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[Darvi]

The French are romantic and make good food?

I don't know if that's necessarily negated by their "reputation" for cowardice.

The former is subjective, and as for the latter, they are the most successful military power in european history.


But that wasn't the point I guess.

[Virex]

The French are romantic and make good food?

I don't know if that's necessarily negated by their "reputation" for cowardice.

The former is subjective,

You just had to mention one of the defining qualities of a prejudice, no?

[ChairmanPoo]

they are the most successful military power in european history.

Pretty much all major European countries have qualified at one time or another as the most successful power of their time.

Speaking of which, I think it gives more relevant info to look at such events in terms of power blocks rather than individual nations...

[Sheb]

Exception poor, little, patterns Belgium. Which is part of why I Like m'y country so much.

[ChairmanPoo]

Before I saw your post I was about to make an edit mentioning that even Belgium, which is relatively small, had it's time as a major power. Didn't the king of Belgium jumpstart African colonialism back in the late 1800s?

[Darvi]

"Of their time"? I'm speaking "of all time" here, sans future..

The French are romantic and make good food?

I don't know if that's necessarily negated by their "reputation" for cowardice.

The former is subjective,

You just had to mention one of the defining qualities of a prejudice, no?

Uh... maybe? Dunno about that.

Exception poor, little, patterns Belgium. Which is part of why I Like m'y country so much.

You don't count as a major country then

Kidding. Neither do we, really.

[Vector]

*shrug*

I'd look up "Model Minorities," then.

Also, the essay called "Orientalism."

[Sheb]

Before I saw your post I was about to make an edit mentioning that even Belgium, which is relatively small, had it's time as a major power. Didn't the king of Belgium jumpstart African colonialism back in the late 1800s?

Well, he did colonize the Congo. But it was the King's private property until his death, and after that everybody was already colonizing Africa. And the Congo was nothing like the French or English colonial Empire in Africa.

And of course, there is the matter of the six millions people we killed there in the most horrible ways. Strangely, all we learned in school was how that King built so many great buildings and monument, never explaining they were paid for by Congolese blood.

[Darvi]

Strangely, all we learned in school was how that King built so many great buildings and monument, never explaining they were paid for by Congolese blood.

That reminds me of one of the most hilarious bits of history lessons. Apparently one of our monarchs built an entire wall around our capital. We all interpreted it as him doing it singlehandedly. It probably didn't help that he also was blind.

[Virex]

Before I saw your post I was about to make an edit mentioning that even Belgium, which is relatively small, had it's time as a major power. Didn't the king of Belgium jumpstart African colonialism back in the late 1800s?

Nah, it held the Congo, but most of Africa was already divided by that time (Nobody had bothered with the Congo because it was a malaria-stricken hellhole and the locals were... aggressive at best). Hell, IIRC, most of Africa was colonized during the time of the East India companies as a source of slaves and other riches, as well as a safe haven for ships on their voyage to the east. The Dutch West India company also used it as a source of slaves which they would ship to South America, then load their ships with spices and gold there to ship it to Europe and pick some stuff up there to complete the triangle.


Edit: Well, appears I'm wrong here, depending on your definition of colonized. Colonies in Africa prior to the Napoleontic Wars were usually a system of trade outposts and ports. Most of Africa at that time was still divided along local kingdoms with the European powers mainly along the coasts. There were many agreements (and disagreements) with the local kingdoms and Europeans would just as often enlist local kingdoms to attack other Europeans as the local rulers would enlist European mercenaries to fight against other local kingdoms. It was apparently not until late in the 19th century that colonization as we know it came to fruition in Africa and most local kingdoms were subjugated (with the interesting exception of Ethiopia, which remained independent until World War 2)

[ChairmanPoo]

I think it's standard issue to whitewash the "golden ages" (and avoid exposing the kings and heroes from back then as crooks). It's interesting to see what impression the countries around you have of the heroes of your country (and, respectively, how are the heroes of other countries regarded in yours)

[Vector]

I know that over here, we ended up reading stuff like Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee in middle school (not all of us--we had to read one of a selection, and I didn't end up picking that one).  I don't think we covered the Rape of Nanking, though--I ended up learning about that from a friend.

[G-Flex]

Speaking of stereotypes, is anyone else bothered by this? The whole thing smells of old-fashioned stereotype/racial caricature to me (like gypsies in a lot of works), but I want to make sure I'm not being crazy. I mentioned it in the Diablo III thread.

It just annoys me to see racial or cultural caricatures used casually by things like games, and it seems to happen way too often. Interestingly enough, the "barbarian" RPG archetype itself seems to stem from old Roman stereotypes of people elsewhere in Europe; it's interesting to see how a basically 2000-year-old stereotype of a country's enemies could turn into something that isn't even seen as being rooted in reality (or any culture) at all.

[Virex]

The word Barbarian actually comes from the greek word Barbar, which they initially used for any foreigner, but it eventually became associated with the Persians. As the Greeks and the Persians had quite a bit of trouble over the years and the Greeks regarded the Persians as honorless and slavish, the word Barbar became an insult towards people seen as uncivilized. So, next time you use the word Barbarian, look around you to see if you're not accidentally insulting an Iranian (Or should that be Afghan? The Iranians claim to be descendants from the Persians, but the Ariers and their neighbors live in what's now Afghanistan.)

[olemars]

Same with vandals for that matter, originally just some germans who were a little rough when touring Rome in the 5th century.