Are you comfortable talking about the negative aspects of your country & culture with foreigners who are also critical about them? Does your level of comfortability regarding such topics depend on the nationality of the person you're talking to?
Posted by Substratas@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 17 comments
I know some people are highly sensitive whenever someone criticizes their country, Balkaners even more so.
How do you react in such cases?
pppktolki@reddit
It's useful to know some history when this happens. It's important to be quick with your reply too. For instance, one time I had a Norwegian guy making a comment on the way we treat the gypsies. I reminded him of the fact that up to 1980 Norwegian law officially prohibited gypsies from staying in the country. An English guy once made a comment about our inferior financial situation. The guy was living with his mom in a one bedroom flat, and struggled to pay the bills.. He was shocked to find out that most ppl here own at least one appartament, and maybe even a house in the countryside. There's always a good way to shut em up, you just have to be quick.
Familiar-Custard-216@reddit
I mean yea why not? Some cultures and countries are superior to others and the Balkans is not at the top
stuyvesant1@reddit
Yes, but I dont like people criticising a country when their own country sucks more.
veleso91@reddit
This is the general mindset of Balkaners afaik - A Balkaner criticizes all Balkan countries ✅ - A Balkaner criticizes my country only ❌ - A global south foreigner criticizes all Balkan countries 🆗 - A global south foreigner criticizes my country only ❌ - A westerner criticizes all Balkan countries ❌ - A westerner criticizes my country only ❌
Happy-Hour88@reddit
Same except I'd rather have a Westerner criticizing all Balkan countrie sthan singling out mine. I find the Italians, Brits and Dutch are the most hateful btw.
I literally heard "Your people will steal our jobs" from my host family in London. Haven't visited the UK again now 20 years later.
Substratas@reddit (OP)
How can a job be stolen? Like, what does that even mean??? 😂😭
ahmet-chromedgeic@reddit
It simply comes off as disrespectful. You'd never enter someone's home and tell them how small and shitty it is, or how outdated and cheap the furniture is, or point out their TV's not working. So I don't think someone is sensitive if they dislike that you're doing that, they're just correctly labeling you as an inconsiderate asshole.
LowPsychological6734@reddit
there are 1000 ways to criticize something. it would heavily depend on how they criticize it.
Antique_Birthday6380@reddit
Exactly
Dovaskarr@reddit
Yes. I do have a problem with people going out of their way to do that. Folks from Zagreb are bashing the coastline for apartment prices. In the same time, they keep rent stupidly high for shit apartments. Worst one was 80s furniture, plumbing, basically a mold bowl and dude wanted 600 euros a month.
Substratas@reddit (OP)
Wait what?!?! €600 a month would be the rent in Tirana for one room. I thought Zagreb was much more expensive…
Dovaskarr@reddit
It was 20m² apartment. Your shitter and kitchen are a meter apart.
Young_Owl99@reddit
I generally am. My level of comfortability depends on how sincere the people I am speaking is. If they sincerely want to know my opinion. I am willing to debate on everything about my country. To Atatürk, to Erdoğan to Ottomans to Seljuks to Islam.
But often people wants to “debate” because they just hate you and your country. Then I don’t like it. They just want to insult under the name of “debate”
Also more importantly it depends on how much I know about the subject. If I don’t know it or have little knowledge obviously I can’t agree or deny it.
Renandstimpyslog@reddit
I don't over-criticize or brag about my country with foreigners whom I mostly meet on vacations or on business trips. I don't talk about politics at all, tbh.
There are tons of silly stereotypes and most people are prejudiced and incapable of understanding nuance. I don't want any of these to reflect on me, my holiday or my career.
Big-Vegetable4550@reddit
At least now, and for the foreseeable future, any American criticizing any other country should simply be laughed out of the room - sigh 😔).
AnarchistRain@reddit
If they are reasonable and constructive, sure.
nidorancxo@reddit
Well, if it is some privileged westerner that wants to talk shit about my country while basically only having dumb stereotypes in his mind and is ignoring that their own country is going to shit for the same things they criticise, yeah I call them out on their BS all the time and I don’t respect their opinion (that will be almost all of them). If I am talking to somebody who actually knows what they are talking about, meaning they also very likely come from or have lived in a less developed country, that is different. I will talk shit about my own country with them no problem.