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It seems like something very simple to me.
The French have always looked down upon American culture, and American citizens. As a result, they have been a subject of ridicule in the US for years.
Along comes the Iraq war, and the French decide to not only stay out, but fight us in the UN. This affects the American view of the French negatively. It also doesn't help that in America it is believed that the French owe us something for the fact that we saved their nation in the Second World War, and helped do the same in the First World War; or the rumors that have surfaced about the French having illegal deals with Saddam Hussain which affected their reasoning.
It doesn't have to do with being sheep or BS like that, but with a view that has become imbedded in our culture that has manifested itself in the current Francophobia. Fortunatley it seems to have died down (thank God, because if I actually went into a restaurant that served "freedom" fries or toast, it would quickly get a drink from a Molotov cocktail).
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"Final thought: I just rented Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. Frankly, it was the worst sports movie I've ever seen."
--Peter Schmuck, The (Baltimore) Sun
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