What event or controversy would quickly cause an argument in your country?
December 30, 2024
Both funny and serious. For example in Sweden, don’t ask what side of the ”Polarbröd” you put the butter on. You will never get out.
31 comments
Jam or cream first on a scone (it’s jam first).
Milk first or last in a cup of tea (it’s milk first, but only when made with a pot of loose leaf tea. Do NOT put milk in first before chucking a teabag in the cup).
Brexit.
For the Netherlands:
1. Topics related to migration, acceptance of foreigners and racism (including our famous Zwarte Piet discussion).
2. Discussing the dominance of the agricultural industry in our country, which leads to conflicts over environmental and physical space in our tiny, but densely populated country (54% of land is used by agriculture to provide less than 2% of GDP with a lot of pollution of our waters and soil by the fertilizers used, while we learn in school (especially on the countryside) that farmers are cute).
Polarizing these two topics will also win you elections, as Dutch voters are relatively egocentric as soon as it comes to anything bigger than their own immediate interests.
I feel like people in Denmark are fairly divided over the “mink scandal”. During the Covid pandemic in November 2020, a new and more virulent strain of covid was spreading in people in Northern Jutland through mink as an intermediate host.
Fearing that Denmark would become “the new Wuhan”, the government quickly ordered the culling of all mink in the country, and did manage to contain and eradicate the virus strain (partly due to the measures, partly because it was replaced by the alpha strain)
However, it was done too quickly and carelessly, so they didn’t properly vet the order, which was found to be unlawful. Lots of people’s livelihood was ended due to an illegal order by the government which obviously pissed people off.
Defenders of the government (of which I am one) will say that they needed to act quickly and couldn’t get bogged down with the normal speed of government bureaucracy, otherwise it would all be in vain, and that the haste led to a completely understandable process error. So, a minor scandal in my opinion, more like an honest mistake of the kind you inevitably make if you take the job seriously of protecting your population.
Here’s a thread I started about the non-serious part of your question
And BTW, never heard about it being polarkaka, only knäckebröd
Finland here. Which side you butter the ~~hard rye bread~~ crisp bread can get as heated as palestine/israel discussion. My mom thinks she’s a failure because I put cold cuts under the cheese and not other way around. There’s absolutely no middle ground when talked about Aura cheese (mild blue cheese), you either like it or don’t.
Don’t even let me get started on Vihreät Kuulat!
[removed]
What you call a Roll and square. Possibilities are endless, sausages butty, sausage bab.
We all just universally acknowledge it’s not a sausage roll though.
Serious matters- immigration and global warming(and all the technological implications of that, EV, Windmills and whatever)
Leisurely matters – how to pronounce words (mes-smör or messmör for instance)
In Belgium it probably would be the topic about the future of our country.
– Refederalise
– Going back to an union state
– Flemish or Walloon independence
– Going to a confederacy
– Republic or monarchy
It could escalate quickly 😅
Sweden, pronunciation of ‘Kex’, basically meaning cracker.
About half the country pronounce it as spelled, with a hard K. But they are obviously wrong as words with K followed by an E (and other consonants) will have a ‘soft K’, meaning the correct pronunciation is ‘Shex’. Just like any other Swedish word, like kedja, kärring, kika, käka, kyrka, kivas, körning, etc.
Recently there was a major seasonal discussion, if ham belongs to Christmas potato salad. Luckily this discussion vanished along with fermented leftovers of the salad in the trash bin few days ago.
If Spanish tortilla goes with onion or without it. First step for a second civil war and the total annihilation of the country. Forget about politics, economy, sports or whatever. Onion or not in a tortilla is what’s gonna destroy this country.
Barrys or Lyons. Its Barrys by the way.
Also, If Northern Ireland were to have a border poll tomorrow that resulted in a vote for a united Ireland, I think the resulting debates would very quickly become extremely toxic. Yes the majority probably would be in favour, but then realistically could we afford Northern Ireland? What with its security cost, healthcare, benefits, infrastructure costs etc Are we willing to make compromises on the flag and anthem to appease a now significant minority who have no love whatsoever for the Irish Republic and its symbols, as they are associated in their mind with terrorism? Do we now change the healthcare system in line with the better one up north or do we force an inferior one on them and straight away start causing resentment. Are we going to make the Gardai an armed police force or have them walk the streets of towns with significant paramilitary activity unarmed like in the rest of the country? Will the army be deployed to assist with security?
