The recent tension over Iraq has produced surprises such as the very strong opposition by France to positions taken by Britain and the United States. The French position has been so strong, in fact, that a number of people are now boycotting French products.
We asked readers of Fedsmith.com if they were planning on boycotting French products such as wine and cheese.
The results were straightforward. 60% of those responding to our unscientific poll said that they were boycotting French products and 40% are not.
The comments we received revealed strong feelings about this issue and other issues surrounding the political debate on war against Iraq. Some of the comments we received are not directly related to the question about boycotting French products but do relate to other questions, such as the political statements that have been made by Hollywood celebrities, that have arisen in the past few days.
Here are a few of the comments sent in by Fedsmith readers:
“It seems to me that the French in the past 40 years have been a thorn in our side. They tend to forget that we were there during Worl War II and saved their butts. They insisted that we take our military bases out of there in 1965, which we complied. Have they ever paid us the debt from WWII??”
“Whatever happened to ‘Buy American’? With gas prices skyrocketing we cannot indulge in haute cuisine.”
“What is wrong with rational discourse? This nation is shifting towards a ‘if you’re not for me, you’re against me’ attitude!”
“I will also not watch the Academy Award presentations! Hollywood does not speak for me. Is it okay to make war pictures and it’s okay to make films about 9-11 but when it comes to standing up for Freedom and Democracy they are hypocrites.”
“Why should we boycott for a country standing up for what they think is right. Isn’t that what freedom is about?”
