How do Polish ppl view themselves?

EraAtlantia:

Sometimes i wonder has communism made polish people this way...
The strictness, the commitment, the hard working, the pride....
But also the coldness, the lifelessness, the lack of emotion and engagement...

Having lived in Ireland and England I have always been used to life and energy when with people, the banter and above the ability to laugh at one self and not take things overly seriously. I really dont care that cambridge and oxford are the top colleges in the world or that Irish people are liked all over the world, i especially dont use it as ammo in context of other countries, yet many poles dont seem to have breaks on these matters.

That's fine. But its not a likable trait, its more than likely bias and it just reflects poland in a bad light. Why cant they not , every now and again, joke a bit, laugh at how stupid these matters really are and stop getting so caught up.

MareGaeaThreads: 45 Posts: 5,527 Joined: Feb 6, 08	Mar 14, 08, 06:12 / #
Hi guys, Just wondering: when I hear my Polish friends talking about being Polish and the country itself (I seem to read this over here as well), it seems like they regard themselves as being somewhat superior or at least better than other cultures and countries. I would like to make this clear once and for all: do the Polish think of themselves as being from a better/worse society/culture/country than other ppl? If yes, on which fact or feeling is this based? Thanks! M-G (bad mood/headache - but self induced :S )

Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11 Posts: 14,563 Joined: Apr 2, 07	Edited by: Bratwurst Boy Mar 14, 08, 06:34 / #
MareGaea wrote: they regard themselves as being somewhat superior or at least better than other cultures and countries Who doesn't??? (Even the Dutch hallucinate they were better than the Germans! Says all, really...) :)

tornado2007Threads: 20 Posts: 3,497 Joined: Jul 11, 07	Mar 14, 08, 06:38 / #
MareGaea wrote: my Polish friends talking about being Polish and the country itself (I seem to read this over here as well), it seems like they regard themselves as being somewhat superior or at least better than other cultures and countries. i have the same experiences, however on the otherside of the penny, they also say that we, the British, talk about the rest of the world like everyone is below us. My Polish friends call it 'British Arrogance' for example when i tell them how much i like england and how England provides a good place fo people to come and get educated they say that i'm being arrogant and thats not true at all. then five minutes later i here them talking about the muslims and russians like their apes compared to the Polish, how confusing!! thnx T

TripTicThreads: 4 Posts: 118 Joined: Apr 10, 07	Mar 14, 08, 06:47 / #
MareGaea wrote: I would like to make this clear once and for all: do the Polish think of themselves as being from a better/worse society/culture/country than other ppl? I'm not someone special. I'm just a little bit different. Not in a good or a bad way. ...just a little bit different. I've never compared myself to english ppl.

MareGaeaThreads: 45 Posts: 5,527 Joined: Feb 6, 08	Mar 14, 08, 06:56 / #
Tornado is making a good point there: I noticed that too. They are fully on their qui vivre about not being put below other nationalities and at the same time they look down on, indeed, muslims, Russians and so on. It's a bit double, therefore I wanted to get it clear how the sit actually is. And what better place to do this than a Polish forum? :) M-G

polishcanuckThreads: 10 Posts: 583 Joined: Feb 11, 07	Mar 14, 08, 13:34 / #
Every country/ethnic groups thinks it's superior to other groups! It's called nationalism.

LondonChickThreads: 43 Posts: 1,261 Joined: Nov 19, 07	Mar 14, 08, 13:36 / #
polishcanuck wrote: Every country/ethnic groups thinks it's superior to other groups! It's called nationalism. exactly... or jingoism

EbonyandBathoryThreads: 7 Posts: 349 Joined: Feb 14, 08	Mar 14, 08, 17:19 / #
I feel with Polish people, especially abroad, it's not that we believe we're superior or that Poland is better than any other nation, it's just that Poland, while important historically, is very ignored in today's political/cultural atmosphere. I'm speaking from an American perspective but where comparable immigrant groups like Irish and Italians are celebrated and focused on (if you don't believe me, remind yourself what day next Monday is), Poland is like another planet that nobody knows about. Often times, I've gone too far with my "Polishness" for this reason. It's not that were arrogant (or at least I try not to be) its just that we are proud to be Polish, even if nobody else cares.

