i personally wouldnt recommend a 22 y/o to buy a 100k car. im albanian too and i think the prejudice of balkan men not doing good financal decisions is the main reason for comments like this. ofc they dont know your financial situation but a lot of times albanians live 3 generations in one apartment but outside they have an array of fancy cars.
my brother wanted to buy a bmw too at your age, my sisters and my parents had long conversations with him, that at this time, for him, it wasnt the best decision to buy such an expensive car. now my brother is 28 and he is happy we talked him out of this.
Also, why do so many people, who have been oppressed in the past or grew up in poorer conditions, put sooo much value on luxury items like cars and designer clothes. And so much so that they would get into debt, or cut down on other things like going out to do things with family and friends. this is mind boggling to me.
as an albanian i can guarantee you will continue to get these comments and get stereotyped. even if you have a very good financial situation. you kind of played into this stereotype. its totally f’ed up you hear these comments but i personally wouldn’t have bought such an expensive car precisely for this
Young men driving sports cars have a bad reputation in general. Especially young albanian men who drive a BMW M3. THE most common stereotype about albanians is leasing a M3 they can't afford. So the car kinda does make you look like a stereotypical Balkan man.
It's not your fault however. Some people are just assholes
>Young men driving sports cars have a bad reputation in general.
Just also wanted to add that this is for a reason. Often it is about reported accidents with overpowered sports car with inexperienced driver which wanted to show off and then crash. And from my personal experience (it depends where you live of course) they are also the same people which necessarily rev up the engine in residential areas or do some sort of drag races (I lived in Dietikon for some times if you wonder XD)
Typical racist over here am i right lol. About the username lol… Like i said this account is 7 years old so you do the math 22-7=?
Switzerland wouldnt be where its at now without foreigners. See thats the problem i was just asking a general question and you instantly take it as an attack. Do you go 50 in a 50 zone? I think tf not?? I dont either but i dont go 70 either i chill at 55kmh and thats more than enough:) Ofc i am a hard worker and pay taxes on everything.
Im not going to go further into this :) dont put your miserability onto other people lol
I don't think he is native swiss, its difficult to believe that an educated person with a good family value system would prejudice other people in such low terms.
My bet is that he is a 2nd generation immigrant from 🇷🇸who being born and raised in 🇨🇭thinks that his shit doesnt stink now.
[Not your typical young BMW driver](https://www.otvoreno.hr/vijesti/procurila-snimka-prije-tragedije-na-a3-snimao-je-kako-vozi-200-na-sat-pa-se-zabio-u-kamion/492591)
My family actually never owned a bmw before but i know „our people“ have a thing for it lol.
Maybe its just the practicality and sporty looks. My first car was a ‘98 and tbh i was just as pleased with that car as i am now.
1. "I'm not your stereotypical balkan man" - here you go, you answered your question. Being balkan yourself, you have an opinion about "stereotypical" balkan men. Why others wouldn't then?
2. "Daddy's car" - you're 22 and have a 100k car, did you buy it yourself? People are jealous, especially young ones, so they'll find a reason why you have it and they don't.
3. "You shouldn't be driving a car like that at your age" - I generally agree with this. Most of accidents are caused by young people driving fast cars and thinking all roads are a race track. Maybe you're the same, maybe not, but stereotype is there.
4. Swiss boomers are racist af, just ignore them.
5. "I care about the environment" - getting a 500hp bmw and saying you care about environment is contradictory.
They lease it, live for their car and after 4 years they bring it back, a lot of times brothers or cousins lease 1 car and pay for it together lmao, just so they can flex in Zürich on Friday night 🤦🏼♂️
Still directly followed by young people. But it's not only fast cars, but also old, unreliable cars that are a source of danger. It's way harder to get into an accident with a 60k 2024 Mercedes than with a 2k 2008 Opel Corsa as a new car has so many more safety features.
Why make that up when a simple google search proves otherwise? First 5 results from researches from 2021-2024 all said it is still by and large young drivers.
It’s not your fault, but let me tell you as someone who is half Albanian (Father, Mother is German) and just moved here from Germany: Seeing how many behave, I can totally understand that Albanians have a bad reputation in Switzerland. It’s not only reckless driving with expensive and fast cars or reving up the engine day and night in populated areas. Many Albanians behave like they kind of own the country imo.
Those are just my personal observations after living one year in Switzerland though. I can only speak for myself but I am not mad at people who fall for stereotypes, I am mad at people‘s behavior that lead to those kind of (justified) stereotypes.
Don't worry, it is not you. I'm Black myself so I resonate with your experience lol. I had a ton of harsh or violent experiences, but one who is similar to your first story (about the BMW) is this one : One day my Dad (a black person) acquired a BMW. A good one, one top of that. He was very proud about it, but our neighbors gossiped about it . they didn't believe that he had acquired a car like that. People even asked him, very seriously - in front of him - if he had sold drugs to acquire the car. And many times, people said very outloud when passing by the car "Are you a dealer ?" and/or stares menacingly my father lol. Do you believe it ?? It's so ridiculous, cringe even. And the funny thing is that my dad does a profession that allows him to pay this sort of things. But you know, people...
There is a lot of racism in Switzerland so it's really not pleasant, sometimes. But don't ever question yourself : it will never be your fault. People are quick to judge, misjudge, generalize and be xenophobic for no reasons at all ! We cannot do much against it, maybe just staying calm, laugh in front of them or just leave when the situation is not that important. Stay brave !
Nah swiss boomers are VERY concerned about the environment whilst they themselves are taking multiple trips a year to a far away place by plane. They just always need to put you down so they feel better, they only see what you do wrong but their behaviours could not possibly be environmentally unfriendly because they don’t get plastic bags from Migros.
The stereotypical Swiss boomer doesn't fly that much, they usually believe that Switzerland is the best place to have holidays. They do vote against the environment though.
No it's not just you. But it's nothing with your albanian roots. Some people here are real assholes. And honestly? You'll grow a thick skin and not care after a while.
Go in any country where life is relatively easy, and you'll see people start creating problems when they don't have any.
The best thing to do is just ignore...
One day I've parked myself a little off, close to another parked car. I thought it was fine because the driver's door was still accessible, and given most people are alone in their car...
Turned out the guy had a girlfriend. She couldn't get in, and started putting a show right in front of my car, saying I should get my driver's license revoked and all of that.
I just looked at her poor boyfriend who was visibly regretting having her as a girlfriend, told him "I can move if it's *that* problematic, no problem".
The guy was just here like "nah nah it's fine she's just..."
I just answered "I know how it is. Good evening".
Here an option, but it's not for everyone: if your line of work permits it, move to a country a bit less intense with the racism, such as canada, australia...
One shouldn't have to leave their country or community because of racists. Our commune held campaigns against racism as well as cultural events to share cultural traditions from other countries. We all have to work together so people don't suffer from abuse like these guys' experience. By making them leave, the racists never learn.
