Comments on: What Europeans think of each other

What Europeans think of each other

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:56:57 -0800

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:57:09 -0800

I know this a bit of a cliché and subject of countless previous "lists" from the prehistoric depths of Usenet, but I found this one actually contains some truth and/or insight.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:10:31 -0800

The Brits, of course, have the most mixed feelings about the French, though. One half the country hates them, the other half loves them. Those that hate the French tend to like the Americans, and vice versa. No, no, no. We all hate the French, and we all hate Americans. Half of us sort of get on alright with the french really - but mostly in the form of buying lots of cheese and wine and saying how good the food is - and half of us sort of willing to admit that some Americans are kind of alright sometimes but their goverment sucks. Theres a tiny minority of Brits who love,love, love the Americand and hate, hate hate teh french. You can tell these people apart because they live in Florida and their faces are permenantly red. Oh, and theres Christopher Hitchens, but he's a yank now and he can fuck off.

By: Catfry

Catfry — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:13:13 -0800

Broadly how I have always heard the stereotypes to be. Wether there's any thruth to them who knows. It is interesting that no real perceptions from westerners about eastern European countries exist yet. In a decade perhaps we will se some more solid opinions, from all those polish handyworkers and slovak carmakers influencing life in the UK and Germany.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:13:14 -0800

The main beef with the Brits is that they're considered the lapdog of the U.S. That's about right. Thanks Tony Blair, you fucking traitor.

By: adamrice

adamrice — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:14:56 -0800

Also available in handy matrix form

By: soundofsuburbia

soundofsuburbia — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:16:25 -0800

Pfft, why is Luxembourg and Portugal left off that list? Typical american behaviour.

By: omegar

omegar — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:28:44 -0800

Well, he admits to not knowing much about the Portuguese, but I know for a fact they dislike the Spaniards very much, while the Spanish only think of the Portuguese as being a bit obtuse and backwards thinking. I have an anecdote to illustrate the point: some friends and I once rented a car in Spain in order to drive through Portugal (It's a really nice, celtic, foggy, mysterious, colorful country). The car we rented had Spanish plates so, as we approached Lisbon, we started getting pulled over by cops again and again. Every single time this happened, a very loud, incomprehensible, and fast discussion between the cops and us, in Spanish and Portuguese, started almost right away. Also, it arbruptely ended the moment we showed our passports and driving licences "Ah, México!", they said, "pensamos que você foi da Espanha!". And with that, they let us go.

By: bunnytricks

bunnytricks — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:28:48 -0800

What exile.ru thinks of what Europeans think of each other.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:29:18 -0800

know this a bit of a cliché and subject of countless previous "lists" from the prehistoric depths of Usenet, but I found this one actually contains some truth and/or insight. FAIL. Tired, trite, cliched, old. Up next: Americans. Fat or lazy?

By: Slothrup

Slothrup — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:29:48 -0800

Finns aren't Scandinavians. Fail.

By: Slothrup

Slothrup — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:31:22 -0800

Oh, and the German respect for the Czechs has nothing to do with resisting German aggression -- it's pure gratitude for having invented lager.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:31:32 -0800

Wow, clicking on that exile.ru link is like dunking your browser in a toilet.

By: eye of newt

eye of newt — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:31:46 -0800

By: Slothrup

Slothrup — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:33:14 -0800

Also, they seem to have left out the entirety of Eastern Europe.

By: cortex

cortex — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:36:47 -0800

Danes hate it when you pronounce their capital as "ko-pen-HAH-gen", because this is the German pronunciation. Either pronounce it the English way (with "HAY" instead), or the Danish way, which is literally impossible to put down here. The Germans apparently stole the IPA last time they invaded.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:36:49 -0800

Also, they seem to have left out the entirety of Eastern Europe. As did Western Europe.

