Minor things that bother you

[Max Rockatansky]

I've never come across American francoxenophobia.

It was rare when I was a kid in the 1980s but it existed among some elderly.  The same generation in the area had a way bigger dislike of the Germans.  My grandpa disowned his German heritage after World War II. 

[LilianaUwU]

I've never come across American francoxenophobia.

You haven't been on the Internet very much, then. Lots of people making "jokes" that are thinly veiled xenophobia.

[JayhawkCO]

I've never come across American francoxenophobia.

I think it's retaliatory because Americans that don't have passports think every person in Paris hates them.

[bugo]

I wonder how many people who live up north, especially the northeast, snickered at the Texas apparent lack of preparation for snow. And, now, they are staring down at winter warnings and blizzard warnings with the public officials saying "Stay home!!! It's not safe to drive!", not to mention the commercial vehicle restrictions that are being placed in effect. And, these areas are better prepared for winter weather than most of Texas.

Well, it is the size of the storm that's coming into play here...

Agreed. If you get knocked out by a 4-year-old, you deserve to get laughed at. If you get knocked out by prime Mike Tyson, it's a different story.

It's apples and oranges. Southern winter storms are not like Northern winter storms. Southern storms tend to produce a lot of ice, which is much more dangerous to drive on. The drivers up North are used to driving on snow and the road departments are more prepared to deal with it because they get a lot of snow every single year. Down here, we get one or two winter storms in a year, sometimes none, occasionally more than two, but there isn't snow on the ground for months at a time.

It's kind of like how San Andreas earthquakes hit differently than New Madrid earthquakes because of the differences in the underlying rocks.

I'm from the South, but I lived in Kansas City for a few years, so I can drive on snow. I was living in Knob Noster, and I got a good job in Kansas City. I woke up on the first day of work, and there were 6 inches of snow on the ground that weren't there when I went to bed. I couldn't miss work, so I left as soon as I could get dressed and take a shower (not necessarily in that order). I had driven on the snow a few times before that, so I knew what not to do, but I got good at driving on it really quickly. I drove the 125 mile round trip every day for a month, when I got an apartment in Kansas City. The snow didn't melt for a long time, so I got plenty of practice. I was driving at 60 MPH on a 4 lane divided US 50 that had two tracks in the middle of each carriageway. You just have to slow down well in advance if you need to slow down. Southern drivers don't understand that.

[vdeane]

The quality at Mrs. Fields seems to be declining.  The last two times I've been there, instead of the soft and chewy cookie cake slice goodness, they've been hard, as if they've been over-baked or left to become stale.  Sadly, they're the only place I'm aware of around here that sells cookie cake anything in personal quantities - all the grocery stores sell large cakes meant to feed an entire family.  There's no personal size like what Wegmans (used to?) sell.  I don't know how I'll fulfill my cravings anymore.

At least Great American Cookies had consistent quality while they were still here, even if they weren't as good as Mrs. Fields used to be.

[kphoger]

I've never come across American francoxenophobia.

You haven't been on the Internet very much, then. Lots of people making "jokes" that are thinly veiled xenophobia.

meh.  As an actual American living in actual America, I don't hear people talking crap about the French.  Even when France protested the Iraq War and some fringe people started calling French fries "freedom fries" in response, I never heard a single person IRL do so.

I think it's retaliatory because Americans that don't have passports think every person in Paris hates them.

For what it's worth, when I was in Paris in the 1990s, the people there did seem to hate us.  Until we told them we weren't British, that is.  Once they learned we were American, then they were cool with us.  I imagine that dynamic may have shifted a bit over the ensuing thirty years.

[Molandfreak]

I've never come across American francoxenophobia.

It was rare when I was a kid in the 1980s but it existed among some elderly.  The same generation in the area had a way bigger dislike of the Germans.  My grandpa disowned his German heritage after World War II. 

Most recently, a cause for francoxenophobia is the narrative that they were cowardly for their quick surrender during WWII, ignoring both the reasons they did it and French military history prior to WWII.

Francoxenophobia could be baked into Anglo-American culture simply due to the fact that the colonial interests of the French were different, and the legacy left by French colonialism outside Québec includes the Métis, Cajun, and Creole peoples whom didn't fit neatly into the vision of a white, Anglo-Saxon, protestant America popularized by Manifest Destiny. Even within Québec, the French population was more likely to be illiterate and less economically successful than the Anglo population until the mid-20th Century when protections for the French language were established in Canada.