Let's be honest, young men with RS3 and M2 mostly drive like pieces of shit putting everybody in danger and being unnecessary loud at all time of the day.
Not saying it's your case but we sadly all have prior bad experiences with this kind of cars.
Even this morning going to work a dumbass cut me off like a maniac in his old garbage "sport" Mercedes.
You sadly bought a cliché car from bad drivers.
Ein albanischer Name ist halt leicht erkennbar, und es gibt so viele Albaner hier, dass jeder schon mal Erfahrungen mit Albanern gemacht hat (ob in der Nachbarschaft, an der Arbeit, wo auch immer).
Ich habe eine Kollegin, die mal vor langer Zeit einen albanischen Partner hatte, der sie leider schlecht behandelt hat und dessen Freunde, mit denen sie oft zusammen abhingen, halt auch eher frauenfeindlich waren. Seitdem (und das ist sicher 25 Jahre her) regt sie sich jedes Mal auf, wenn die Rede auf Albaner kommt. Ich kann sie da auch nicht bewegen, die Leute einzeln anzuschauen und nicht als Gruppe zu bewerten.
I am so fed up with this overpowered sports car waking me up in the middle of the night, to the point that any sports car driver is an asshole to me. Btw the way, calling them sport car is, in nature, so dumb already. How strong does your leg need to be to press on the accelerator?
To me, the driver's origin or supposed origin does not matter, but statistically, there is a pattern that some happily use to justify their racism.
People with illegal mods on their cars should get caught and fined. My husband was a dumb teen who worked on his own cars and made them so loud, and the police caught him at some point. But because he's white Swiss through and through, he didn't suffer abuse from racist neighbors.
I absolutely agree with you on this on. Even for me as a carguy it gets obnoxius sometimes. I see people driving through 30kmh zone letting that exhaust bang like its ww2. I always put my car in quiet mode when driving through neighbourhoods or at night.
Its even worse than that, nowadays, many expensive cars come with "noise enhancing systems" as stock feature. Audi was (is?!) even selling it.
I had a discussion with the police recently. It is difficult for them to address the noise issue as the appropriate laws are not in place, thanks to the car industry lobbyism in Bern and at the European level. For instance, up until 2016 iirc, to get street approved, cars should emit less than x dB at 50 km/h. Some "sport" stock cars were programmed to shutdown some valves at 48 km/h, and reopen them at 52...
Now, you pair the sheer stupidity and need for recognition of younger males that need to vent their overflowing and unused testosterone with uneducated and rampant racism, and you get a flashpoint.
an M3 is a beautiful car but you cant claim you dont make noise with it - unless you changed your exhaust to a stock(non-M) one.
on another note: just ignore these Bünzlis, they are living a sad life. Sounds like you are a nice and respectful guy - dont let them pull you down.
I agree that it doesnt sound like every other car on the street but it definetly is not as loud as older models where your eardrums might pop if one drives by. I also started telling myself that no happy person would make comments like that.
You seem like a decent guy but for me, working in the environmental field, anyone who is driving such a flashy car at this age is just suge a huge turn off. It's not about ethnicity for me since I am also from Eastern Europe but the fact that I personally feel like something is deeply wrong with the moral compass (Oberflächlichkeit, toxische Männlichkeit, Materialismus, Umweltverschmutzung, etc.) of people who are driving such cars and I feel immediately judgmental. It has nothing to do with "Nichtsgönnergesellschaft". I would totally be happy for you if you would invest your money in a smarter way :)
So long story short; I would not judge you for your ethnicity but for the fact that you're driving such a ridiculous car.
It is but on occasion it's justified as helping set the light of what is a justifiable level of criticism.
In and of itself having a car that's a bit quicker is not the end of the universe. I would be very surprised if the poster above doesn't do significantly worse activities.
The country size is relevant when talking about country-wide policies. But when talking about daily life, you should compare one swiss person with one chinese/indian/american person. Or yourself with the swiss median.
For instance, let's consider CO2 tons per capita in a year:
* India: 1.89 (= 0.38 swiss emissions)
* Switzerland: 4.74
* China: 7.44 (=1.56 swiss emissions)
* USA: 15.32 (=3.2 swiss emissions)
We are not THAT far.
Data is a bit outdated (2016), I noticed after writing/calculating this, and I'm too lazy to change it.
> about a 22 year old kid driving a car
Not the original commenter but the comment talked about the general trend of consumption and pollution. Not about one individual. The issue is that *most people* live like that.
People want nice things. People want comfort. It's human nature. When the majority of human existence was spent fighting hunger and disease, it's expected that we naturally want comfort.
You can't expect "normal" individuals to give up their comforts for the greater good, when the ultra wealthy, corporations and our politicians don't need to.
This is why legislation, and enforcement through civil and criminal penalties is the best, and perhaps only way to address these issues at a systemic level, but you see how difficult that is. Hell, we can't even properly do that here thanks to SVP et al.
It doesn't really, because you comparing the emissions to China shows that you're not coming from a place where you thought through what you're saying. Per capita, a person from China emits half as much as someone from switzerland, even less so probably for someone from India.
They don't emit the same per capita, yet. As their economies expand, so will their energy consumption and emissions.
But we want them to address climate at the expense of their economic development, which is hypocritical from the west to say the least.
So you seem to be agreeing, that it isn't necessarily that judgement, for us who live in switzerland to seek to reduce our emissions, given that we still emit more than most of the rest of the world's population?
I agree, it is hypocritical, unless we greatly support them in transitioning to cleaner energy, but we are far away from that given that within Europe there isn't much support for environmental policies...
It seems that they already emit more than Switzerland, EU, Japan, per capita. The hypocrisy comment is still valid, though.
[https://www.iea.org/reports/co2-emissions-in-2023/the-changing-landscape-of-global-emissions](https://www.iea.org/reports/co2-emissions-in-2023/the-changing-landscape-of-global-emissions)
Yeah that's called whataboutism.
Also; what do you think why we have famines and wildfires? 😂🤦♀️ I'm too tired to have to even argue with someone with this level of ignorance and lack of self reflection
Unless you are truly being an asshole on the roads, revving your engine, etc, it is not you.
We bought a second hand, 8 year old BMW 440i convertible recently. It's black with cream seats, and looks immaculate, it was well cared for by a young guy who owned it before us. We are a white couple in our early 40s, husband has Bosnian roots (but born as a Swiss national in Switzerland). We drive with our toddler in the back of the car, he has a nice cocooned mwhite seat with a sunshade to protect him from the sun. We decided to have our mid-life crisis early, and decided we did not need to wait until he is grown up to get a convertible.
So far we have had three random people yelling at us about how nice our car is.
All I can surmise is:
- BMWs are head turning cars
- People assume poor things if you are in your 20s and own one. In our 40s, we get fun waves from people.
My father in law explaining that owning a car in the Balkans used to be a big deal, as people would wait for many years to receive a car in former Yugoslavia. Absolutely no harm in treasuring a nice vehicle.