By: aramaic

aramaic — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:37:44 -0800

Yeah, but Walloons walk like this, whereas Alsatians walk like this, right? (insert guffaw)

By: jontyjago

jontyjago — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:39:29 -0800

There's a big difference between hating "the French" and hating a Frenchman. Most Brits don't like "the French" but find most of the individual French people they meet very welcoming. However "the French" as a nation are a different kettle of fish. Most English love France though - wine, cheese, skiing, nice weather and warm baguettes. Also, they seem to have left out the entirety of Eastern Europe. Except Poland and the Czechs - that's a fair old chunk...

By: Slothrup

Slothrup — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:50:06 -0800

I would definitely describe the Czech Republic as Central Europe; it's not really further east than Austria. And omitted were Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria and FYROM. I won't add Turkey as its inclusion might be considered iffy.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:50:30 -0800

The whole world is festering with unhappy souls The French hate the Germans The Germans hate the Poles Italians hate Yugoslavs South Africans hate the Dutch And I don't like anybody very much --The Kingston Trio

By: Slothrup

Slothrup — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:50:32 -0800

Oops -- and Slovakia.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:55:13 -0800

Slothrup - a quick round up: The Balkans - fighting. Croatias nice though. Russia and associated countries - drunk and poor. Russias going a bit nasty. Latvia - Ruled by Dr. Doom. Turkey and Bugraria - Gypsy fights! Everywhere else: Mostly harmless.

By: soundofsuburbia

soundofsuburbia — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:55:49 -0800

...and Cyprus is also omitted.

By: bunnytricks

bunnytricks — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:57:42 -0800

Danes hate it when you pronounce their capital as "ko-pen-HAH-gen", because this is the German pronunciation. Either pronounce it the English way (with "HAY" instead), or the Danish way, which is literally impossible to put down here. I think "ko-ben-HAWN" is pretty close, IIRC. Which I may not.

By: soundofsuburbia

soundofsuburbia — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:00:58 -0800

I think "ko-ben-HAWN" is pretty close, IIRC. Just get blind drunk, eat and choke on a bun and try to pronounce "Corey Haim" at the same time. That usually works. :)

By: Melismata

Melismata — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:01:51 -0800

ZenMasterThis, I'll see your Kingston Trio and raise you one Tom Lehrer: Oh, the white folks hate the black folks, And the black folks hate the white folks; ... Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics And the Catholics hate the Protestants, And the Hindus hate the Moslems, And everybody hates the Jews. ... Reminds me of the excellent new book, Who Hates Whom.

By: patricio

patricio — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:05:10 -0800

I disagree that most European nations haven't formed opinions about East/Muddle Europe. Look at the number of countries who prevent free immigration from the new members of the EU - that tells you all you need to know.

By: Dr-Baa

Dr-Baa — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:05:58 -0800

All facts verified by the Rhodesian Police

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:12:37 -0800

patrico - they think they don't have any money?

By: flashboy

flashboy — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:13:51 -0800

In Britain, we have formed very precise opinions of Eastern Europeans, especially Poles. They are a) lazy slobs with criminal tendencies who will scrounge off the dole, and b) highly efficient workers who will steal all our jobs. Yeah, it's a puzzle why the rest of Europe hates the Brits.

By: scabrous

scabrous — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:20:21 -0800

I really like the heaven and hell part at the end, showing how the stereotypes collectively could improve or ruin things for the EU.

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:22:41 -0800

All I know is that an Englishman once told me that the difference between a Frenchman and a piece of toast is that one could make soldiers out of the toast.

By: lord_wolf

lord_wolf — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:25:58 -0800

They are a) lazy slobs with criminal tendencies who will scrounge off the dole, and b) highly efficient workers who will steal all our jobs. damn, that's exactly how many people in the u.s. seem to feel about latino immigrants. and i'd be willing to bet all my money that such sentiments go all the way back to the mutterings of the grassland tribes whenever they saw someone from the hill tribes, not long after our ancestors first began organizing into settlements.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:30:14 -0800

Of course we reserve the real hatred for the town just up the road, like Newcastle and Sunderland.

By: Mike D

Mike D — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:30:47 -0800

I always thought the main beef with the Brits was British beef.

