Wow I need a shower after reading this thread.
Some of the chat aimed at Europe is a bit wild.
Bauber, could go into more detail, with regards as to the ‘pussification’ of France and how America single handedly won 2 world wars, please?
[quote]ChongLordUno wrote:
Wow I need a shower after reading this thread.
Some of the chat aimed at Europe is a bit wild.
Bauber, could go into more detail, with regards as to the ‘pussification’ of France and how America single handedly won 2 world wars, please?[/quote]
It’s maybe the shittest thread on T-Nation: from NY Thug vs. Arizona Trucker to USA vs Europe in just a few pages. Can’t believe I’m actually posting in it. But here we go… kind of in defence of France, where I spent 5 years.
In France, just about every town has a street named after Roosevelt (I believe this is called gratitude), as well as a number of others with names relating to one of the two World Wars. As a country that bore the brunt of two World Wars, the French make more of an effort not to forget, and place the remembrance of sacrifice above the bravado of “who saved who”.
The French military are active around the world. They intervene against Islamists in Mali, rescue pirated vessels off the Horn of Africa, and operated under US command in Afghanistan. Let’s all have a good lol at this bunch of Euro pussies: Uzbin Valley ambush - Wikipedia
In terms of insane ideology, France has a more diverse political spectrum than both the UK and the US. It ranges from an actual communist party on the extreme left, to the popular National Front on the extreme right. In between you have the socialists and the centre-right. There is a real choice in politics that just doesn’t exist in the UK any more. So yes, they have the full range of insane ideologies rather than just the capitalist one.
There is also no shortage of guns among the criminal community. I was in Marseilles for a weekend last year and there were two murders with AK-47s in the space of 24 hours (my presence was coincidental). As a lot of the violence is gang-on-gang, I’m not convinced that an armed populace would have a positive effect on gun crime statistics.
There are lots of great things to see and do in France: beaches, mountains, wine, good food, a smoking hot and sexually liberated female population… I’d recommend you lived there if the taxes weren’t so high.
[quote]Chushin wrote:
[quote]knee-gro wrote:
I know 'murica is full of backward hicks and has stupid gun laws but if you could legally get away with this then I don’t know what to tell ya. No developed country allows that.[/quote]
Whatever else comes of this discussion, we can all be sure that you are a bigoted asshole.[/quote]
Funny I didn’t see you complain about baubbler and his claims about Europeans and the political moderates (at best) he calls libtards.
[quote]ChongLordUno wrote:
Wow I need a shower after reading this thread.
Some of the chat aimed at Europe is a bit wild.
Bauber, could go into more detail, with regards as to the ‘pussification’ of France and how America single handedly won 2 world wars, please?[/quote]
That will be funny as hell, I know I shouldn’t stereotype but some of these guys are like real life caricatures.
[quote]Chushin wrote:
Personally, I experienced a preponderance of snobby, arrogant people there.
And saw 1.5 street fights in a period of 2 days.[/quote]
Yeah they’re reputation for being snooty is sometimes deserved, just like some English people are drunken yobs and some Americans dumb.
I think that a lot of it is that they don’t have the same service culture that we have in the UK, and even more so in the States. They don’t subjugate their personal ego to their role as a server, if you see what I mean? This does lead to some appallingly bad, often shockingly comical, service, but after a while you realise that this gives you the right to be an appallingly rude customer if you have to be, which again, is a hard idea to come round to as a polite Englishman but feels so good when you finally pull it off 
I actually worked in customer services in France for a while… imagine the pleasure.
They also have extremely rigid codes of politeness, and expect even unwitting foreigners to adhere to them. This is actually where a lot of the rudeness comes from. I’m not saying it’s right, and it drove me up the wall sometimes when I was there. Can you imagine getting called a cheapskate by a store employee because you want the cheapest washing machine? It happens in France.
On the other side of the coin, they greet the room wherever they go, and shake everyone’s hand when they get to the gym. This takes fucking ages, and they will try to shake your hand when you’re in the middle of a set, but we seem cold in the UK in comparison.
As for the fights, France is rougher than people think and I’ve been in more altercations there than in the UK.
Not trying to re-hash the history lesson, but Germany kicked France’s ass in a ridiculously short period of time when they invaded in WWII. The saying, “I’ve got a French rifle on sale - never been fired and only dropped once”, is pretty much how most American’s feel about the French and their “military prowess”. Not saying there are no exceptions, but history is history and the French simply have a pretty poor track record when it comes to war and military strategy. Damn fine women, though!
