Thursday, November 18, 2004

QUOI???

The cultural differences between Ithaca and Cortland are legion. As I pulled into Cortland and waved "hello" to Wal-Mart, I realized I was behind a car that actually had a "Boycott France" bumper sticker. I don't know how you boycott a country and what exactly is entailed by that. Did she intend that we not buy French products? Not speak French? Not visit France on our next vacation? Or that we not patronize anything that was remotely French? I hate inexactitude of language.

But, after I had called this woman every synonym for moron I could think of, I realized that perhaps this is a good thing. If a large portion of the population, convinced that somehow France is responsible for us getting our troops killed in Iraq, decide to boycott all things French, well, things could get better for the rest of us rather quickly.

Pasteur, after all, was French. And therefore, they'll not be able to drink any Pasteurized milk products, which perhaps will allow them to all contract antibiotic-resistant strains of TB. And, if they get cancer, they won't be able to have any radiation treatments because radium was discovered by Polish Marie Curie who was married to a Frenchman, Pierre Curie.

I'm sure the list goes on and on, but you get my point.

Vive la resistance!

Late Breaking Addition: Someone reminded me today about the Louisiana Purchase. So what are all those people who want to boycott France going to do who live in those states?

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