the french

why are we as americans led to jokingly dislike them... also, is the feeling mutual or do they genuinely dislike us?

rogermugs wrote:

why are we as americans led to jokingly dislike them... also, is the feeling mutual or do they genuinely dislike us?

disclaimer: I've been to france so my post is about second hand reports.

My perspective on this is that our dislike of them is rooted in their treatment of Americans in the first place. Particularly American Tourist. There's plenty of antidotal evidence that they typically treated Americans with an arrogance and snobby attitude for some reason. Basically if they're not going to like us, we're not going to like them type of thought.

My response is really just a guess. maflynn's response sound pretty accurate to me, However, I'm not sure if the "arrogance" is real or just perceived. I wonder sometimes if it is just cultural differences that we perceive differently than what it is intended. But, since I have little actual expereince with the French, then I cannot make a call on that either way.

I also think of some of the politcal moves that we make differently. I cannot think of a specific instance, but it seems that fairly regularly the French (government, i guess) takes a position on something that is completely different than what the US would make. While they are likely making decisions based on what is best for them, we may look at it from our side of the fence thinking that they are going against the grain... And I believe that this is rooted in our own arrogance (as Americans) to think that everyone else must do and say exaclty what we do and say...

Just my thoughts......

we did steal the lingua franco (which is a pretty funny way to say the language of the world) from them.
i'd be bitter too if all of a sudden i had to learn another language instead of everyone learning mine.