← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Hugh Lincoln
Thread ID: 12915 | Posts: 13 | Started: 2004-03-28
2004-03-28 22:06 | User Profile
I've met British Americans. Irish Americans. Scottish, Italian, German, Swedish. Welsh. Polish. Greek.
I have never met a French American. What gives? Did the French never come over the way others did?
2004-03-29 03:11 | User Profile
Yeah, I know what you mean. It seems you never hear anything about French-Americans (except for maybe DuPont), which is a shame, since they have contributed a lot to this nation. I don't know of any French-American celebrations (though you could say the same thing about the English and Dutch). The super of the building I used to live in was French-American, though he didn't make a point about it. I think all this anti-France sentiment (like from the Freepers) in the US may have something to do with the fact that French-Americans try to keep their heritage quiet. I think parts of New England have a sizable amount of Americans of French descent, and Louisiana, of course. Also, perhaps many French-Americans Anglicized their names.
2004-03-29 05:36 | User Profile
One reason we don't see many French-Americans is that French largely stopped immigrating to this country prior to the 1840s (when the really massive wages of Irish and German waves of immigration more-or-less got underway) and so that many people, such as myself, are part French, very few people identify as "French" per se, as not that many Americans (outside of parts of New England and upstate New York, where until about 1965 or so, there were substantial communities of bilingual French speakers, French-language media, etc.) are more than 25% French. Why French-Americans in such former strongholds have become so quiet about their heritage, and so slow to defend their ancient homeland from the neo-cons and their lies (just love that), is difficult to say. Much the same could be said of German or even English Americans. I mean, you may meet people of English or German descent, but its pretty rare for such a once-proud ancestry to play any significant part in one's identity.
2004-03-29 13:15 | User Profile
Walt Disney was a French-American (D'Isngy) and fought hard against you know who right up until his death. Needless to say, his originally noble entertainment company succumbed years ago to you know who, and is barely a shell of what it used to be. The young actress Chloe Sevigny is French-American. I have French anscestry through my mother's side (Thomasette). I have many US business contacts who have last names that end -eau, -ier, -iot, -ette.....like someone said up above, the French descendants don't usually parade their pride around....some kind of old-World modesty, I'd say. In NYC every July 14 or corresponding weekend, they have a big festival for Bastille Day. They close down several city blocks and have music, food, wine, costumes, dramatizations, etc. Last few years has been very good in spite of Neocon-dom hate speech directed at the French.
2004-03-29 17:05 | User Profile
The French and Anglo's are and always where both rivals and competitors. My fathers family where original Protestant huguenots. They fled France for South Africa during the sixteenth century. During the hay day of our former imperium. The French where far better overloads than the Anglo Saxons and our other assorted Germanic brethren.
The French, North Africans and Arabs are far more closely intertwined than most Americans realize. It is well known that the French maintain spy's everywhere in North Africa and the Middle East.
French Jews may whine on incoherently about the rise of far right Anti-semitism in France. But the reality is that it's the North Africans and Arabs who are to blame for the majority of attacks against Jews in France.
Ironiclly the Jews and humanist liberal traitors are the very people who promoted a open door immigration policy to the Muslims in the first place. They have done such a good job of undermining secular Christian Europeans that it has strengthen Islam's geo-strategic influence.
European Jews are and always where far to at home in Europe. We Christian nationalists are zionists. We want ALL the Jews with out exception to leave Europe and her colonies and settle in Israel. :thumbsup:
As in truth our belligerent little hoard simply can not live together peacefully. But we can live along side each other more successfully as we did in the past.
Gregz
"Neither should men study war with a view to the enslavement of those who do not deserve to be enslaved; but first of all they should provide against their own enslavement, and in the second place obtain empire for the good of the governed, and not for the sake of exercising a general despotism, and in the third place they should seek to be masters only over those who deserve to be slaves.
Facts, as well as arguments, prove that the legislator should direct all his military and other measures to the provision of leisure and the establishment of peace. For most of these military states are safe only while they are at war, but fall when they have acquired their empire; like unused iron they lose their temper in times of peace. And for this the legislator is to blame, he never having taught them how to lead a life of peace."