By: greytape

greytape — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:32:56 -0800

uncleozzy Before WW2 the French were seen as a violent and warlike people, with the best army in the world (see Napoleon for further details).

By: athenian

athenian — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:34:18 -0800

It's moderately amusing, but as a couple of people have said, it feels a bit twenty years ago. I'm very pro-European, so maybe it's wishful thinking, but there does seem to have been a softening of the barriers between countries and (whisper it here in Tory England) a nascent sense of European unity - or at least a sense that we have things in common that make us different from other bits of the world. Football helps, not least the ability of people like Arsene Wenger and Fernando Torres to show us how it's done. In Britain, the loss of empire is becoming more history than current affairs - I think we're starting to find a role, even if it is occasionally a mid-Atlantic one. What we really lack is a strong pro-European prime minister - we haven't had one for a while because Blair was too scared of the press and Brown is solidly pro-American and mildly anti-European (much more pro-American than Blair, astonishingly). We can't expect much from the Tories but I have great hopes of David Miliband, half Polish, half Belgian and very up-and-coming.

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:44:15 -0800

From Sondheim. The character singing is Italian, however the lyrics are by a New Yorkster. Last week the Germans, You can keep the Germans, Always cheap, the Germans, Even on a trip. Sweet? Not the Germans, Sweat a lot, the Germans, Full of smiles, the Germans, Don't expect a tip. Next week the English, You should see the English, All the tea, the English, Thirsty, I suppose. Good eggs, the English, Rotten legs, the English, All those teeth, the English, Rows and rows and rows. Then come Parisians, Full of food Parisians, Always rude Parisians, Every one a sneak. Perfumed Parisians, Over-groomed Parisians, Middle-class Parisians, Far more cheek than chic. No alcoholic Swedes, No double-dealing Russians. No Spaniards with their beads And their deafening discussions. No narcissistic Greeks, They're worse than the Italians With overblown physiques And St. Christopher medallions.

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:44:23 -0800

slothrup: Finns aren't Scandinavians. Fail. Well, "Scandinavian" and "Nordic" have become synonyms. It's a battle that I, an Icelander, have long given up fighting. That said, here are the inter-Nordic stereotypes. Icelanders: Jackass drunks. Finns: Depressed drunks. Danes: Arrogant drunks. Swedes: Stuck-up drunks. Norwegians: Boring junkies.

By: symbioid

symbioid — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:47:10 -0800

eye of newt, speaking of Belgian jokes, where I grew up, that's actually what the predominant jokes were. It wasn't until I got older that Polish jokes were the usual variant. The biggest irony, of course, is that the area was mainly Belgian settlers (Door County, WI). I guess they like to laugh at their own bad selves...

By: Chuffy

Chuffy — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:02:41 -0800

Most of the Germans I've met consider the Poles to be a nation of car thieves. They don't have a favorable opinion of Polish women, either.

By: Skeptic

Skeptic — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:11:19 -0800

I guess they like to laugh at their own bad selves... That sort of puts the Belgian attitude to life in a nutshell. Just consider this sentence from a Belgian Francophone comic about his Dutch-speaking Flemish compatriots: "Surveys say that ever more Flemings are no longer able to speak French correctly...so that's something we still have in common!"

By: progosk

progosk — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:26:43 -0800

BozzettoFilter: Europe vs. Italy.

By: adamrice

adamrice — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:28:39 -0800

Mike D: I always thought the main beef with the Brits was British beef. I'm mad about their cows.

By: nax

nax — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:28:41 -0800

Thanks for this, if for nothing else but the joke at the end, which I am always trying to remember, and never can. Lots of fun.

By: saturnine

saturnine — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:28:49 -0800

flashboy said: "In Britain, we have formed very precise opinions of Eastern Europeans, especially Poles. They are a) lazy slobs with criminal tendencies who will scrounge off the dole, and b) highly efficient workers who will steal all our jobs." You're being very kind to our countrypeople. In my experience it's more: "fuck those asylum seekers, on the dole, working the night shift AND the day shift for £3 an hour, getting all the council houses, can't speak English, how dare Sainsburys give over a shelf to Polish food!!!" all whilst drinking foreign beer, shopping in Asda, wearing clothes made by Chinese kids, texting on a Finnish phone :) It's exactly the same as the way we used to treat the Caribbean immigrants and the way Americans treat Mexican/Latino immigrants and used to treat the Irish. We're not really a greatly varied species when it comes to behaviour, but at least history has proven that in time, it does pass. Bring on the future!

