Do you think that Polish people are rude?

re: they do, however, tend to have large noses and are terrible drivers, some of them are also pretty stupid... but thats obviously got nothing to do with nationality

- The above can be said about any nation.

Including your own.

give me a break, i say one thing about him thats good, now you think i'm practically going to bed with him!! its way over the top my dear :)

A couple of years ago, a housemate of mine was Polish. We used to sit in the kitchen chatting while the landlady was watching soap opera after soap opera. I mentioned to him that we had some Poles at work. He was no Polonophile - strangely he seemed to prefer England, but then he was no Michal. He showed no interest in this and the topic of conversation moved on. Just before he left the room, he leaned over and quietly said: "Look out! All Polish people are thieves!"

yup

Poles are not rude.Kurwa is a word for the gentleman.

re: Just before he left the room, he leaned over and quietly said: "Look out! All Polish people are thieves!"

- There are folks from Poland who say negative things about Poland. There are people in any nation who say negative things about the nation they come from.

I have met some Britsh folks who told me that British folks are cons.

Does it mean they were right?

The Brtish tend not to say negative things about Britain to the foreigners. Does it mean that these things don't exist in Britain? Or does it just mean that the British care about their image?

Now there's a definite tendency in the so-called English-speaking world (US, etc.) to speak negatively about Poland and Poles.

Does this mean that all these good folks - including some on this board - are actually right when refer negatively to us?

re: Poles are not rude.Kurwa is a word for the gentleman

- Hm, then you've got to be a gentleman after all.

Wow, I didn't know that until now.

Do you suggest there are no vulgar words in other languages? How about your own language, pal?

considering all the possible things that could have happened, word of mouth
that they will not be accepted so easy might be the reasons why,, media
all the polish who already came and experienced some bad things, yes, if they
seem to be a little rude, maybe they have good reason..

what I would do , first and formost is maybe make a nice cookie plate, or something
to that nature and introduce yourselfs and welcome them into the neighborhood.

of course they will feel uncomfortable moving to a new country, and maybe they
dont know they are doing something that makes you upset.. communication works
:) really it does :)))

if they still are doing it, then you would have a good reason to accuse your neighbors
not the whole polish nation of being rude..

but I would try a little kindness first, see what happens :)

It does appear they ahven't tried communicating directly with their neighbours.

They haven't even had the politeness to reply to the answers people on the forum have given them :(

I think Patrycja is right - trying a little kindness, such as friendly introducing oneself, etc., seems like a good idea. Some foreign people may appear unfriendly because they feel unsure whether their new milieu is welcoming and friendly. Right on the money, I'd say, Patrycja.

maybe she is outside guarding her driveway :)

chuckle chuckle snort snort :)) LOL sorry had to say that..

go ahead daisy say it.. Patrycja You are bad!!!


* does double take at Puzzy*!!!

Thanks , that was very nice of you to say..

yup bad, but true ;)

I still think it says something of this person, that they ask a question, get plenty of replies, but lack the common decency to say thank you

well it sounds like they just want to justify their inner thoughts and have a good
reason to be hateful towards their neighbors by asking if this is a common trait
among polish people..

anyone can be rude,, especially if you rub emm the wrong way.

but i agree with you, if she was so worried about it, she would have come back
to check and see who posted and make or form her own opinion by it, but it
sounds like she already has formed a opinion of her neighbors.. thats just sad..

very true :(

I have noticed since having to get the damn bus to work (I hate not having the tram) the young Polish men are the ones that will offer up a seat for a women, I see nothing rude about this. But I have encounted some very rude ones at the airport (all three times on my travels to PL) who dont actually get it that you have wait in line and pushing people is really not acceptable, so I would say as always there are people that are rude, not a nation.

Referring to Gingers post, I personally think they could have asked, it would have been polite, also the parking across the driveway would drive (pardon the put) me crazy, its all down to common curtisy and respecting your neighbours

The fact that the neighbours believe they can dismantle your property and park on your land with impunity but have a fit if your cat walks through their garden would seem to suggest theres is no cultural misunderstanding here. The neighbours are just plain rude and need to be told what is and isnt acceptable to you otherwise they will keep taking the p1ss.

Or you could take everyone else's advice and apologise for not showing enough empathy and understanding for the very valid reasons behind their behaviour that were so subtle that someone as insensitive as yourself failed to pickup on.

Maybe bake them a cake also.

