Today we have another guest post from Adam. And brace yourselves, it’s about polityka – politics.

Before I started writing for Polish Blog, Anna instructed me to never ever mention politics in my posts. I understand how this topic might be problematic and even uncomfortable. People have different views, and we wouldn’t want to discourage or offend anyone. But this is so blerry difficult. First, politics is a very Polish topic. And second, in my opinion, everything is political, especially in Poland.

Politics is probably the most popular topic for any conversation in Poland, just slightly more popular than weather. The rule, that many countries have, that you should avoid talking politics and religion (which are almost the same thing anyway in Poland) does not apply in this country at all. Simply forget it. And you will be amazed at what kind of bold political statements you can hear during a 10-minute taxi drive.

In Poland everything is politics, and everything leads to politics. And it all leads to history.

When you come to Poland, you have to expect (and think how to prepare for) a certain… ritual. One of the first things everyone will ask you, is “So… how do you like Poland?”. And your reply will be anxiously awaited. If you decide to criticize any aspect of Poland, you will be enlightened by your interlocutor on the genesis of the problem. And you should know that everything in Poland has its roots either in communism or in the Second World War. Depending on your nationality, you will also be made aware of how your country contributed to that particular Polish problem.

How to avoid the ritual?

If you become tired of this, my advice is simple. Do observe the reality, and make a comment that a Polish person will not expect, amaze them. This should cut the ritual short and make way for another topic. However, I cannot guarantee that it works every time.

Superstacja (superstation), a TV channel that decides to be less serious

One thing to keep in mind is that there is no such thing as political correctness in everyday life in Poland. People will tell you their true opinions, whatever they might be. Either liberal, conservative or xenophobic.

You will probably have to find your own way to deal with it, I still haven’t.

PS. Anna’s commentary:
It’s true, whenever possible and whenever I could get away with it, I’ve always avoided talking about politics on this blog. And in a way, I am glad that a ballsier person came along to tackle this ungrateful topic.

One thing that I would like to add is that last year when I spent 2 months in Poland, I was treated just like a foreigner and this is how I dealt with the “So… how do you like Poland?” question. Not wanting to open a can of worms, I always answered: “It’s awesome! I love it here!” And this normally left whoever was asking speechless and cut the conversation really short.

I have to disagree, however, with this bit: “People will tell you their true opinions, whatever they might be. Either liberal, conservative or xenophobic.” My experience was (however limited) that people chose their words very carefully and went out of their way not to offend my sensibilities. Their comments were generally very thoughtful and free of prejudice.