Anger against France leads to vandalism towards local woman
By The Associated Press
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(3/17/03- Houston) — For Francoise Thomas, the anger against France for its continuing opposition to military action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein hadn't hit home until she read about it on one of her doors.
When Thomas took out the garbage Saturday morning, she saw red letters spray-painted on the garage door of her townhouse.

"Scum go back to France," it read.

"I nearly had a heart attack," she told the Houston Chronicle in Monday's editions.

Thomas, who has lived in the United States 23 years and made her career as a real estate agent here, recently retired and plans to stay in Kingwood.

"I love France and I love the U.S.," Thomas said in a slight French accent, adding that she has tried to stay out of politics on Iraq.

Neighbors criticized the vandal and said they fear it was someone they know.

"Who knows she's from France?" asked Sandra Winkler. "Only the people in the neighborhood."

An unidentified neighbor on Sunday began repainting the white garage door while others brought Thomas flowers and chocolates to show their support.

"It's just the right thing to do," the painter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said as he dabbed at then-pink marks still showing.

Thomas, who considers the graffiti a hate crime, is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrator. She requested anyone with information to call the Houston Police Department.

The anti-France backlash that has spread across the United States includes renaming "freedom" fries, a petition to rename New Orleans' French Quarter and a measure proposed by a New Jersey lawmaker to block French companies from receiving any U.S. money spent to rebuild Iraq after a war.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Uh, I hate wine? :D [img]tongue.gif[/img]

<font color="#ffccff">While I fully support peoples right to boycott all things French, I am disgusted at those who treat American Citizens and Guests to this country in this manner : </font>

Yea, that will certainly change France's mind and drum up more support here, too. There is nothing wrong with the French people (except maybe Masklinn [img]tongue.gif[/img] ), only with their current position on Iraq, and that is IMHO and my 2c. And if I can't just say "Fries" I'm saying French Fries, Freedom Fries is stupid, again, IMHO. They have nothing to do with France, and make no difference.

People who do things like this are NOT protesting anything. They are merely being mean spirited, and more than likely have no idea about what's going on in the world around them. This is a disgusting display of ignorance.

An interesting point on this is that this woman's parent (or was it grandparent) received a high level civilian medal (can't remember which one) from the US government after WWII for risking their own personal safety to hide downed US airmen from the Nazis.

Edit - Freedom Fries and wasting wine are both forms of temporary protests. Considering the renaming of the French Quarter IS ridiculous. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 03-17-2003, 04:08 PM: Message edited by: Ronn_Bman ]

As with the anti-Muslim violence post-9/11, this is simply the result of people being too ignorant to distinguish a nation and its policies from the individual citizens of the nation. And, while saying this will go against the very notion embodied in my previous sentence, on behalf of Americans I offer apologies and condolences.

To throw out your wine or other French products is kinda dumb. They already have their money for them and could care less what you do with them. I guess you could freak 'em out by having a Rothchilde with burgers... But to pick on US citizens or legal residents or legal visitors is wrong. I don't care about the legal aspects just the stupidity of it.

http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/k/lowfps.gif

has anyone thought of the concept behind the protest....ie the french dont agree with the US so therefore of course thye must be wrong

Thats a very democratic and egalatarian viewpoint isnt it ........maybe the US is worng

has anyone considerd that possability?

I think this is bordering a little close to the War line...but only probably after this post:
I fully support the French in their stance against a war with Iraq, and Germany and Russia also. This treatement of other people is totally wrong, and I also consider it disgusting. But, keep in mind, the wrong thing to do here would be blaming all Americans for this mistreatment and starting disliking them as a whole - it is only a sick individual who you get in every country.

Just as people before me, these are just my opinions.

Ignorance is bliss... so that means that some people must be happy ALL THE TIME. I'm sure Francoise's neighbors have told him all this, but IMO he should feel pity for those whos vision is so shallow and uninformed that they'd be capable of something like this.

If this is a continuing trend we might have US carrier ships looming at western Europe's shores.

As has been said, what has happened in this story is not a protest, it is criminal. Now with that said....

