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First, let's get this clear: as far as I know, we only have two cases of McDonald's restaurants attacks in France. One non-violent, symbolic dismantlement by le

First, let's get this clear: as far as I know, we only have two cases of McDonald's restaurants attacks in France. One non-violent, symbolic dismantlement by leftist leader Jose Bove and one bomb attack by right-wing independendists in Brittany (it killed one person). As far as I'm concerned, I mostly listen to US music, read US authors and watch US movies so basically I can't speak against your culture (well, OUR culture that is). It's so much rich and broad than what we have here. And most french people (secretly) agree; but they're way too proud to admit it. What europeans and basically the rest of the world really hate is your leaders. Not that ours are better, but at least they don't use massive fire power against other countries (I'm talking about western europe here; Russian leaders are certainly as crazy as the hawks in Washington). Oh, by the way: french people don't really like China in fact; they blame it for "stealing" our jobs.

bilbo0s 19y ago
Just to dig a little deeper I wanted to ask a few questions. I assume you are Franco-American. Is this true? Secondly, I am certain that you are aware that your own leaders are rattling the sabers for war with Iran right now as well. Why is it that the French would elect Sarko, and continue to bash Bush? (I am no friend of Bush by the way, it's just something I have been wondering). Next, you say that you love our culture, and from what I see in Paris I would have to agree. You also seem a little sino-phillic as well, with martial arts, Chinese medicine, and the Chinese film industry doing as well as it is in France. Would it be fair to say then that CULTURAL hegemony, either American or Chinese, is not what is so galling to the rest of the world. Rather the, military hegemony in the case of the US, and the financial hegemony, in the case of Japan and China? Do you believe it is the military and financial hegemonies that spook others? Lastly, the wording of my post was probably poor. When I said that the French blow up McDonald's restaurants, I was referring to the incident in Brittany. I only mentioned Paris because I wanted to point out a well known place, in a well known city where another cultural hegemony had a foothold.
- davidw 19y ago
  I can't quite pin down what it is, but I think this is the most reddit-like thread I've read here in a while. Perhaps it's words like 'hegemony', mentioning of Bush, war, and so on.
  - corentin 19y ago
    What's wrong with reddit-like, as long as it's not trolling, ad-hominem, three-word messages and stuff?
    - davidw 19y ago
      Well, the original article was pretty far off-topic, and that has only bred discussions that are even further ranging. I guess I find bilbo0s' postings to be a bit vague and not well defined. China has a hegemony because it has a few actors and lots of restaurants? Can Italy be one too, then? That brought out the comparison by ph0rque, typical of reddit posts, that the US is "just like (X|Y|Z)". And now I'm adding meaningless meta-commentary. Bleagh:-( (BTW, your comments were brief and to the point, and weren't what I was taking issue with).
- corentin 19y ago
  Nope, I'm franco-french (and I never went to the US). The french elected Sarkozy because he's a real expert at marketing communication / propaganda (heck, during the french elections american spin doctors came here to see how he worked) and because the alternative was not that great either (socialists). And the french bash Bush because, well, they bash everything ;) Regarding the second point, I agree: it's more about military and financial issues than cultural ones. But we're not that attracted by China; most young people are mainly interested by Japan (manga and anime stuff).
  - bilbo0s 19y ago
    Thanx

bilbo0s 19y ago

Just to dig a little deeper I wanted to ask a few questions. I assume you are Franco-American. Is this true? Secondly, I am certain that you are aware that your own leaders are rattling the sabers for war with Iran right now as well. Why is it that the French would elect Sarko, and continue to bash Bush? (I am no friend of Bush by the way, it's just something I have been wondering). Next, you say that you love our culture, and from what I see in Paris I would have to agree. You also seem a little sino-phillic as well, with martial arts, Chinese medicine, and the Chinese film industry doing as well as it is in France. Would it be fair to say then that CULTURAL hegemony, either American or Chinese, is not what is so galling to the rest of the world. Rather the, military hegemony in the case of the US, and the financial hegemony, in the case of Japan and China? Do you believe it is the military and financial hegemonies that spook others? Lastly, the wording of my post was probably poor. When I said that the French blow up McDonald's restaurants, I was referring to the incident in Brittany. I only mentioned Paris because I wanted to point out a well known place, in a well known city where another cultural hegemony had a foothold.

davidw 19y ago
I can't quite pin down what it is, but I think this is the most reddit-like thread I've read here in a while. Perhaps it's words like 'hegemony', mentioning of Bush, war, and so on.
- corentin 19y ago
  What's wrong with reddit-like, as long as it's not trolling, ad-hominem, three-word messages and stuff?
  - davidw 19y ago
    Well, the original article was pretty far off-topic, and that has only bred discussions that are even further ranging. I guess I find bilbo0s' postings to be a bit vague and not well defined. China has a hegemony because it has a few actors and lots of restaurants? Can Italy be one too, then? That brought out the comparison by ph0rque, typical of reddit posts, that the US is "just like (X|Y|Z)". And now I'm adding meaningless meta-commentary. Bleagh:-( (BTW, your comments were brief and to the point, and weren't what I was taking issue with).
corentin 19y ago
Nope, I'm franco-french (and I never went to the US). The french elected Sarkozy because he's a real expert at marketing communication / propaganda (heck, during the french elections american spin doctors came here to see how he worked) and because the alternative was not that great either (socialists). And the french bash Bush because, well, they bash everything ;) Regarding the second point, I agree: it's more about military and financial issues than cultural ones. But we're not that attracted by China; most young people are mainly interested by Japan (manga and anime stuff).
- bilbo0s 19y ago
  Thanx