Freedom fries

[[File:Freedom-Fries-Menu.jpg|right|thumb|165px|"Freedom fries" on the menu of an American cafeteria in June 2004.]]
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'''Freedom fries''' was a term coined by [[U.S.]] [[Congress]]man Walter Jones ([[Republican|R]]-[[NC]]) in response to [[France]]'s refusal to join the carnage in the [[Iraq War]] that the US was busy launching in late 2002-early 2003. He sponsored a bill requiring the Capitol cafeterias to [[Conservative correctness|relabel]] "french fries" as "freedom fries", and some restaurants went with the name change until they realized people no longer supported the Iraq War and quietly reverted their menus. Later, Jones not only denounced his own concept, but ''turned against the Iraq War''.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4086380.stm 'Freedom fries' lawmaker's U-turn], [[BBC]]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150415001103/http://www.alternet.org/story/22281/how_walter_jones_grew_a_conscience How Walter Jones Grew a Conscience]</ref> It seems the "'''cheese eating surrender monkeys'''" were on to something. Ironically, the House of Representatives switched their cafeteria provider to a French company in 2015.

==Really?==
Yes, really. In the United States, fried potato strips (called "chips" in the [[UK]]) have long been referred to as french fries (due to the method used to cook them,<ref group=note>Or maybe not; see the Straight Dope mailbag article [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2033/whats-the-origin-of-french-fries What's the origin of French fries?]</ref> they are technically called 'french fried potatoes'). However, in 2003, the same [[George W. Bush|Bush]] Administration which delivered two [[recession]]s issued a mournful edict: the occasion of this directive was the intransigence of France, which refused to mobilize an armored division to pre-emptively invade [[Iraq]] after Colin Powell went before the [[United Nations]] Security Council and revealed [[Bullshit|incontrovertible evidence]] of the presence of [[Weapons of Mass Destruction]] there. In retaliation, Congressman Jones suggested that french fries should henceforth be labeled "freedom fries" (and "french toast" relabeled "freedom toast").<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/03/11/sprj.irq.fries/ House cafeterias change names for 'french' fries and 'french' toast]</ref> This relabeling never really caught on and by the late 2000s had pretty much been completely abandoned outside of fringe [[wingnut]] circles and comedians.

[[Ironic]]ally, french fries were not originally a French food but a [[Belgium|Belgian]] one. The term was carried over to the United States by veterans of [[World War I]], who also brought us the term "French toast," even though the concept for French toast was also created in Belgium. Since the dominant language of the Belgian army was French, the Americans assumed the foodstuffs they introduced were French.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150405132820/http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/08/are-french-fries-truly-french/ Still disputed, though.]</ref>

==Response==
In 2003, an [[sex toy|adult toy]] store in [[Colorado]] Springs began offering "freedom ticklers."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030714195602/http://www.bannoy.com/articles/?art_key=8 "Local Adult Store Renames French Tickler Stock"]</ref> So far as we have been able to ascertain, however, no musical instrument store sold "freedom horns" (perhaps because only English speakers call the horn French), no breakfast establishment served "freedom toast", and lovers did not engage in "freedom kissing" (we'll leave that one to the imagination).

On March 11, 2003, the cafeteria menus in the three [[House of Representatives|House]] office buildings changed the name of French fries to freedom fries to comply with the new regulation. During the lead-up to Operation Iraqi 
Liberty
 Freedom that same week, [[Turkey]] refused to allow the 4th Infantry Division to transit the country and open up a second front in the north of Iraq. Fresh from their success in chastening the French, Internet wingnuts ordered the world that Thanksgiving turkeys be known as "Independence Birds", even though Thanksgiving is not the country's independence day.

Signs are still seen here and there proclaiming that "freedom fries" are on offer. In 2022, one restaurant in [[Virginia]] took things to another level with an entire 9/11-themed menu that included not only a "Freedom Flounder", but other dishes like "Flight 93 Redirect Crab Dip" and "Pentagon Pie".<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/virginia-restaurants-911-themed-menu-backlash-apology-2022-9 Restaurant menu sparks horror over 9/11-theme, including Flight 93 Redirect Crab Dip and Pentagon Pie], Jordan Hart, ''Business Insider'' 9 September 2022</ref> Regardless of the political climate, most Americans refer to their beloved deep fried sliced potatoes simply as "fries".

==Some history==
Compare this phenomenon to the substitutions of "hot dog" for "frankfurter" (which caught on enough to survive)<ref group=note>Though to be fair, they were called "hot dogs" as early as [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1893/whats-the-origin-of-hot-dog 1894]</ref> and "liberty cabbage" for "sauerkraut" (which is downright silly, and didn't). Anti-[[German]] sentiment during [[World War I]] was responsible for this sort of thing. Dachshunds also became "liberty hounds." The dumbest of these was the renaming of German measles to "liberty measles" (sadly, [[Poe's law|this is '''not''' a lame joke]]).<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2784577.stm French Fries off Menu], [[BBC]]</ref>

One might wonder at Americans associating the French with [[French Revolution|freedom]] and the Germans with [[Nazi Germany|liberty]].

Similarly, during the [[Cold War]] when the word "[[red scare|red]]" was used as a derogatory term for [[communist]]s and [[socialist]]s, the Cincinnati Reds officially changed their name from "Reds" to "Redlegs" from the 1953 through the 1960 seasons. (The team still uses the name "Mr. Redlegs" for its 1890s-style mascot.) However, this did not stop the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, which saw action in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]], from retaining the nickname {{wpl|1st Infantry Division (United States)|"The Big Red One"}} (probably because this simply describes its shoulder patches).

In parallel with the US WWI examples, in 1916, it was suggested that the [[Canada|Canadian]] city of Berlin, Ontario should be renamed "Kitchener" after the British Minister of War.<ref>[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kitchener-waterloo/ Kitchener-Waterloo]</ref> This was done no doubt to appease the [[United Kingdom|Mother Country]].

Examples of such renaming persist to the present day. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a [[North Carolina]] deli owner renamed "Russian dressing" to "Ukrainian dressing" in response to the general outrage caused by the invasion.<ref>Wilfred Chan, [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/mar/23/russia-protests-vodka-mustard-poutine Dumping vodka, banning Dostoevsky: some anti-Russian protests are empty gestures]. The Guardian, 23 March 2022.</ref> Similarly, British supermarket Sainsbury’s renamed Chicken Kievs to Chicken Kyivs, after the preferred Ukrainian spelling.<ref> Sarah Butler [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/mar/04/sainsburys-renames-chicken-kievs-kyivrussian-made-vodka-uk-supermarket-soviet-spelling-ukraine Sainsbury’s renames chicken kievs and pulls Russian-made vodka]</ref>

==See also==
*[[War on Terror]]
*[[Europhobia]]
*[[Conservative correctness]]

==Notes==
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==References==
{{reflist|2}}

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[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:International relations]]
[[Category:Neologisms]]
[[Category:United States politics]]

Categories: Food, International relations, Neologisms, United States politics