By: francesca too

francesca too — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:36:22 -0800

progosk- that is extremely funny. Thanks

By: snownoid

snownoid — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:36:41 -0800

This (in German) is much more accurate and very funny.

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:43:01 -0800

Most of the Germans I've met consider the Poles to be a nation of car thieves. "Aus was für stahl sind polnische autos?" "Diebstahl." *ducks*

By: gompa

gompa — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:31:21 -0800

I was told 'Belgian' jokes--the typical 'they're so stupid that...' type jokes. In NATO military officer circles in Germany in the early '90s, the stereotype about Belgians was that they were the laziest crew in NATO. This emerged in part from the fact that most returned to Belgium for the "weekend," which always seemed to mean they were only in the office for a couple days a week. One typical gag (told by Americans, Canadians, Brits and Germans alike) went: Why do Belgians hate Wednesday? Spoils a perfectly good weekend.

By: crapmatic

crapmatic — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:43:24 -0800

In Heaven... * the mechanics are Michiganian * the chefs are Louisianian * the police are Vermontian * the lovers are Washington * and everything is organized by the Floridians. Meh... doesn't work. Was worth a try. Why does that not work in the U.S. but does in Europe? Do we have no refined sense of identity yet within the U.S.?

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:56:22 -0800

Well in Seattle they hate all the fuckers from Bellevue for being soulless yuppies, and in Bellevue they hate all the Seattlites for being snobby hippies, so kinda. Maybe you just need to scale down. That said there's a lot to be said for coasts vs flyover country.

By: Green Eyed Monster

Green Eyed Monster — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:18:03 -0800

I was in Austria last summer, and they were all sort of stuck-up, and the attitude ranged from fake-nice to downright rude. (Also, they all looked vaguely inbred and Habsburgish. But I repeat myself.)

By: fings

fings — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:25:05 -0800

crapmatic, the closest saying I can think of for the US is the old saw about Washington D.C.: a stunning combination of Northern Hospitality and Southern Efficiency.

By: Melismata

Melismata — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:45:55 -0800

In Hell... The mechanics are D.C. The chefs are Kansas The police are New York (City) The lovers are Connecticut And everything is organized by the Californians

By: desjardins

desjardins — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:45:22 -0800

Artw, flyover country has its own infighting. Wisconsinites see Illinoisans as arrogant bastards, and Illinoisans see Wisconsinites as backward hicks (though Illinoisans just LOVE to visit Wisconsin and spend money). When I was in Paris, almost no one pegged me as American on the first try - I guess because I speak halfway intelligible French. Some thought I was Spanish, others Dutch. I wonder how these stereotypes contributed to their perception. (My ancestry is Irish & German.)

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:14:38 -0800

Katullus, I love the inter-Nordic stereotypes. By the way, most Europeans I've known have confirmed the Finnish stereotype. I knew an Austrian tour guide who dreaded every busload of Finns on holiday.

By: ob

ob — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:42:40 -0800

Yeah this list seem about right to me. I read a great definition of Englishness once: "A Englishman is someone who despises England and pities anyone who isn't English"

By: divabat

divabat — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:24:36 -0800

eye of newt: I was in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2005 and the jokes were still strong on both sides. It's more of a friendly rivalry thing though. I showed my boyfriend (who went to Denmark for a year) the list and he confirmed most of it. I found Swedes to be a bit cold and the Danes to be a lot more open and warm, though I suppose the winter snow had something to do with it.