Some narratives that I have seen floating around in Anglo-Canadian sources include the notion that a continued equal status of French leads to less economic productivity and opportunities for First Nations and immigrant populations, but I don't believe it's an all-or-nothing issue: if a government agency can ensure someone who is able to communicate in French is on-site at all times, there is nothing wrong with employing folks who are not skilled in the language. Especially if they also know an indigenous or major immigrant language in lieu of French.

[Scott5114]

I've never come across American francoxenophobia.

You've never heard of "freedom fries"?

[Big John]

I've never come across American francoxenophobia.

You've never heard of "freedom fries"?

He thought it was a fringe saying.

[Rothman]

The quality at Mrs. Fields seems to be declining.  The last two times I've been there, instead of the soft and chewy cookie cake slice goodness, they've been hard, as if they've been over-baked or left to become stale.  Sadly, they're the only place I'm aware of around here that sells cookie cake anything in personal quantities - all the grocery stores sell large cakes meant to feed an entire family.  There's no personal size like what Wegmans (used to?) sell.  I don't know how I'll fulfill my cravings anymore.

At least Great American Cookies had consistent quality while they were still here, even if they weren't as good as Mrs. Fields used to be.

I haven't had a Mrs. Fields cookie in decades since they were in decline by the late 1990s...

[Molandfreak]

The quality at Mrs. Fields seems to be declining.  The last two times I've been there, instead of the soft and chewy cookie cake slice goodness, they've been hard, as if they've been over-baked or left to become stale.  Sadly, they're the only place I'm aware of around here that sells cookie cake anything in personal quantities - all the grocery stores sell large cakes meant to feed an entire family.  There's no personal size like what Wegmans (used to?) sell.  I don't know how I'll fulfill my cravings anymore.

At least Great American Cookies had consistent quality while they were still here, even if they weren't as good as Mrs. Fields used to be.

I haven't had a Mrs. Fields cookie in decades since they were in decline by the late 1990s...

Jeez, what did the late 1990s do to you? You seem to think every single food product went bad during that time. Did you keep a bunch of things in your fridge for too long or something?

[Scott5114]

Jeez, what did the late 1990s do to you? You seem to think every single food product went bad during that time. Did you keep a bunch of things in your fridge for too long or something?

The food has been in his fridge since the late 1990s.

[Rothman]

Jeez, what did the late 1990s do to you? You seem to think every single food product went bad during that time. Did you keep a bunch of things in your fridge for too long or something?

The food has been in his fridge since the late 1990s.

If it ain't bad, no need to fix it.

Eh, I suppose when it comes to cookies, I just prefer to bake them myself over buying them at the store, when it comes down to it.

Mrs. Fields certainly went off the cliff around the turn of the century, though.

[Molandfreak]

Eh, I suppose when it comes to cookies, I just prefer to bake them myself over buying them at the store, when it comes down to it.

Holy shit, a Rothman food take I actually agree with. 

[CoreySamson]

I dislike cookies. The reason is a minor thing that bothers me: food allergies. I'm moderately allergic to eggs and shellfish, and majorly allergic to nuts. As such, I've grown to associate the gross feeling in my throat after I eat a normal chocolate chip cookie with its texture and consistency. I honestly don't really bother with dessert as a whole because of those allergies.

Strangely, as a result, I love really hard and crunchy cookies (Oreos, Chips Ahoy, etc.). My grandma makes these chocolate chip bar cookies that don't have eggs, and I could eat those for days.

[Beltway]

Jeez, what did the late 1990s do to you? You seem to think every single food product went bad during that time. Did you keep a bunch of things in your fridge for too long or something?

The food has been in his fridge since the late 1990s.

Using suspended animation, foods can be kept fresh for over 100 years.

[vdeane]

The quality at Mrs. Fields seems to be declining.  The last two times I've been there, instead of the soft and chewy cookie cake slice goodness, they've been hard, as if they've been over-baked or left to become stale.  Sadly, they're the only place I'm aware of around here that sells cookie cake anything in personal quantities - all the grocery stores sell large cakes meant to feed an entire family.  There's no personal size like what Wegmans (used to?) sell.  I don't know how I'll fulfill my cravings anymore.

At least Great American Cookies had consistent quality while they were still here, even if they weren't as good as Mrs. Fields used to be.

I haven't had a Mrs. Fields cookie in decades since they were in decline by the late 1990s...

I've never had their regular cookies.  I just go for their cookie cake slices (formerly the cookie cups as well, but those have changed).  Love soft cookie in cake form with the frosting and everything.  I wasn't familiar with them prior to the late 00s or early 10s though, so I can't imagine how much better it was earlier.

