Life / Mixed race girl in Poland, good idea? [149]


I have already said that the word "black" is not remotely racist in most contexts, as it is both a method of identification and a racial designation. In the UK you will find it on any form that asks you to state your ethnicity.


No, that de-humanization is a specific type of modern racism that came about through slavery and pseudo-scientific ideologies such as Nazism. It is not the sole definition of racism, and certainly did not begin there.


There is most certainly something wrong with it. If I hate Polish people, simply because they're Polish, then I am basically saying that I hate 40 million people who I have never met based on next to nothing. There is nothing wrong with it in that it is personal choice, but you cannot say that it is right or proper.

The most common type of racism is assuming that someone's ethnicity determines what kind of person they are. This is obviously incorrect for reasons I don't even need to mention. This is not about "loving all humanity", it's about common sense and respect. It is both unintelligent and disrespectful to judge someone solely by their ethnicity. You can dislike them for all sorts of reasons, but race has got to be one of the dumbest reasons to not like someone.

UK, Ireland / Photos about Polish Newcastle [4]

I know two Polish girls in Newcastle, but looking at these pictures, I think they are too young to be hanging out in those places ;)

Life / Mixed race girl in Poland, good idea? [149]

If there are black people living in Poland, then yes, it can be used to insult.


Let's not be naive here. Racial slurs are just words, and they carry no venom in them on their own. Those words are used, however, to denote a dislike, disdain, or disapproval towards a certain group. There is no line in the sand here, that is simply how they are used. Use these words enough times, even if they carry no ill-will and are just for "fun" then you give the impression to yourself and others that it's OK to dislike a certain group, because the way in which you refer to them is derogatory. Derogatory language is what we use when we want to dehumanize any sort of group, especially in war time as it is then easier to kill them without immediate remorse.

Work / Learning Polish in Olsztyn... crazy prices for private lessons. [27]

I don't agree that you need to spend money to learn Polish. The internet is a more valuable resource than any book or DVD, because it gives you several perspectives while a book will only give you one. Plus you are living in Poland. If you can make some friends there, I'm sure they will help you with your studies.

It feels a bit silly advising this to someone living in Poland, but if you build up a contact list of Polish people in your Skype or MSN, it can be really helpful to have casual conversations, and you can ask them for simple help and pronunciations if you're stuck on understanding something online.

Life / Mixed race girl in Poland, good idea? [149]


There is no point of view to be had on it. I haven't even told you what terminology they use. It is not ambiguous terms like "black" or "coloured", it is VERY extreme terminology that implies hate and disgust. Someone who refers to gay people as "faggots" is referring to them with a derogatory name that implies hate, no matter if you're from Poland or San Francisco.

Travel / Poland from a Persian Tourist's Perspective [269]


I had heard that story before, but I was under the impression it was a bit fabricated. "Persia" sounds so much nicer, they should change the name back =/

Travel / Poland from a Persian Tourist's Perspective [269]


There are two very racist members here who share his name, actually. ;) One has the exact same name, the other has the Polish equivalent.

Life / Mixed race girl in Poland, good idea? [149]


I stressed "liberal, cultured, from Warsaw" for a reason, and they are mostly more knowledgeable about the world than I am. They DO know what they're saying, and aware that their casual terminology carries with it incredibly hateful connotation, they just don't seem to care. I don't often discuss topics of racism with the average Pole, so I don't know about general attitudes. I simply note that some of the most intelligent, liberal and worldly people I've ever known that are from Poland have no issues with being racist.


Racism is not an acquired viewpoint, it is quite primitive and natural, hence why it is so common. Poland may not have racial stereotypes yet, but it's perfectly possible for someone to hold prejudices based on race.

Travel / Poland from a Persian Tourist's Perspective [269]


Yes, but the people are still referred to as "Persian". They get rather pissy about it, actually. The language can also be called "Persian".

Life / Mixed race girl in Poland, good idea? [149]


I don't agree. I've heard incredibly liberal, cultured, sometimes gay Poles from Warsaw casually drop extremely racist terminology in their speech with such stunning ease, and I don't mean words like "black" or "brown". These are people I would categorize as "open-minded". "Brown" is not a racial or ethnic designation anywhere, so it's not really racist to refer to someone in that way; it's mostly just rude. "Black" however, is a racial designation, so nobody bats an eyelid if someone is referred to as "black".

Life / Mixed race girl in Poland, good idea? [149]


Different cultures will exhibit racism differently, even if they have the same amount of racism. He was commenting on the way in which racism is expressed in Poland. In some places, racism is subtle, and in others it is blatant, but ultimately it can be simplified into; some people are racist, some aren't.

I think it has little to do with where someone is from, as much as it is to do with what someone is like. There are good and bad people from every place, and there are open-minded and small-minded people from every place as well.

Life / Mixed race girl in Poland, good idea? [149]

He did say "...like everywhere."

Life / Mixed race girl in Poland, good idea? [149]

Jemma, maybe you would be more comfortable sticking close to the bigger cities like Kraków and Warszawa.

