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Recent Publications by New English Review Authors
In Praise of Prejudice: The Necessity of Preconceived Ideas
by Theodore Dalrymple
Defending The West:
by Ibn Warraq
Nations, Language and Citizenship:
by Norman Berdichevsky
Romancing Opiates
by Theodore Dalrymple
Which Koran?
by Ibn Warraq
Our Culture, What's Left of It
by Theodore Dalrymple
What The Koran Really Says
by Ibn Warraq
Life at the Bottom
by Theodore Dalrymple
The Origins of the Koran
by Ibn Warraq
Why I Am Not Muslim
by Ibn Warraq
Spanish Vignettes: An Offbeat Look Into Spain's Culture, Society & History
by Norman Berdichevsky
Leaving Islam
Edited by Ibn Warraq
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Re: when foreigners were funny

I really must take issue with this taxonomy of foreigners, from Orwell's essay, quoted by John Derbyshire:

Frenchman: Excitable. Wears beard, gesticulates wildly.
Spaniard, Mexican, etc.: Sinister, treacherous.
Arab, Afghan, etc.: Sinister, treacherous.
Chinese: Sinister, treacherous. Wears pigtail.
Italian: Excitable. Grinds barrel-organ or carries stiletto.
Swede, Dane, etc.: Kind-hearted, stupid.
Negro: Comic, very faithful.

This is far, far too kind to the French. It leaves out the garlic, the unfunny mimes, the terrible pop music, the philosophy, the onions, the silly accents. It also leaves out the excessive concern with make-up, hair and the "right" handbag - and that's just the men.

Far from being criminal, laughing at foreigners is alive and well in the UK. Foreigners, including Americans, but especially the French were put on this earth for the amusement of the English. It isn't that we want to laugh at them. On the contrary, we embrace the EU goal of unity in diversity. The problem is that foreigners will just keep on being so bloody ridiculous. Americans too, but especially the French.

Despite my multicultural mind manacles, I manage to make fun of foreigners, here on this website (New English Review, not New Foreign Review) on a few occasions:

Americans
French
French
Hong Kong
French and Chinese
Germans, Dutch, French and Italians
French
Americans
Americans
Americans
Russians
Italians, Dutch in passing
Twenty or so nations, especially the French

And that's just this month.

Posted on 8:39 AM by Mary Jackson
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