Are we a failed peninsula?
Posted by canyoubelieveitt@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 77 comments
Why are we like this?
Posted by canyoubelieveitt@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 77 comments
Why are we like this?
BoringAd8788@reddit
it’s the cardle of civilization. Humanity failed blakans, not us.
FortisPatria@reddit
if you compare it with europe and north america yes but rest of the world? no.
bluecoldwhiskey@reddit
The Balkan states are non sustainable compared to tge West .
Archaeopteryx111@reddit
That’s why we have the EU. Balkan confederation.
Raknel@reddit
The EU just drains all the young and leaves poorer countries without a future.
Smaller organizations like a Balkan League or V4 would work better IMO. Countries of similar economic backgrounds and culture could work together better without one of the dominating the rest or siphoning off people.
trisul-108@reddit
Only because you inflict the young with leaders like Orban.
Raknel@reddit
Completely irrelevant
You could have the best PM ever, if you can make 3 times as much in western/northern EU, people will leave.
trisul-108@reddit
That is not how the most creative people think at all. What they are looking for is living without financial worries and having the opportunity to develop their ideas. Give a brilliant young engineer sufficient funds not to worry about his bills and worthwhile projects and they will stay because of family, friends and society that they love.
That is what Balkans societies provide to their politicians, to established academic and business figures, but not to capable young people. Capable young people are usually sidelined as being "too difficult" which is why they leave and get paid 3x more which is the only thing that the rest of Balkan society sees and values.
Archaeopteryx111@reddit
No, the small Balkan countries would just bitch at each other and do nothing productive. We need a firm guiding hand for at least another generation. That includes Hungary.
Raknel@reddit
EU may be a guiding hand but that isn't really helping if said hand is deranged and self-destructive.
Their money's nice and all but politically and demographically they're a dead end.
bluecoldwhiskey@reddit
Not that we wouldn't exploit each other in a Balkan union , but the EU serves the big countries first .
Archaeopteryx111@reddit
Romania and Bulgaria would be as poor as Belarus without the EU.
Moist-Park-4781@reddit
Yet we persist.
BetImaginary4945@reddit
No we've been the most exploited peninsula since 2000B.C. and still are being exploited by younger bigger nations. We've been stuck in ancient times and can't outgrow our bigger neighbors due to tribalism.
trisul-108@reddit
Mostly exploited by own leaders.
bingbongsnabel@reddit
Most exploited is a stretch considering poland was ripped apart and put together three times last 200 years and now it's economy is about to pass great Britain.
tardoos@reddit
Or if you compare us to like any other part of the world except Europe.
dwartbg9@reddit
Not really except Europe, but Western Europe. We are also that same Europe
Mysterious-Put1459@reddit
Don't complain bro. We are as much to blame for allowing others to exploit us as they are for exploiting us. Blaming everything on others is what Africans do and they are lame as f
BetImaginary4945@reddit
Yeah ok, go tell the lambs at Easter the same story
Mysterious-Put1459@reddit
Interesting saying. However I don't condone justifying the victim mentality with such excuses. Respect yourself and others will respect you. Otherwise, here's a good saying from around here - Go complain to the Armenian priest
Teachers_Pet_01@reddit
100%.
MinimumArt8781@reddit
Failed in what sense? Most of the Balkan countries are 3x times safer and freer than many western countries. You can have Liberties in Romania or Greece or Bulgaria that many others can only dream of.
The Balkan countries aren't that bad, we just squabble with each other rather than helping one another. We all have a "spice" that western countries don't have, we're persistent, somewhat united in nation ideas that other "developed counties don't have. The Balkans haven't failed at all we're starting at all, I trully believe the future will be awesome for all of us.
trisul-108@reddit
Young people in the Balkans see no future in the Balkans. That is a huge failure ... failure to give them an opportunity to build a better future. That's all that is missing. However, the older generations are simply refusing to let it happen, hanging on to a failed past and refusing to let go. The specific story is different in each country, but the pattern is identical.
harvestt77@reddit
So, Balkans are freer than many western countries, but because Romania, Bulgaria and Greece play with the westerners, are freer than the rest of the Balkans? ☝️
MinimumArt8781@reddit
The perks of the European Union
NOTExETON@reddit
We have to avenge our great great great great grandfathers you know
Visible-Star-6079@reddit
Preach, brother
GeorgeSupremu@reddit
That’s what they want you to think
Canenald@reddit
I mean, if you look at the closest neighbouring peninsulas, yes. Italy, Iberia, Asia Minor, Scandinavia, they are all quite visible and distinct extensions of their landmasses. The Balkan Peninsula seems to be hugging the rest of Europe too hard, as if it's not sure whether it really wants to be a peninsula.
I think if we really want to be a peninsula, the countries of the Balkans should get together and do something about it. Maybe flooding some border region, for example, in Slovenia and Romania, would make us a place one would look at on a map and say, "Ah, yes, this is definitely a peninsula."
Raknel@reddit
Very interesting, please continue
Canenald@reddit
least insane aspiring dictator
bluecoldwhiskey@reddit
No .
Excellent_Jeweler_43@reddit
It’s just Bulgarians eternal doomerism
Dimo145@reddit
Idk how you could look at the last 36 years of history and not be dooming about this territory. Would love to be able to adopt a similar positive outlook
Excellent_Jeweler_43@reddit
Sorry to break it to you bud, but last 36 years of history have been better than the previous 36 years of history, or the 36 years of history before that, or the 36 years of history before that.