The US people protesting France are NOT protesting simply because the French government disagrees with the US(other than a few isolated idiots, but every country has those). Please, isn't that a bit too simplistic? If you really believe that, you aren't following the story, or you are listening to completely biased news sources.

They are protesting because they believe the French position is wrong for a variety of reasons. They believe 12 years of diplomatic effort is enough, and that the history of inspections proves that Iraq will not disarm. They believe that Saddam will never voluntarily disarm, but he will be happy to lead the international community "by the nose" as long as it works for him. They believe the French government is unwilling helping Saddam stay in power. They believe the French government is more concerned with containing the US than anything else, and that it cares little about the actual disarming of Iraq. They believe many things, but what they do not believe is that the French disagreement with the US position is cause in and of itself to protest. "Us good, them bad" is not the reasoning behind opposition to the French view on Iraq and disarmament, so please don't suggest it is.

Believe it or not, American's have considered that the US government position is wrong about Iraq, but the majority of Americans don't think that's true. You see, we can take the information about this situation and come to our own decision. We are intelligent, reasoning human beings. You can believe what you want, and so can we, but please do not assume Americans are ignorant on this issue. The assumption that Americans are mindless followers, who aren't informed, is as insulting as it is untrue.

Have you considered the possibility that those who oppose action in Iraq are wrong? Have you really, or are you just completely sure the US must be wrong? After all, we are the US. ;) [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 03-17-2003, 07:12 PM: Message edited by: Ronn_Bman ]

WOW! That's an amazing insight! :eek:

I disagree with the French position on this war, I would not of minded had they simply said that they disagreed with our position and abstained but to threaten to veto the second resolution before even Iraq had responded and to also threaten to veto any kind of military action for whatever reason is just plain ridiculous in my book.

I will not be throwing away my French goods though, hell my car is French and I'm sure as hell not throwing that out [img]redface.gif[/img] ...and all this outright anti-French behaviour is just plain childish, as childish as the French have acted towards the 2nd resolution and any possibility of military action infact, there is no need for people to lower themselves to that level. Our nations disagree on something so lets leave it at that and go our separate ways.

I am wondering why anyone needs to be assigned blame and why someone has to be wrong or right. I think this is simply the way the cultures are.

Personally, I don't believe any of the countries are wrong but I do think they have very different points of view and a different way of dealing with an issue.

On topic, I think that any bigot is looking for a way to express that. It is a hate crime and it is reprehensible. I hope they catch him - for he is a true coward.

[ 03-17-2003, 08:44 PM: Message edited by: Charean ]

<font color=orange>Total scum! That's what the painter is! Like Ms. Thomas has any control over what the French Government does! This kind of stuff is totally uncalled for and it really makes me mad!</font>

<font color=skyblue>I am glad to hear that the rest of her neighbors took it upon themselves to make her feel better by bringing her flowers and repainting her door. That was very nice of them to do so. Glad to hear there are still decent people out there. I hope that vandal is really feeling the pinch with all those others out there helping her out.</font>

That would be bad and utterly silly as there are historical reasons for this quarter to be named like that. You can't erase history ! :(

What's next ? Give us the Liberty Statue back ? :(

Back on topic : Stupid people are everywhere. Would have that happened without the US media mis-information and anti-french propaganda ? Cause you see, I doubt that someone doing that kind of stuff is clever enough to analyse France's point of view by himself.

(Oh, and Realbinky, I shall remember that :D )

Aww. Well, now maybe now I can express more clearly why I felt really upset about the wine pouring. Seems to me that when you allow such seemingly harmless stuff, directed to PEOPLE and not to a government, you in fact open the door to hateful things like what happened to that woman. :(

Boycott, I accept. Boycott is different. Boycott is NOT an emotional response directed to people - boycott is a thought-about action directed to a country as a political entity.

And while it may seem harmless to crush wine bottles, it is a display of violence directed to people. Symbolic of what ? Of the violence you would like to perform to the people behind the bottles ? :(

Ronn, BTW, would it be any different - any more justified - if the woman's family had not received a US medal ? ;)

And Ronn, the US being right or wrong has nothing to do with it. Even if the US are right, the hateful way those people chose to express their opinion is terribly, awfully, stupendously wrong.

