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What makes a man a Pole? what does it mean to be a Pole?


Paulina 16 | 4,390
21 Aug 2013 #31
I'd say we are all humans first. And that's what really counts.

I agree.

Patriotism (this is what this thread is about) is like make-up that one uses to make him/her think s/he looks better that s/he really does. Or better than his/her neighbour.

I disagree.

And as a Christian, it should be yours too.

That's true.

Goofy, you're a Polish Catholic, so don't forget that God comes first, then Honour and Fatherland comes last.
;)
4 eigner 2 | 831
21 Aug 2013 #32
So when does one (or does one?) cease to be Polish after leaving Poland?

If you ask me, you're Polish (or anyone else for that matter) as long as you feel Polish. and no laws, definitions or rules will ever change it but it's my humble opinion and I'm sure, there are many PFers who'll disagree with me.

I'd say we are all humans first.

agree

OK, I personally disagree with that part of your statement as I'm an anti NWO, anti-globalist. I believe that it's possible to be a patriot and yet understand and respect other nationalities and countries.
mochadot18 17 | 245
21 Aug 2013 #33
shes learning a language ? cool!

Cool I thought it was....

But YOU DONT even live in Poland and just like you it WASN't my choice to leave Poland. But I did live their and was born there I have my Polish passport and I have my Polish Birth Certificate. I Identify myself as being POLISH. Is that really so wrong, and you saying that i'm not polish isnt going to change it. Yes I grew up in the U.S and have accepted that form of lifestyle but my parents have always kept polish things around the house and we do celebrate some of the Polish holidays. We eat polish food in my house, not all the time but we do on occasion.

So when does one (or does one?) cease to be Polish after leaving Poland?

Yes I would like to know when EXACTLY did I lose my Polishness?????
Polson 5 | 1,768
21 Aug 2013 #34
I disagree.

Right. I was thinking more of a radical nationalism (sorry). Of course, one can feel attached to its culture, language, homeland, there's nothing wrong with this.
4 eigner 2 | 831
21 Aug 2013 #35
Ihave my Polish passport and I have my Polish Birth Certificate. I Identify myself as being POLISH. Is that really so wrong, and you saying that i'm not polish isnt going to change it. Yes I grew up in the U.S and have accepted that form of lifestyle but my parents have always kept polish things around the house and we do celebrate some of the Polish holidays. We eat polish food in my house, not all the time but we do on occasion.

well, if that doesn't make you Polish then what does?
mochadot18 17 | 245
21 Aug 2013 #36
ShawnH: So when does one (or does one?) cease to be Polish after leaving Poland?
Yes I would like to know when EXACTLY did I lose my Polishness?????

So no answer ehhh????

Alrighty then you have really brought my life to a new meaning I mean i'm LOST now not knowing who I am anymore WOW, i'm just stunned.

All i'm saying again is that you have NO IDEA who i even am and what my connection to Poland is, I know I said it yesterday and you just dismissed it so i'll say it again I still have things in Poland things that you don't even have. I plan on going back, which will gain me what 2 points for Polishness, or is that 2 points for gryffindor anywho my blood is no different than yours.

What makes a man a Pole? Why not what makes a person a pole cause if there is different criteria well then I know i'm a women idk exactly what you've decided to be yet but then we would fall under different things. What is the difference for a man from a women to be considered Polish????
4 eigner 2 | 831
21 Aug 2013 #37
So no answer ehhh????.

OK, baby girl, calm down. Many of us here, have established that you're Polish ;-)
OP goofy_the_dog
21 Aug 2013 #38
hahahahshahah
huehuehuehuehuehue

:-)

for now you are Working on becoming a Pole, you learn the lingo... hopefully u will also learn some history, culture and herita
its excellent that u want to be a Pole!!

God forbid, i dont dont want you to become one!

what i am opposing is a person knowing chicken crap about all those stuff making one a Pole but still claiming that he or she is one.

thats what i am strongly against.
Polonius3 993 | 12,357
21 Aug 2013 #39
There are many factors determining who is a real Frenchman, Dane, Costarican or Korean. One of them could be what might be called 'heritage IQ'. With today's fancy-shmancy googles and wikipedias this is difficult to judge for outsiders, but you can do the test yourself just to satisfy your own curiosity.

