wanderer
19 Nov 2007
Life / Poles are not racist [873]
It is definitely an asinine remark to claim that an entire ethnic group is racist, especially given the wide-spread Polish diaspora. I simply cannot fathom applying such a title to any ethnic group, including the Poles, that I know in Canada.
I recently visited Poland and as I am wont to do, I have reflected on my trip to better understand different places and people. Although I was born in Canada, my heritage is Chinese, and in going to Poland, I knew that I would stick out like a sore thumb.
As expected, I did receive constant stares, and at first I just accepted that it was simply unusual for an asian to be in Poland. That is what I would like to believe, but it certainly did not feel that it was so simple. It may sound silly, but it is fatiguing when you see people outright staring at you, so you smile, which is returned with the same cold stare. So it is tempting, and indeed likely, that what I experienced was xenophobia and dislike for being different.
In the places to which I have traveled, and indeed lived, yes I have experienced racism. However, no where have I encountered such common but silent hostility. In this, my experience seems to echo what others have said. I never felt to be in physical danger, but I was constantly reminded that I was an unwelcome stranger.
That was just the general vibe. Talking to people, on the other hand, was an enjoyable experience. I also must say that many Polish people were pleasantly amused by my feeble attempts to speak Polish, unlike the French, many of whom simply expect that everyone should speak perfect French, which I speak, but with an accent.
Polish are racist??? The ones that live in Poland? I live in New York USA and I don't find the Polish people that live here to be racist, at least most.
It is definitely an asinine remark to claim that an entire ethnic group is racist, especially given the wide-spread Polish diaspora. I simply cannot fathom applying such a title to any ethnic group, including the Poles, that I know in Canada.
I recently visited Poland and as I am wont to do, I have reflected on my trip to better understand different places and people. Although I was born in Canada, my heritage is Chinese, and in going to Poland, I knew that I would stick out like a sore thumb.
As expected, I did receive constant stares, and at first I just accepted that it was simply unusual for an asian to be in Poland. That is what I would like to believe, but it certainly did not feel that it was so simple. It may sound silly, but it is fatiguing when you see people outright staring at you, so you smile, which is returned with the same cold stare. So it is tempting, and indeed likely, that what I experienced was xenophobia and dislike for being different.
In the places to which I have traveled, and indeed lived, yes I have experienced racism. However, no where have I encountered such common but silent hostility. In this, my experience seems to echo what others have said. I never felt to be in physical danger, but I was constantly reminded that I was an unwelcome stranger.
That was just the general vibe. Talking to people, on the other hand, was an enjoyable experience. I also must say that many Polish people were pleasantly amused by my feeble attempts to speak Polish, unlike the French, many of whom simply expect that everyone should speak perfect French, which I speak, but with an accent.