Its a lot to think about.
Poland. Mayonaise Kielecki vs Winiary. Kielecki is very acidic so some people hate it for it, Winiary on the other hand has no flavour at all and people who prefer it are clearly wrong.
Not my country but it’s always fun to bring up
“Isn’t it strange that a part of Ireland is British why don’t you guys have given it back like India” when I’m in voice chat with my British & Irish guild mates
Language politics is one of the rudest thing to bring up at a dinner party. Much worse than, say, religion – I would say 70% chance of a shouting match even if nobody are angry people.
This is because we have two written languages, officially equal, one based on the written Danish and “polite speech”, the other based on the dialects. There was a push to slowly close the gap between them, but that became very unpopular among some as it was gone about it in not the best way. Getting rid of one is also not an option as nobody particularly wants to lose their ability to write close to their dialect. Also, the newest one is the most popular.
Even just describing it as neutrally as I can, as I have above, may get some people mad. Not because it is a bad description, but because there is no true neutral description. We of course also disagree a lot on what should be done.
We treat it like a civil war somehow – there is a ceasefire right now, but everyone knows things could ignite at any moment. It is quite bizarre.
Another controversy is the less than 100 strong wolf population (from “shoot them all” to “never shoot any at all” – in my opinion both sides are being extremely shortsighted and unrealistic, but neutrality is not acceptable).
There is also the relationship between school and religion, which comes back every year near Christmas, but is an evergreen really.
Poland has 3 major arguments:
1. Should tomato soup be served with pasta or rice? However, I’ve also met some barbarians who have it with potatoes.
2. Cheesecake with or without raisins.
3. And obviously which mayo? The main contenders are Kielecki or Winiary. Few are lucky to avoid and have Kętrzyński instead.
Whether you put vinegar on tomatoes or not 😁.
Some people live with the idea that you can’t season fresh tomatoes with oil and vinegar. It’s to the point where people’s origins (villagers or not 🤪) are brought in to the arguments. Others even live in a reality where the most known salad, the Shopska, is ignored just because of the presence of vinegar in the original recipe.
Bulgarians take the tomatoes seriously but I wish this could be put to an end already 😁.
Edit: I’m not going into the ethnic stuff here. This will open the WWIII for good.
Poland:
“Are potato pancakes sprinkled with sugar an abomination” is always a nice debate.
Cheesecake with or without raisins is a neverending battle.
Whether you add sugar to mizeria (cucumber with sour cream/kefir, a staple side salad) – seriously, my grandma always made two because we can’t agree on this even within the family. No sugar mizeria is clearly superior though.
Germany – establishing a general speed limit on the Autobahn. That would probably end in a civil war.
The classic: [Pain au chocolat vs Chocolatine](https://www.demotivateur.fr/uploads/2860/EGBjuIrXYAA3hzb.jpeg). That’s a lighthearted debate obviously, there are necessarily more serious ones but I can’t think of a particular one atm, maybe my compatriots can.
Where the north of England starts, and where the south ends. Also, the existence of the midlands.
This upsets people because they might identify as a northerner because they’re from somewhere like Crewe (Google the location of it) but others see them as midlands or a southerner.
Alternatively, Londoners might claim the north begins above Luton (a place about 30 miles out from the north of London).
Using German terms for things like Tomate/Kartoffel/Blumenkohl instead of the Austrian Paradeis/Erdäpfel/Karfiol can really get folks worked up here. Do not, under any circumstances, say that a meal is “lecker”. That way, madness lies.
It goes without saying, we keep an eye on the really important stuff 🙂
So which one is the right side now? I always use the flat side, when I’m in Sweden (I love that stuff, I always take some bags with me 😂).
Zwarte piet aka black pete. Funny enough the history of it is less than 100 years but it is our santa not coca cola’s
I don’t know if it’s still controversial, but about 20 years ago a (far-)right leaning politician had a fatal car crash while driving drunk. (Note: Considering DUI not a big deal is a frequent problem here, though it’s gotten better in the last few years.)
For years some people insisted that he was assassinated.
