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Boy, did I get some nasty responses about the following post: Myths about Poland or whatever (I forget the name of it now.)

Some people felt that I was slandering Poland, being overly arrogant American, being a "damn Yankee", and not actually being in touch with Poland.

Does anyone who reads this possess  ANY critical thinking at all?

I mean, come on!

Number 1)  This myth was directed to moronic people who had no contact with Poles, Polish culture, or any real knowledge about Poland.  Case in point:  When I returned from my first stay in Poland, my mother asked me what it was like.  Remember, she grew up with Eastern Europe being portrayed as the Iron Curtain and stuff.  She said, "I always thought of Poland as long lines of bent over old women carrying large bags with nothing in them."

I was trying to alleviate this sense that Poland is some depressing wasteland, of which Lenin would approve.

Number 2)  Many others have posted this myth and have agreed with me.  I'm not saying that Polish girls are ugly, or that they're cretins from some hideous morass.  I was saying that I think, in my opinion, that they aren't all drop-dead gorgeous girls.  In fact, many of them look like they could come from any other Caucasian ethnicity.  I did propagate the myth that Russians are beautiful, which was given to me by my Polish students and male friends.  I regret the error.  Polish girls rule!

Number 3)  I wrote this one because of several things.  Mostly it was because I saw another one of these lists, but it was titled "What to expect from a Polish girlfriend."  Number eight or something (I don't care which one it was) was "She's smarter than you."  It then went on about how this girl is somehow smarter than everyone else (by the education system, I guess.)  I just wanted to say, "No, she won't be smarter than you, and you won't be smarter than she."

 I cannot tell you how many times I meet Poles who have never been to America nor met an American and yet they think we're all fucking idiots (they say this to my face.  NO JOKE!!!)  Most of them point to movies and say that they get their perceptions about Americans being morons from these movies.  Does it matter that most of the best (by international rankings (as in, rankings don't by persons/groups outside of North America)) Universities are in the US?  (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, CalTec, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Carnegie-Mellon)  Here's a list made by a university in China.

I swear, I have had conversation after conversation with many different Poles from many different backgrounds, both professionals and students and factory workers, and all have commented about how they think that Americans in general are, in a word, stupid.

I was miffed by how many people adhere to the view that people from the US are dumber than those that aren't.  (Hey, the majority of Brits believe that Sherlock Holmes was a real person.  Most Polish people don't know the capital of Canada, the second-largest nation in the world.  (Hint: it's Ottawa, not Toronto.))

I wasn't saying that Poles are stupid.  I was (for the love of God and all that is Holy) just saying that they were as smart (or stupid, if you see the glass half-empty) as Americans, Brits, Swedes, Germans, Japanese, Ecuadorians, Nigerians (hey, they scam money from morons in the US, they've got to be smart!) and any other nationality.

Oh, and use your minds while reading for Fuck's sake!!!!!