As for the gun control stuff, here in the US of A, you ain’t putting that genie back in the bottle. It’s out. There are hundreds of millions of guns in private ownership. They can outlaw them, limit them, legislate this and that, but they will never take them. You think we have a strong military? We have over 50 million people who own guns. FIFTY MILLION. That’s not counting criminals, that’s law abiding citizens. Damn near half the adult, able bodied country. A significantly large percentage subscribe to the “from my cold, dead hands” philosophy. Removing guns from the American population is a liberal wet dream.
The guns are out there. Ergo, it makes little sense to pursue further gun restriction. Kinda like taking a knife to a gun fight. When some asshole starts engaging in criminal activity, doesn’t it make sense to have a high percentage of CITIZENS with the ability to respond? Forget the “ideal scenario” for a moment and look at reality. There are millions of guns that are easily available to criminals. Criminals will do what criminals do. What kind of twisted logical sense does it make to limit the ability of LAW ABIDING citizens to meet that element on a level playing field? It’s the height of stupidity and a blatant ignorance of reality and blind obsession to an ideology that is proven to be faulty when applied to real life.
As many of you know, I am a felon. I used two illegally procured firearms in commission of the felony for which I was convicted. It was very easy to get. Even now, twenty years later, if I ever felt the need to have a firearm, I could be in possession of one (albeit illegally) within a few hours. ANYONE could. Restrictive gun laws simply DO NOT keep guns out of the hands of someone who wants to get a gun. For the record, I do NOT feel the need to own a gun. For me the risk of being caught illegally possessing a firearm and going back to prison out weighs the risk of me not being able to dominate, DE-escalate or simply avoid a violent confrontation. But if I were not a felon, I would carry every single day. America in it’s greatness and hubris has produced a fair amount of crazy muther fuckers. The police won’t help you in time if you are unfortunate enough to get caught up in someone’s deluded criminal fantasy. Nor can you rely on the kindness of a stranger - most people will walk right by and not get involved. It is up to each individual to protect themselves and their families, homes and personal property. From both criminals and maybe even one day, our government. It’s pretty significant check and balance against tyranny.
[quote]Diddy Ryder wrote:
[quote]Chushin wrote:
Personally, I experienced a preponderance of snobby, arrogant people there.
And saw 1.5 street fights in a period of 2 days.[/quote]
Yeah they’re reputation for being snooty is sometimes deserved, just like some English people are drunken yobs and some Americans dumb.
I think that a lot of it is that they don’t have the same service culture that we have in the UK, and even more so in the States. They don’t subjugate their personal ego to their role as a server, if you see what I mean? This does lead to some appallingly bad, often shockingly comical, service, but after a while you realise that this gives you the right to be an appallingly rude customer if you have to be, which again, is a hard idea to come round to as a polite Englishman but feels so good when you finally pull it off I actually worked in customer services in France for a while… imagine the pleasure.
They also have extremely rigid codes of politeness, and expect even unwitting foreigners to adhere to them. This is actually where a lot of the rudeness comes from. I’m not saying it’s right, and it drove me up the wall sometimes when I was there. Can you imagine getting called a cheapskate by a store employee because you want the cheapest washing machine? It happens in France.
On the other side of the coin, they greet the room wherever they go, and shake everyone’s hand when they get to the gym. This takes fucking ages, and they will try to shake your hand when you’re in the middle of a set, but we seem cold in the UK in comparison.
As for the fights, France is rougher than people think and I’ve been in more altercations there than in the UK.
[/quote]
I have never been to France, what you are describing comes off sounding like a culture of very self centered people. Not judging cause honestly I dont care, but going by this description it seems you have everyone only really caring about their own self worth. From the politics to service industry to altercations in the streets.
[quote]angry chicken wrote:
Not trying to re-hash the history lesson, but Germany kicked France’s ass in a ridiculously short period of time when they invaded in WWII. The saying, “I’ve got a French rifle on sale - never been fired and only dropped once”, is pretty much how most American’s feel about the French and their “military prowess”. Not saying there are no exceptions, but history is history and the French simply have a pretty poor track record when it comes to war and military strategy. Damn fine women, though!
