112 Gripes About the French • Hacker News Board

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#21

Post by drglitch » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 12:09 PM UTC

johnchristopher wrote: post #19

drglitch wrote: post #14

The original is a delight to read. Sadly, I can't help but wonder how many would be "triggered" by the answers today. How do we, as a society, start accepting rational self-criticism again?

> How do we, as a society, start accepting rational self-criticism again? A good starting point would be to stop using the word "trigger" when someone reacts in a way you don't like to something you say. Personally I interpret it as a way to diminish the other side position by suggesting they don't have control over their emotions regarding some subjects. Not a good start.

Is there a more appropriate word to describe this? Honest question as a non-native English speaker.

Seems like this is a commonly used term/usage: https://www.google.com/amp/s/dictionary.cambridge.org/us/amp...

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#22

Post by danieldbird » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 12:14 PM UTC

hef19898 wrote: post #4

CPLX wrote: post #2

The actual text: http://www.marshallfoundation.org/library/wp-content/uploads...

That text is as important now as it was then. And it can easily be used everyone, with slight adaptions, by replacing France and the US with other nations.

Israel and Palestine? That would be a good read.

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#23

Post by rsynnott » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 12:16 PM UTC

ThePadawan wrote: post #9

> (...) tensions began to rise between the French and the U.S. military personnel stationed in the country, with the former seeing the latter as arrogant and wanting to flaunt their wealth, and the latter seeing the former as proud and resentful. Well. I mean... Joking aside, the text is amazingly blunt and honest, in a rather refreshing way. "The French don't bathe." The French don't bathe often enough. They can't.…

> the text is amazingly blunt and honest

It would likely have been written to be comprehensible to people with a fairly low reading level.

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#24

Post by k__ » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 12:16 PM UTC

neximo64 wrote: post #11

k__ wrote: post #5

Interesting. I always had the impression, the US citizens and french citizen where buddies. Because of the independence war and the statue and everything.

One of the 'gripes' is: "One Frenchman told me the French practically gave us the statue of liberty. How do you like that?"

:D

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#25

Post by rsynnott » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 12:18 PM UTC

Question 74 is kind of astonishing in a modern context. I mean, I suppose maybe the average soldier in the 40s didn't understand what the Nazis _were_ in the way they would now, but I'm surprised it needed to be addressed.

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#26

Post by lotsofcows » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 12:19 PM UTC

hef19898 wrote: post #4

CPLX wrote: post #2

The actual text: http://www.marshallfoundation.org/library/wp-content/uploads...

That text is as important now as it was then. And it can easily be used everyone, with slight adaptions, by replacing France and the US with other nations.

Other way around. This text seems very similiar to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Instructions-British-Servicemen-Fra... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Instructions-American-Servicemen-Br...

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#27

Post by holografix » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 12:20 PM UTC

I find this an embarrassingly entertaining read! I particularly like this bit:

“The French are not up-to-date. They’re not modern. They’re living in the past."

“… The World Almanac for 1945 concludes that as far as social legislation is concerned, "France is in the vanguard" .. The French were certainly up-to-date in establishing old age pensions, compulsory insurance against illness, disability and death, maternity insurance, and so on. It was France that introduced the forty-hour work week.”

Clearly the author views theses social policies positively. I wander if that was what the average American thought back in 45.

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#28

Post by baby » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 12:22 PM UTC

nradov wrote: post #16

baby wrote: post #8

I'm guessing such a book exists in south korea at the moment? I've heard that there's a lot of tension between the US army and the locals. One soldier even raped some local girl back in 2011. The problem is that people in the army are not the most educated people, and thus they're not the best ambassadors when abroad.

Military personnel on average have more formal education then the general public. High school drop outs aren't even allowed to enlist anymore without a special waiver. Almost all officers, and many enlisted, have Bachelor's degrees. Senior officers usually have Master's degrees.

That doesn't coincide with the amount of kids that are hired in the military.

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#29

Post by read_if_gay_ » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 12:22 PM UTC

rsynnott wrote: post #23

ThePadawan wrote: post #9

> (...) tensions began to rise between the French and the U.S. military personnel stationed in the country, with the former seeing the latter as arrogant and wanting to flaunt their wealth, and the latter seeing the former as proud and resentful. Well. I mean... Joking aside, the text is amazingly blunt and honest, in a rather refreshing way. "The French don't bathe." The French don't bathe often enough. They can't.…

> the text is amazingly blunt and honest It would likely have been written to be comprehensible to people with a fairly low reading level.

There's also an excerpt from the NYT in there, number 33.

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#30

Post by adamjb » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 12:23 PM UTC

drglitch wrote: post #21

johnchristopher wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How do we, as a society, start accepting rational self-criticism again? A good starting point would be to stop using the word "trigger" when someone reacts in a way you don't like to something you say. Personally I interpret it as a way to diminish the other side position by suggesting they don't have control over their emotions regarding some subjects. Not a good start.

Is there a more appropriate word to describe this? Honest question as a non-native English speaker. Seems like this is a commonly used term/usage: https://www.google.com/amp/s/dictionary.cambridge.org/us/amp...

"Offended" would be my suggestion. "Triggered" is only really used in this sense as part of bad faith culture war discourse, mocking the idea of trigger warnings.