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Romanians are Smart or How to Change the Google Autocomplete Suggestions

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Re: Romanians are Smart or How to Change the Google Autocomplete Suggestions

#21

Post by ocdprogrammer »

armandososa wrote: post #13

I tried with a bunch of nationalities and every one returns equally negative results for "[Nationality] are". I don't know why people get so upset about stereotypes. I bet almost every one is stupid/lazy/ugly by the opinion of random strangers in the world.

In order to understand why romanians take this so seriously, you need to understand the context. Romania is an ex-communist country from eastern Europe and is widely regarded by the western Europe as poor and corrupt. On top of this, Romania has the largest Roma minority in the region ~500.000 according to wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_(Romani_subgroup). There is a lot of confusion regarding the terms: romanian, roma, romani. In the last 20 years there were several waves of romanian immigrants hitting the western europe, including the Roma minority which are highly nomadic by tradition and very visible in the west because they beg and steal aggressively and live in slums in very primitive conditions. This lead to the association romanians = gipsies, thiefs, primitives etc. The current campaign is a response to these stereotypes, which unfortunately are easily promoted in western europe especially since western mass media can't pick on blacks and arabs anymore cause that's clearly racist and open racism is not trendy anymore.

Re: Romanians are Smart or How to Change the Google Autocomplete Suggestions

#23

Post by drKarl »

First of all, as dgquintas pointed out, los romanos son (Spanish) is wrong, as this means Romans are. The correct term is Rumanos.

Secondly, google autosuggest is not necessarily smart... try writing "I hate it when".

Finally, I think prejudices against romanian people are based on the fact that an important part of romanian inmigration into european countries is composed by gipsy romanians, which sadly tend to beg for money, steal or perform other crimes (not all of them, of course, it is a generalization based on what people see and perceive themselves). But of course, only a small portion of romanian people are romanian gipsies...

Re: Romanians are Smart or How to Change the Google Autocomplete Suggestions

#24

Post by ubernostrum »

dgquintas wrote: post #18

For what it's worth, "romano" means Roman in Spanish. As in, an inhabitant of the city of Rome, both in the classical and modern senses. The proper Spanish term would have been "rumano". I guess the guys over at the Italian capital are happy about the free compliments

"People called Romanes, they go, the house?"

Re: Romanians are Smart or How to Change the Google Autocomplete Suggestions

#25

Post by uriloran »

armandososa wrote: post #13

I tried with a bunch of nationalities and every one returns equally negative results for "[Nationality] are". I don't know why people get so upset about stereotypes. I bet almost every one is stupid/lazy/ugly by the opinion of random strangers in the world.

Part of the problem is that humans tend to focus on negative things. If you make something wrong, theres always some person there to point his finger at you, if you make something great, you don't always getting praise for it. It's the same with your memories, you tend to remember bad times more and longer than good times.

Re: Romanians are Smart or How to Change the Google Autocomplete Suggestions

#26

Post by JoachimSchipper »

drKarl wrote: post #23

First of all, as dgquintas pointed out, los romanos son (Spanish) is wrong, as this means Romans are. The correct term is Rumanos. Secondly, google autosuggest is not necessarily smart... try writing "I hate it when". Finally, I think prejudices against romanian people are based on the fact that an important part of romanian inmigration into european countries is composed by gipsy romanians, which sadly tend to beg f…

"The stereotype that (group) is (bad) is completely incorrect! You see, only (subgroup) is (bad)."

Re: Romanians are Smart or How to Change the Google Autocomplete Suggestions

#27

Post by almost »

vixen99 wrote: post #16
nullflux wrote: post #8

I'm going to ask the dumb question that the article doesn't explain: why do people hate Romanians so much? I've never found Romanians awful people. Is this just more ethnocentric rubbish and typical hostility toward Eastern European immigration?

In the UK at least, they get a bad press.thanks to the criminal element who find lucrative pickings in Britain.Go to a popular newspaper such as the Daily Mail, search and count the negative stories and you'll soon have your explanation.

Please don't go the Daily Mail for anything more than an idea of what small minded scared bigots we English sometimes can be.

Re: Romanians are Smart or How to Change the Google Autocomplete Suggestions

#28

Post by zby »

armandososa wrote: post #13

I tried with a bunch of nationalities and every one returns equally negative results for "[Nationality] are". I don't know why people get so upset about stereotypes. I bet almost every one is stupid/lazy/ugly by the opinion of random strangers in the world.

Technically the auto-suggestions are not stereotypes since they are not anybody's opinion - they are only what people are searching for.

Re: Romanians are Smart or How to Change the Google Autocomplete Suggestions

#29

Post by Radim »

nullflux wrote: post #8

I'm going to ask the dumb question that the article doesn't explain: why do people hate Romanians so much? I've never found Romanians awful people. Is this just more ethnocentric rubbish and typical hostility toward Eastern European immigration?

Romanians are a magnificent, proud nation. Disclaimer: I married one :)

To a large degree, the bad image comes from a small sub-populace that rejects the western life style, western values and produces a lot of what western laws see as criminality, all over Europe. So yes, typical ethnocentric rubbish.

Most Romanians themselves are deeply unhappy about this image. Despite the general air of oppression/depression in the country, Romanians are very nationalistic and hardworking, and care about their country's image abroad very much. (hence this campaign)

I realize this will likely get downvoted on PC basis, but your honest question deserved an honest answer.

Re: Romanians are Smart or How to Change the Google Autocomplete Suggestions

#30

Post by rdtsc »

pbz wrote: post #11
cristianpascu wrote: post #7

The moment this campaign started, I felt it was unnatural. Just drive through the center of Bucharest once, and you'll see just how smart Romanians are. I'm not one of those that feel like that they don't belong to this country, but we still have a long way to go. Funny thing is that even romanian searches would yield 'Romanians are rude' and similar suggestions. Cause we are, just like other nations around us from t…

The problem with Romanians (imo) is low self esteem and negative self image. Like you said, after many years of psychological abuse it's hardly any surprise. If they could only see their potential ... unfortunately, most times you have to be unplugged from negativity to see the positives.

> The problem with Romanians (imo) is low self esteem and negative self image

Hmm interesting. I always thought them to be smart and persistent, rather than having "low self esteem". Romanian programmers are one of the best out there. But they also create some of the worst viruses as well. Maybe years of being bullied and managed by everyone creates a distrust of any laws or authority. But I still don't see the negative self image thing though...

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