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Are some nationalities affored more respect than others?

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  • 09-04-2012 1:28pm
    #1
    paky
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,138 ✭✭✭


    I live with this girl who is a German citizen but she was born in Columbia and looks as though she is of native columbian race or something a long those lines. Anyway, she mentioned something to me one night that countries such as Ireland would treat citizens of Germany and France with more repsect than citizens from third world countries or second world countries. She said to me that this is the case in Germany aswel and she said that she never felt as though she was German becuase she looked different and this was one of the main reasons she came to ireland. she said she enjoys the respect she gets in Ireland because she is perceived as being German as opposed to Columbian. Her theories are quite peculiar but is there any truth in them?


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    #2
    PandaX9
    Registered Users Posts: 1,584 ✭✭✭PandaX9


    It's a curious one. I suppose its something that's prevalent in many different cultures. My parents are from another country, having moved here 20+ years ago. However, I was born and raised here so I got the typical Dublin accent. I don't consider myself to be of either culture. oddly enough, I never think of it. I'm fluent in both languages, having a mild advantage in English of course.

    Now, I work in retail in a shop that my mother owns. My mother still has traces of her accent left (I don't really know, I RARELY speak to her in English) and has experienced some casual racism from customers and the like. People treat me just fine. But I have noticed, that occasionally when people learn of my lineage, they treat me worse. Especially with comments like "What? But YOU'RE SO IRISH!". Could just be disbelief in some but there have been some nasty remarks before. "tell your parents to f*** back to Poland". I found that extremely upsetting as its such a stereotype, all countries east of Germany are not Poland! And I have nothing but this greatest regard for Polish nationals, really. I love calling Ireland my home too.


    One of the most upsetting things to happen to me when I was a kid was "you speak TWO languages? Oh my god you're so WEIRD". Like yeah, I got bullied as a kid but for different stuff - nothing ever made me feel as bad as feeling unaccepted by my Irish primary school peers just cuz I had a natural linguistic advantage over them. Tenner bets if that second language was more "European" like French, I wouldn't have been so "weird"..


    But yeah, I definitely get treated better when people think I'm Irish. Shame my name gives me away though, it's a curse :p


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    #3
    dannyc31
    Registered Users Posts: 305 ✭✭dannyc31


    i thinks this is more a case that our brains like to make quick associations & connections in regards people and situations in general. there may of been a time in our evolution that depending on what tribe you were encountering you would either see them as a threat or an ally.

    another thing that i beleive is at work is stereo-typing. we all have em going on all the time in our heads even if we are not always consciously aware of them. these are often created every early in life. for example take german, often when a professor or mad scientist is depicted in a cartoon or tv show he is given a german accent, (mainly they are representing an einstein character) so one would associate great intelligence with being german.

    the same would apply to the arts like music, beethoven, bach, mozart. all german or Austrian.

    the irish are respected less but liked better because we've never been known to invade anyone or war with anyone (other than the english of course) so we project an image of fun and friendliness. you can do the same exercise for many nations and it will result in many stereo-types coming thru, many many be false but they are often hardwired into our unconscious minds.

    once you've done this its easy to see how a hierarchy of nations can get created in peoples minds.


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