[bugo]

Pepperidge Farms makes the best cookies. I've tried a bunch of their cookies, and they were all outstanding. Milano is perhaps their most famous cookie, but Tahoe, Chessmen, Montauk, Sausalito, Chesapeake, Nantucket, Brussels, Pirouette, Lido, Bordeaux, Orleans, Geneva, Lisbon and various Farmhouse flavors are all wonderful. The quality of the ingredients must be much higher than what Oreo and Chips Ahoy and other mainstream cookies, because it tastes so much better. Their cookies are sweet but not saccharine, and they don't have that bitter aftertaste that Oreos have. The sweetness is somehow superior and purer tasting to other cookie brands. You can't go wrong with any of their cookies. I haven't tried a single Pepperidge Farm cookie variety that I don't really, really like.

[kkt]

I've never come across American francoxenophobia.

You've never heard of "freedom fries"?

I've heard of politicians and pundits using the phrase.  I've never heard of any normal person in everyday life doing so.

[kkt]

The quality at Mrs. Fields seems to be declining.  The last two times I've been there, instead of the soft and chewy cookie cake slice goodness, they've been hard, as if they've been over-baked or left to become stale.  Sadly, they're the only place I'm aware of around here that sells cookie cake anything in personal quantities - all the grocery stores sell large cakes meant to feed an entire family.  There's no personal size like what Wegmans (used to?) sell.  I don't know how I'll fulfill my cravings anymore.

At least Great American Cookies had consistent quality while they were still here, even if they weren't as good as Mrs. Fields used to be.

I liked the Nestle's dough.  Preheat oven, break the dough into cookies, put them on the cookiesheet, add a half pecan and a couple more chocolate chips to each.  By the time that's done the oven is heated, pop them in for 12 minutes, and they're wonderful fresh out of the oven.  Sadly I am instructed that I should be leaving cookie snacks behind me.

[bugo]

This Francophobia seems really overblown to me. Americans can't say anything worse than the rest of the world is saying about us right now (and with good reason). I don't think I've ever heard anybody tell me they hated the French in my life. And I've heard a lot of racist and xenophobic slurs in my life.

[Big John]

I've never come across American francoxenophobia.

You've never heard of "freedom fries"?

I've heard of politicians and pundits using the phrase.  I've never heard of any normal person in everyday life doing so.

I then saw a handful of restaurants use that term. I did not eat there.

[kphoger]

Most recently, a cause for francoxenophobia is the narrative that they were cowardly for their quick surrender during WWII, ignoring both the reasons they did it and French military history prior to WWII.

People have always made jokes about the French during WWII.  But that doesn't make us like French people any less.  If anything, they just have a reputation for being snooty.  Kind of like how Americans have a reputation for being obnoxious, Germans have a reputation for being sticklers, Italians have a reputation for being flirtatious, etc, etc, etc.  The people of different countries have come to have different reputations, and France is no exception.

I've never come across American francoxenophobia.

Even when France protested the Iraq War and some fringe people started calling French fries "freedom fries" in response, I never heard a single person IRL do so.

You've never heard of "freedom fries"?

Yes, I heard about them.  But only as a rumor.  Only people making fun of other people reportedly calling them that.  I never actually heard anybody adopt the term for real.

This Francophobia seems really overblown to me. Americans can't say anything worse than the rest of the world is saying about us right now (and with good reason). I don't think I've ever heard anybody tell me they hated the French in my life. And I've heard a lot of racist and xenophobic slurs in my life.

Don't forget that the accusation was levied at us by the most vocally anti-American member of this forum.

[LilianaUwU]

This Francophobia seems really overblown to me. Americans can't say anything worse than the rest of the world is saying about us right now (and with good reason). I don't think I've ever heard anybody tell me they hated the French in my life. And I've heard a lot of racist and xenophobic slurs in my life.

Don't forget that the accusation was levied at us by the most vocally anti-American member of this forum.

100% of my hate towards America is against those who see me and my friends as lesser because of identity, which unfortunately is also the current administration's point of view.

What I've seen on the Internet doesn't just apply to Americans, though it's often the case since I mainly hang out with Americans. Anyways, it's definitely tiring to see "French bad pls upvote" for the 100th time by people you'd think would be above those jokes (i.e. leftists preaching tolerance).

[kphoger]

100% of my hate towards America is against those who see me and my friends as lesser because of identity, which unfortunately is also the current administration's point of view.

What I've seen on the Internet doesn't just apply to Americans, though it's often the case since I mainly hang out with Americans. Anyways, it's definitely tiring to see "French bad pls upvote" for the 100th time by people you'd think would be above those jokes (i.e. leftists preaching tolerance).

Do you mean transgender identity?  Recent polls are hard to find, but it looks like about 40%–45% of French respondents in one poll last year said they do not accept trans women as women.  Maybe you should hate France too.