USA, Canada / American Polonia. Wisconsin - the most Polish state? [112]

WarsaWasRaw


My great grandparents immigrated to this country between 1880 - 1900. They spoke both German and Polish. My grand parents spoke Polish and English. Our parents spoke a rudimentary Polish and English and only spoke Polish when they didn't want us to know what they were saying. The third/fourth generation only speaks English. We were never encouraged to speak Polish I think because there was no need. We were living in America.

My opinion, but if anyone is going to immigrate to another land one should learn the language and culture of the host country. People who permanently move to Poland should learn the language and absorb the local culture. Why wouldn't you? If you don't you are forever on the outside looking in. How shallow. If a Pole moves to Norway become Norwegian, in Denmark do as the Danes, in France the same and so on. If I moved back to Poland I would learn the language and the culture and contribute to Polish Society. No other way.

Language / Is the term 'Polak' derogatory?? [254]



Some people spend half their life being "insulted".

USA, Canada / American Polonia. Wisconsin - the most Polish state? [112]


I mentioned moving permanently to another country. Not a temporary work assignment. BTW Iraq and Iran have Christian minorities. I used to work with a couple of 'em.


In a sense your living a lie. You live in a never-never land. If someone has been here or anywhere for that matter for two or three generations what connection does one have with the old country? Culture evolves, it's dynamic. Your traditions are of a Poland of what, 100 years ago? That's not the culture of today.

Exactly, American is a melting pot. They melt into American culture.

USA, Canada / American Polonia. Wisconsin - the most Polish state? [112]

FUZZYWICKETS


Fuzzy, You're invited to go to downtown Chicago and Minneapolis (on your dime of course). In Chicago go to the SE Corner of Wacker and Michigan and go down the stairs to the River and take the boat ride where they explain the architecture of Chicago. By all means take in the night life in Chicago, start at Rush St. and work your way northwest to the Polish joints mentioned in earlier posts. Ya might find some of your ex-students from Polska.

Next drive on I-94 (right through Wisconsin) all the way to Minneapolis. Make a bee line for downtown. Check out the restaurants, night life and the University of Minnesota is nearby. Hey ya know they have a waterfall downtown?? Nice city, Minneapolis. There's more but too much to list right now.

USA, Canada / American Polonia. Wisconsin - the most Polish state? [112]

Matt32

yes, it's very beautiful with limestone cliffs. Wisconsin is known for its dairy farms, cheese, beer and sausages. Yes, the capital at night in Madison is all lit up. Quite impressive when seen from the interstate at night. yes, University of Wisconsin is very big, very good, lots of research dollars. But so are University of Illinois and University of Minnesota. World Class.

Travel / Poland-My 9-day experience [239]

PGH1


The British Grin...you don't say?

Amathyst


From the historical record (posts & links on this forum), after the German occupation a sizable proportion of the Polish population supported communism. It wasn't imposed on them by Russia. If the Poles wanted to, they could have kicked out the Russians like they did in 1920-22. So the Poles are responsible for their lousy economy of the post war years. It was the Poles who cut themselves off from the World.

AussieSheila


The geography books that you're using are 60 years old. Especially since "Solidarity" the whole world knows it's Gdansk.

History / Kosciuszko Squadron - why don't they bring it back? [45]

convex


One of the main dudes wrote a book about his experiences. I'm sure it would have made a good read but they're out of print I think. Actually he had himself a Polish gf and had a son but ditched her and moved to Hollywood. I think he had all the copies destroyed (due to Polish gf) except for one. but I don't know if it was reprinted.

History / Let's talk about the POLISH ARMY [64]

grubas

No Poland doesn't need nuclear warheads. There were two countries that stood up to Germany before England and France declared war, that was Poland and Switzerland. Poland was unsuccessful but Switzerland maintained its sovereignty.

Poland should follow Switzerland's lead. Get rid of professional army and resurrect the AK in the form of a reserve citizen army, part time. Use them to defend homeland but in times of peace they can be used in national emergencies and maintain infrastructure. If NATO needs troops activate an AK unit for a 6 mo. or 12 mo. detail. Design and build your own weaponry, aircraft, armaments, etc. Poland doesn't need to compete with the latest weaponry like nuclear warheads.

USA, Canada / American Polonia. Wisconsin - the most Polish state? [112]

Tymoteusz


You know what a F.I.B. is? My, my you must be from Wisconsin. And here I thought you were an Ohioan. Boy this is a small world isn't it??

