On a related note - charm wins more battles than insults. I almost wonder whether the Secondos asking for the Swiss cross to be changed was instigated by the SVP themselves, as it has made quite a few people, pardon the pun, cross enough to adopt a more SVP approach. Calling a country racist and backward by default will only bring out the stubbornness that is needed by the sort of people who make wine and apricots grow on mountain sides...

It goes both ways...certainly...those who want to stay here should try to integrate, but those who keep bringing folks here should also do something to enable people to integrate, that includes thinking a bit outside the box, being a bit more open, etc.

Some folks will refuse to integrate at all, and some folks will refuse to accept a foreigner.

Maybe you should see your ear doctor or spend more time with your girlfriend. It's "d'Schwobe." That's three mistakes in two syllables.

I was waiting for that one for quite a while. In reality, the Secondo / Swiss Cross thing simply shows that the SVP people, no matter how stupid they sometimes behave, do have a point once in a while, more often than most of us would like.

ROFLMAO...excuse me for not knowing some backwoods dialect that is not taught in school and has no written language.

If you are ever in America I will correct your "ghetto slang" and "Southern dialect" as well...

In my circles I don't need ghetto slang.

No, dear, it was a straightforward spelling mistake. I also have several books in my bookshelf that disprove your "no written language" statement. But yes, it is easier to denigrate and belittle, indeed, cast away, instead of trying to understand or admitting that one doesn't understand. Funny how, in a way, you are constantly doing the exact thing you accuse others of.

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Crime ridden neighbours ? Switzerland allowed Italians into Switzerland in the 1900s, 1910s, 1920ies, 1950ies, 1960ies ,,, and this in spite of having usually been an EMIgration country and NOT an immigration country

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US Americans clearly are against immigration unless it is expressly tolerated by the federal government, which to me means that they here would vote for the SVP with 80%


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Secondos here in Switzerland generally have been in CH long enough to become CH citizens fairly swiftly. Most however wait until having become more than 28 years old in order to avoid those between 380 and 450 days of military service (or more in case of any rank achieved)


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reality shows that Switzerland can deal with those open borders very well !

AGWV, thanks for the groan. You keep peeing at random people's legs and then say it was just a joke, but you don't get a very obvious joke, actually just a tease, that's aimed at you.

Possibly not relevant really to this thread but interesting nevertheless. I today on the S7 had a group of young ex-Yugos beside me and the loudest of them spoke "Balkanese" with Swiss German words. When he and some of the group had left some other "Balkanese" teenagers came in who spoke Swiss German with a real CH-ZH sound. Was no accent hearable ? Sure but why not ? Didn't they make mistakes ? Sure but why not ?

And so I am even more happy that I sent in a list with pro-integration and anti-xenophobe folks

Reminds me of a very funny event in London. The Queen was speaking to guests at one of her open tea-parties, and she asked this old black man 'and where do you come from?' and he replied 'Birmingham Maam.


Talking about the Chinese in the US, who so often happen to be nothing of the sort but members of the Hmong community- remember Grand Torino? A friend of mine did her PhD on the Hmongs and problems with integration, gangs and crime. Where they are numerous in the US, there can be a lot of tension.

Coming from Florida, we have huge immigration issues with people from Latin America. The problem is that massive amounts of people come into the state and automatically get social benefits. They can attend schools, use medical facilities and receive government assistance. They pay no taxes, so it is the American taxpayer that has to pay for them. People don't (in general) dislike people coming to the US who contribute to society, they don't want people who instantly drain the welfare system.

Note about schools: the US school system is set up so that anyone can register their kids for school regardless of who you are or you status in the country. No address? Your kid is just listed as homeless on the record books. We actually had a large number of British folks who would come to the east coast of Florida on holiday and register their kids in the local schools so they had an option on days when they needed a place for the kids to go. Absolutely true story. No one can be denied education.

Well, the man (it was NOT THE Secondos) did not ask the Swiss cross to be changed but just it to be re-considered and he did not call the country racist or backward. His mistakes were two ... A) he did not realize that the flag ages ago has become a symbol of the nation .... B) the "Helvetic Republic" as something forced upon people here has a very bad name here

True, but it would have been nice to have kept the Canton Linth...

Sorry, but in my view, Florida while being dejure a state of the USA already now (I speak about 1976 and 1987) is part of Latin America. I when in Miami on visit mobilized my 29 words of Spanish in full in order to cope

[QUOTE=AmericanGotWorkVisa;1360995]Get the chip off your shoulder. That's not what I said. I don't make broad open ended statements like that. I usually qualify them. If that is the case my girlfriend is also a racist of some sort. Well, she doesn't care for "D'Swabi" much, but..."hate" no...[/QUOTE]
Surprise surprise ,Right on the buttenSome sort ///"D'Swabi".Must say you have a great sense of Humor

And you are surprised that swiss people don`t like immigrants .Its guys like you which f-ck things up for the rest of immigrants The backwood dialect is my mother tong BTW My daughter in law is from Georgia USA ,I have no problem understanding her and she would never ever call my dialect BACKWOOD DIALECT

You are simplifying things. Ivica Petrusic is vice president of second@s Plus (sic! Whatever that means...). Unless his IQ is below the freezing point, he must have known that his words would be taken as part of the second@s Plus policy. The flag campaign he announced for early October later got watered down by the board of the organization.

Even if it were just him, he should have kept his mouth shut, simply because the reaction of the entire nation was foreseeable. What he said was grist to the SVP's mill.

By the way, he's campaigning for an SP seat for Aargau in the National Council. If stupidity is a mandatory requirement to become a politician, he sure will succeed.

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"This is AMAZING! I have the exact amount of money Joe Biden has cost us playing golf in my sweatpants pocket!" — Kona Lowell

A) whether his IQ is below the freezing point might be discussed, but that his statement WAS most incredibly silly and stupid is beyond discussion

B) that the board of his organisation fairly swiftly "watered down" his statement proves the point

C) he clearly should step down as he is far too typical "ex-Yugo" for comfort. And to be clear about it, I see too many people from ex-YU coming up with compararble notions. I am no longer wondering that YU indeed HAD to break up ! Quite many of them are quite nice persons as individuals but diplomacy cleary is not their forte

Reactions to this thread proves that AGWV is right.

In what way ? You might explain ......