Life / Individualism in Polish culture...Is it almost Nonexistant? [170]


I guess I tend to think of religion as a collectivist tool. The more religious the people the more self-sacrifice and social dogma to think a certain way there is. Since Polish people are so religious and they place such emphasis on family I assume they would be kind of collectivist.


Yeah, but it's different in the modern world when they are not Polish citizens anymore. Polish culture is very tight knit among families. Maybe they are just not good examples. For example, I hear stories about Polish-Americans who tell their family member something and they can't keep a secret. Every extended relative will know.

Life / Individualism in Polish culture...Is it almost Nonexistant? [170]

This is true, it is a global phenomenon which affects pretty much everyone in the world relative to their cultures and customs.

Life / Individualism in Polish culture...Is it almost Nonexistant? [170]

Thinking about it now, I guess it makes total sense. I think of Russians as one of the most anti-individualistic societies on the planet, so I assumed all Eastern Europeans had similar leanings, but that doesn't make any sense. I suppose that's why Russians and Poles despize each other.

Life / Individualism in Polish culture...Is it almost Nonexistant? [170]


It doesn't have anything to do with what the people here think.

Americans of Polish decent , How many of us are on Polish forums?

USA, Canada / Chris Gets Dumped on the Bachelorette for Being Polish! [52]

White Americans think people are not American just because Polish is their culture! As soon as they get this "feeling" that someone isn't completely like them they stay away. They're not even consciously thinking that they're rejecting them because they're Polish.

USA, Canada / Chris Gets Dumped on the Bachelorette for Being Polish! [52]

Dutch people are ok, because they're "Western" European and not foreign to Americans in the same way Poles are.

USA, Canada / Chris Gets Dumped on the Bachelorette for Being Polish! [52]


Yeah, that's probably true. She didn't seem very attracted to him. The sister probably noticed this and that's why she told her to let him go. He was more attractive than Jef IMO though when you take away the nervous energy and sensitive personality. If I were in her position I would have probably picked Arie in the end, Sean has no personality and seems very boring to me, despite being the best looking.


People who don't have an exciting life lol. My sister and her group of lawyer friends have a girl party every week and watch this show together.

USA, Canada / Chris Gets Dumped on the Bachelorette for Being Polish! [52]

That's not what it was, earlier in the show she admitted that he was good looking; there was just something about him that she wasn't as attracted to. Probably that he's sensitive and came across as kind of a nut. He also came across quite stand-offish, which wouldn't be a good quality in a father figure for Ricky. Most women don't like men who are too sensitive either. Women are just more attracted to certain men than others. It could be any number of things- pheremones, looks, personality etc. He just has to find the right kind of woman for him, some do well with a sensitive personality.

USA, Canada / Chris Gets Dumped on the Bachelorette for Being Polish! [52]

I was kind of semi-joking when I made this thread? Why does everyone on here take these things so seriously? It's just a dumb show.

Chris is an attractive man, I kind of get the feeling that emily is a little biased because she likes southern men. She wants to continue her southern bell legacy. I think she's going to go for sean for that reason. She just kept Arrie on there over Chris because he's a race car driver.

Life / Individualism in Polish culture...Is it almost Nonexistant? [170]


Very interesting...

I want to know how access to the media makes a culture more individualistic? LOL.

USA, Canada / Chris Gets Dumped on the Bachelorette for Being Polish! [52]

I'm not crazy. I was joking when I wrote the thread. Emily wants to be in the spotlight and continue her southern bell legacy, I said this a million times. Even though Arie is not very American, he's a race car driver and that's enough to continue her southern bell lifestyle. She lost attraction to chris long before she dumped him. Her portraying Ricky as the center of everything is only supposed to distract from her real intentions about wanting to be more famous.

USA, Canada / Chris Gets Dumped on the Bachelorette for Being Polish! [52]

Who is that, a friend you know in Chicago?

USA, Canada / Chris Gets Dumped on the Bachelorette for Being Polish! [52]

Yes he is, he said so himself. He said, "On a scale of 1 to Polish, my family is... Polish."

Language / Learn Polish or Russian [86]

I think Polish could be a very fun language to learn in my spare time. The problem is it would really be a total waste of time because there would be no one to speak it with. What is most difficult about the language? I don't think I'd have a hard time with the prununciation, but if the grammar is really complicated like German for example it would give me a problem. If I ever moved to like Chicago or something I would def try to learn it.

Language / Learn Polish or Russian [86]

No, I meant there is no Polish community so it would be a useless skill. Its no fun unless you use it in everyday life to talk to people, like for part time jobs or a career. The language is really fun to speak and interesting, not like boring Spanish or German.

Genealogy / my Polish Grandfather in Hitler Youth? HOW? [65]

@Slavicaleks

Was he a stolen child that was Germanized? That was happening more in the 1940s though.

Genealogy / my Polish Grandfather in Hitler Youth? HOW? [65]


I didn't know they wanted Poles cooperating with them. To join the Hitler youth I assumed you had to be purebed German or pass as Germanic from their racial tests.