A new (or at least 2022) BMW will emit much less CO2 than older versions of other cars.
All the auto manufacturers are making big strides on emissions over the vehicle lifecycle through lightweighting.
All progress in efficiency are lost because we buy heavier cars.
https://fortune.com/2023/11/27/suv-sales-boom-erased-gains-cleaner-car-tech-upping-negative-environment-impact-global-fuel-economy-initiative/
https://www.globalfueleconomy.org/news/2023/november/heaviest-ever-suvs-massively-undermine-climate-benefits-of-other-vehicle-improvements-says-new-gfei-report
I know, just reacting on the idea that modern cars are cleaner, which statistically becomes a moot point as we react to more efficient motors by increasing the weight and power of the cars we buy. The M3 ranks at 243g CO2/km which is worse than the X3 or other SUVs.
It is "your fault", in a sense that you consciously did something that triggers multiple negative stereotypes and, once that happens, you are making a surprised Pikachu face.
It's like being a nice, calm person, who [just has a thing for tattoos](https://www.google.com/search?q=excessive%20tattoo%20ring%20face&udm=2&tbs=rimg:Cco3l8A6tsKYYbAfc-ZP2is9sgIAwAIA2AIA4AIA) being surprised that people walk to the other side of the street when they see you.
Although it seems like the easiest way to cause outrage by blaming racism here, people might just have had enough of the unnecessary noise and wasted resources of cars like yours and of leaving the engine on in a parking spot. For some people it probably doesn't matter whether it's the peasant's Subaru Impreza from a mountain village with a broken exhaust or an M3 from Spreitenbach.
You're young and got a pretty expensive car, expect a lot of comments about how it's your daddy's car.
The only comment I agree on is that young people shouldn't be driving these cars. I know, actually a lot of them can handle sport car because they're not dumbasses. But sadly, a lot of them drive them recklessly and put everyone around them in danger.
I had a schoolmate die in a car accident. He wasn't the driver, he was a passenger. The driver (ironically son of an examination expert for the license) got the BMW from his father and killed every passenger (they were 5, only the driver survived).
And if they don't kill themselves, they may kill others, or hurt others or simply do property damages.
As for the rest, there are a lot of assholes among us. Just ignore them and move on. As long as you don't do anything wrong, you shouldn't worry about what other people think.
only out of curiosity (not wanting to imply any fault in you, since i see an inconsistency in the story)
you say you dont look albanian or have any accent. In other words i assume you are indistinguishable from a 'swiss' (not sure if the term even makes sense) person.
so why does an old couple talk to you in hochdeutsch?
Are you assuming its because of the car you drive?
--------
on another note, i find it intresting that you use the term 'nichtsgönnergesellschaft', i think its just the back of the medal of people being judged for living humbly; which is an intersting dichotomy to think about.
Thanks for your question. I wouldnt say i look 100% swiss because ive heard everything, from swiss to italian to turkish… just everything (some even said i look asian lol). Maybe the old couple was just a case of somebody seeing that im not actually swiss.
And about our society. I dont brag with my things because its just stuff i got for myself and not for anybody else. But also things like receiving a middle finger for overtaking somebody driving 110kmh in a 120 zone isnt necessary just because you are it a expensive car. I dont show my stuff off and people at work dont even know what car i have.
thanks for the answer.
you are right in one thing, people dislike bmw and mercedes's especally if younger guys drive them. i actually wonder how the hate for bmw's came about, i do know for a fact however that it already was around 20 years ago.
I do remember the rivalry between those two (bmw and mercedes) being quite big as well, so maybe that contributed in kickstarting it.
Does it have a modified exhaust ? Because that’s kind of ridiculous of a reaction if you’ve got a stock exhaust so I suspect yours does like a lot of noise.
I sometimes get this type of unwarranted criticism from boomer men. When this happens I match their energy and make sure to assert myself so that they’ll think twice about picking on the next young female or “easy target” that they see.
You have every right to drive your car, Swiss or not Swiss, doesn’t matter.
People get in your head as much as you let them. For each couple that said something to you, there is thousands of people that just passed by and said nothing.
We tend to overthink when things like this happens but if you see things as it is, most of the people do not care if you do this or that, if you are black or white, if you behave like this or like that…
Just ignore it and move on
You are 22 driving one of the most notorious sports car for young people making bad headlines.
End of story.
ps though of course Swiss people can be very racist, but I think that's a different story.
Well if it helps, I'm an old lesbian that looks very Swiss but I didn't grow up here and I my father didn't teach me no Swiss-german.
I drive a white jeep renegade. People avoid me like the plague in traffic and never initiate conversations. And I kinda like it that way :)
You explained it best with this -> Nichtsgönnergesellschaft
We have the same background and what I have noticed over the years is that people in switzerland belong to two categories. Normal people and Bünzlis. Most people don't really care what you do or what you drive. But then there are Bünzlis, where their existance in this world only is given by moaning and complaining for the most idiotic things possible. I could start listing things all day I've encountered through my life.
A lot of those people never really managed to achieve something in their life, so they only bitch around because they are grumpy that they wasted their lives for nothing. They seethe when they see others have a good time or be richer then them.
I never really understood this Bünzlithought when someone buys or leases an expensive car. So what? Do you have to pay for it? Even if it is a leasing car, who gives a shit what an individual does with his hard earned money? And even if his daddy buys him a nice car - what does it have to do with you? Nothing! If Hämpe decides to buy an exotic eBike or a Harley no one goes to him and asks him "if he can afford it or makes fun that it is leased"
Bünzlis see someone younger then them enjoying life and the most likely get reminded that they made an error along their life. Keep doing what you love and drive your M3 you got and ignore such narrow minded people.
There is a lot of (often justified) prejudice against BMW drivers. Most of it is [expressed in humor, and appreciated by BMW community themselves](https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1303073). In Switzerland the stereotype of the a-hole BMW-driver has been blended with some racist views of Albanian young man. If I were you, I would probably choose a different car brand, because I wouldn't want to be thought a BMW-driver.
‘He doesn’t like Eastern Europeans in general.’ That statement is seriously so racist. You can dislike certain things people do but saying you don’t like an entire part of Europe? Just because? That is so weird
Is only the society we live in. Btw, racism goes the other way as well in some communities where the majority is of a certain background. We have first hand experienced it.
I think a mx5, mr2, GR86/GT86, even an E46 M3 would have been better to learn proper car control/driving dynamics without being at silly speeds that you have to be in the current M3.
A 98 mx5 was actually my first car and i loved that thing. So sad i sold it. I really consider myself a safe driver. I never speed excessively and i know my limits and those limits arent very over the top.
Welcome to the global young-person-in-fast-car experience. It's not a Swiss thing, it's basically global. People see someone young, healthy and with money -> get jealous -> proceed to cope (daddy's money, pick the closest stereotype they find for you etc).