[/quote]
I was always under the impression that France is the most successful military power in European history?
Doesn’t sound like a poor track record to me.
Agree about the ladies though!
[quote]csulli wrote:
A man is defined only by his might in unarmed combat be his opponent man or beast.[/quote]
Urban Dictionary:
Manliness: Number of Wild Dogs one can defeat without dying.
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have never been to France, what you are describing comes off sounding like a culture of very self centered people. Not judging cause honestly I dont care, but going by this description it seems you have everyone only really caring about their own self worth. From the politics to service industry to altercations in the streets. [/quote]
There’s even a term for it: “nombrilisme”. It means staring at your own belly-button. It’s paradoxical really because their society as a whole is structured around “solidarity”, but the two seem to coexist somehow. I dare say that many would say the same about the US with the stand against universal healthcare, etc., but these are just different sensibilities, as someone has already stated.
The service industry is definitely a joke to people from the UK/US, but they also have a thriving luxury goods and services industry with the kind of excellent, top-end, service that is rarely seen these days.
I wanted to provide an alternative view to the prevailing one here but may have shot myself in the foot with that last post Personally, I’ve been insulted in the street for being a foreigner, but also welcomed into people’s homes, and received acts of individual kindness that I would never have expected when struggling to find somewhere to live.
I definitely have mixed feelings about France, but I very much enjoyed life over there and the overall image is positive. I suppose it’s a country of contrasts, to which blanket statements should not be applied (like most countries).
And as has just said, they may have had a poor track record in the 20th century but were a major world power for a long, long time.
[quote]angry chicken wrote:
Even now, twenty years later, if I ever felt the need to have a firearm, I could be in possession of one (albeit illegally) within a few hours. ANYONE could. Restrictive gun laws simply DO NOT keep guns out of the hands of someone who wants to get a gun. [/quote]
I could get a better, more powerful rifle out of the trunk of a car in about 45mins, with 2 phone calls, and it will take me weeks to procure a lessor rifle legally.
It is been proven, over and over, making thing illegal doesn’t stop them from happening. Because if that was the case none of you reading this would know what cocaine is, nor would anyone ever be in prison. It is common sense.
The only thing restricting the rights of law abiding citizens does is coddle the fragile feelings of the meek and uneducated. The sheep bah and bah at the wolves they elect for leaders to “protect them” because they can’t handle the cold harsh truth of nature and freedom. Willfully give away their rights to their government, celebrate their enslavement, and delude themselves with utopian fantasy of “it would never happen to me”.
[quote]Diddy Ryder wrote:
Personally, I’ve been insulted in the street for being a foreigner, but also welcomed into people’s homes, and received acts of individual kindness that I would never have expected when struggling to find somewhere to live.
[/quote]
That same thing will happen in America, Japan, anywhere. No culture or country is immune to assholes.
[quote]Diddy Ryder wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have never been to France, what you are describing comes off sounding like a culture of very self centered people. Not judging cause honestly I dont care, but going by this description it seems you have everyone only really caring about their own self worth. From the politics to service industry to altercations in the streets. [/quote]
There’s even a term for it: “nombrilisme”. It means staring at your own belly-button. It’s paradoxical really because their society as a whole is structured around “solidarity”, but the two seem to coexist somehow. I dare say that many would say the same about the US with the stand against universal healthcare, etc., but these are just different sensibilities, as someone has already stated.
The service industry is definitely a joke to people from the UK/US, but they also have a thriving luxury goods and services industry with the kind of excellent, top-end, service that is rarely seen these days.
I wanted to provide an alternative view to the prevailing one here but may have shot myself in the foot with that last post Personally, I’ve been insulted in the street for being a foreigner, but also welcomed into people’s homes, and received acts of individual kindness that I would never have expected when struggling to find somewhere to live.
I definitely have mixed feelings about France, but I very much enjoyed life over there and the overall image is positive. I suppose it’s a country of contrasts, to which blanket statements should not be applied (like most countries).
And as has just said, they may have had a poor track record in the 20th century but were a major world power for a long, long time.
[/quote]
My wife’s Grandmother who she adores is French. Her Granddad married her and moved her to the states in the 40’s. Honestly unless you have lived there it is just assumptions to make any statement on a culture.
I think that is what gets Americans upset when our friends from other nations on here make comments about how fat, stupid and lazy America is portrayed.