History / Let's talk about the POLISH ARMY [64]

Discussing Poland's Army. Seeing that hindsight is 20/20 let's look back at 1939 and see how we can apply lessons for the 21st century.

After Poland kicked out Russia in 1922, this is what they should have done.

Firstly, Poland should have solidified it's borders.

Secondly, maintained a large Reserve army (ala Switzerland)

Thirdly, it should have gone out and got as many surplus WWI planes as possible. They could have used the WWI planes in 1939 not as fighter planes but as ground support much like modern day helicopters.

Fourth, manufactured as many armaments as possible (i.e., small arms, artillery, ammunition, etc. don't import).

Polish troops supported by WWI ground support airplanes would have been successful against German blitz. Instead Poland tried to compete with Germany, as a result they never had enough stuff.

How does this apply today? Don't get in arms race with Neighbors. Do what you can, with what you have. forget about nuclear. Invest in aircraft that compliment Polish topography. And manufacture them here. Maybe buy the machinery of the A-10 which isn't being produced anylonger. KISS (keep it simple stupid).

History / Let's talk about the POLISH ARMY [64]

delphiandomine


Yes, but what money they did have they imported too much


No match against Messerschmidt in dogfight but legitimate in ground support role. Besides many thousands were available as surplus after the War. Shear numbers would have minimized deficiencies.


Totally agree. But that's what i mean by solidifying borders. Instead Poland was expanding their borders. Getting in border squabbles with the Czechs, Ukys, etc.

AussieSheila


Nor did Switzerland but they survived intact. Of course Switzerland did have the advantage of being well established as a political unit. What were they a 500 year old democracy? Yes it was more easily defensible but so was Austria and Austria capitulated. No it wasn't geography alone it was mainly political. Switzerland was a cohesive political unit, Poland was just starting out.

USA, Canada / American Polonia. Wisconsin - the most Polish state? [112]

Tymoteusz


Whatever happened to Point Special Beer? Is it still around? It used to be the best.

Life / Young Poles say: Hurray for decay? [35]

Polonius3

George Washington in his farewell address said that we get our morals from our churches. He didn't say that we got our morals from the legislature or the courts. If the West is immoral it is the responsibility of its churches. You can't legislate morality, if you could what would be the role of the Church???


We all know who this is. You know this is not mainstream America.

jonni


It's got nothing to do with it, a gun is an inanimate object.

History / Let's talk about the POLISH ARMY [64]

Sokrates


They did what they could to survive. Its called the carrot and the stick.


Pilsudski should have focused on stabilizing Poland instead of picking border conflicts with its neighbors. He wasn't that good for Poland. If he was, they would have been better prepared for Germany.

BTW where did Germany get the money to rearm after the German depression of the 1920's?

Travel / Hospitality, Scenery, Food, Clean Streets: My POSITIVE experiences in Poland (!) [39]

zetigrek


Greasy buggers!

Genealogy / Polish nationality? Which of the following (if any) determine being Polish. [231]

PlasticPole


The experience of the Native Americans is totally different from Polish immigration. The Polish immigrants were highly successful integrating into American society (Native Americans, unsuccessful). They integrated seamlessly. America continues to have Polish immigration but over time they too will integrate and disappear. The Point being Polish America is America, it's not a separate enclave.

Genealogy / Polish nationality? Which of the following (if any) determine being Polish. [231]

PlasticPole


They have their own nation it's called ... Poland.

I was raised in Chicago when ethnicity was much more prominent than it is today. I went away to college (on my own dime btw) and I had to learn to integrate. It was either hold on to the values, culture of my immigrant great grand parents or...accept and integrate into American culture. I don't believe that there are two ways, you're either one or the other. If you try to be both (Polish and American) you end up being neither. You have to be true to yourself. Where is that?

Genealogy / Polish nationality? Which of the following (if any) determine being Polish. [231]

Patrycja19


Why wouldn't being American "be enough"?

Hypocrisy is a double sided coin. Is one hypocritical by living in the States but claiming to be Polish or some other nationality?

Yeah, you can learn who you are by studying your family history but it doesn't mean that I am them. I plan to go to Poland and see the towns where they came from but it will be their town, not mine.

Genealogy / Mixed-Blood Poles in America (Do we count?) [118]

Eurola

He could have easily taken his mother's last name. Not unheard of in the States. Naming conventions are not as strict in the US as they are in Europa.