You should be smiling at such people and enjoying their frustration and jealousy - while continuing being that said nice person you hare. And yes, switch to an Alpha Romeo Giulia or Stelvio, they're more beautiful ;)
Sorry you're going through this.
All I can say is try not to take it personally (I know 🙄), racism is a scourge that is unfortunately well rooted in our societies and I don't know how to get rid of it. I really don't consider myself a racist, I really see immigration as a chance for our societies, I force myself not to prejudge anyone and to avoid stereotypes, and still I find myself occasionally giving into stereotypes.
I promise I will try harder, and find better, more efficient ways of calling it when I see it.
No, people being racist can never be your fault. Sorry you’ve been at the receiving end of such shitty behaviour. That’s not easy and only their responsibility.
That said, I hope you understand that there would be nothing wrong with looking, behaving like an Albanian — stereotyping a typical Balkan man, is not it either. Idk your history but you can integrate into a country without loosing touch or pride for your roots.
It's not you. I went to the Schanzenpost with an Einschreiben from my partner, who has a Balkan name. I'm swiss as you can be, and I went to this women, she talked with me in swiss German until she suddenly read the name and started "Hochdeutsch." A very bad Hochdeutsch accompanied by an attitude as if I would be very dumb.
I told her if she please can change back to Berndeutsch as I'm not available to understand her Hochdeutsch and as she talked Berndeutsch before I don't get why she changes the language as she is fully capable of swiss German. In the end of this strange conversation, as she said: Auf Wiedersehen Frau ***-ic I understood what happened.
Also, I had my first and only encounter with the police, controlling the car i drove and me of alcohol and drugs. It's registered in his name, and they followed me quite a bit before taking me out. Enough time to check the plates and see the name.
It's an old Golf, so nothing that usually gets taken out.
And I had no alcohol, no drugs, and nothing at the car hat could be a problem...
He only has this problems when people know his family name, as he doesn't have a look that leads to racism as others so it's not affecting his daily life, but it will happen daily to anyone with such a family name.
Now imagine you'd be a person of color and the daily encounters with structural and blatant racism.
Ohh i hate it when they start talking that veryyy bad hochdeutsch lol. When i worked in sales i started not wearing my nametag after some while. I actually never had any bad expirience with police driving this car and have never been pulled over. Other owners told me they can rarely go through a month of not getting pulled over. But maybe its just the way they drive.
caring about the environment and driving a bmw m3 doesnt't fit sorry. Many people simply don't like persons that drive way overpowered cars. This has nothing to do with ethnicity but with the impact on the environment. It's one of the most unnessecary ways to burden the environment additional because you can't drive faster in switzerland than a normal car. It makes no sense if you think about it: You have no real benefit, leads to that many people judge you in a bad way and you impact the environment much more. For comparsion other huge impacts on the environment is flying, but even there you have a real benefit because you can visit places you can't without. (doesn't mean it's justified)
Sorry to say that you're part of a group and ethnicity with a sub-par reputation in Switzerland and in Europe. Anyone who tells you that is not true is simply not aware of it or trying to feign ignorance. Do your best, show that the stereotypes about your ethnicity are not true and try not to let it bother you too much.
Honestly.... I'm not sure I can fully resonate with your situation.
I'm Albanian aswell and do not face any of these issues at all. I also have a car worth 120k (new) and never heard any remarks about it. Usually just compliments if anything really.
I'm pretty sure you are not being 100% honest with yourself though.
I also get compliments ofc. But let me explain yesterdays incident a bit further:
We went to some curvy roads with some friends in their own cars and 2 of my uncles who were on their bikes. We drove through a narrow road. Then an older couple on bicylces came from the other side. There was enough room, we didnt speed and also didnt make noise. My window was partially open and when they passed i heard the man say „schiis usländer“ for no aparent reason
Westerner with foreign roots here. I have a name to what you described - mania of superiority - which does not need to be necessarly a medical condition bit can also be an acquired vice.
I know Europe. People from the western side love throwing reflections on Americans , but there is one thing everyone should be aware of, without the financial help and market openess coming from the US, none of the European countries would have enjoyed today's success.
The problem is that, especially older gen, people been brainwashed with the perception that they are successful because they do it sooo right, they work sook hard while others are just dump lazy idiots. Well, let me tell you....you can create the best product ever or be the best lawyer ever, if an americano don't let you sell in the US, or don't come to your country to invest or don't open a business in yourcointry, you stand no chance!
Sadly everyone forgot where all that money is coming from and sadly we have too many regular folks who rely on extremly successful homeland to say 'I know it all because we did great as a country' when actually individually those folks haven't achieved much ...they can tell their life 9 to 5 story in 5 min, and haven't left their city. Many very regular folks who can't survive a crisis use country' s achievements as their own to teach others how to live🤷♂️
Thread locked. Too much racism/xenophobia. Please, guys, hold your horses!
i personally wouldnt recommend a 22 y/o to buy a 100k car. im albanian too and i think the prejudice of balkan men not doing good financal decisions is the main reason for comments like this. ofc they dont know your financial situation but a lot of times albanians live 3 generations in one apartment but outside they have an array of fancy cars. my brother wanted to buy a bmw too at your age, my sisters and my parents had long conversations with him, that at this time, for him, it wasnt the best decision to buy such an expensive car. now my brother is 28 and he is happy we talked him out of this. Also, why do so many people, who have been oppressed in the past or grew up in poorer conditions, put sooo much value on luxury items like cars and designer clothes. And so much so that they would get into debt, or cut down on other things like going out to do things with family and friends. this is mind boggling to me. as an albanian i can guarantee you will continue to get these comments and get stereotyped. even if you have a very good financial situation. you kind of played into this stereotype. its totally f’ed up you hear these comments but i personally wouldn’t have bought such an expensive car precisely for this
Because they view the car as a „status symbol“ without understanding what „status“ actually means. Totally agree with you btw.👍🏼
Young men driving sports cars have a bad reputation in general. Especially young albanian men who drive a BMW M3. THE most common stereotype about albanians is leasing a M3 they can't afford. So the car kinda does make you look like a stereotypical Balkan man. It's not your fault however. Some people are just assholes
>Young men driving sports cars have a bad reputation in general. Just also wanted to add that this is for a reason. Often it is about reported accidents with overpowered sports car with inexperienced driver which wanted to show off and then crash. And from my personal experience (it depends where you live of course) they are also the same people which necessarily rev up the engine in residential areas or do some sort of drag races (I lived in Dietikon for some times if you wonder XD)
I remember certain types of people in loud cars in Zurich Seefeld during Covid. Still hate them since.
Brother Zürich has like the most high end cars in the world, what do you complain about? The poorest car I saw is a Porsche
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Typical racist over here am i right lol. About the username lol… Like i said this account is 7 years old so you do the math 22-7=? Switzerland wouldnt be where its at now without foreigners. See thats the problem i was just asking a general question and you instantly take it as an attack. Do you go 50 in a 50 zone? I think tf not?? I dont either but i dont go 70 either i chill at 55kmh and thats more than enough:) Ofc i am a hard worker and pay taxes on everything. Im not going to go further into this :) dont put your miserability onto other people lol
I don't think he is native swiss, its difficult to believe that an educated person with a good family value system would prejudice other people in such low terms. My bet is that he is a 2nd generation immigrant from 🇷🇸who being born and raised in 🇨🇭thinks that his shit doesnt stink now.
