A few days ago, there was a surge of patriotism among Romanians who eagerly shared a video where an American tourist praises Romania and says that the United States is a third-world country.
See for yourselves what a great country we have, what an extraordinary people we are! If an American praises us, it means we are better than the Americans… Yes, the old Romanian illness… The Romanian thinks he is the best, the smartest, the most beautiful, and many other things… And now, here’s an American validating all the positive opinions that only Romanians have about themselves.
The American in question visited Timișoara and was very surprised to see that some places leave their tables and chairs out on the street overnight, and no one steals them. He said that in America, if you don’t chain and lock up the tables and chairs, you won’t find them the next day. But look, brother, how beautiful it is in Romania, where you can leave things outside overnight and find them the next day. What a wonderful country!
That’s all it took for patriotic Romanians, for whom love of country often equals hatred of the West in general and America in particular. For the Romanian with a narrow view, it’s not very important to love Romania; what matters is to hate America and think oneself superior to Americans. Simple, right? Well, these patriotic Romanians started sharing the video and boasting that Romania is better than America. In other words, it’s the greatest country in the world because America claims to be number one. But if an American says Romania is the best in the world, then clearly, they must be right.
Unfortunately, both the American praising Romania and the Romanians promoting him ignore a crucial aspect: reality. The reality as it is… Romanians should know better that Romania is a country where almost everything that can be stolen, is stolen. Bicycles left in building stairwells are stolen, clothes hung out to dry in front of buildings are stolen. A friend of mine had his carpets, which were aired out in front of his house, stolen by thieves. Whether we like it or not, theft is rampant in Romania. A few years ago, I visited Timișoara. The guide, a very friendly and cultured guy, took us around the city and showed us… Actually, he didn’t show us much. He only pointed out where certain tourist attractions were supposed to be. Here was supposed to be the Iron Tree, here was supposed to be the monument of some sort… But where are they? They are no longer there because they were stolen…
They were stolen… Everything that could represent a tourist attraction in the Timișoara area was responsibly stolen by Romanians, since the borders were not yet open for us to blame foreigners. Theft still happens today… So why aren’t chairs and tables stolen in Timișoara? The answer is quite simple: the center of Timișoara is under video surveillance. Every movement is captured by surveillance cameras. No thief is foolish enough to steal from this area because they are immediately identified.
Some time ago, I asked a friend who lives in the United States if life is really as dangerous as in action movies. He told me that there are indeed notorious neighborhoods where no one ventures, but other than that… Other than that, there aren’t many problems. No one comes into your yard to steal your bicycle, carpets, or anything else. At that time, in Romania, my bicycle was stolen. From the yard… My anvil and other tools were stolen from my locked workshop; the thieves broke the door.. I was living in the countryside, where it’s supposed that people are more honest..
In Romania, theft is rampant, but Romanians rejoice when someone tells them they live in a country where theft doesn’t happen. A lie is a lie, regardless of the patriotic feelings invoked. Patriotism has nothing to do with lies—or at least, it shouldn’t.
In conclusion, don’t judge a country by visiting the monitored center of a city known for high crime rates. America, please stop sending all your idiots to Romania; we have more than enough already.