Also the next 36 years of history will be better than the last 36 aswell
I know Bulgarians like to circlejerk on how everything is shit, we are all fucked and we are all going to die, but life is actually better than you think it is, Bulgaria is a better country than you think it is and the Balkans as a whole is a better place than you think it is
Dimo145@reddit
Why are you moving the goalpost now? Trying to act as if everything happening literally isn't, despite lots of our countrymen's best attempts to fight it.
Excellent_Jeweler_43@reddit
Its literally the other way around, its you that is closing your eyes and not looking at reality and prefer to look at some distorted view of some quasy reality that you pretend you live in.
Look at every single possible metric in the last 20 or 30 years. Every single one and name me one metric where we are worse off now than we were 20 or 30 years ago.
Minute_Eye3411@reddit
I don't know how you guys were 20 or 30 years ago but I visited last year and it was not that different from France (where I am from) in terms of general things (restaurants, hotels, tourism, cleanliness - in fact, cleaner than my home town), and normal stuff.
To me, Bulgaria was not that different from anywhere else in Europe in terms of what foreigners expect.
Dimo145@reddit
You aren't wrong with the latter points, but it's about the details around it. (plus its literally impossible under some of the circumstances that we arrived at - thus my earlier point that its all ''despite our best effort of fighting it'') We are a disappearing nation that, 36 years later, still fawns over the ex communists and their children who have been robbing what otherwise is a place with great potential (but then again, as Boiko was saying at some point - "Такъв ни е материала"), anything outside of Sofia/Varna/Burgas is literally a different country.
dwartbg9@reddit
BiH5@reddit
For better or for worse, we were stuck between multiple large empires. They beat us to it, and used us, from West European empires (others, but Austrian and Roman come to mind) to Eastern (most notably Soviets, but also Ottomans). The closest that we came to having some type of relative powerhouse in the Balkans was Yugoslavia after WW2, I say that with some reservations.
Another reason. We are too dam naive. Instead of trying to create ethnostates and reign supremacy over our neighbors, we need to focus on collaboration. Our diversity is both our strength and Achilles heel.
Raknel@reddit
Austria would've built you up but Serbia said nah let's destroy this continent.
Archaeopteryx111@reddit
Not with Hungary. Hungarians would never have allowed other ethnicities to be equal in the empire.
Raknel@reddit
That's just Romanian propaganda.
Open-Investigator-52@reddit
No, the others are failed regions
Several-Zombies6547@reddit
Ottomans held the Balkans back and caused them to miss major historical developments.
Minute_Eye3411@reddit
No you are not. I was in Bulgaria last Summer, going back this Summer, and there were plenty of things that I saw there, that were favourable compared to where I come from (which is Marseille, and despite the stereotypes we aren't that bad either).
dwartbg9@reddit
No need to explain him anything, you won't change his typical doomer Bulgarian DNA. Bulgarians really became the most pessimistic and self-loathing people in Europe. It's like we have some virus ravaging over here, people have gotten insane and will complain and find issues in literally everything....
Inevitable_Motor_685@reddit
I think you accidentally askwd the same question twice
canyoubelieveitt@reddit (OP)
See that perfectly summarizes the failure btw
dwartbg9@reddit
Aristo95@reddit
Quite the contrary. Despite all the issues, we aren't doing that bad actually.
-Passenger-@reddit
The Ottoman Colonization didn't help, the constant wars didn't help, fucking socialism didn't help, tribalism didn't help, 3 main Religions intermixed didn't help....
You can say about the EU whatever you want, at one point it'll help you move in the right direction if you are not totally inept. it takes time and it comes with a cost, but still
GreatEmperorAca@reddit
Image not working
Visible-Star-6079@reddit
No way. We just Bangaranga the shit out of the rest of Europe.
PeroCigla@reddit
No
OakvilleCab@reddit
Waiting for the Ottoman rule did this to us answer.
Turbulent_Elk8705@reddit
Yes
arcane_labor92@reddit
What do you mean failed? We just won Eurovision.
fesagolub@reddit
Your link doesn’t seem to work.
canyoubelieveitt@reddit (OP)
I didnt post a link, just a picture. And it always gave an error. Now I see I created two identical threads, both without picture as well 😄
Comfortable_Cress194@reddit
No but corruption is the one reason and the other is that we are in the crossroad between Europe and Asia so we were bullied by stronger countryes for centuries and we are still bullied.
Easy_Schedule5859@reddit
Was there supposed to be an image linked?
canyoubelieveitt@reddit (OP)
Yes. Pic related.
Processing img snmn55nj0y1h1...
canyoubelieveitt@reddit (OP)
I see its not posted again. Classic Balkan L
creepy009@reddit
Define failed
crivycouriac@reddit
Yes.
bluecoldwhiskey@reddit
Why is that?
crivycouriac@reddit
Pinpointing a reason is difficult
bluecoldwhiskey@reddit
I pressume you consider Slovenia as nonBalkan?
UkyoTachibana@reddit
WayAdmirable150@reddit
No, you are not. You just need some more time.
reddroy@reddit
You could be a lot closer to being an island, geographically speaking. But I'm not sure if that's what you're asking
EconomicsMore1613@reddit
Like what?
Adept-One-4632@reddit
That's baloney.
How could we have failed.
shko-der@reddit
Lots of stuff going on on this part of the world for the last 2000 of years.