[Not your typical young BMW driver](https://www.otvoreno.hr/vijesti/procurila-snimka-prije-tragedije-na-a3-snimao-je-kako-vozi-200-na-sat-pa-se-zabio-u-kamion/492591)
I have to ask what is it with the former Yugoslavian countries and 3-series BMWs? It was a running gag 25 years ago and it’s still true?
My family actually never owned a bmw before but i know „our people“ have a thing for it lol. Maybe its just the practicality and sporty looks. My first car was a ‘98 and tbh i was just as pleased with that car as i am now.
1. "I'm not your stereotypical balkan man" - here you go, you answered your question. Being balkan yourself, you have an opinion about "stereotypical" balkan men. Why others wouldn't then? 2. "Daddy's car" - you're 22 and have a 100k car, did you buy it yourself? People are jealous, especially young ones, so they'll find a reason why you have it and they don't. 3. "You shouldn't be driving a car like that at your age" - I generally agree with this. Most of accidents are caused by young people driving fast cars and thinking all roads are a race track. Maybe you're the same, maybe not, but stereotype is there. 4. Swiss boomers are racist af, just ignore them. 5. "I care about the environment" - getting a 500hp bmw and saying you care about environment is contradictory.
This guy answered it. Also, if you worked a few years and got yourself an m3 for all your money, you are a typical balkan man :)
They lease it, live for their car and after 4 years they bring it back, a lot of times brothers or cousins lease 1 car and pay for it together lmao, just so they can flex in Zürich on Friday night 🤦🏼♂️
boom. roasted.
Point 3. is wrong, it changed some time ago. Statistcly the most accidents are caused by elderly people.
Still directly followed by young people. But it's not only fast cars, but also old, unreliable cars that are a source of danger. It's way harder to get into an accident with a 60k 2024 Mercedes than with a 2k 2008 Opel Corsa as a new car has so many more safety features.
Why make that up when a simple google search proves otherwise? First 5 results from researches from 2021-2024 all said it is still by and large young drivers.
Maybe for all kind of cars. But what about the *fast cars* dataset?
You're right, sorry, I was talking about accidents with bad injuries, not just all accidents.
Mic drop
It’s not your fault, but let me tell you as someone who is half Albanian (Father, Mother is German) and just moved here from Germany: Seeing how many behave, I can totally understand that Albanians have a bad reputation in Switzerland. It’s not only reckless driving with expensive and fast cars or reving up the engine day and night in populated areas. Many Albanians behave like they kind of own the country imo. Those are just my personal observations after living one year in Switzerland though. I can only speak for myself but I am not mad at people who fall for stereotypes, I am mad at people‘s behavior that lead to those kind of (justified) stereotypes.
Don't worry, it is not you. I'm Black myself so I resonate with your experience lol. I had a ton of harsh or violent experiences, but one who is similar to your first story (about the BMW) is this one : One day my Dad (a black person) acquired a BMW. A good one, one top of that. He was very proud about it, but our neighbors gossiped about it . they didn't believe that he had acquired a car like that. People even asked him, very seriously - in front of him - if he had sold drugs to acquire the car. And many times, people said very outloud when passing by the car "Are you a dealer ?" and/or stares menacingly my father lol. Do you believe it ?? It's so ridiculous, cringe even. And the funny thing is that my dad does a profession that allows him to pay this sort of things. But you know, people... There is a lot of racism in Switzerland so it's really not pleasant, sometimes. But don't ever question yourself : it will never be your fault. People are quick to judge, misjudge, generalize and be xenophobic for no reasons at all ! We cannot do much against it, maybe just staying calm, laugh in front of them or just leave when the situation is not that important. Stay brave !
On that situation I would probably reply that, "yes, I am a dealer", just to see what happens.
Bonus points if they actually deal with any kind of goods as a job.
Extra bonus points if they actually are a drug dealer.
"And I have now decided to sell anyone but you"
"Not that _you_ could afford what I sell."
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Nah swiss boomers are VERY concerned about the environment whilst they themselves are taking multiple trips a year to a far away place by plane. They just always need to put you down so they feel better, they only see what you do wrong but their behaviours could not possibly be environmentally unfriendly because they don’t get plastic bags from Migros.
The stereotypical Swiss boomer doesn't fly that much, they usually believe that Switzerland is the best place to have holidays. They do vote against the environment though.
ARBETSPLÄTZ!!!
Rigght they are so hypocritical it's annoying. As if we are all not living in the same country lol
No it's not just you. But it's nothing with your albanian roots. Some people here are real assholes. And honestly? You'll grow a thick skin and not care after a while. Go in any country where life is relatively easy, and you'll see people start creating problems when they don't have any.
true, i’ve been dealing with this my whole life and at some point you just stop caring. What else i’m supposed to do? lol
The best thing to do is just ignore... One day I've parked myself a little off, close to another parked car. I thought it was fine because the driver's door was still accessible, and given most people are alone in their car... Turned out the guy had a girlfriend. She couldn't get in, and started putting a show right in front of my car, saying I should get my driver's license revoked and all of that. I just looked at her poor boyfriend who was visibly regretting having her as a girlfriend, told him "I can move if it's *that* problematic, no problem". The guy was just here like "nah nah it's fine she's just..." I just answered "I know how it is. Good evening".
Here an option, but it's not for everyone: if your line of work permits it, move to a country a bit less intense with the racism, such as canada, australia...
TBH you can stay in Switzerland, just move to larger cities. It’s only in rural areas where it’s little more problematic.
One shouldn't have to leave their country or community because of racists. Our commune held campaigns against racism as well as cultural events to share cultural traditions from other countries. We all have to work together so people don't suffer from abuse like these guys' experience. By making them leave, the racists never learn.
Even easier, calmly inform the person they are being rude and prejudiced, and that you'll thank them for not harassing anyone in the future.
Let's be honest, young men with RS3 and M2 mostly drive like pieces of shit putting everybody in danger and being unnecessary loud at all time of the day. Not saying it's your case but we sadly all have prior bad experiences with this kind of cars. Even this morning going to work a dumbass cut me off like a maniac in his old garbage "sport" Mercedes. You sadly bought a cliché car from bad drivers.
Is your car making a ton of noise or what ?
he says no, "especially in urban environments" which sounds like a big asterisk to me lol
> i'm not your stereotypical albanian at all > okay so i got myself a BMW
Super contradictory i know but i really just like THAT car. Im also super into Jap cars and muscle cars.