I do. Listen up, foreigners. Britain sucks. A bit.
I love it despite everything that is wrong with it.
That includes my rude British neighbours.


All Polish people are lovely. Almost.
I was really referring to a sense of humour. Possibly a subject for a different thread.

The xenophobes always make the most noise because they are the ones who feel they need to do all the convincing. From where I am, the noise seems to come more from the press, and not just the British press.

The Polish immigrants that I have met in America in the past few years are invariably
polite & most have a joy of life...the Polish-Americans that I grew up with are more of
the sourpuss variety, but, still, they are very polite, especially w/outsiders.

Hey, osiolku. Thanks for your post. :)

Yes, if Britain sucks it's just a little bit. But overall she is the oasis of sanity - at least for me - in this mad world.

I also love Brits, both those polite and rude ones (even though loving the former seems a tinge easier than the latter ;).

As for the Poles, they are people like others.

But certainly the media psychopaths - and those in Britan aren't overall as bad as those in say North America or Germany - depict us as some kind of inferior human beings and villains.

I don't identify the media psychos with a given nation, nor even with a given nation's government.

The media psychos are a nation and government unto themselves.

Cheers. It was pleasure and relief to read your post.
:)

By the way, I also start loving Ireland and the Irish. I have just visited and got acquainted, and my experience is overwhelmingly positive.

I have a case of mistaken rudeness in Poland. I was heading from Poznan to krakow with my gf and we were both enjoying the window seats until this missle aged man came in and told my gf to move so he can sit by the window. She did without any hesitation and I immediately gave the man a difficult time telling him he had no right to move her from the seat. For an hour I was grilling this guy thinking he's the rudest man. Shorly after I asked my gf why she moved and she said because it was his seat. I didnn't understand, but now I understand that when people buy train tickets, they do come with seat numbers :) I guess I was the rude one in Poland :) In America, when you buy a train ticket, you sit wherever your a$$ brings you.

The only time I feel like people are being rude in Poland is while in line/queue people like to get in front of you. No one says anything to these people.... well, besides me of course :) and I end up staying behind the cutter anyway to avoid a fight.

I've also noticed that some Americans may feel like people are being rude because no one wants to speak English to them...unless they're very confident to do so. I don't take this for rudeness though....just have to build their confidence up.

This thread as well as the many others are all dwindling stereotypes. Besides the cultural differences, people are people.

Very, very true.


This is not exclusive to Poland - try getting on a bus in Edinburgh during the rush hour...if you're not fast then you're trampled underfoot... :-)

first of all, when a fence is put up, its both sides who pay for it.. least that is how
it is here, the property line is in the middle, so therefore both parties have to pay
for it, so it is both sides fence..so yes, there could be a misunderstanding on
who it belongs too. if they actually put the fence up and payed for the whole
thing then yes she has a right to be upset, why isnt she asking what they are doing?

why come on a polish forum asking people if this is a trait of polish people? did she
not have enough common sense to walk over and just ask???

then she complains again about parking over the driveway, well, first of all
we are hearing only her side, maybe she did something to p*zz them off so
they are repaying the favor? now she is at a loss for words so she runs to the
intranet to ask why why why?? comon, if you dont have enough guts to walk
over and say, excuse me, My name is so and so, I live next door, I am your new
neighbor and etc etc etc.. make small talk , bring up the fact that the car is over
the driveway, maybe they only did if for a few mins and she's just being
to over-reacting.. we only are hearing one side!

and for me, I am not convinced that they are as rude as she says,, that can go
both ways..

what I find really akward is that, she says they took down the fence, so why didnt
she call the police? isnt that destruction of property ? so therefore,, the fence
was probably there before and put up a long time ago by the previous owners
and so it was both parties.. yes they should have notified her, but seeing that
they are new, they probably dont know the homeowners policys yet..

isnt that different then polands?

Personally, I am always taken aback in Poland by the old and not so old ladies who seem to think that they have every heavenly right and privilege to sit on any seat they please on the bus or tram. They may get quite snotty and even insulting when a young person or just a non-elderly male passenger doesn't let them have the seat (comments such as: 'Nice manners! Is it your parents who have taught you them?' 'Complete lack of culture!' 'What kind of young people do we have?' 'Wow, what a great gentleman!')

Strangely enough, most of the young people let them have the seat humbly.