In rare cases they took children as old as 12.

Genealogy / my Polish Grandfather in Hitler Youth? HOW? [65]


Is it possible the mother moved to Germany because it was mandatory that they be Germanized and she had the choice not to leave them or was it just because she had nowhere else to go because of the war?

Genealogy / my Polish Grandfather in Hitler Youth? HOW? [65]

Fully German, that's why I think he and his sister were probably Germanized based on subrace.

Genealogy / my Polish Grandfather in Hitler Youth? HOW? [65]

Because that was probably the nationality of his ancestors going back a few generations, but if they thought you had Germanic blood of pheasants that migrated there and you passed racial tests they could make it mandatory that you be Germanized. They needed to increase their birth rate so they were trying to get all the flesh and blood they could. You couldn't survive Germanization without being deemed "Aryan" and all Aryans were required to join the hitler youth.

Genealogy / my Polish Grandfather in Hitler Youth? HOW? [65]


It could be that you're not very German and because of what they measured in racial tests they thought your ancestors were more German than they were but they never examined the records like they did with some people. They may have put Polish because that was the nationality of his ancestors for a long time, but assumed he had German pheasant blood because of his appearance.

A lot of times when there wasn't enough information to prove someone they were Germanizing was Aryan (like gaps in the family tree), they would simply do racial tests (face measurements) and base someone's acceptability on that. You technically did have to have pure German ancestry to be considered aryan like the other member said, but if you passed a racial test you were assumed to be. There were loopholes in that. This may be the reason it says "Polen" instead of Polish on his hitler youth card. I don't think you should feel affected by what you found out about your ancestors, because chances are, they maybe had some little connection to Germany and were just doing what was mandatory to survive.

UK, Ireland / Crying Polish truck driver on British roads is Internet hit [269]

He was probably upset because he didn't know exactly what was going on. But that is weird the way he was crying though LOL!

Life / Individualism in Polish culture...Is it almost Nonexistant? [170]

Sorry, I don't believe this. What proof do you have?

Yes, Polish parents are very controlling (my sister's friend married a Polish man and his parents ruined the marriage). This is actually one of the reasons I doubted individualism in their culture, because the parents have so much influence and control over the children their whole lives. I was talking about the closeness of the Polish FAMILY, not the parents in particular.

UK, Ireland / Crying Polish truck driver on British roads is Internet hit [269]

uhh huuuuh huuuuh huuuuh uhhh huuuuh huuuuh huuuh *makes sad face*

*Wipes eyes and sniffles*

youtube.com/watch?v=0A89VTMk8HA

This is actually hilarious to me because when I got stopped one time for tailgating I cried uncontrollably because I was afraid the cop was going to take away my license or something because he sounded so mad.

Life / Individualism in Polish culture...Is it almost Nonexistant? [170]


I'm sure this is a big deal for Poles living in their home country, but when I say the smothering influence of the family is bad, I'm talking about immigrants living in contemporary America. It creates a culture clash and the customs are totally unnecessary. Not to say families shouldn't stick together, but many take it to an irrational, extreme level.


I think I'm going to have to agree with you here. Individualism is not a "refusal to cooperate." I tend to think of cultures in which you see the same distinctive traditions and customs of a nation, and same personality stereotypes as more collectivist rather than indvidualist. I think a lot of this is probably from the influence of the catholic church. Although I will say that Magdalena is right in saying that MOST people aren't stubborn and uncooperative . Polish culture isn't really individualist, Poles just have to process ideas through their own head and follow their own will, whatever it may be. They will never take someone's word for something. Being stubborn and opinionated is different from being individualistic in which you are influenced by your own unconventional ideas rather than tradition. There may be very individualistic Poles, but as a whole their culture is not very individualistic IMO.

Life / Individualism in Polish culture...Is it almost Nonexistant? [170]


It's not hard to tell just by observing it in general. Let me repeat myself for clarity, I am not saying Polish people are not individualistic necessarily, I'm saying the culture isn't. Culture is gradually influenced by the masses over time and as things change. If a culture even has stereotypes at all, it usually can't be very individualistic. For example, I can't really make out a clear stereotype of a Brit or a Frenchman or an American. Most Western European countries are pretty individualistic, but there were times when they weren't.


eeew, sick, why did you post a link to that. You ruined my day.

PF MEMBERS, DO NOT follow the link, it is sickening and you will be sorry you did.

Life / Individualism in Polish culture...Is it almost Nonexistant? [170]

I know because I hear about it from my family, and I study history. But when I assume to know something about Polish culture, I'm talking about Polish-American culture in their communities. Some of these things I just know because I subconsciously follow them, even though I wasn't raised in Polish culture. I never said I knew anything about a country I've never been too, but one can get a pretty good idea from studying history from books and on the internet.

Life / Individualism in Polish culture...Is it almost Nonexistant? [170]

It was you who was doing that all along. I always insinuated that I was talking about Polish people in America. Yes, I am aware that "these days" globalism is taking over and every corner of the earth is slowly turning into a hell hole.