Life / Before 1980 family in Poland was friendly towards immigrants; now they are not [11]

Life moves on. Both parties are not the same people anymore.

Life / Poland, maybe the world's last bastion of faith [67]

musicwriter

In World War II we were truly fighting for freedom.

Could you explain why we were fighting a war in Korea in the early '50's?

Why were we fighting in Viet Nam?


Pure FASCISM, the idea that waging war is virtuous or leads to virtue, also it is Anti-Christian.
Where did you learn this? Certainly not in the Christian Bible.


Exactly, no problem. Why should there be? The Christian God looks at your clothes????? We're all equal before the eyes of God.


On the other hand the Roman Catholic Church emphasizes sacrificing and suffering. These are the pagan virtues of Rome and contradict Christianity. The life of Jesus was about faith and charity, not sacrifice and suffering. What follows are very Christian values, read carefully:

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Coined by none other than T.Jefferson, who also wrote the Bible in no less than 3 languages, Greek, Latin and English. You should read it sometime.

Life / Poland, maybe the world's last bastion of faith [67]

plk123


True, england, russia and poland took the brunt of the war but england was shot by '44, they needed us to make the final push. Montgomery's Eight Army was so exhausted by '44 that they threatened to mutiny before the Normandy Invasion. England entered the Normandy Invasion solely to gain political leverage at the end of the War.

Life / Poland, maybe the world's last bastion of faith [67]

convex

Yes, we gained economically and politically from WWII but that was not the original intent. All the wars post WWII have been wars for profit. Compliments of the American banking class.


Sunday Catholic is all anyone can be. Anyone who attempts to be a full time Catholic ends up molesting little boys.

News / Poland hosts lowest proportion of foreigners in the EU [115]

MareGaea

Where in the World do Muslims live in peace with other non-Muslims: Nigeria? the Sudan? the Middle East? India? Philippines? Yeah, I'd say burn the book (it's a freedom of speech issue). They're big boys they can handle it.


Of course religion is a lifestyle that's why we have separation of Church and State.


You can't legislate morality (you can't legislate a lifestyle).

History / Poles back to the Elbe (Łaba)? [28]

Poland needs to give up the past and look to the future. If they would have done this after the Polish-Russo war in the early 1920's they may have been better prepared for WWII and just maybe avoided the 1940's Polish holocaust. If Poland doesn't or can't change, they may be facing another holocaust in the future.

Work / Can my husband work abroad with his TRC and come back to Poland? [8]

Amathyst


Don't ever underestimate the stupidity of management. Less people working less people buying. They're undercutting their own markets on the altar of the theory of free markets. They won't figure it out until if affects them, and it will affect them.

Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

grubas


Exactly, you shouldn't feel so sensitive about criticism. Poland is Poland. I like to travel to Europe because it's so different from the States, totally different. And the parts of Europe that I like best are those areas that most reflect the local culture.

Greece, that's what I didn't like about Greece, everybody speaks English. Even the billboards are in English.

Amathyst


Nay, the Yorkshire coast. Scarborough, Robin Hood Bay.

Study / American Muslim girl thinking to go to Medical school in Poland... [87]

American kids go to medical school overseas because they can't get into med school in the states because it is so competitive. 10 - 20 applicants for every seat.

Babushka, used to be what Polish American women in Chicago would call a head scarf that they used to wear.

USA, Canada / PolAms -- do you regard yourselves only as 'white Americans'? [187]

jonni


Except for recent emigres (expat poles) there is no Pol-Am sub-culture in America. Certain ethnic groups assimilate into American society some don't. Swiss-Amish, Chinese (Chinatowns), French Cajuns, Appalachian Scot-Irish maintain a bit of a sub-culture. English, Germans, Japanese, Poles assimilate. Overtime we disappear into the general population.

Life / Passing your Polish language and culture to your kids [74]

Bzibzioh


No stranger than living permanently in another country and still trying to hold onto to your "old" culture. When one assimilates one acquires a sense of belonging. This is important for the kids that they have a sense of belonging. Of course the parents who were raised in Poland probably still think of themselves as Polish but the kids are caught between two very different cultures if they are not raised with an identity of who they are. If you want your kids to be Polish and have a Polish identity, well then move to Poland. If you're going to permanently live in Canada, than raise them as Canadians.

I think F-Stop, according to her posts, raised her son to assimilate and he sounds well adjusted.