If any concientious US citizens feel the need to dispose of French Wine or food or similar, feel free to contact me and I'll take it off their hands free of charge, simply put it in the mail and I will dispose of it for you !. Dom Perignon or Bollinger will be disposed of particularly easily.

[ 03-18-2003, 06:22 AM: Message edited by: Desdicado ]

Well, I hope you know me a little better than that. :(

It would still have been criminal and could not be justified under any circumstance. ;) :D

[ 03-18-2003, 06:58 AM: Message edited by: Ronn_Bman ]

You are exactly right, and I couldn't agree more.

I wasn't defending those actions, I was addressing points that had nothing to do with this crime. ;)

Well, I hope you know me a little better than that. :(

It would still have been criminal and could not be justified under any circumstance. ;) :D </font>[/QUOTE]Ronn, I didn't imply that you posted this as 'interesting' with bad intentions. Otherwise, I wouldn't have used a smily smiley. ;) No, I just pointed that it was a dangerous thing to post in the context.

ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moraine!! Why is it that you seem to take every comment directed at the French so personally? The person or persons who painted on this woman's door WERE NOT **protesting**, they were CRIMINALS!! They DO NOT speak for the majority, or even any significant minority in the US. They/he/she are WACKJOBS!!

How you can possibly extrapolate this CRINIMAL BEHAVIOR into saying that a protest led(directly or indirectly) to this sort of behavior???!!!??? There are assholes and nutjobs out there, and, no matter what happens in the world, they will continue to be assholes and nutjobs. Hate is hate and has NOTHING TO DO WITH PEACEFUL FORMS OF PROTEST! This incident was a hate crime, not a political statement!

I'm sorry, but it seems, to me, sort of simplistic to equate a peaceful protest with a hate filled crime. It's a MAJOR stretch, and, IMO is a seriously flawed arguement. You seem to be reacting on a purely emotional level my friend, and, IMO, seeing things that are simply not there.

Ummm...would I lose my citizenship if I hugged a French Person? Ah to hell with it...*HUGS MORAINE*. This person was a nutter Moraine, and NOT indicative of *NORMAL* US citizens. The majority of us are NOT pissed off at the French people, we're pissed off at the(to us) ridiculous, obstructionist, and hypocrital position of your GOVERNMENT. This person(the painter) took his 'opinion' WAY too far, and I for one hope that the police find him/her and arrest and prosecute them.

Also: No, it makes no difference whatsoever, to the current situation, that this person's ancestor was a war hero. Either way she deserves respect. She has nothing to do with the policy of her government. Just as I didn't deserve to be bashed for the 'crime' of being an American post 9-11, this lady doesn't deserve to be vandalized for the 'crime' of being French.

Heck I am proud of this story.

Look how they rallied around the neighbor. Comparing a protest to a crime is beyond flawed. It is a crime to deface property in the USA for ANY reason. Simple as that and whoever did it it is taking the chance of getting charged with a crime.

The community embraced the neighbor and all I see is focus on some angry person who crossed the line. Nothing about how they brought gift's and tried to cheer them up. How they painted over it. Typical

I am sure no American in France has ever (especially now) been harrased in some way. Naaaaa, never happen

......

If we only look for the negative there is plenty in this world to drown in. The person is a criminal. End of story

[ 03-18-2003, 10:02 AM: Message edited by: Mordenheim ]

AWESOME POST Mordenheim!! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
And awesome point! You're 100% right. It is incredible how the woman's neighbors rallied around and supported her! Thanks for putting the attention back where it should be. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Actually, I think Larry posted about the neighbors kindness. [img]smile.gif[/img] I too, applaud the neighbors for showing the true spirit of friendship and cooperation.

Oh...*re-reads thread* Yep, you're right. Sorry Larry! I was skimming and I missed your post. My apologies bud! Goodonya for pointing out that the neighbors were awesome and helped out the woman! [img]smile.gif[/img]

*mental note: READ the whole thread, THEN post!*