Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Anti-Europeanism

Right-wingers talk (and talk and talk) about the anti-Americanism of anyone who opposes George Bush’s foreign policies. But in fact, many of these wingjobs feel at least as much antipathy toward Europe and Europeans, and have just as malformed understandings of the objects of their hate, as any European leftist has toward the United States or Americans. This much-linked blog entry is case and point:

I’m sure I’m not the only one who is totally sick of reading these polls:

"President Bush’s re-election was viewed negatively by a majority of people in several European countries — including those in Britain, America’s strongest ally in the war in Iraq, Associated Press polling found. The president was not the only one viewed unfavorably. Americans generally were seen in an unfavorable light by many in France, Germany and Spain, countries not supportive of U.S. Iraq policies."

When the fuck are there going to be opinion polls done asking Americans their opinion of France? Why are we never given the opportunity to express our displeasure with these gutless European twats? Why can’t we talk about how much we hate the French as a people? Yes, Europe hates us, fine. When do we get the chance to speak?

It’s a self-parody of what Timothy Garton Ash refers to as the "anti-Europeanism" of the American right. Bummer that it's not just the French.

In fact, the only non-haters are those who reside in the intersecting part of the European and American ideological Venn diagram.

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