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Pardon me if this sounds stereotypical, but this is just something that I have heard.
Sometimes it seems like since (at least from a more western perspective) Eastern Europe is seen as more impoverished, it seems like many people in Central European countries eschew the label "Eastern Europe". There are also some negative associations or stereotypes people have with Eastern Europe from being part of the Eastern bloc, not being as prosperous as the western part, etc.
I mean, I'm sure Eastern Europe is just as rich in culture as the West, but does it seem some people react as if they don't like to be associated with "Eastern Europe" as a term?
Last edited by markovian process; 02-03-2014 at 10:51 PM..
Yes, there's really some stigma about it. That's why countries like Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic etc. try to distance themselves from Eastern Europe, and prefer to locate themselves in Central Europe.
Most definitely. Eastern Europe is associated with poverty, crime, corruption, human trafficking and so on.
Of course, all of what you write exists. Thing is Eastern Europe is kind of like a baby that had a very very bad childhood. Used as a route for invasion from its eastern borders, having a myriad mix of ethnicities and probably most important in the modern day, an experiment at one time of making 'new men' and having the experience of terrible destruction on its populace and cities during WWII. No wonder some think the most prevalent thinking on the area is 'dourness' and having a stigma.
I do not mind being called Eastern European, but when somebody does that, it is a signal form me the person is probably uneducated. But on the other hand I do not try convince people they are wrong.
If you think about that, there is no reason for my country to be called Eastern European and let´s say Austria to be called Western European. If you know history and I believe you do, you know what I mean :-)
Well, we should respect other countries, but to claim East European countries have culture as rich as wester countries is simply not true.
Think about the field of literature, philosophy, music, painting etc, yes, there are many excellent artists from east european countries, but not nearly comparable with the number in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany etc. This is not surprising because poorer countries tend to contribute less to human civilization than more wealthy ones. This is not always static hower, because countries rise and fall all the time. China for example was on the edge of world civilization for centuries (it used to have 50% of world GDP) before falling to oblivision 500-600 years ago.
Even among "western" countries, it is hardly possible to compare Austria with France in terms of culture, or Sweden with Italy. Why not present facts instead of "all countries are equally culturally rich" fakeness. It is simply not true.
Most definitely. Eastern Europe is associated with poverty, crime, corruption, human trafficking and so on.
Of course, all of what you write exists. Thing is Eastern Europe is kind of like a baby that had a very very bad childhood. Used as a route for invasion from its eastern borders, having a myriad mix of ethnicities and probably most important in the modern day, an experiment at one time of making 'new men' and having the experience of terrible destruction on its populace and cities during WWII. No wonder some think the most prevalent thinking on the area is 'dourness' and having a stigma.
I believe most Scandinavians think of someone from the Czech Republic as Eastern European.
Norway's cultural contribution is quite limited. It is basically Edvard Munch (The Scream painter), Henrik Ibsen (A Doll's House writer), Edvard Grieg (classical composer), black metal and the Viking legacy.
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