MaliThreads: - Posts: 333 Joined: Mar 3, 08	Edited by: Mali Mar 14, 08, 18:15 / #
polishcanuck wrote: Every country/ethnic groups thinks it's superior to other groups! It's called nationalism. Its kind of ridiculous actually, but that's definitely true! This is especially true of European nations that pride themselves on their ancestor's historical achievements. Find me an Italian that doesn't think Italy is the best place, has the best women, best food, best culture etc.... Same thing with a French person, or a Dutch person, or a Polish person. I mean you'll find some people that aren't very nationalistic, but I doubt that would be the norm. America is pretty notorious for this also. My Polish friends call it 'British Arrogance' for example when i tell them how much i like england and how England provides a good place fo people to come and get educated they say that i'm being arrogant and thats not true at all. then five minutes later i here them talking about the muslims and russians like their apes compared to the Polish, how confusing!! I think that notions of 'British Snobbery' or 'British Arrogance' are associated with the nation's history of colonization. The very concept of colonization is based on the concept that X nation is better than Y nation, therefore we have a right to take over. However, colonialism officially ended in the 1960s and other nations have been slowly recovering from this idea of Britain as an 'evil colonizer'. These days, its more about America's imperial policies and notions of supremacy that has a lot of nations in the world p*ssed off.

Jozef PilsudskiThreads: - Posts: 30 Joined: Mar 15, 08	Mar 15, 08, 14:05 / #
they regard themselves as being somewhat superior or at least better than other cultures and countries ... You seem unjustifiably surprised. This is true of everyone, from the Portuguese to the Chinese.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 24, 08, 19:09 / #
Polish pride is quite well established. However, behind the ostensible confidence lay insecurities. TBH, it just depends!

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,955 Joined: May 17, 07	Dec 25, 08, 04:34 / #
Poles are not allowed to have nationalistic feelings because they are considered inferior.

noimmigration	Dec 25, 08, 06:15 / #
Poland isnt superior to britian economically, poland isnt superior to britian in millitary terms, poland isnt superior to britian regarding technology and science, Poland has depended on britian in ww2. How thye fck can poles think they are superior to western europeans, what a joke, Honestly,

nunczkaThreads: 17 Posts: 623 Joined: Sep 13, 08	Edited by: nunczka Dec 25, 08, 07:01 / #
With a lot of pride And for those of you who dont like it. You know what you can do.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 25, 08, 12:00 / #
As Central Europeans :)

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,395 Joined: May 30, 08	Dec 25, 08, 14:46 / #
noimmigration: Poland isnt superior to britian economically, poland isnt superior to britian in millitary terms, poland isnt superior to britian regarding technology and science, Poland has depended on britian in ww2. You missed culture on purpose or by accident??? :):):)

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 25, 08, 14:49 / #
It would make no sense to introduce culture anyway, in the sense of a Polish-British comparison. Scottish culture is very different from English culture which, in turn, is different from Welsh culture. The Poles have very good technological experts and scientists. Just unlucky that Scotland is part of the UK ;) ;) The Poles are proud of many things and rightfully so.

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,395 Joined: May 30, 08	Dec 25, 08, 15:15 / #
Seanus: It would make no sense to introduce culture anyway, in the sense of a Polish-British comparison. So noimmi is not so dumb after all, as some people here accuse him (her?) of?

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 25, 08, 15:17 / #
He's a wonderful actor, he plays the part with aplomb!

espanaThreads: 40 Posts: 2,233 Joined: Feb 28, 07	Dec 25, 08, 15:44 / #
How do Polish ppl view themselves? in a mirror ,,,,,,,,no?

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 25, 08, 15:50 / #
Sounds right to me, espana.

