The "I am never wrong" phenom - is it the Polish thing?

I'm half Czech - so you can't take me very seriously when it comes to generalisations of this sort! ;-P

he's only nice cos he wanted good feedback ;) some people rely on their allegro/ebay business as their main income and negative comments can potentially destroy that


you just described my sister! when cornered and no longer able to support her case, she also starts crying, slams doors, writes nasty letters/e-mails, blocks family on facebook... then when she needs something she rings or just shows up like nothing ever happened. we were hoping that this would change when she grows up but she's in her mid 20s now and worse than ever.

It is indeed very difficult to get an apology off a Polish person, especially the middle aged and older generation. For example my parents were NEVER wrong even if 90% of the time they were like parents from hell, yelling if you merely questioned their decisions. It's almost like you lose respect if you admit to a mistake, it's quite extreme sometimes. I should write a book about my family and the display of classic examples of sociopathic behaviour ;). Sometimes (perhaps more that just sometimes though) it's best to just shake your head and leave it, they will not let you have the last word. I do agree that a simple apology in PL is often perceived as a sign of weakness, admitting you are wrong even if you are is not something people like to admit to.

I can agree up to a point that the British folk are more polite and apologetic, even if they don't always put their heart into it - they just don't like to cause a fuss. I appreciate that. I would say that it often doesn't apply to British women though - especially if they have kids or are behind the wheel ;-) they do something wrong (or their kids do) and they will just glare or get aggressive if you have the audacity to point it out. And teenagers, rude and disrespectful beyond belief. I noticed that in UK an apology is viewed as the polite thing to do, the right thing to do. Be the better man/woman and say sorry. People here are basically pressured to apologise just to put things right, and they expect that as long as there was an apology everything should be ok. Their apologies are often quite condescending too (because they don't mean them) but you got your apology so there, go away now. For example, an old boss of mine was constantly being rude to me and everytime I brought it up she would say she didn't mean it, she would even go as far as hug me and say sorry a million times, but she'd still be a b*tch after that. She apologised though so it's fine right! It's a strange logic but this is how things work over here, you learn their 'dance' and dance along ;-).

Reminds me of another member`s thread: https://polishforums.com/archives/2010-2019/life/blame-game-noticed-person-wrong-53830/

When discussing things there, I argued the phenomenon wasn`t so widespread and the OP was mistaken etc etc.

I could be wrong. Avoiding responsibility might be a more popular sport than I thought. For a few months I have seen several irresponsible Poles in action .

The reason is simple: Poles try to wriggle out of being blamed for sth in fear of having to suffer financial consequences.

Actually you are quite right - Greeks also never say sorry, and rarely tell the truth, apart from when discussing their emotions. As for Indians, their every word is carefully considered and calibrated to achieve what they want - they don't even begin with the truth and diverge from it, and their 'sorries' are certainly rare, and suspect.

Just generalising there, of course.

Don't, no fun in being a Stereotype. We are all different and that's what makes us unique. "I am never wrong" stems from ignorance + stubbornness, which isn't country or race specific. It's a human behaviour common to us all. Only a cheap opportunist will find pleasure in blaming others to satisfy his/her little ego. Don't be one!

women.

Oh they do, they do Mr. "TommyG". How else could we moan about the moaners moaning about moaners.


pip, welcome to reality. He is not giving you a "free lamp valued at 450 zl". He's giving you a lamp he got for free which you thought was worth 450zl.

Our daughter went swimming with her class about a month ago. One of the kids jumped on her back and injured her neck. She couldn't even dry her hair and she called us to go pick her up.

One of the teachers present there just told her to rub some ointment on it and then promptly left along with the other teacher. The kids were left there by themselves, including our daughter.

What ended up happening is that the staff at the swimming pool called for an ambulance and she was taken to the hospital for an x-ray. Luckily nothing serious, but it could have been serious.

So what about the teachers? Oh they firmly believe the did nothing wrong, and one of them took her frustration out on our daughter after being reprimanded by the principal.

Who? Me? Wrong? No, never.

I don't know if this is uniquely Polish, but it's a smart strategy.

For example - you are flying as a delegation to an important event abroad. After hearing warnings from the pilots controlling the aircraft that landing is too risky, you choose to berate them and leverage your higher rank to force them into making further unsafe decisions. The plane crashes killing all aboard.

Immediately the eternal question arises - who to blame? Just as fast - the answers comes - blame the Russians.

@Bobko
I wouldn't agree, to me not being able to take responsibility for ones own actions only proves ones own immaturity or kowtowing to immature people around onesself.

Seeing people continue to mud throw or point blame and highlight it. Reveals ones enemies and serve purpose of gathering information.

