More Surrender Jokes: Jon Stewart
Editorials - Tweet this! April 8th, 2008With Official French Bashing (2003-2007) now as irrelevant as Fox News, “surrender jokes” should have been on the way out. The opposite now seems to be the case with a renewed effort from some columnists and comedy writers, including of all people Jon Stewart and The Daily Show.
Having been the sole voice of dissent along with Bill Maher, The Daily Show was a welcome respite under the Bush Administration. But last night, in a segment about the Olympic torch and pro-Tibet protests in Paris, Jon Stewart spun the events as follows:
“Basically, faced with danger – the French – oh what’s the word I’m looking for? Gave up? No. Conceeded? Anyway…”
Jon Stewart has now entered the long list of overt French Bashing comedians and pundits, who believe the horrors suffered by France, and Europe, during World War II, are so trivial as to be nothing more than a joke.
But here’s the kicker: The Daily Show is aired nightly in France, on Canal Plus. Show your anger and request Canal Plus pull this show from their line-up immediately.
Contact Canal Plus
Bertrand Méheut, PDG
Groupe CANAL+
1, place du Spectacle
92863 Issy-Les-Moulineaux Cedex 9
Standard : 011 33 1 71 35 35 35
Contact Jon Stewart and The Daily Show
Jon Stewart
thedailyshow@comedycentral.com
c/o The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
733 11th Avenue
New York, NY 10019-5051
Post comments online at TheDailyShow.com
Note 1: Back in 2004, the Pew Research Center revealed that 21 % of young people aged 18 to 29 said they got their campaign news from Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update and Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.
Note 2: For historical accuracy, please read notes 18 and 104 of 112 Gripes about the French, ‘Information & Education Division’ of the US Occupation Forces, 1945
How disappointing.
[h/t to PK & SK]
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April 22nd, 2008 at 11:13 am
Klappy – Does “comedian status” give you a free pass to go beyond the pale?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I don’t think he did. There’s a difference between insults and jokes. Let’s show French people do have a sense of humour too. As I said, he makes jokes about everyone, but no one ever complains about it.
Anyway, Jon Stewart is not anti-French. Actually, I think he doesn’t care about France at all. He made fun of Bill O’Reilly quite often when he was boycotting France for no reason.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Absolutely, Jon ridiculed O’Reilly, granted. This is why we feel even more betrayed by Jon and his “surrender” joke.
April 25th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
“Come on, the guy’s a comedian… I’m French, my grandfather was in the Resistance during WWII and thus all this “surrender” and France bashing stuff really pisses me off, but I can take a joke.”
We all can take a joke once in a while. But this has become more than a simple joke. Cowardice has become a character trait which is now seriously associated , and accepted as fact by many, with the French.
This is a serious issue.
April 28th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Thank goodness I haven’t got Canal+.
What a bunch of ignoramuses… Why the crap do this people believe that <b>France</b> surrendered?
Sure, Petain collaborated but de Gaulle didn’t.
I mean, this is becoming frigging crazy. Americans believe that the louder they speak, the more right they are; in the same manner the more they propagate the lie, the more they believe it’s true!
Talk of dumb and loud Americans.
April 28th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
How about America’s Vietnam?
Now, that’s not only surrendering but running with their tails between their legs leaving their allies to the mercy of their enemies. To top it all, they whine about their experience with no regard for those they fed to their enemies.
That’s the ultimate in cowardice!
April 18th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
John Stewart makes fun of EVERYONE. You don’t see everyone else bitching about it. Do you realize, by the way, that some of you are making just as many generalizations and rude comments about Americans right now? Talk about hypocrisy. Some Americans are “loud and dumb” but not all of us. Get over yourselves.
April 18th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Also, did you catch the both American and British bashing that came right after it? I’m not bitching about all that, because I understand Jon Stewart’s satire.
April 19th, 2010 at 10:10 am
There’s plenty of stuff you can use to make fun of the French.
But do you understand that making those surrender jokes is an insult to the memory and the sacrifice of the 2 million Frenchmen who died fighting for France last century ?
Those 2 million deaths have been swept under the rug in the American psyche. Those are REAL people’s lives and memories that are being completely ignored and a made a joke out of.
According to American pop culture, it never happened.
It’s not like making fun of Asians being bad drivers or even Americans being loud and obnoxious.
I hope you can understand that if not shame on you for trying to justify what should be unjustifiable.
April 19th, 2010 at 10:16 am
If the American public was aware that about 2 million French soldiers died fighting for France last century, do you think people would be so quick (and strangely eager) to make those surrender jokes ?
I don’t think so.