PrzemasThreads: 1 Posts: 149 Joined: Dec 12, 07	Dec 25, 08, 17:01 / #
I view myself as a degenerate gambler and chronic alcoholic, though still quite superior to those of British ilk.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 25, 08, 17:25 / #
I've heard the doctors in Poland, like the bread and women, are the best in the world ;) Time to get those delusions sorted out :)

EraAtlantiaThreads: 3 Posts: 128 Joined: Sep 3, 08	Edited by: EraAtlantia Dec 25, 08, 18:02 / #
Its no wonder this topic keeps coming up, is it?....Polish pride... From my experience polish people are in general very proud. Even some of the most shy polish i have met come out with, rather needlessly amid conversation, some very strong, proud words of poland. I used to get pissed off by it. But now I see its just immaturity and perhaps even insecurity behind it all. Of course, we have the right to say what we think and feel. But I have never heard my mother (who is irish ) or my father who is english say " Ireland/England is more beautiful than X ", as I have heard poles say to me ( Poland being more beautiful than X ) . I find it ignorant as this pole has not seen all of these countries. Education is one topic I avoid at all costs with poles, clearly a lot of them assume that they are the gate keepers to all knowledge and information. They can be pretty condescending to say the least, and if they fuck up they pretty much wither in shame as though dropping a mug has brought shame on their country...then the smug giggle when the other drops the mug....*breath...

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 25, 08, 18:11 / #
It can be irritating and it shocks them when I say, usually to taxi drivers, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and other countries produce equally good women. Education, well, sometimes you are fighting a losing battle. I remember being in Żywiec one time and asking my GF who those louts on the train were. I skipped that train simply because I didn't want to share it with such loudmouths. Police were called in with full riot gear and Alsatians to quell the disturbances. It turns out that they were students from Jagellonia University in Kraków. Eminent I heard. Well, if that is eminent, I'd hate to see lowly. My Scottish friend, VERY level-headed, thinks the same. He just gets into chit-chat style discussions as anything even remotely controversial is blown out of all proportion and he gets an earful.

WooPeeThreads: 3 Posts: 133 Joined: Jul 1, 08	Dec 25, 08, 18:19 / #
noimmigration: Poland isnt superior to britian economically, poland isnt superior to britian in millitary terms, poland isnt superior to britian regarding technology and science, Poland has depended on britian in ww2. How thye fck can poles think they are superior to western europeans, what a joke, Honestly, Typical British.. :]

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 25, 08, 18:22 / #
Unfortunately so

EraAtlantiaThreads: 3 Posts: 128 Joined: Sep 3, 08	Dec 25, 08, 18:32 / #
Sometimes i wonder has communism made polish people this way... The strictness, the commitment, the hard working, the pride.... But also the coldness, the lifelessness, the lack of emotion and engagement... Having lived in Ireland and England I have always been used to life and energy when with people, the banter and above the ability to laugh at one self and not take things overly seriously. I really dont care that cambridge and oxford are the top colleges in the world or that Irish people are liked all over the world, i especially dont use it as ammo in context of other countries, yet many poles dont seem to have breaks on these matters. That's fine. But its not a likable trait, its more than likely bias and it just reflects poland in a bad light. Why cant they not , every now and again, joke a bit, laugh at how stupid these matters really are and stop getting so caught up.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Dec 25, 08, 18:38 / #
Maybe you have met the wrong kind of Polish people. There are many who are full of life and emotion. Still, some political spoofing would be nice. Taking the mickey a bit more etc etc. I know what you mean about coldness but you can break their guard, trust me.

PrzemasThreads: 1 Posts: 149 Joined: Dec 12, 07	Dec 25, 08, 18:41 / #
EraAtlantia: Sometimes i wonder has communism made polish people this way... The strictness, the commitment, the hard working, the pride.... But also the coldness, the lifelessness, the lack of emotion and engagement... Having lived in Ireland and England I have always been used to life and energy when with people, the banter and above the ability to laugh at one self and not take things overly seriously. I really dont care that cambridge and oxford are the top colleges in the world or that Irish people are liked all over the world, i especially dont use it as ammo in context of other countries, yet many poles dont seem to have breaks on these matters. That's fine. But its not a likable trait, its more than likely bias and it just reflects poland in a bad light. Why cant they not , every now and again, joke a bit, laugh at how stupid these matters really are and stop getting so caught up. I'd love to know where it is you meet these people to draw such conclusions? Do you work in a morgue?