Yesterday, I was catching up on a few things and I found an article from the Prague Monitor, entitled Poll: Czechs increasingly tolerant toward foreigners, very interesting. “Why?” you ask. Well, Czechs, as a whole, aren’t known as the most friendliest people in Europe, especially towards “outsiders”. You can’t blame them though. Look at their history. I don’t want to recount all of Czech history here, but to sum it up, they have been repeatedly attacked and/or conquered from “outsiders” for centuries! I would imagine after a few hundred years of this it would create some resentment, if not distrust, towards presumed “outsiders.” I do want to defend many of my Czech friends, because I have many warm and deep friendships. However, as a whole you can see some trends. Here is what the Monitor had to say,
Czechs become more and more tolerant of foreigners staying in the country and nearly nine out of 10 Czechs said they believe foreigners should be allowed long-term stays in the Czech Republic, according to the latest CVVM agency’s poll released Tuesday.
But adversely, “Two-fifths said anybody who wanted to permanently stay in the country should have the opportunity.” Which seems a little strange compared to the poll above. I don’t quite understand the rational in the two polls, but as someone who plans, Lord-willing, to spend the rest of his life here, it is good to hear that the tide is changing. It will be interesting in the next 10 years or so, because the people in their teens and twenties have a much different attitude than older generations in many ways. We shall see… But for now, I’m excited because they like us! Or they like us a little bit more that is!