Pets were swept up in the frenzy then, too: German shepherds and dachshunds came to be known as Alsatians and "liberty hounds," respectively. Towns with Germanic names were rechristened. During World War I, foods like sauerkraut and frankfurters or wieners were rebranded as "Liberty cabbage" and hotdogs. Yet the urge to eliminate all manifestations of an international rival draws on a current of moralism that runs deep in American culture. The International Cat Federation has even banned Russian felines from competition.
An Italian university postponed a class on Dostoyevsky (although the decision was rescinded under heavy criticism). A theater in Wales canceled a performance of Swan Lake. And this time, Americans are far from the only ones losing their minds. To the contrary, its leaders were trying to prevent a war - with good reason, as it turned out. The situations aren't perfectly analogous. Around the country, though, Russian flags have been removed from public display, Russian artists have had engagements canceled, Russian-branded vodka has been removed from shelves (whether or not it's actually produced in Russia), and Russian-themed businesses vandalized. No one's yet proposed to ban Russian dressing in response to the invasion of Ukraine. That conflict has become retrospectively unpopular - but we remain susceptible to the same madness.
The Freedom fries craze entered public memory as an embarrassing symptom of the war fever that gripped America after 9/11.
0 kommentar(er)
