Even the Frogs are at it

Why am I surprised? Am I even surprised? The Belgravia Despatch Blog reviews Le Monde’s coverage of the US humanitarian aid efforts in the Asian tsunami region:

Rather than commend the US, if just for a moment in the midst of this immense tragedy, Le Monde's journalists and cartoonists prefer to insinuate that the U.S. has nefarious motives in Indonesia, or make crude fun of the difficulties in Iraq having 'prepared' us for Indonesia's blight. Such sad fare isn't just wrong, tasteless, petty and rancidly provincial. It speaks of a society, like contemporary Germany, that is ailing and so needs scapegoats. It's not politically correct to look internally for them anymore. So everyone loves to beat up that favourite bogeyman - the US - out of a mixture of incomprehension, envy, fascination, stupidity and crude stereotyping. It's sad really.

He's right… It is sad, sad that these small-minded people cannot escape their own prejudices and acknowledge unconditional generosity when they see it.