especially with the recent
French despisal of America. Living there was like sleeping with the enemy. This
was not always the case though.
Before Bush got re-elected, France and America were on civil terms. They didn’t
love each other, but they co-existed in quasi-harmony. Then, the bomb struck:
Bush was re-elected and the thin strings that were keeping the two countries
together were savagely torn apart.
Everyone wishes they could forget the whole freedom fries fiasco. Back in March
2003, two U.S. Congressmen decided to change the name of cafeteria french fries
to “freedom fries” and french toast to “freedom toast.” This
was due to the Jacques Chirac’s unwillingness to bring French troops into
Iraq. He was against the whole invasion of Iraq to begin with.
Bush was not happy that his only ally (other than England) wasn’t agreeing
with him. In response to this, portions of America decided to go on a ridiculous
rampage against anything French. Baguette, yogurt, cheese, wine — burn
them all.
Does anyone else see the stupidity of this? How is this getting back at France?
There are millions of starving people in Africa, and here we are, crushing perfectly
good food just to prove a point. It’s so incredibly juvenile. I couldn’t
believe my eyes when I saw it on TV. That was probably the very first time I
felt ashamed to be an American.
I’m not saying I love the French. I don’t. I think French people
can be rude, arrogant, egotistical and narcissistic.
But no one else should be able to say any of that unless they have lived there
and they know first hand. Stereotypes can really hurt a country.
If you only knew what the French thought of us. They think we’re all fat
rednecks who worship Bush and wouldn’t know sophistication if it hit us
in the face. How do you like being labeled that way?
I, for one, think it is a nasty, untrue stereotype. How can one generalize a
country as large and diverse as America? That’s what I was trying to tell
my class that day in the debate. It was a couple days after the elections and
I was trying to explain that not all Americans hate the French. One particularly
scummy French boy, who has always hated me, jumped out of his seat.
“
Oh, iz zat so Aneya? So if not all Americans“‘ate us, zen why did
zey change the name to zee stupid Freedom Fries! Vous pouvez me dire
ca?”
I couldn’t tell him why we had done that. He had gotten me. I stood there,
silently trying to think of a good comeback. I had none.
The French boy looked over at me with a most evil smirk and I hated him. I sat
back down, feeling frustrated and defeated.
And now here I am, back in the good old USA. I love being back in my home country.
What I don’t like is the anti-French sentiment still going on today, two
years after the freedom fries debacle.
We can’t let that happen again. Next time, think before you dump your French
yogurt down the sink. Try and be a compassionate person and realize what a selfish
statement you’re making. You can say whatever you want about the French — just
make sure you have your facts right before you do. And always remember — what
goes around comes around.
Aneya Fernando is a freshman journalism major.
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