Love / Long-distance attraction. I am attracted to a Polish guy. [42]

In my opinion, being direct in this situation would pay off. You're both busy adults with little time to waste on games, and with this physical separation things can deteriorate FAST. Tell him what you feel, ask if he is interested... time is of the essence.

News / Mass immigration to Poland - article and response [479]


Similarly, Africa is for Africans, not for Europeans:

Europeans did eventually leave Africa, after they had raped it of resources and labour, that is.

Law / Using Paypal to send money to Poland [12]

Paypal deducts money for international transfers (sometimes), and the amount it deducts is something around 4% or so. This is reasonable compared to the standard rate of most banks.

I have managed to sometimes prevent Paypal from deducting this fee, by sending money in the same currency as it will be received as. I.e. sending USD to a Polish Paypal account will convert the money into PLN (this is what costs, I think) but sending zł to a Polish Paypal MIGHT not deduct any money at all. This is very hard to determine, because sometimes it does deduct and sometimes it doesn't. I don't know why.

EDIT: If you want to compensate for the deduction fee, then simply add 5% to whatever it is you will send. I trade on Paypal quite often, and usually I end up short if anything less than an extra 5% is sent.

Feedback / No joke, but how do I LOG OUT? [19]

You cannot escape.

But really, come to think of it I do not even know... if you use Firefox then a last resort measure is to:

Leave this page

Go to Tools > Clear Recent History > Make sure ''Cookies'' is checked > OK

This will erase all your website history, and clear stored usernames, passwords and form information (so don't use it unless you have all your internet info committed to memory). It will also log you out.

UK, Ireland / Marrying Polish Woman in UK/London [100]


That is a really good system. Is it effective?

Life / COMBATING "POLACK" JOKES [460]

Even with modern technology and heightened social mobility, people can still find ways to be ignorant.

Life / COMBATING "POLACK" JOKES [460]


Such jokes are acceptable in a personal space, but on the radio?! That's extremely unprofessional for whichever radio station did that.

Genealogy / If your ancestors were in the "Wehrmacht"... [217]


It doesn't take a psychologist to see that you are insecure in your own self-worth, so you like to history and genealogy to to derive some sense of self and self-worth from your ancestors who you didn't know. Psychology? Barely. Your inferiority complex is very common and easily recognisable, as it is with many who allow ancestry to influence their self-perception and opinions.

UK, Ireland / i used to work with a lot of polish door stewards who were all good friends [22]


In your profile you have "Glasgow" in your location section. This isn't asking where you're from, it's asking where you live. Similarly, your username itself implies heavily that you are living in Scotland.

UK, Ireland / Are polish girls in the UK cheap (to hire?) [35]

After knowing the standards of British girls, I would never want to place the title of "cheap" upon any other national group. Polish girls seem to be pretty strong. British ones are just cheap in every sense of the word.

News / Changing Face in Poland: Skinnhead Puts on a Skullcap [90]

There is actually a movie about that. Some Jewish guy being a skinhead, but being Jewish at the same time.

News / Changing Face in Poland: Skinnhead Puts on a Skullcap [90]

It sounds like he is just going from one extreme to another. Weak character.

Language / men.male - Polish pronunciation? [8]


No.

Mężczyzna - Break it up into:

Męż - Czyz - Na

Men-ż-chiz-na - As per usual, the emphasis goes on the "iz" sound.

*The "ę" sound seems to be a matter of personal taste, but for simplicity in text I use the "en" form.

ivona.com/online/editor.php?tmpl=15 - Use this for pronunciation. Polish is much more linear in pronunciation than English, so it's pretty accurate. Just type in the word you want, select on the right Jacek, Maja or Jan, and press the play button. Ewa is very high-pitched and misses some key nasally sounds in Polish, in my opinion. For some laughs you can also type in Polish sentences and select a British pronunciation.

Law / To know about the Jatux company in Poland? [33]

Hm, why would an established and easily traceable company commit fraud on such a large scale? Unless they hope to rely solely on the language barrier blocking foreigners from research or legal action (but most fraudsters are not this stupid).

Love / How do Polish boys feel about foreign girls? [163]

Unfortunately, there is no national code of behaviour that everyone adheres to. How he acts is entirely up to him, and nobody can read his mind simply because they're the same nationality.

Now, realistically... he may just find you attractive, and only want you for sex. I do not know either of you, but from the description you gave above, it does sound like he is only interested in sex (like a lot of males are).

Life / COMBATING "POLACK" JOKES [460]


This is a good point, but it doesn't change the fact that you are being too serious about this. If someone is stupid enough to believe something irrational, then that person will be their stupid self and cling on to their belief no matter how much you demonstrate they are wrong (this is known as the "No true Scotsman" fallacy). So, quite simply, it's pointless for you to be so against ethnic jokes because of the hypothesis that they reinforce stereotypes. The mentality that allow stereotypes to exist will not disappear even if you get rid of stereotypical jokes/humour. You cannot change anyone's nature but your own.

History / The WW2 Hero.. Henryk Sławik (1894-1944) [17]

So his traits are inherent to Poland and the Polish?