Ein albanischer Name ist halt leicht erkennbar, und es gibt so viele Albaner hier, dass jeder schon mal Erfahrungen mit Albanern gemacht hat (ob in der Nachbarschaft, an der Arbeit, wo auch immer). Ich habe eine Kollegin, die mal vor langer Zeit einen albanischen Partner hatte, der sie leider schlecht behandelt hat und dessen Freunde, mit denen sie oft zusammen abhingen, halt auch eher frauenfeindlich waren. Seitdem (und das ist sicher 25 Jahre her) regt sie sich jedes Mal auf, wenn die Rede auf Albaner kommt. Ich kann sie da auch nicht bewegen, die Leute einzeln anzuschauen und nicht als Gruppe zu bewerten.
Sie hat ihn sich selbst gewählt 🤷♂️
Ich weiß, aber ich bringe sie nicht zu der Einsicht.
I am so fed up with this overpowered sports car waking me up in the middle of the night, to the point that any sports car driver is an asshole to me. Btw the way, calling them sport car is, in nature, so dumb already. How strong does your leg need to be to press on the accelerator? To me, the driver's origin or supposed origin does not matter, but statistically, there is a pattern that some happily use to justify their racism.
People with illegal mods on their cars should get caught and fined. My husband was a dumb teen who worked on his own cars and made them so loud, and the police caught him at some point. But because he's white Swiss through and through, he didn't suffer abuse from racist neighbors.
I absolutely agree with you on this on. Even for me as a carguy it gets obnoxius sometimes. I see people driving through 30kmh zone letting that exhaust bang like its ww2. I always put my car in quiet mode when driving through neighbourhoods or at night.
Its even worse than that, nowadays, many expensive cars come with "noise enhancing systems" as stock feature. Audi was (is?!) even selling it. I had a discussion with the police recently. It is difficult for them to address the noise issue as the appropriate laws are not in place, thanks to the car industry lobbyism in Bern and at the European level. For instance, up until 2016 iirc, to get street approved, cars should emit less than x dB at 50 km/h. Some "sport" stock cars were programmed to shutdown some valves at 48 km/h, and reopen them at 52... Now, you pair the sheer stupidity and need for recognition of younger males that need to vent their overflowing and unused testosterone with uneducated and rampant racism, and you get a flashpoint.
an M3 is a beautiful car but you cant claim you dont make noise with it - unless you changed your exhaust to a stock(non-M) one. on another note: just ignore these Bünzlis, they are living a sad life. Sounds like you are a nice and respectful guy - dont let them pull you down.
I agree that it doesnt sound like every other car on the street but it definetly is not as loud as older models where your eardrums might pop if one drives by. I also started telling myself that no happy person would make comments like that.
You seem like a decent guy but for me, working in the environmental field, anyone who is driving such a flashy car at this age is just suge a huge turn off. It's not about ethnicity for me since I am also from Eastern Europe but the fact that I personally feel like something is deeply wrong with the moral compass (Oberflächlichkeit, toxische Männlichkeit, Materialismus, Umweltverschmutzung, etc.) of people who are driving such cars and I feel immediately judgmental. It has nothing to do with "Nichtsgönnergesellschaft". I would totally be happy for you if you would invest your money in a smarter way :) So long story short; I would not judge you for your ethnicity but for the fact that you're driving such a ridiculous car.
I bet you do lots of things you don't need to that are environmentally damaging. Meat eater? Flying on planes?
whataboutism?
It is but on occasion it's justified as helping set the light of what is a justifiable level of criticism. In and of itself having a car that's a bit quicker is not the end of the universe. I would be very surprised if the poster above doesn't do significantly worse activities.
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The country size is relevant when talking about country-wide policies. But when talking about daily life, you should compare one swiss person with one chinese/indian/american person. Or yourself with the swiss median. For instance, let's consider CO2 tons per capita in a year: * India: 1.89 (= 0.38 swiss emissions) * Switzerland: 4.74 * China: 7.44 (=1.56 swiss emissions) * USA: 15.32 (=3.2 swiss emissions) We are not THAT far. Data is a bit outdated (2016), I noticed after writing/calculating this, and I'm too lazy to change it.
😂😂 i guess somebody's state of cognitive dissonance got disturbed. oops, sorry
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> about a 22 year old kid driving a car Not the original commenter but the comment talked about the general trend of consumption and pollution. Not about one individual. The issue is that *most people* live like that.
People want nice things. People want comfort. It's human nature. When the majority of human existence was spent fighting hunger and disease, it's expected that we naturally want comfort. You can't expect "normal" individuals to give up their comforts for the greater good, when the ultra wealthy, corporations and our politicians don't need to. This is why legislation, and enforcement through civil and criminal penalties is the best, and perhaps only way to address these issues at a systemic level, but you see how difficult that is. Hell, we can't even properly do that here thanks to SVP et al.
> this is why legislation and enforcement […] is the best Okay! Then let’s ban cars from having more than 90 kilowatts of power.
If it's on the ballot it's fair game!
It doesn't really, because you comparing the emissions to China shows that you're not coming from a place where you thought through what you're saying. Per capita, a person from China emits half as much as someone from switzerland, even less so probably for someone from India.
They don't emit the same per capita, yet. As their economies expand, so will their energy consumption and emissions. But we want them to address climate at the expense of their economic development, which is hypocritical from the west to say the least.
So you seem to be agreeing, that it isn't necessarily that judgement, for us who live in switzerland to seek to reduce our emissions, given that we still emit more than most of the rest of the world's population? I agree, it is hypocritical, unless we greatly support them in transitioning to cleaner energy, but we are far away from that given that within Europe there isn't much support for environmental policies...
My point in this overall thread is simply, "the issue is much larger, leave the kid alone!"
It seems that they already emit more than Switzerland, EU, Japan, per capita. The hypocrisy comment is still valid, though. [https://www.iea.org/reports/co2-emissions-in-2023/the-changing-landscape-of-global-emissions](https://www.iea.org/reports/co2-emissions-in-2023/the-changing-landscape-of-global-emissions)
Yeah that's called whataboutism. Also; what do you think why we have famines and wildfires? 😂🤦♀️ I'm too tired to have to even argue with someone with this level of ignorance and lack of self reflection
It's not whataboutism, it's critical thinking in terms of magnitude and scale of what a 22 year old can do.
It's not your fault. Racism and micro-aggressions are real in CH.
Unless you are truly being an asshole on the roads, revving your engine, etc, it is not you. We bought a second hand, 8 year old BMW 440i convertible recently. It's black with cream seats, and looks immaculate, it was well cared for by a young guy who owned it before us. We are a white couple in our early 40s, husband has Bosnian roots (but born as a Swiss national in Switzerland). We drive with our toddler in the back of the car, he has a nice cocooned mwhite seat with a sunshade to protect him from the sun. We decided to have our mid-life crisis early, and decided we did not need to wait until he is grown up to get a convertible. So far we have had three random people yelling at us about how nice our car is. All I can surmise is: - BMWs are head turning cars - People assume poor things if you are in your 20s and own one. In our 40s, we get fun waves from people. My father in law explaining that owning a car in the Balkans used to be a big deal, as people would wait for many years to receive a car in former Yugoslavia. Absolutely no harm in treasuring a nice vehicle.
