Wednesday, September 03, 2003
And now, for some real news:
Johnny Depp Likens U.S. to 'Dumb Puppy'
I'm awaiting a storm on the right of people swearing to never watch Pirates of the Caribbean again, as well as folks burning their old VHS tapes of 21 Jump Street. Celebrity vents are doubly exasperating, first in their own right, and then for the reactions that they cause.
I respect Johnny Depp's work as an actor (don't we all?) but I'm not certain that he's chosen the right refuge from the world's "Big Dumb Puppy". Let me count the ways that France has made it clear that it, too, has teeth, claws, and an irritable disposition. We are talking about the country that chose to intervene in Rwanda in 1994, not to prevent the genocide, but to shield the fleeing perpetrators of the genocide (for information on this, see Philip Gourevitch's We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families. We are talking about the country that has acted to thwart the pursuit of accused Serbian war criminals in its sector of Bosnia (see Chuck Sudetic's analysis in The Atlantic). Need I mention Jacques Chirac's long friendship with Saddam, and his sale of a nuclear reactor to Baghdad?
But, let's leave the question of residence aside, because the below comment is a bit more vexing:
Depp recalled that French fries were renamed "Freedom" fries in the House cafeteria on Capitol Hill at the height of U.S. anger over France's refusal to back the administration of President George W. Bush over the war in Iraq.
"Nothing made me happier than when I read that — grown men and grown women in positions of power in the United States government," Depp said. "I was ecstatic because they revealed themselves as idiots."
Earth to Depp: this is not being staged for your own amusement. You may view this as farce, but there is real reason to see it as tragedy, and only a ghoul laughs during tragedy. For my part, I think the whole "Freedom Fries" thing is pretty funny, but for very different reasons (I have renamed my standard potluck dish "Freedom Potato Salad" in keeping with this glorious new custom). But if you dislike the direction the US has taken, like Mr. Scissorhands, snickering to yourself as you sail down the Loire is a funny way to address it.
Johnny Depp Likens U.S. to 'Dumb Puppy'
I'm awaiting a storm on the right of people swearing to never watch Pirates of the Caribbean again, as well as folks burning their old VHS tapes of 21 Jump Street. Celebrity vents are doubly exasperating, first in their own right, and then for the reactions that they cause.
I respect Johnny Depp's work as an actor (don't we all?) but I'm not certain that he's chosen the right refuge from the world's "Big Dumb Puppy". Let me count the ways that France has made it clear that it, too, has teeth, claws, and an irritable disposition. We are talking about the country that chose to intervene in Rwanda in 1994, not to prevent the genocide, but to shield the fleeing perpetrators of the genocide (for information on this, see Philip Gourevitch's We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families. We are talking about the country that has acted to thwart the pursuit of accused Serbian war criminals in its sector of Bosnia (see Chuck Sudetic's analysis in The Atlantic). Need I mention Jacques Chirac's long friendship with Saddam, and his sale of a nuclear reactor to Baghdad?
But, let's leave the question of residence aside, because the below comment is a bit more vexing:
Depp recalled that French fries were renamed "Freedom" fries in the House cafeteria on Capitol Hill at the height of U.S. anger over France's refusal to back the administration of President George W. Bush over the war in Iraq.
"Nothing made me happier than when I read that — grown men and grown women in positions of power in the United States government," Depp said. "I was ecstatic because they revealed themselves as idiots."
Earth to Depp: this is not being staged for your own amusement. You may view this as farce, but there is real reason to see it as tragedy, and only a ghoul laughs during tragedy. For my part, I think the whole "Freedom Fries" thing is pretty funny, but for very different reasons (I have renamed my standard potluck dish "Freedom Potato Salad" in keeping with this glorious new custom). But if you dislike the direction the US has taken, like Mr. Scissorhands, snickering to yourself as you sail down the Loire is a funny way to address it.