I wouldn't call PiS at that time very mature, yet it's a consequence of having a former intelligence officer as head of state.

If any major accident happened while Polish president would be tightly connected to American or Polish intelligence services. Obviously Russian side would be paranoid about it. Just see Maidan events and how comments there Are about «American medling» same thing

Are you saying that intelligence officers are inherently untrustworthy?

I think that out of all people that work in law enforcement, or other security agencies - intelligence people are the most conscientious, educated, and emotionally stable people.

It's rare that money, or welfare benefits leads someone to an intelligence career. Instead, these people are typically romantics. Patriotism is not considered a mental defect, and lying - paradoxically - is deeply frowned upon. As an intelligence agent without official cover, for example, working to exploit local HUMINT - your word is all you've got to convince an informant to turn their life upside down.

Did you know that George Bush Sr. - was previously head of the CIA - not just some anonymous agent in Dresden?

George Washington - besides being a statesman and a soldier - was also a great spymaster.

In my book - picking presidents from amongst the intelligence community is not the worst thing that could happen.

Their job require to be paranoid to foresee and take precautions towards their enemies.

It's not great statesmen material if the statesman cannot trust it's own population,

so yeah. To gain trust, you got to trust first. Being constantly mistrustful, creates mistrustful relationships.

Tell me the amount of sucessful foreign relations since Putin came to power.

Compare that with Yeltsin or Gorbatsjov, even in midst of worst possible situation Russia was headed. It was not lacking in helping hands or understanding.

Now? Tell me I am wrong

This describes cops well, but has little to do with intelligence professionals. A little too much Hollywood, and not enough appreciation for labor specialization within the intelligence apparatus.

Police officers are conditioned to expect that everyone hates them and is more than likely lying to them. This makes them rather irritating companions to the non-initiated, and is the reason why cops are friends with mostly other cops or family.

If you are working in foreign intelligence, then most of your acquaintances and family will have no idea that that is your current occupation. Consequently, they are not likely to lie to you more than to any other civilian or as dictated by their personality.

Neither do you as an intelligence professional really need to lie to people, to get them to help you.

Just generally - I don't think a former spy is necessarily more paranoid than some bureaucrat that managed to rise through the ranks. In fact, Gorbachev and Yeltsin probably had to do an equal amount of slimy things as Putin did, to get where they got - if not more.

It's actually very simple.

Poles are feminine - including guys. They "feel" before they think. They are emotional just as their women. And just as their women, Polish men are unable to ever say: I was wrong and I fu*cked up. Their mood is being pis*ed off and favorite words: kurwa and pierdole.

I am still waiting for: The Warsaw Uprising was plain stupid and we are sorry for the 200,000 deaths it caused.

Ha,ha,ha, ask Mr. Ironside how does he feel as a woman?

Folks, these are plain stereotypes.
Surely one cannot generalize in even most instances.

However culturally speaking, certain societies DO encourage debate, no matter how relatively small, whereas others (both in their politics as well as their social interactions) tend to opt for concensus, for instance, the Swedes.

Swedes and their "consensus" are the most disgusting things men can do - watch their women being raped and not riot against the rapists and those who let them in.

Western ruling scums is not capable of admitting they were wrong, either. Not just the Poles.

@Rich, as usual you're intentionally missing my point merely to instigate controversy!
I was only comparing the interactive behavior of many Poles whom I've encountered, with the number of Swedes with whom I've come into frequent contact.

I am missing nothing. You wrote:


Once this is on the table, it is my right to comment on it and its consequences.

Yet did you realize the import of my statement. Rich?
I was neither defending the right of Sweden to allow Third-World migrants into into their country nor was I criticizing the present government in their pursuit of a basically flawed policy.

The topic of the thread was whether or not the Poles have some monopoly on arrogance, to which I simply responded that this was more negative stereotyping, best dispensed with and nothing more.

... because Swedes are cowards...
Real consensus is when men come to the same conclusion. Swedish kind of consensus is based on the fear to be different.

So tell us as a Polack Richie, what makes you so special ?
You fit the heading of this thread perfectly.


And your Polish consensus is based on the fear of being laughed at. Hahahaha !

Hats off! When you're right you're right!

It sure beats being always a mindless Russia hater.

Let's play Jeopardy!


phrasing my answer in the form of a question...

"What can you say about always being a mindful russia hater?"

What is avoiding getting near windows in a tall building.

What is turning down offers of tea from a russian person?

Sweden's history is markedly different from that of either the US or Poland.
America remains a relatively young country, still an adolescent buck rather than a more seasoned, wiser man as opposed to merely a man child aka a boy in man's clothing:-)

Swedes are disgusting cowards...

No, it is international. Check this notice:

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