File under "dumb shit Serbians love repeating amongst themselves"
Some Serbs love thinking that they have a magic ace up their sleeves - Something that will erase all their poverty, their stagnation, their bad international reputation - and lift them to vaunted heights.
And that is..... that they are "a bridge between East and West"
They believe this literally as well as figuratively.
Now, it is true that Tito, in the time of Yugoslavia, played the USA and the Soviet Union against each other and got tons of forgivable loans. These loans were used to subsidize a society that didn't produce much and provide a standard of living for the people that was higher than most communist countries.
In the literal sense, this belief is that Serbia is in a key geographical location and without Serbia, the world falls apart. Serbia is on an important crossroads and nothing can get anywhere without the blessing of Serbia. The conveyance of perhaps all international trade happens through Serbia. This, of course, is absurd. Rail infrastructure is abysmal. Most trains go less than 30 miles per hour where the European standard is about 120. The main highway from Hungary to the north and Croatia to the east is 2 lanes each way and acceptable until it changes to an unlit 2-way country road until you get to Macedonia. Belgrade doesn't even have a ring-road so all through-traffic has to pass through the city!
More common is this belief manifesting in a more metaphorical sense. They believe that since Serbia was under the Turks for 600 years and also since they were communist but not part of the Soviet Union or the Warsaw Pact, that they are somehow (still, 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall) in this magical position between "The East" (I think they mostly mean Russia, 2000km and 3 countries away) and "The West".
Doesn't matter that they haven't done anything but wars and cry about how everyone hates them in the mean time, THE BRIDGE REMAINS!
What are these people unintentionally saying about Russia? They they are incapable of diplomacy? That they can't send their own diplomats somewhere but need Serbia's help, without which there will be no understanding in the world? What about Germany? Half of Germany was a semi Russian colony for 40 years. They know nothing about Russia? They are incapable of diplomacy with Russia without the intervention of Serbia?
file under "ridiculous"
I'll add a ridiculous anecdote.
ReplyDeleteI was interviewing tradesmen to renovate an office space and one of them was screaming this one inch from my face by way of explaining that Belgrade was the centre of the universe. He also told me several times that "I didn't know anything"
He didn't get the job.
"was screaming this one inch from my face"
ReplyDeleteWell at least he didn't have bad breath as you didn't pass out or mention it. I'm sure you'd have mentioned that about him if it had caught your attention.
"Rail infrastructure is abysmal. Most trains go less than 30 miles per hour where the European standard is about 120."
Hasn't Serbia just received a huge loan from Russia for its railways?
And didn't the U.S. actually start calling on those Tito loans in the 1980's? I don't think they were much forgiven.
I do recall he had very few teeth.
DeleteWell, not really a loan, as such, but kind of. a loan to buy Russian trains and hire Russian companies to rebuild the rails. More like a stimulus package for Russia from Russia.
Since nothing good has ever come to Serbia from Russia, I'll believe it when I see it.
as a serb, i can agree on various things you said about serbia. yeah, its a shit hole more or less.
ReplyDeletethere are some things you exaggerated IMO, but i respect your opinions.
you could tell me all these things in my face, and i wouldnt act like an idiot, and i wouldnt be insulted.
but the thing that i dont get is: why are you still here?
a lot of educated and capable serbs practically run away from here, and they pursue their careers and dreams elsewhere, and succeed.
the country is digging itself in shit by letting these people leave.
you are here because you work in serbia. if you earn good money here, that means that you could earn even more in some better countries.
you dont like people, you dont like the culture, you dont like the air (which isnt that polluted as you said, but ok), you dont like economy, mentality, politics etc etc.
but what keeps you here? can you at least tell me that?
"but what keeps you here? can you at least tell me that?"
ReplyDeleteif you read his posts, then u will see - he exploits serbian cheap labor for his own gain
in short he owns some kind of an outsourcing company...
he could goto india, or china and exploit them (they are wayyyy cheaper too) but at least he's giving jobs to serbs and not some other people - thus staying true to his roots
also he is paying more than the average wage in serbia to his workers, so he's not really exporting them if we look at it domestically anyway
but it makes sense for him to hire here, instead of the usa to be able to be more competitive, unfortunately the yanks cry about not having jobs, but they sure as hell don't cry about low prices (in fact that's all they want, the lowest prices!)
"he exploits serbian cheap labor for his own gain"
Deleteyeah i get that
"at least he's giving jobs to serbs and not some other people - thus staying true to his roots
and that is a good thing, but i am still wondering why did he sacrifice the overall quality of his life in order to have some highly payed business in the place he so much dislikes? he can have a normal career and a job in the west, but he choose to be here. if he choose to be here, then its kinda hypocritical to whine about this country.
and if he is paying well, as you said, then fuck it, i want to work for him.
fortunately ensuring that anonymous strangers understand me and my motivations isn't a priority of mine :)
Delete"Half of Germany was a semi Russian colony for 40 years" -
ReplyDeleteYour estimation of the Russian influence sounds too profane. Eastern Germans, Russians and Serbs REALLY have very much in common.
Thank you for capitalizing "really". It was key to my understanding of the sentence.
Deleteand therefore what?
DeleteRussia needs Serbia to do world diplomacy? Russia needs Serbia for something? Russia will give Serbia something just because "they're brothers"?
I don't know if you're pretending to be entirely uninitiated in geopolitics, or you truly are that poorly educated in these matters? Cos of course Serbia is geopolitically insignificant.....That's why the largest US military base outside US territory, Bondsteel, is on Serbian soil. And that's also why the Americans scream bloody murder at even the mention of a potential Russian base with a battery of the S300 missile system in Serbia. Something the russians would dearly love, but alas it won't happen as long the US owns our government, as they have fully since 2000 and partially before that.