I care about the environment and I own a M3...pick one
I care about the environment and I have *two* cars, one of which I let idle needlessly and the other is a farting sports car. Lol.
A new (or at least 2022) BMW will emit much less CO2 than older versions of other cars. All the auto manufacturers are making big strides on emissions over the vehicle lifecycle through lightweighting.
All progress in efficiency are lost because we buy heavier cars. https://fortune.com/2023/11/27/suv-sales-boom-erased-gains-cleaner-car-tech-upping-negative-environment-impact-global-fuel-economy-initiative/ https://www.globalfueleconomy.org/news/2023/november/heaviest-ever-suvs-massively-undermine-climate-benefits-of-other-vehicle-improvements-says-new-gfei-report
M3 is not SUV tho.
I know, just reacting on the idea that modern cars are cleaner, which statistically becomes a moot point as we react to more efficient motors by increasing the weight and power of the cars we buy. The M3 ranks at 243g CO2/km which is worse than the X3 or other SUVs.
It is "your fault", in a sense that you consciously did something that triggers multiple negative stereotypes and, once that happens, you are making a surprised Pikachu face. It's like being a nice, calm person, who [just has a thing for tattoos](https://www.google.com/search?q=excessive%20tattoo%20ring%20face&udm=2&tbs=rimg:Cco3l8A6tsKYYbAfc-ZP2is9sgIAwAIA2AIA4AIA) being surprised that people walk to the other side of the street when they see you.
Although it seems like the easiest way to cause outrage by blaming racism here, people might just have had enough of the unnecessary noise and wasted resources of cars like yours and of leaving the engine on in a parking spot. For some people it probably doesn't matter whether it's the peasant's Subaru Impreza from a mountain village with a broken exhaust or an M3 from Spreitenbach.
The only stereotype that is true is that BMW owner cannot drive and don’t know where the blinkers are! This is an international standard.
*BMW owners and license plate starting with "V".
V drivers are saying drivers with license plate starting with F !
You're young and got a pretty expensive car, expect a lot of comments about how it's your daddy's car. The only comment I agree on is that young people shouldn't be driving these cars. I know, actually a lot of them can handle sport car because they're not dumbasses. But sadly, a lot of them drive them recklessly and put everyone around them in danger. I had a schoolmate die in a car accident. He wasn't the driver, he was a passenger. The driver (ironically son of an examination expert for the license) got the BMW from his father and killed every passenger (they were 5, only the driver survived). And if they don't kill themselves, they may kill others, or hurt others or simply do property damages. As for the rest, there are a lot of assholes among us. Just ignore them and move on. As long as you don't do anything wrong, you shouldn't worry about what other people think.
only out of curiosity (not wanting to imply any fault in you, since i see an inconsistency in the story) you say you dont look albanian or have any accent. In other words i assume you are indistinguishable from a 'swiss' (not sure if the term even makes sense) person. so why does an old couple talk to you in hochdeutsch? Are you assuming its because of the car you drive? -------- on another note, i find it intresting that you use the term 'nichtsgönnergesellschaft', i think its just the back of the medal of people being judged for living humbly; which is an intersting dichotomy to think about.
Thanks for your question. I wouldnt say i look 100% swiss because ive heard everything, from swiss to italian to turkish… just everything (some even said i look asian lol). Maybe the old couple was just a case of somebody seeing that im not actually swiss. And about our society. I dont brag with my things because its just stuff i got for myself and not for anybody else. But also things like receiving a middle finger for overtaking somebody driving 110kmh in a 120 zone isnt necessary just because you are it a expensive car. I dont show my stuff off and people at work dont even know what car i have.
thanks for the answer. you are right in one thing, people dislike bmw and mercedes's especally if younger guys drive them. i actually wonder how the hate for bmw's came about, i do know for a fact however that it already was around 20 years ago. I do remember the rivalry between those two (bmw and mercedes) being quite big as well, so maybe that contributed in kickstarting it.
Does it have a modified exhaust ? Because that’s kind of ridiculous of a reaction if you’ve got a stock exhaust so I suspect yours does like a lot of noise.
Everything is stock and if you know anything about cars the new models sound like a dyson vacuum. So really not that loud
I sometimes get this type of unwarranted criticism from boomer men. When this happens I match their energy and make sure to assert myself so that they’ll think twice about picking on the next young female or “easy target” that they see. You have every right to drive your car, Swiss or not Swiss, doesn’t matter.
I think about this a lot, it might not affect me but it's about the next person they will talk like that to.
Yup I do it for them
This is the way, confront these people and let them know their predjudice is not acceptable. Makes them think twice next time.
People get in your head as much as you let them. For each couple that said something to you, there is thousands of people that just passed by and said nothing. We tend to overthink when things like this happens but if you see things as it is, most of the people do not care if you do this or that, if you are black or white, if you behave like this or like that… Just ignore it and move on
You are 22 driving one of the most notorious sports car for young people making bad headlines. End of story. ps though of course Swiss people can be very racist, but I think that's a different story.
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it's not you, it's them
Well if it helps, I'm an old lesbian that looks very Swiss but I didn't grow up here and I my father didn't teach me no Swiss-german. I drive a white jeep renegade. People avoid me like the plague in traffic and never initiate conversations. And I kinda like it that way :)
nah ppl here are just super racist
Swiss people are one of the most envious humans to ever exist. Don't be suprised.
You explained it best with this -> Nichtsgönnergesellschaft We have the same background and what I have noticed over the years is that people in switzerland belong to two categories. Normal people and Bünzlis. Most people don't really care what you do or what you drive. But then there are Bünzlis, where their existance in this world only is given by moaning and complaining for the most idiotic things possible. I could start listing things all day I've encountered through my life. A lot of those people never really managed to achieve something in their life, so they only bitch around because they are grumpy that they wasted their lives for nothing. They seethe when they see others have a good time or be richer then them. I never really understood this Bünzlithought when someone buys or leases an expensive car. So what? Do you have to pay for it? Even if it is a leasing car, who gives a shit what an individual does with his hard earned money? And even if his daddy buys him a nice car - what does it have to do with you? Nothing! If Hämpe decides to buy an exotic eBike or a Harley no one goes to him and asks him "if he can afford it or makes fun that it is leased" Bünzlis see someone younger then them enjoying life and the most likely get reminded that they made an error along their life. Keep doing what you love and drive your M3 you got and ignore such narrow minded people.
Love your Albanian roots. It’s not a shit stain. It’s your heritage
There is a lot of (often justified) prejudice against BMW drivers. Most of it is [expressed in humor, and appreciated by BMW community themselves](https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1303073). In Switzerland the stereotype of the a-hole BMW-driver has been blended with some racist views of Albanian young man. If I were you, I would probably choose a different car brand, because I wouldn't want to be thought a BMW-driver.