Aristotle - Book of politics 350 BC
2004-03-30 04:53 | User Profile
Ok. First of all I didn't even know Walt Disney was French, XMetalhead.. are you sure about that ? I believe you, you are credible. Ok , what about Franco-American ? heh ? where would you be without Spaghetti-O's ? And the first canned ravioli ? staple of life . I am 1/4 French Canadian and 3/4 Italian. My French family came to this New World for exploration back in the early 1700s. There are some who came even earlier from France. They settled around the St. Lawrence river and had good relations, an intermarriage 4 generations from me, to an Iriqois. My last name is Dandeneau. The Dandonneaus were in the New World in the 1500's, some in Canada maintain that Dandonneau became Dandeneau when they emigrated to America.. but I dont know. I've certainly drank and reveled on Rochambeau Avenue in Providence :-) I must also say that my Italian great-great-great Uncle fought in the Civil War. His name was Guiseppe Martelllucci. The Rhode Island regiment he was in referred to him as Joseph Saunders, and I have the records. You probably thought all the Italians came to Ellis Island around 1910 huh ? NOPE. 1860. Anyway, French Americans, especially in New England and Wisconsin and Lousiana, have some strongholds but by language assimilation and intermarriage we are becoming a lesser ethnic element. We have the old French neighborhoods, here in Woonsocket, West Warwick too. You will find many in Maine. The fact is that only in Quebec right now wiill you find any serious French identity. And for the large part the city of Montreal. French Americans long ago adopted English as a language.. even those who crossed thru Canada only 50 years ago now speak English. It is a blight, in my opinion, to be chained to this language, full of its contradictions and innuendos ,and choppy guttural tones, but life is life . I would rather speak French than English. Just listen to it, so beautiful and poignant in its emphasis. So lingering in its quality. I find it sad that I have totally mastered the English language.. and live in an area that speaks it.. I would much rather be speaking French, but English IS the language of the land, and I prefer it head and heels over Spanish, or at least the Spanish I hear, which sounds like nails on a chalkboard, so vile it truly is.
2004-03-30 06:19 | User Profile
[QUOTE=xmetalhead]In NYC every July 14 or corresponding weekend, they have a big festival for Bastille Day. They close down several city blocks and have music, food, wine, costumes, dramatizations, etc. Last few years has been very good in spite of Neocon-dom hate speech directed at the French.[/QUOTE]
We have Bastille Day celebrations in San Francisco as well. Anti-war sentiment is running so high in the Bay Area that I gather the turn-out at this annual event has actually increased in recent years....It should be noted that in the Bay Area, we have many French, German and other European immigrants (one of the few places in America where that can still be said, now that approximately 95% of all immigration slots are reserved for Third Worlders, Israelis and ex-Soviet Jews).
2004-03-30 20:49 | User Profile
The Huegenots got a reputation in the early days for being more Anglo-Saxon than other Anglo-Saxons.
After the fall of San Domingo (Haiti) to the slaves, many came to the Carolinas and Maryland. The Frederick historical magazine had a great article on the French-style farms and barns they built here in Maryland.
2004-03-30 23:20 | User Profile
My aunt is of French-Italian descent and thanks to her, I started learning the French language at age eight.
2004-03-30 23:29 | User Profile
Are Huguenots ethnically Anglo Saxon? doubtful! However the Huguenots where Anglo Saxon certainly in ethics and ethos.
"The exact origin of the word Huguenot is unknown, but many consider it to be a combination of Flemish and German. Protestants who met to study the Bible in secret were called Huis Genooten, meaning "house fellows." They were also referred to as Eid Genossen, or "oath fellows" meaning persons bound by an oath."
As I mentioned my own paternal family where original Ducth and Huguenots. :thumbsup:
2004-04-01 03:51 | User Profile
French blood runs deep We are not as suseptible to the propaganda. We know what America used to be It hurts us, as French Americans, to have to live under this umbrella Until the government electro-mechanically kills us, we will always fight for freedom. Constitutiional Republic REPUBLIC not DEMOCRACY but if it comes where we must accept democrracy, then I will die I will die gratiously . John Kerry / Kohn said today that he believes gays are born that way (his words ) and that they should reap all benefits. He said that they are born that way and we are all God's children. HE SAID THAT. 9 am He knows that is not true. He knows homosexuality is a sin of the mind He KNows but he wants the gay vote he is a slut Knowing as much as I do. I would still rather vote for GWB ... But i can only cast my vote for [url]http://www.russoforpresident.com[/url]
2004-04-25 10:27 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Hugh Lincoln]I've met British Americans. Irish Americans. Scottish, Italian, German, Swedish. Welsh. Polish. Greek.
I have never met a French American. What gives? Did the French never come over the way others did?[/QUOTE]
It's simple. The families of most people in this country with French ancestry, like mine, have been here so long(in my case between 250 and 300 years), and have become so intermingled, genetically, with people of British and German descent, that we have no particular feeling of being anything other than American, of being hypenated.
This especially holds true in the South(my family hails from South Carolina, Alabama, and Texas), where all European gentile ethnicities melted quickly into the common mass of the white folk of Dixie. There are two exceptions to this, the Cajuns of Louisiana, and the Hill Country Germans of Texas, but they are just that, exceptions to the general experience of non-Jewish European ethnics in the South.
2004-04-26 12:02 | User Profile
Disney was half Irish. At least, that's what he said to a Leprachuan in a trailer for Darby O'Gill and the Little People (I have it on VHS).
Walter