DeleteSeriously though, it's not the fact that you're expressing your dislike or hatred of Serbia and it's people. It's the fact that all your commentary is at best based on conjecture, and at worst on a complete lack of appreciation of some fundamental historical, geopolitical and other widely known and accepted facts. More than anything else it's your utter lack of basic knowledge combined with non existent reasoning skills that's disturbing about your blog. Unfortunately you've taken to the western (particularily english and american) style of blagging your way to a result like fish to water. Hence the uninitiated reading your blog might be forgiven for believing you're commentary is based in reality.
Not to worry though, that's what i'm here for....you know....to highlight the "odd occasion" when you're talking out of your ass:)
And I hope I don't need to point out that using your prerogative and deleting my comments would be tantamount to admitting that yes, you are talking out of your ass;)
bordering on:
Deletehttp://serbia-sucks.blogspot.com/2011/02/clearly-you-havent-read-enough-history.html
Hopefully you've worked out that the recent rush of posts on the 18/09 is all one person, i.e. me. And if you bother to read all those posts you'll find them, where necessary, laden with facts. And herein lies the problem. For example, the only verifiable fact in the blog entry you're referring to is the average monthly salary figure. (And if you read my posts you'll know why that's so, not to mention the fact that a mere statistic unrelated to other pertinent statistics means absolutely jack shit). Statements like "the serbs are lazy" or "the serbs are incompetent" without providing clear and concise factual evidence to back them up are idiotic. Although I suspect you're fully aware that you can't back these statements up without exposing yourself to a demolition by anyone remotely familiar with the said facts. So you stay away from facts. And try to desperately present what is merely your opinion as statement of fact. Here is a simple example of our "incompetence": which is the only football club outside of the 4+3 heavily funded(4 disgustingly obscenely funded and 3 (merely:) obscenely funded) leagues in Europe that's won the European Cup (aka UEFA Champions League) and the Intercontinental Cup to became world champions. This with an all serbian team, too. (Don't forget that football is the most popular and commonly played sport on earth). Yeap, that's right, it's Red Star Belgrade. With fuck all funding and fuck all salaries compared to the afore mentioned 7 european leagues. A clear sign of incompetence if you ask me:) See, that's what a fact looks like....
Deletejesus fucking christ, this is a cranky blog not a deposition. Of course it's "an opinion", you moron. LOL!
DeleteSerbs win at soccer therefore my everyday experiences with Serbian incompetence didn't happen? Jesus christ.
Yeah I'm the moron....yet I forced you to admit that all this crap you're spewing is, for all we know, merely the demented rantings of a potentially disturbed person. Hence anyone reading your blog and the comments can now make their own conclusions to the validity of anything you have to say about Serbia and it's people. For example they can now discern for themselves wether calling anyone who wins at anything against all the odds on a regular basis incompetent, is a sign of profound intellectual acumen.....kinda my goal all along if I'm being honest....you know.....to paint a clearer picture of the true value of your opinion....;) Cheerio!
Deleteclassic fallacy of composition:
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy_of_composition
let's call it the telsa falacy or maybe.... "the Djoke" :)
Not that I need you to point me to a link explaining fallacy of composition :) being as I'm fully aware of the concept because....well lets just say it's called going to school. But seriously, where exactly is the fallacy? Cos the football example was one of virtually a billion where Serbs triumphed against all the odds. Be it in war, be it in sports, be it in invention, literature....you name it, we excel at it. And especially when considering the circumstances. So the logical conclusion simply can not be that we are particularly incompetent, if at all. That can simply only ever be the opinion of someone devoid of even the most fundamental reasoning skills.....or someone who's for some reason, thus far unexplained, filled with hate for the subject matter.
DeleteYou're simply gonna have to start adhering to facts to back up your "opinions" if you want them to be taken seriously. Especially after the kind of demolition I've just applied to your so called blog. Otherwise you're digging a deeper hole, grasping at concepts you clearly don't even understand the true meaning of. Also, please don't confuse your "experience" with a statement of fact. Because how you experience something is purely subjective. For example, I absolutely prefer having my bills in paper form and paying them, in cash, at the post office/bank. You clearly don't. In the west my preferred option isn't offered, or when it is it's at a surcharge. Hence the west is shit? No. The west is a cunt mainly cos they keep bombing sovereign countries contrary to international law. And so on, and so on.....Anyway, enough school for today. You've learned a lot. And don't forget your homework, i.e. digging up some FACTS to support your bs in the future....provided you can find some, that is;)
This is a cranky blog, not a deposition. Go to bed.
Deletedafaq is this shit? if you don't like serbs, it's simple - FUCK OFF. bitch. if you hate us, we hate you even more. imagine..
ReplyDeleteDifference is, I'm articulating in pretty accurate detail exactly and everything that's wrong with you.
DeleteFeel free to do the same :)
No, as I mentioned above, you're articulating what's wrong with us IN YOUR OPINION. And you know what opinions are like.....cos everyone has one:) Not to mention that it's clearly a minority opinion at that....
DeleteOne more Serb that hates! WOW! No way!
DeleteIf hating was like an Olympic sport I think the national coach would have a difficult time pickin up the right bunch of haters who would still not be able to grab a gold medal cause they would end up hating on each through the middle of Haters Olympics.
of course it's "my opinion". what the hell else would it be?? LOL
DeleteAre you same sceptic about your motherfucker land too or only Serbia and the neighborhood have this privilege ? What is your monthly income that you can afford only cheap flats to rent ? How do you like it to hate people around and keep living in their country ? Are you a Jew ? If not why shuld you hide your origin so carefully ? Do you know that tchnicallyto detect your location one don't have to be a Snowden ? If so don't you fear for your life living with such a hatred ?
ReplyDeleteThis right here perfectly illustrates Doot's point. Well done!
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