Allied Cemetery in France vandalized

[jenjie]

"Eleven thousand Allied soldiers lie buried in well-tended peace at Etaples, on the Channel coast near Le Touquet, victims of the struggle by Anglo-Saxons to liberate the French from the German invaders during the First World War.

Last week the obelisk raised in their memory was defiled by red-painted insults such as “Rosbeefs go home”; “May Saddam prevail and spill your blood”; and, in a reference to the long-dead casualties beneath the manicured turf, “They are soiling our land”. "


Full story here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-631671,00.html

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Those ungratefull B*STARDS!!!!!!

That just shows how low they will go. This has certainly angered me, flame away at my sentiments, I could care less. Good men died for their freedoms, how dare they.

 

[AirForceRocks]

And people are surprised at this because...?

 

[Keli]

Ingratitude is always hard to stomach. Especially when the sacrifices by the allies in this case were ultimate ones.

 

[glo]

This totally enrages me. The act is totally unexcusable and the people who did it should be found and prosecuted. That being said, we must not apply this to all French people. I am as angered by it as all of you, but we need to know that there are people who support us, just as there are Canadians who do and others who do. When we hate an entire group because of the act of some, then we are no better than our enemy. PLease guys remember that.

 

[Laz]

When we hate an entire group because of the act of some, then we are no better than our enemy. PLease guys remember that.

Excellent words to remember and to practice!

 

[nativetxn]

A sad report to read. No matter where it happened, it's just sad.

I know a lot of people of the world hate America and Americans but it always surprises me to read something like this. I suppose because I would never think to do anything like defile a cemetery.

 

[peter+lynne]

i will probably get banned and flamed for this,but remeber this is MY opinion but probably a lot of others who think it but dont want to say it,i hate the french there i said it,been on holiday there and got treated like s**t,every report i read about people going to euro disney they say yeah nice park shame about the french,my brother in law went last summer same thing he actually nearly came to blows with a stupid french man who pushed my 5 year old neice to the ground so his brat could get a picture with a character and the french cm just stood there.the french cant handle the fact they got their arses handed to them on a plate by the germans and we saved them and they cant handle it,so you can ban me know for all my nasty racist remarks in this lovely pc world we live in!!!! hey we love em send us more illegal immigrants.

 

[JoeThaNo1Stunna]

How disgusting, this is an outrage! And I had just finished reading an article that said as many French hope Saddam wins as the number who hope the allies win. The French are no friends! It is time to sever all ties with this ingrateful nation of cowards.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

 

[Disney Doll]

Maybe we should bring them all home.

 

[Saffron]

Originally posted by peter+lynne
i will probably get banned and flamed for this,but remeber this is MY opinion but probably a lot of others who think it but dont want to say it,i hate the french there i said it,been on holiday there and got treated like s**t,every report i read about people going to euro disney they say yeah nice park shame about the french,my brother in law went last summer same thing he actually nearly came to blows with a stupid french man who pushed my 5 year old neice to the ground so his brat could get a picture with a character and the french cm just stood there.the french cant handle the fact they got their arses handed to them on a plate by the germans and we saved them and they cant handle it,so you can ban me know for all my nasty racist remarks in this lovely pc world we live in!!!! hey we love em send us more illegal immigrants.

While the crime is disgusting and hard to comprehend, it wasn't all French people who did this.

Last Fall, just before Halloween, my church's cemetery was vandalized by 3 boys, ages 10 -15. They broke headstones that dated back to the Revolutionary War. They spray painted others with white spray paint. They even painted the Nazi emblem on some. We can't hate all Americans for what they did. We can't hate all boys for what they did.

I think the crime is awful, just awful. I hope whoever did it ends up being prosecuted for it. I don't hate "the French" because of it.

I'm sorry your niece was pushed to the ground by an adult. That's not right at all. Read these boards. You'll read about kids being pushed around in WDW. You may even come across the post about a couple of the 7 Dwarfs in a knock down, all out brawl with 2 or 3 guys in Disneyland.

 

[DonnaS]

Reminds me of the hate crimes people in the US committed against anyone who appeared Arab after 9-11.

