Republika Molotova Revolts

[KarlXII]

Depends... If you watch CNN, not a lot... If you try to see for yourself, who knows...

So, first things first, I don't watch CNN, thank you very much.

Just to clarify some things, geographical area known today as the Balkans have played a rather important role in European history.

Who is denying this?

Do I need to mention Constantinople or Athens, should I compare them to whatever village there was in Scandinavia at the time?

Should I mention Athens/Constantinople/Rome/Paris/London/Berlin/Munich/Stockholm/Moscow/Novi Sad to add to the pissing contest?

I don't want a pissing contest,

Apparently you do if you bring up Greek achievements.

just respect that there is 50+ million people at the Balkans and that trying to sum it up as nationalism and genocide is about the same as summing up German history as Nazism...

How many times has Germany killed 6 million Jews and 2 million other unfavorables compared to the number of times Slavic and Balkan ethnicities killed each other because they were born in the wrong village.

I've traveled around Europe, I've been to a lot of countries, even ventured to North America and Asia and I've never met so biased and narrow minded people as Scandinavians (Swedes especially, actually).

You claim you don't want a pissing contest, yet you continue with...a pissing contest.

You must have met some pretty hardcore Swedes, as the one's I have met are liberal and open minded.

Does that give me the right to portray Swedes, Norwegians or Scandinavians in general as some nationalist bigots?

It does if you have proof that Scandinavians are somehow no better than the various groups that committed genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans.

Simple respect - even if you don't respect history and cultural heritage of the Balkans

It's not that I don't respect the bloody history of the Balkans, but excuse me if I don't respect war crimes and ethnic violence that occurs so much due to the mix of Slavs, Austrians, Italians, Greeks and Muslims that inhabit it.

(to which there's much more than what you've seen on TV)

How is this relevant? I gain my knowledge from facts of history.

at least respect that there's a lot of people living there and that they just want to live normal lives...

When have I ever said the contrary?

I don't see, other than petty nationalism, what is so bad about saying that the Balkans have been a hotspot of genocide, ethnic violence and warfare. Who assassinated Franz Ferdinand? Which group enacted race laws, burned down churches, and killed Serbs during the Second World War? Who killed the people at Lašva Valley? Who massacred those Bosniaks at Srebrenica?

This isn't a matter of respect or opinion, these are historical events that have happened.