France helped us win the Revolutionary war. they provided money, weapons, ammo, soldiers, and ships and got stuck with the bill.
the Maginot line of WWI was a military and design disaster and I think the people responsible for it were deported to the U.S.
their ancestors still work with various highway depts designing on and off ramps and merge lanes.
edit: lots of beautiful women, even in Toulon, where the local communist party hated Americans.
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]Diddy Ryder wrote:
Personally, I’ve been insulted in the street for being a foreigner, but also welcomed into people’s homes, and received acts of individual kindness that I would never have expected when struggling to find somewhere to live.
[/quote]
That same thing will happen in America, Japan, anywhere. No culture or country is immune to assholes. [/quote]
Exactly. People are the same everywhere.
[quote]silverblood wrote:
France helped us win the Revolutionary war. they provided money, weapons, ammo, soldiers, and ships and got stuck with the bill.
the Maginot line of WWI was a military and design disaster and I think the people responsible for it were deported to the U.S.
their ancestors still work with various highway depts designing on and off ramps and merge lanes.[/quote]
And… Then they sold us the south east section of the US because they got the shit kicked out of them by a slave revolt on a tiny island nearby.
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]silverblood wrote:
France helped us win the Revolutionary war. they provided money, weapons, ammo, soldiers, and ships and got stuck with the bill.
the Maginot line of WWI was a military and design disaster and I think the people responsible for it were deported to the U.S.
their ancestors still work with various highway depts designing on and off ramps and merge lanes.[/quote]
And… Then they sold us the south east section of the US because they got the shit kicked out of them by a slave revolt on a tiny island nearby. [/quote]
is it a residual hatred of France that causes so many people to talk so bad about this part of the country?
[quote]Chushin wrote:
[quote]angry chicken wrote:
Not trying to re-hash the history lesson, but Germany kicked France’s ass in a ridiculously short period of time when they invaded in WWII. The saying, “I’ve got a French rifle on sale - never been fired and only dropped once”, is pretty much how most American’s feel about the French and their “military prowess”. Not saying there are no exceptions, but history is history and the French simply have a pretty poor track record when it comes to war and military strategy. Damn fine women, though!
As for the gun control stuff, here in the US of A, you ain’t putting that genie back in the bottle. It’s out. There are hundreds of millions of guns in private ownership. They can outlaw them, limit them, legislate this and that, but they will never take them. You think we have a strong military? We have over 50 million people who own guns. FIFTY MILLION. That’s not counting criminals, that’s law abiding citizens. Damn near half the adult, able bodied country. A significantly large percentage subscribe to the “from my cold, dead hands” philosophy. Removing guns from the American population is a liberal wet dream.
The guns are out there. Ergo, it makes little sense to pursue further gun restriction. Kinda like taking a knife to a gun fight. When some asshole starts engaging in criminal activity, doesn’t it make sense to have a high percentage of CITIZENS with the ability to respond? Forget the “ideal scenario” for a moment and look at reality. There are millions of guns that are easily available to criminals. Criminals will do what criminals do. What kind of twisted logical sense does it make to limit the ability of LAW ABIDING citizens to meet that element on a level playing field? It’s the height of stupidity and a blatant ignorance of reality and blind obsession to an ideology that is proven to be faulty when applied to real life.
As many of you know, I am a felon. I used two illegally procured firearms in commission of the felony for which I was convicted. It was very easy to get. Even now, twenty years later, if I ever felt the need to have a firearm, I could be in possession of one (albeit illegally) within a few hours. ANYONE could. Restrictive gun laws simply DO NOT keep guns out of the hands of someone who wants to get a gun. For the record, I do NOT feel the need to own a gun. For me the risk of being caught illegally possessing a firearm and going back to prison out weighs the risk of me not being able to dominate, DE-escalate or simply avoid a violent confrontation. But if I were not a felon, I would carry every single day. America in it’s greatness and hubris has produced a fair amount of crazy muther fuckers. The police won’t help you in time if you are unfortunate enough to get caught up in someone’s deluded criminal fantasy. Nor can you rely on the kindness of a stranger - most people will walk right by and not get involved. It is up to each individual to protect themselves and their families, homes and personal property. From both criminals and maybe even one day, our government. It’s pretty significant check and balance against tyranny.[/quote]
AC, just curious: Any restriction on your family members who live with you having guns?[/quote]
Nope! 