This phenomenon seems to be the relict of the communist era (in communism, according to the official propaganda, the elderly were among the groups specially cared for by the state).

Or perhaps it's also a symptom of something else?

That's not how it works in UK, also depends on when the house was built. I live in an old Victorian house. I own and am responsible for the walls on the same side as my front door, that's how it goes all teh way up the street. It could be that the neighbours were told that the fence was their side and their responsiblity, did she ask them?


very true, I thought odd, when she said 'we had to walk around with our shopping' I take it from that they didn't try talking to the neighbours then either

To Puzzler: this is called 'age before beauty' & 'respect your elders' even when they are
difficult...some day you will be old, and somebody younger may have to wipe your rear end for you!

I know a good few Poles living in Ireland......and I have found them all to be really nice honest people. They are certainly not rude!

I give this post a A +

so true.. and we should be letting older folks go first.. no matter what
nationality they are.. standing in a long line might be hard on them for one..
getting up from a seat way in the back might be extra hard because they cant
get up as fast.. and everything hurts..

and did anyone even think that someone might be cranky because of this??
if every bone in you body ached, and you had to travel to the store cause
your alone , try walking a few feet with shoes that not even comfortable and
or your hands are crippled up and aching so carrying heavy items also hurts

they deserve to be cranky!! they been thru it all and then some!!

Right on Patrycja! Perhaps those who can't comprehend how an old person feels or thinks, should realize that it is you who don't comprehend what they are like.

Older people, especially those who live alone or have no one, feel very frightened of the world outside of the safety of their home.
They are frightened of the strenghth and noise and language,etc. of others. They have been though much and feel that they deserve some respect. The world of the younger person is so much changed from the world they lived, that they cannot relate.

Their memory starts to play games on them and i imagine it is quite frightening to them.

This little old person could be someone's gramma or grampa, or maybe has no one. Giving up a seat on the bus might be the only gift they received in a long time!

That's the funniest thing in Americans for Poles. Asking "How are You?". That's REALLY hard to understand for most of us.

When I've been to Tenerife there was a guy (about 30 years old) who travelled once with our group. He came and said "How are You?". OK, it was OK, maybe he's looking for friends or something. Of course all answered "okey/fine/" etc.

But this guy was doing it all the time! He heard English people and of course he started with "How are You?!". And again, and again, and over again. Some other people were faster than him and start this "game" before him, of course with "How are You?!".

OK, "How are You?" is nice. But after 10 times it's isn't. It's a waste of breath. It's like telling Your love "I love You" 150 times a day. It's a stupid pattern for people who have no conception for individual opener. It's not even a question, because most of times You really do not care how the man You're talking with care. Even if he's dying of cancer can You help him? NO. Anyway everybody answers "I am ok.", because nobody wants the unfamiliar people to be involved in our things. I don't want.

We often use in Polish "Jak się masz?" (How are You?) etc. but NEVER to strangers, and even if we do, we have to say "Hello", "Hi" or something like that before. 99% of people will answer "Do I know You?" not "Thanks, fine!".

when i say this phrase, I mean it.. I work in a hospital where I deal with 12 patients
a night, and some of them have pain going on, some have family issues. to say
how are you or how are you feeling is being respectful towards people.. and it gives
then oppertunity to open up and tell you so that maybe you can help.

I agree some might take it to extreme, if its because they dont know any better
its not for you to call this phrase stupid when its opening up a conversation which
someone might want the ice broken.. maybe they have things they might want to
talk about but cant open up or dont know how to open this conversation because
they feel silly!

why would someone even question this?

if you ask, how are you, the person responds horrible, I cant sleep I cant eat etc etc
would you say, wow, sorry I asked, or would you be a friend to this person whom
you dont know and tell them some advice, perhaps give them a boost, maybe
they are depressed..

if everyone thought that way, what would this world be like, would we walk by
strangers in need and never help??

maybe I am being over protective.. but you have to see things more then one way
otherwise your whole life you will be annoyed at silly things that really to me is
a waste of time. :)

and also I think you were more annoyed at the American then the phrase..
thats what you should think about too.. this could be you in a strange country

my name is mick i dont think that polish are rude but i have been let down by several they seem not to carry out promises ihave helped quite afew only to be let down myself

quite right iam mick and alodoner i dont find polish peaple rude but they dont seem to be able to keep a promise i have helped quite a few only to be let down myself is that a polish thing or just my bad luck?