POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country?

see fuzz even you can!

ironside wrote:


that's it. i honestly can't take it anymore. you honestly make absolutely no sense with every response. it's completely painful reading it.

gee fuzz ask cricketer:D

Obama - yes we can - fuzz an American -he can too :D


Bingo, yes I agree with you on that fuzz.

Do you mean that Fuzzywickets is a llama???

if only !

I've read this thread like twice or trice. And yet still many arguments for me are unconvincing.

Have a look:
-Poland has a Western-type culture
-Polish launguage uses Latin script
-Poland has in fact more in common with Germany than with... even Ukraine for instance

The statistics are mercyless. The standard of living in Poland is like 25th in the world, which is a really nice result. When I stand in a random point and look around myself I think: "If this is the poor Eastern Europe, so how the hell the marvellous "Western Europe" looks like ? They live in palaces ??" The wages seem to be low, but only due to fact that the exchange rate between USD or EUR and PLN is high. So if a German gets 2000 euros a month it means more-less the same for a Pole earning 2000 zlotys.

The vast majority of stereotypes are outdated or concerning Polish immigrants... who are often nothing but rednecks (don't say there's no fusty villages in "Western" Europe). I've notice,d that since some time the stereotypical lifestyle of "Polacks" (vulgar word) has been moving to Ukraine (being somewhat a twin of Poland) so to the actual Eastern Europe.

Conclusion: Since the beggining of it's existence in 966 Poland was a Central European country with a temporary Soviet occupation (1945-1989), thus being an Eastern one. Recently it returned to the "First Wolrd" (of the "West) and is now a developped country with a high standard of living. Wealthiness ? Better than moderate. Immigrants ? Don't worry this will end soon. Poland has its own problems with immigrants (Gypsies, Vietnamese, Ukrainians) so states like UK or France shouldn't think Poland is that uniform in terms of nationalities.

Verdict: Central Europe alongside with Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary (in the narrowest possible definition). Furthermore Germany, Austria and Slovenia.

There is no final and absolute criteria to resolve this vital question :)

This discussion is distasteful.
It is humiliating for Poles, regardless which of the positions is defended, pro or contra - all of the offered options. West, East or Central.

Boycott!

OK, this goes out to everyone.

Is Cottbus Western Europe? Is Gorzów Eastern Europe? Thanks!

Just playing a bit Seanus :)...:

Yes, no ....Poland is Western or Central european country
Yes, Yes....Poland is East European country
No, no.....Poland is Central or Western european country
No, yes...Poland is East european country
;)
I'm afraid we have a stalemate. Poland is either:

a) Eastern europe
b) Central
d) Western Europe
e) Poland is not country
f) this is meaningless, my attempts to emphasize the absurdity of the discussion are futile, but the underlying motives of the posters in this thread are pretty transparent and real conclusion can't be drawn.

now, seriously:

Poles who like the bait of the dominant political discourse will insist on arguments that will surely prove Central or Western descriptions, while non Poles (belonging by birth certificate to the dominating part of the world) tend to behave in two distinct manners, those with the need to debase Poles will insist on East, and those who have some family ties will insist on Central. What is the point of the discussion? Or to paraphrase one of the researchers (US, social psychology) on the topic of attitude change who concluded one of his chapters where he presented various experiments that deal with direction and possible methods of change of political attitudes with this words: ' When did you see the last time that discussion (arguments) changed somebody's opinion truly?'

And there are few other posters, those who refuse to use offered categories.

west


all the Polish places carrying this name would be in central europe.

as defined by this forum over many long hours.

But is Cottbus in the West and Gorzów in the East?

No, Cottbus is East (Germany), Gorzow is West (Poland) ;)

erm! i said central

cottbus - west

gorzow - central

no matter, if one is spitting distance from the other.

I think Seanus wants to say the same thing, it is completely arbitrary categorization.

And towns bordering with Ukraine, e.g Przemysł and bordering with Lithuania and Belarus?

to my mind anything over the eastern border is 'east'

So Przemysł is Central Europe and the immediate border town opposite in Ukraine is Eastern Europe?

to my mind, yes.

what is the point u are trying to make ?

Yes, Seanus, and according to that same map I am not from Europe. I am uncharted, I don't exist, a phantasm:)

The point is if classifications exist by country or by specifically drawn lines on a map.

classifications are set in the minds of people according to their age and education.

That would appear to be subjective and not objective, Wrocław

when learning english and one is not sure... copy what the other person said.

the same when talking about east, central and west.

if u say cottbus is west, that is good enough for me.

According to the independent ( the most left wing, liberal, pro immigration ponce rag in the country) you are in Eastern Europe.

Low-skilled workers from Eastern Europe are heading to the UK in their droves to look for work as net migration hit its highest level in more than five years, figures showed today. The number of low-skilled workers, such as some of those in the retail, hospitality and catering sectors, coming from outside the UK has more than doubled in the last nine years.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rise-in-eastern-european-workers-2289345.html

Be not ashamed of where you're from.

i'm not.

nor am i ashamed of where i am.

My point is that people should be clear before labelling.

I'll use an example to expand on my post #472 regarding the subjective and contextual use of Central and Eastern:

John says "F'ing East Europeans, nicking our jobs!"
Jane says "Ohh, Central Europe, such exquisite landscapes!"

In these cases I know Poland is included in both terms.

It isn't objective but relational.

Eastern Europe is definitely more ideological and associated with communism. People mistakenly believe that most Poles chose that system. Ignorance!

PS I don't associate eastern Europe with communism anymore ( I think that's what you think people in the West associate Eastern europe with), I associate it with Polish plumbers and barmaids, Romanian gypsies scrounging benefits and selling the big issue, borscht, vodka,more vodka, Eastern Europeans drinking vodka on my town centre park benches, cold grey bleak tower blocks.

You've just described England very well ;)