Sit down, take out a sheet of paper, and write down the following categories:
National heros, prominent writers and poets, Polish composers, Polish cities, Polish kings, ethnic foods, proverbs, verses of the Naitonal Anthem, verses of Boże coś Polskę, at 3 verses of one kolęda, the first and last names of all four grandparents, Poland's population, area and maybe a few more.

Then time yourself (say 20 mintues): and see how many entries you can pen in each category.
This can be a competitive game if you share this with someone else and then tally up the score. But no googling and wikipedding!!!
4 eigner 2 | 831
21 Aug 2013 #40
yes and then when you pass the test, that makes a you a Polish patriot (more or less), agree but I hope you'll agree with me that when you were born in Poland and additionally, you have Polish parents (which is not necessarily required) and already established Polish citizenship by owning a Polish passport, it's your right to call yourself a Pole, right?

(Btw. it's the same in many other countries too)
smurf 39 | 1,969
21 Aug 2013 #41
i will just ignore you

I wish they'd bring back that button for you.

You used to be cool............oh wait..........
legend 3 | 659
21 Aug 2013 #42
What makes a Pole? (my opinion be scared)...

If you have Polish family/ancestors. The more the better!
You have basic knowledge of Polish culture/tradition/history.
You like/love Poland.
You identify as Polish.
Should learn the language.
You practice the Polish customs
You cheer for Poland above others at sporting events (:))
Wroclaw Boy
21 Aug 2013 #43
Is it just me or do the most patriotic of Poles tend to be the ones that don't actually live in Poland and are just clutching at virtual straws in a bid to attain some kind of national identity?

Goofy you claimed numerous times that you intend to join the British army...
legend 3 | 659
22 Aug 2013 #44
Is it just me or do the most patriotic of Poles tend to be the ones that don't actually live in Poland and are just clutching at virtual straws in a bid to attain some kind of national identity?

Maybe here on PF but this does not come close to represent Poland as whole.
There are plenty of patriots and nationalists in Poland.
dany_moussalli 13 | 259
22 Aug 2013 #45
You cheer for Poland above others at sporting events

been doing this since my birth :P

You have basic knowledge of Polish culture/tradition/history.

soon .

You like/love Poland.

I do

You identify as Polish.

well I identify myself as having two nationalities ,one of them is polish

You practice the Polish customs

I celebrate polish holidays at my grandma's :P don't know if that counts

Should learn the language.

will learn it soon

If you have Polish family/ancestors

I do
mochadot18 17 | 245
22 Aug 2013 #46
but acting like child, thumping feet hard pn the ground and calling me a "fag" because i dont want to accept that she isnt polish is a bit.... dumb.

Ummmmm I never called you a fag yesterday and if I had lenka would have yelled at me immediately. So dont say that cause i'm never called you a fag because you said i'm not polish. And man you can hear me in my room wow impressive I musta been like sleep walking then WOW thats some cray shiz.

been doing this since my birth :P

Dany he WILL NEVER admit that he is wrong and that others can also be Polish you are 0.25% POLISH accept it :P

If you have Polish family/ancestors. The more the better!
Well check,,,,,,, oooo and I have polish friends in Polish Do I get bonus points???

If only they played hockey in the olympics then I would :P

SO goofy is this good enough for you yet???
dany_moussalli 13 | 259
22 Aug 2013 #47
Dany he WILL NEVER admit that he is wrong and that others can also be Polish you are 0.25% POLISH accept it :P

I have no problem with that ,he might be right in my case . but i'm more than 0.25% :P
p3undone 8 | 1,132
22 Aug 2013 #48
Well the way I see it,if you were born there,and have the blood.Then you are Polish through and through.Especially if you claim it.
4 eigner 2 | 831
22 Aug 2013 #49
that's pretty much how I see it too.
Kevwad 1 | 17
22 Aug 2013 #50
Well the way I see it,if you were born there,and have the blood.Then you are Polish through and through.Especially if you claim it.