I'd hope the world wouldn't judge me as an American because of horrible things a few did and I think it should work the same way with the French.

I understand the outrage, but the prejudice exhibited here disappoints me.

 

[PamOKW]

I just read about this myself. The cemetary did not have any Americans buried there but did have English, Australian and Canadian soliders from WWI. The act was denounced by the government.

It is disgusting but it is also hard to say who commited the act. It could be French people or it could be some of the many Muslims now living in Europe -- or a combination. Hopefully, the majority of French will continue to honor those who saved their country.

A member of Parliment from that area of France said, "Our disagreement with the American and British governments in no way authorizes the undermining of the memory of men who sacrificed themselves for our country."

I also hope they have a plan as to who will come to their aid in the future.

 

[peter+lynne]

in the uk we get this all the time,the french dont like us simple as
towns and villages in france want to stop the veterans going over for reunions like d day and so forth,they say they want to forget the war,well true if my countrys leaders had backed down at the first time of trouble and captiulated then i would want to forget it also,but the fact is britain lost many good men for france.and now the majority of brits wished we hadnt bothered.

 

[peter+lynne]

oh on a lighter note were can i find that post about the scrapping dwarves?

 

[AllyandJack]

Maybe we all should have done with the Nazis what France (I don't say "the French" because it's not all their people as individuals) is doing with the terrorists. We should have told them "Yeah....we don't like the French either. Have at them....just don't hurt us."

Really....they're scared as a country. They don't want to be a victim and they think if they can't beat 'em, they might as well join 'em. That's just their way of protecting their interests. Having said that....enough with the Anti-American stuff over there. You don't like us...fabulous, we don't care, just shut up already. Don't send troops, we probably wouldn't have noticed they were there anyway, but just stay in your own country and deal with your own interests. Veto us in the UN, that's your right, but you don't have get in your digs while doing it. It's childish.

Again...this is not to individual French people. I've never been to France, never wanted to go to France, never will go to France, but I don't have a problem with French people.....just the ones who committed this horrible crime. I do think their government is cowardly in their actions, however. They don't have to join in, but to pander to the terrorists in an effort to save themselves is cowardly. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just the impression I get from seeing their statements. The press isn't always a reliable source for these types of things so I may be wrong about the French government's intentions in this whole thing.

 

[PamOKW]

the french dont like us

I don't think they care much for anyone but themselves.

Funny, how the U.S. and Brits always seem to come through for each other even though we once had to fight each other. Hopefully, our friendship will endure forever through these tough times.

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by PamOKW
Funny, how the U.S. and Brits always seem to come through for each other even though we once had to fight each other. Hopefully, our friendship will endure forever through these tough times.

Well ... the Brits didn't really jump to join us in Vietnam, although I guess no one really did. But let's not forget that there are a lot of Brits who don't much care for the US right now either ... since, in many peoples' minds, we "started it" and got their boys involved in our war. You can find just as much anti-American sentiment in UK as anywhere else these days. My friends in UK are all staunchly behind their troops, but are still mad at the Americans for getting into it in the first place.

As for those who "hate" the French -- those who are pouring wine down sewers and renaming French fries. Remember that one of our most enduring American symbols of freedom -- the Statue of Liberty -- was a gift from the French. Perhaps we should dismantle it and send it back?

 

[PamOKW]

President Chirac has sent a formal apology to Queen Elizabeth. In part it reads, "These unacceptable and disgraceful acts are unanimously condemned by the French people. In the name of France, and in my own name, please accept my deepest regrets." Refering to the current situation he added, "Know that, at a time when your soldiers are engaged in combat, the thoughts of the French are naturally with them."

The French Foreign Minister also sent an apology to his British counterpart.

Tony Blair's spokesman's reply:

We unreservedly welcome both the content and the sentiment of President Chirac's letter and the sentiment towards our troops serving in action at the moment, and that his thoughts and the thoughts of the people of France are with those soldiers.

A wreath laying ceremony was also conducted at the cemetary.

However, in Paris, anti-American graffitti has now been sprayed on a memorial to the September 11 victims.

Apologies are now being put together for this incident. Do you think some people in France just "don't get it"?