My understanding is that the French and their former West African colonies keep up good relationships.
The French certainty had less peaceful separations with colonies than the English, but nowhere near the track record of the Spanish.
I wonder how much the difference in relationships with former colonies has to do with the amount of time that has passed since independence?
There are still plenty of people alive who remember the height the French and English Empires, and many more who are one generation removed.
Spain’s empire is a distant memory compared.
Just curious. Could you please identify an “Asian trash” or “Hispanic trash” neighborhood?
Benson, I was thinking about this while doing laundry. I feel comfortable criticizing working-class white people because that’s where I come from. My father was an airplane mechanic who started at Pan American the day after he graduated from Aviation High School. Starting when I was about 5 shortly after they bought a Levitt house, he also drove a newspaper truck–and this was on Long Island, where he had to load and unload the newspapers himself. My mother was a Hitler refugee and stay-at-home mom. I grew up in Hicksville, where most of the kids were Italian, recently arrived from Brooklyn. My mother lived on 140th St. and Broadway with her parents and sisters before she married, and my dad grew up on the South Bronx, St. Mary Park.
I know a lot about Chinese kids because that’s who my kid went to school with, and black kids because that’s who was in the nabe where she grew up. And I know some about their parents. Beyond that, I don’t know squat, and I am extremely reluctant to joke around about ethnic groups that I don’t know about personally.
The ceremony we attended was a ringing of the bells. I went to a temple temple once in Japan, i.e. a real temple and it is to meditate on the passing of the year. In SF, we went to this guy’s dojo/temple and we took turns about 20 people, gently hitting a gong with a baton. It sounds wierd but it was very rythymic and peaceful. We don’t take the opportunity to slow down, stop talking and really be quiet. It was lovely, actually. After that, we ate a lot of good food.
Duly noted CGar. I was not aware of this particular aspect of Argentine history, which is kind of embarrassing given the work I do in the region. Maybe I should have broken my “no googling stuff you’re posting about” rule.
jackal, though not strictly a colony, after gaining independence from Spain, Argentina was effectively part of Britain’s Empire, an independent nation over which Britain had disproportionate influence, akin to the influence it had over its full-fledged colonies, which lasted until Juan and Eva Peron took power.
CGar,
The British seem to make up well with their former enemies.
jessi,
I don’t know too much about the cultural exchange between West Africa and France today.
I do know that the French, to their credit, usually step up when called upon by the UN on peace keeping missions in former colonies.
That’s about as far as you’ll ever hear me go on giving France credit.
Lechacal, exactly.
My understanding is that the French and their former West African colonies keep up good relationships.
The French certainty had less peaceful separations with colonies than the English, but nowhere near the track record of the Spanish.
I wonder how much the difference in relationships with former colonies has to do with the amount of time that has passed since independence?
There are still plenty of people alive who remember the height the French and English Empires, and many more who are one generation removed.
Spain’s empire is a distant memory compared.
so, rf, basically like how I’m constantly busting on white liberal northeasterners?
By benson on January 5, 2011 2:35 PM
Rf;
Just curious. Could you please identify an “Asian trash” or “Hispanic trash” neighborhood?
Benson, I was thinking about this while doing laundry. I feel comfortable criticizing working-class white people because that’s where I come from. My father was an airplane mechanic who started at Pan American the day after he graduated from Aviation High School. Starting when I was about 5 shortly after they bought a Levitt house, he also drove a newspaper truck–and this was on Long Island, where he had to load and unload the newspapers himself. My mother was a Hitler refugee and stay-at-home mom. I grew up in Hicksville, where most of the kids were Italian, recently arrived from Brooklyn. My mother lived on 140th St. and Broadway with her parents and sisters before she married, and my dad grew up on the South Bronx, St. Mary Park.
I know a lot about Chinese kids because that’s who my kid went to school with, and black kids because that’s who was in the nabe where she grew up. And I know some about their parents. Beyond that, I don’t know squat, and I am extremely reluctant to joke around about ethnic groups that I don’t know about personally.
The ceremony we attended was a ringing of the bells. I went to a temple temple once in Japan, i.e. a real temple and it is to meditate on the passing of the year. In SF, we went to this guy’s dojo/temple and we took turns about 20 people, gently hitting a gong with a baton. It sounds wierd but it was very rythymic and peaceful. We don’t take the opportunity to slow down, stop talking and really be quiet. It was lovely, actually. After that, we ate a lot of good food.
re; the British and Argentina,
I’m always reading about the royals vacationing down there in Patagonia.
Duly noted CGar. I was not aware of this particular aspect of Argentine history, which is kind of embarrassing given the work I do in the region. Maybe I should have broken my “no googling stuff you’re posting about” rule.
jackal, though not strictly a colony, after gaining independence from Spain, Argentina was effectively part of Britain’s Empire, an independent nation over which Britain had disproportionate influence, akin to the influence it had over its full-fledged colonies, which lasted until Juan and Eva Peron took power.
CGar,
The British seem to make up well with their former enemies.
jessi,
I don’t know too much about the cultural exchange between West Africa and France today.
I do know that the French, to their credit, usually step up when called upon by the UN on peace keeping missions in former colonies.
That’s about as far as you’ll ever hear me go on giving France credit.