> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of Erik Reuter
... > in an earlier thread, certainly looks to me like you picked this fight. Absolutely. I jumped into the thread because I found what I read to be important and inaccurate. So, sure, I started the argument, quite deliberately. It bothers me greatly to see a war being justified by unfair characterizations of an entire nation, a nation that I probably know better than any outside the U.S., with the possible exception of some of Latin America. And I probably do have a soft spot for France -- French is the only second language I've ever learned well (starting when I was 10 years old and hated it), my father fought there in WWII and made lifelong friends who treat me like family, I proposed to my wife in the middle of Notre Dame cathedral, I love the food there, and I can make a pate de foie gras en croute that even a wealthy, somewhat snooty Frenchman complimented (although he's actually Basque, so maybe he doesn't count). And Gautam's comments about gratitude hit hardest, since I've been personally thanked so many times by French strangers. I am quite uncertain of how to respond to idea that my criticisms imply an accusation of facism, so perhaps I blew that. > And you criticizing someone for dropping names??? Next, will you be > criticizing someone for defending their argument with their resume? Who one had lunch with doesn't have any bearing on an argument unless that person provided authoritative, germane information at lunch. Otherwise all it says is, "I hang out with important people, therefore I must be important." I know a lot about this; I'm often inclined to do the same and have worked pretty hard to break the habit. It comes from being surprised that one is privileged enough to associate with the powerful, which is to say that its roots are in self-esteem deficiencis. I'm talking about my own issues now. The same Frenchman who appreciated my foie gras did a great deal to help me recognize and deal with that (in a typically blunt and demanding French manner!). His usual line was, "Nobody cares." Irritated the hell out of me, but it eventually got through. > Here's how google translated that :-) > > You speak the French history like a cow about right-hand side. And > if you understand (without assistance), perhaps you know liked that I > think. I used a couple of idioms in the first sentence, so that automatic translators would not do well. There are probably volumes written about the use of cows in French idoms, puns and jokes. I don't get most of them, but the one I've alluded to here is probably the most common. Nick _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