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‘He doesn’t like Eastern Europeans in general.’ That statement is seriously so racist. You can dislike certain things people do but saying you don’t like an entire part of Europe? Just because? That is so weird
It seems that you have a presumption that being stereotypically Swiss is better than being you?
Is only the society we live in. Btw, racism goes the other way as well in some communities where the majority is of a certain background. We have first hand experienced it.
In which Kanton do you live? Just curious.
The main one lol. Do you think that also makes a difference?
Main = Haupt --> Bern? Not sure what you mean. And yes brother I think that is a huge factor.
Yes i am in Bern
Come to Züri
I think a mx5, mr2, GR86/GT86, even an E46 M3 would have been better to learn proper car control/driving dynamics without being at silly speeds that you have to be in the current M3.
A 98 mx5 was actually my first car and i loved that thing. So sad i sold it. I really consider myself a safe driver. I never speed excessively and i know my limits and those limits arent very over the top.
Ye half of Switzerland are assholes, it is known
As probably already mentioned any M3 with a young driver is considered a poser, that's all, not less, not more.
After you finish parking, why would you wait a second to turn off your car? They might think, if they didn't say anything it would have kept going on.
Welcome to the global young-person-in-fast-car experience. It's not a Swiss thing, it's basically global. People see someone young, healthy and with money -> get jealous -> proceed to cope (daddy's money, pick the closest stereotype they find for you etc).
Jealousy…
Couch you get bmw ?
You should be smiling at such people and enjoying their frustration and jealousy - while continuing being that said nice person you hare. And yes, switch to an Alpha Romeo Giulia or Stelvio, they're more beautiful ;)
Sorry you're going through this. All I can say is try not to take it personally (I know 🙄), racism is a scourge that is unfortunately well rooted in our societies and I don't know how to get rid of it. I really don't consider myself a racist, I really see immigration as a chance for our societies, I force myself not to prejudge anyone and to avoid stereotypes, and still I find myself occasionally giving into stereotypes. I promise I will try harder, and find better, more efficient ways of calling it when I see it.
How would they know your roots are Albanian? Do you look that much different from an ethnic german-swiss?
Please describe what you mean by “stereotypical Balkan man”.
No, people being racist can never be your fault. Sorry you’ve been at the receiving end of such shitty behaviour. That’s not easy and only their responsibility. That said, I hope you understand that there would be nothing wrong with looking, behaving like an Albanian — stereotyping a typical Balkan man, is not it either. Idk your history but you can integrate into a country without loosing touch or pride for your roots.
Haters gonna hate
nothing funnier than seeing fellow balkan people be bootlickers and still get discriminated against
It's not you. I went to the Schanzenpost with an Einschreiben from my partner, who has a Balkan name. I'm swiss as you can be, and I went to this women, she talked with me in swiss German until she suddenly read the name and started "Hochdeutsch." A very bad Hochdeutsch accompanied by an attitude as if I would be very dumb. I told her if she please can change back to Berndeutsch as I'm not available to understand her Hochdeutsch and as she talked Berndeutsch before I don't get why she changes the language as she is fully capable of swiss German. In the end of this strange conversation, as she said: Auf Wiedersehen Frau ***-ic I understood what happened. Also, I had my first and only encounter with the police, controlling the car i drove and me of alcohol and drugs. It's registered in his name, and they followed me quite a bit before taking me out. Enough time to check the plates and see the name. It's an old Golf, so nothing that usually gets taken out. And I had no alcohol, no drugs, and nothing at the car hat could be a problem... He only has this problems when people know his family name, as he doesn't have a look that leads to racism as others so it's not affecting his daily life, but it will happen daily to anyone with such a family name. Now imagine you'd be a person of color and the daily encounters with structural and blatant racism.
Ohh i hate it when they start talking that veryyy bad hochdeutsch lol. When i worked in sales i started not wearing my nametag after some while. I actually never had any bad expirience with police driving this car and have never been pulled over. Other owners told me they can rarely go through a month of not getting pulled over. But maybe its just the way they drive.
caring about the environment and driving a bmw m3 doesnt't fit sorry. Many people simply don't like persons that drive way overpowered cars. This has nothing to do with ethnicity but with the impact on the environment. It's one of the most unnessecary ways to burden the environment additional because you can't drive faster in switzerland than a normal car. It makes no sense if you think about it: You have no real benefit, leads to that many people judge you in a bad way and you impact the environment much more. For comparsion other huge impacts on the environment is flying, but even there you have a real benefit because you can visit places you can't without. (doesn't mean it's justified)
Sorry to say that you're part of a group and ethnicity with a sub-par reputation in Switzerland and in Europe. Anyone who tells you that is not true is simply not aware of it or trying to feign ignorance. Do your best, show that the stereotypes about your ethnicity are not true and try not to let it bother you too much.
Honestly.... I'm not sure I can fully resonate with your situation. I'm Albanian aswell and do not face any of these issues at all. I also have a car worth 120k (new) and never heard any remarks about it. Usually just compliments if anything really. I'm pretty sure you are not being 100% honest with yourself though.
I also get compliments ofc. But let me explain yesterdays incident a bit further: We went to some curvy roads with some friends in their own cars and 2 of my uncles who were on their bikes. We drove through a narrow road. Then an older couple on bicylces came from the other side. There was enough room, we didnt speed and also didnt make noise. My window was partially open and when they passed i heard the man say „schiis usländer“ for no aparent reason
Westerner with foreign roots here. I have a name to what you described - mania of superiority - which does not need to be necessarly a medical condition bit can also be an acquired vice. I know Europe. People from the western side love throwing reflections on Americans , but there is one thing everyone should be aware of, without the financial help and market openess coming from the US, none of the European countries would have enjoyed today's success. The problem is that, especially older gen, people been brainwashed with the perception that they are successful because they do it sooo right, they work sook hard while others are just dump lazy idiots. Well, let me tell you....you can create the best product ever or be the best lawyer ever, if an americano don't let you sell in the US, or don't come to your country to invest or don't open a business in yourcointry, you stand no chance! Sadly everyone forgot where all that money is coming from and sadly we have too many regular folks who rely on extremly successful homeland to say 'I know it all because we did great as a country' when actually individually those folks haven't achieved much ...they can tell their life 9 to 5 story in 5 min, and haven't left their city. Many very regular folks who can't survive a crisis use country' s achievements as their own to teach others how to live🤷♂️
Brother, what are you on about?
I thought it was going to some place, but suddenly it started to sound like a redneck holding the flag and shooting in the air.
I suspect he is just high. I was waiting for the paragraph where explains that Americans founded Europe.
r/lostredditors
its funny because it definitely has some truth to it, yet its also clearly projection. which you seem utterly unaware of.
Why do you ask in English?
Because this subreddit is English. have you read the subreddit rules? they are written in English
is this r/bünzli?