Happy Bastille Day |  |
Today is, of course, the French Equivalent of Independence Day. Of course, French Independence day should properly be celebrated on June 6th. Casual sniping aside, the French are a race of smelly perfidious backstabbers. Happy Bastille Day!
Why celebrate liberation from a foreign a conqueror you happily collaborated with? Celebrating the events that brought about the Reign of Terror and several decades of bloody warfare across Europe is much better.
The French really are disgusting, my Huguenot ancestors notwithstanding of course.
Posted by on 07/14 at 09:11 AMRegardless of what you think of the French, Bastille Day does not represent ‘independence’ but the overturning of absolutist, arbitrary authority, the Bastille being a prison for political adversaries of the crown and ‘free thinkers.’
Posted by NDR on 07/14 at 12:40 PMWell, sure, if you want to pick nits. Notice that I said equivalent, not identical to. Since the French have never had to free themselves from foriegn colonial rule since what, the fifth century? They can’t have an independence day in the same sense as us.
But there’s fireworks, parades, its a national day of celebration. It serves the same function even if it doesn’t represent exactly the same thing.
Of course, as Bram noted, the storming of the Bastille led to some quite nasty things, and not just in France. So maybe they shouldn’t be celebrating. But who am I to judge?
And besides, some of my best friends are French.
Posted by on 07/14 at 12:47 PMYa Think?
Cordially,
Uncle J
Posted by on 07/17 at 02:43 AM
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