I have met quite a few jerks who were Americans, some who were French, Canadians, British etc. I have also met some wonderful people who are Americans, some of my best friends are Americans, and some great French citizens as well. I'm not French but I am a francophone. I strongly disagree with the way the US conducted its diplomacy at the UN. I think this war is wrong. I think it will have dire consequences. But I will not transfer my disapointment in the US gvt. to Americans here. Nor would I boycott a product because some jerk vandalises a sacred place or expresses his hatred for any racial or ethnic group, whatever the reason. I will not let myself be defined by hatred. I will not let these bastards change me. I will keep some perspective in these terrible times. I will not give up the ultimate freedom, that of choosing to build instead of destroying. I've been reading Frankl these days so permit me to give one of his most famous quotes: "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances - to choose one's own way." Dr. Viktor E. Frankl I've chosen my attitude. You all are free to choose yours. Take care, Q

Un coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hazard
S Mallarmé