for example if a british and french citizen were in a swedish bar and started talking trash about the others nation is it natural to get angry at the person? (not including self hating american idiots, like jane fonda)
2007-02-23 11:27:54 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
I suppose it's natural - just as natural as cancer, and even more common, sadly enough. You can't help the angry feelings, but to cultivate and to be proud of hatred would be just as stupid as to cultivate cancer, and to be proud of having cancer. Not only stupid, but deadly. It will eat away your humanity, and in the end it will kill you. Acknowledge the anger and then let it go before it rots into a permanent state of hatred. Curing hatred doesn't come easy - it's probably even harder than curing cancer - but it's a thing that all civilized people must try to learn. It's not impossible. If we hadn't learnt some of it, we would still be living in caves - if we weren't already extinct.
I am Swedish, and if I were in that bar you talk about and overheard the British and French guys whine about how awful and boring and ugly and cowardly Swedes are, that is nothing but hate talk, and I'd sure get angry with these two guys. I'd try to stay away from them to let my anger cool down and fade away. But why should I get angry with their countries just because two individuals are stupid? I don't hate my whole town just because some guys I meet on the street are idiots.
- Another thing: a very common mistake is to be oversensitive and think that criticism is the same as hatred. I think that this is something one often does when one doesn't have any good arguments to meet the criticism. If those two guys in the bar sat there criticizing Swedish foreign policy, for example our infamous helping the U.S. to bring two innocent men to Egypt to be tortured just because of false rumours (they were later declared innocent), then I wouldn't be angry with them - much less hate them. I'd agree with them! Bad things should be criticized whether it's your own country or another one that is guilty to them. It's a civil duty to do so, and has nothing to do with hatred. It has much more to do with love and concern. If parents criticize their children for behaving bad, they don't do it because they hate their kids. They do it because they love them and want to help them grow up into decent human beings.
Again - if the same guys in that bar (I'm almost getting thirsty now!) criticized some Swedish politics that I myself approve of, the idea that they hated Sweden wouldn't even enter my mind. Criticism isn't hatred and shouldn't be met with hatred - it's opinions, and should be met with good arguments and good listening. I'd be interested to enter the discussion, listen to their arguments, making them listen to my arguments. The debate might sure get heated, who knows if we would get angry with each other for a while - but hatred has nothing to do with it, and we could all learn a lot from it. That is honest debate, nothing else.
2007-02-24 01:38:08 · answer #1 · answered by AskAsk 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well ofcourse it is natural if you love your country and you should!
Especially if those people even harmed your country.
2007-02-23 11:53:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is but I find if you go and experience it for yourself it can make a difference
2007-02-23 11:31:58 · answer #3 · answered by Y_aurora 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it's natural for anybody the breathes air to get annoyed at a frenchman
2007-02-23 11:33:53 · answer #4 · answered by No Bs 1 · 1⤊ 2⤋
sure. you consider it a personal insult
2007-02-23 11:37:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