By: ersatz

ersatz — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:38:57 -0800

Wow, clicking on that exile.ru link is like dunking your browser in a toilet. Yes, quite a drivel. By the way it's funny how the writer of the FPP link wonders that the French have no hard feelings for the Germans. Francogerman relations are Europe 101.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:58:25 -0800

Hard to be that pissed off at people when you're constantly popping over the border to buy cheap petrol.

By: tehloki

tehloki — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:51:03 -0800

I've always been strangely enthralled by the Swiss... Maybe it's because I expect them to open up to reveal a saw, a magnifying glass, and a compass.

By: Goblindegook

Goblindegook — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:56:04 -0800

omegar: I too think the Portuguese are obtuse and retrograde --- and I'm Portuguese.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:08:00 -0800

Before WW2 the French were seen as a violent and warlike people, with the best army in the world (see Napoleon for further details). Certain of their colonialists even after WW2 would have agreed with the first part of that characterization. Then, too, a lot of Napoleon's Grande Armée were furriners.

By: A dead Quaker

A dead Quaker — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:05:42 -0800

Many years ago when I visited Netherlands, I was told 'Belgian' jokes--the typical 'they're so stupid that...' type jokes. I was also told, in detail, how all the smart people left Belgium to move north to the Netherlands, leaving the less intelligent people behind. There's a kernel of truth in that. Back in the 1500s, both Belgium and the Netherlands were essentially colonies of Spain (I forget exactly why, but partly because of Charles V being both Holy Roman Emperor *and* King of Spain, and probably helped by some intermarriage). The northern part of the territory had more of an independent streak and was building land out of the sea, canals, and further, had no monarchy of its own. Meanwhile, Antwerp (in Belgium) was a big trading center. Given that most of this area was Protestant, shit eventually went down between Spain and the natives, and the merchants and traders in Antwerp got fed up with it and moved north, which had actually staked out some independence. Some of these folks were Jews whose families came from Portugal, after it had had its day in the sun. Of course, these days I can't see too much difference between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium has better beer. The Netherlands has better bike paths.

By: WaterSprite

WaterSprite — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:17:31 -0800

Hmph. Lithuanians don't much care for Poles, either.

By: parallax7d

parallax7d — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:55:21 -0800

Up next: Americans. Fat or lazy? Lazy? Americans are fat and stupid! Lazy we are not.

By: progosk

progosk — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:15:00 -0800

snownoid - brilliant, those!

By: bystander

bystander — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:19:12 -0800

And not a mention of the holidaying Germans running down before breakfast to reserve the choice poolside loungers! Without fail every European I have met recounts this as proof of the German's arrogance.

By: bystander

bystander — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:19:54 -0800

Oh, and "two world wars and one world cup" chanted by the Poms at the soccer is a favourite.

By: hell toupee

hell toupee — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 06:40:11 -0800

Up next: Americans. Fat or lazy? Lazy? Americans are fat and stupid! Lazy we are not. I concur; it often seems that most people here would rather work too much for too little rather than risk being called a socialist or somesuch. As far as the fatness charge goes...I ride public transportation, and I suspect they're eventually gonna have to start making wider bus seats, making wider buses to accomodate them, and then widening the roads to accomodate those buses.

By: tiny crocodile

tiny crocodile — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:04:56 -0800

The population of Ireland is 33% bigger than they say it is. And that's without counting the Nordies. Just sayin.

By: baklavabaklava

baklavabaklava — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:43:19 -0800

From the article: Spaniards consider themselves white and European, and would be deeply insulted if you suggested they were Latin American of any kind. Am I missing something here?

By: atrazine

atrazine — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:55:29 -0800

Spaniards consider themselves white and European, and would be deeply insulted if you suggested they were Latin American of any kind. Was it Dubya that claimed Nelson Mandela as his favourite 'African American'?

By: nax

nax — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:39:46 -0800

desjardins: Wisconsinites see Illinoisans as arrogant bastards, and Illinoisans see Wisconsinites as backward hicks It's all about the football teams

By: klausness

klausness — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:55:00 -0800

This (in German) is much more accurate and very funny. Agreed, that's both funnier and more accurate than the original link.