Does that include the Polish part of Chicago? :P
Also, I think there might be a problem with being born in Poland to make you Polish for my ancestors born before 1918...
p3undone 8 | 1,132
22 Aug 2013 #51
As I said,if you were born in Poland,and claim yourself that...........
4 eigner 2 | 831
22 Aug 2013 #52
Well the way I see it,if you were born there,and have the blood.Then you are Polish through and through.Especially if you claim it.

then again, one can be Polish even if he's not born over there too. There are quite a few options though.
p3undone 8 | 1,132
22 Aug 2013 #53
I wouldn't disagree with that.
Polonius3 993 | 12,357
22 Aug 2013 #54
Various cirucmstances like one's place of birth or having an Italian mother or not being fluent in Polish may come into play, but anyone who feels a tinge of attachment to Poland and things Polish -- more power to him (or her)! I know people born abroad who speak almost no Polish but are in the forefront of those trying to overcome the erroneous 'Polish concentration camp' syndrome surfacing in the international media. Such a one is far more Polish than those who were born in Poland and speak perfect Polish but espouse the principle: 'My country is where they pay me better'.

So it's not a cut and dried proposition and certainly not limtied to bureacratic paperwork or official formalities. Polishness is a feeling, a vibration, a certian ambience located in the heart, mind and soul.
4 eigner 2 | 831
22 Aug 2013 #55
tak to prawda. Jak widzisz, ja mowie plynnie po polsku i znam polska historie moze nawet lepiej niz wielu Polakow ale na tym konczy sie moja Polskosc. So who can really claim to be Polish, me who speaks Polish and knows Polish history or mocha, who's born in Poland, to Polish parents and feels very Polish? ;-) I say, mocha is a winner !!! LOL
pierogi2000 4 | 228
22 Aug 2013 #56
Square head, hairy chest and thick dick
PolishGuySays
22 Aug 2013 #57
I wonder this myself as I married a man who was born in Polish, but grew up in Canada since the age of 4. He still speaks, reads and writes Polish fluently, and except for his immediate family, everyone is back in Warsaw. He says some of the most interesting things sometimes. So I've decided to tweet everything he says (PolishGuy ‏@PolishGuySays). Let me know your thoughts!
Polonius3 993 | 12,357
25 Aug 2013 #58
you're Polish (or anyone else for that matter) as long as you feel Polish. and no laws, definitions or rules will ever change it

That is about the best evaluation of Polishness that has appeared on PF so far. It is an intimate, highly personal, purely subjective thing that has nothing to do with brueacracy, scraps of paper or geography. Although memerbship of a ethno-linguisitc community is obviously an important inegrating factor, there are those who speak little if any Polish but feel more Polish than others who are 100% fluent. Also, the intensity of different individuals' attachment to things Polish varies, and again that is a question of personal preference. In otehr words, you are what you say your are. If you spell your name Smythe and say it is pronounced Jones, then Jones it is!
pam
25 Aug 2013 #59
In otehr words, you are what you say your are

I would have to disagree with this.
I don't consider myself in any way whatsoever to be Polish.
I know a fair bit about Polish history, know a lot about Polish customs, can speak, read and write the language ( badly I might add ), choose to spend holidays there, yet how on earth does that make me Polish?

I was born in the UK and I am British through and through.
I could just as easily say I am a brain surgeon, but that wouldn't be true either!
You are Polish if you were born in Poland.
Polonius3 993 | 12,357
25 Aug 2013 #60
I don't consider myself in any way whatsoever to be Polish.

No-one is saying you ARE Polish. But if someone feels they are Polish through and through, the way you think about being Enlgish, then that's what they are.

There are Polish-born individuals who espouse the cosmopolitan philosophy 'My homeland is where they pay me better' and feel no affinity for their country, and there are foreign-born Polonians who are greatly attached to and proud of their ancestral heritage and are always ready to defend it against detractors.

BTW, is that how you feel about Britain?


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