In Germany? Setting up a speed limit on the Autobahn at 130 km/h or so and if you put butter underneath Nutella or not. Yes to both imo.
In Italy it’s which Christmas dessert you prefer: Panettone or Pandoro. As a matter of fact the r/Italy subreddit has a yearly civil war on this, it even offers the related flairs for you to pick a side.
I’m trying to think of others but I don’t know how much are they widespread, like: when do you put the salt in the pot while heating the water for pasta, before or after the water boils?
For the more serious ones there are some taboos that *will* get people riled up instantly everywhere: Polentoni vs. Terroni (Northern vs. Southern people, a scar left open from the 70s), Immigration, and the Riforma Fornero (a law that increased the national retirement age, naturally causing rage from most working age people). Probably even talking about the 110 superbonus would get everyone mad, ‘twas an initiative to thermally insulate houses for everyone for free but it naturally ended up draining the state’s funds.
Any change, no matter how small, to *Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul* that’s aired at 15:00 on Christmas Eve.
Even just suggestions or rumors can cause a torrent of opinionated debate. Very common for media to run stories on it as well.
* the capital – is it the worst or best place to live in
* heating – what is the cheapest way to heat a home of x m2 and with y walls.
There are also the discussions about the correct wedding ring hand (right from German and Russian tradition, left from US movies), the correct way to hang the toilet paper (pulling from up vs under) and the correct place to store sleepwear (under the pillow of course, you morons).
Taking the good chocolates out of a Aladdin box. Many Christmases have either been ruined or nearly ruined by that white pearl
31 comments
Jam or cream first on a scone (it’s jam first).
Milk first or last in a cup of tea (it’s milk first, but only when made with a pot of loose leaf tea. Do NOT put milk in first before chucking a teabag in the cup).
Brexit.
For the Netherlands:
1. Topics related to migration, acceptance of foreigners and racism (including our famous Zwarte Piet discussion).
2. Discussing the dominance of the agricultural industry in our country, which leads to conflicts over environmental and physical space in our tiny, but densely populated country (54% of land is used by agriculture to provide less than 2% of GDP with a lot of pollution of our waters and soil by the fertilizers used, while we learn in school (especially on the countryside) that farmers are cute).
Polarizing these two topics will also win you elections, as Dutch voters are relatively egocentric as soon as it comes to anything bigger than their own immediate interests.
I feel like people in Denmark are fairly divided over the “mink scandal”. During the Covid pandemic in November 2020, a new and more virulent strain of covid was spreading in people in Northern Jutland through mink as an intermediate host.
Fearing that Denmark would become “the new Wuhan”, the government quickly ordered the culling of all mink in the country, and did manage to contain and eradicate the virus strain (partly due to the measures, partly because it was replaced by the alpha strain)
However, it was done too quickly and carelessly, so they didn’t properly vet the order, which was found to be unlawful. Lots of people’s livelihood was ended due to an illegal order by the government which obviously pissed people off.
Defenders of the government (of which I am one) will say that they needed to act quickly and couldn’t get bogged down with the normal speed of government bureaucracy, otherwise it would all be in vain, and that the haste led to a completely understandable process error. So, a minor scandal in my opinion, more like an honest mistake of the kind you inevitably make if you take the job seriously of protecting your population.
Here’s a thread I started about the non-serious part of your question
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEurope/s/WMdi4UBIQN
And BTW, never heard about it being polarkaka, only knäckebröd
Finland here. Which side you butter the ~~hard rye bread~~ crisp bread can get as heated as palestine/israel discussion. My mom thinks she’s a failure because I put cold cuts under the cheese and not other way around. There’s absolutely no middle ground when talked about Aura cheese (mild blue cheese), you either like it or don’t.
Don’t even let me get started on Vihreät Kuulat!
[removed]
What you call a Roll and square. Possibilities are endless, sausages butty, sausage bab.
We all just universally acknowledge it’s not a sausage roll though.
Serious matters- immigration and global warming(and all the technological implications of that, EV, Windmills and whatever)
Leisurely matters – how to pronounce words (mes-smör or messmör for instance)
In Belgium it probably would be the topic about the future of our country.
– Refederalise
– Going back to an union state
– Flemish or Walloon independence
– Going to a confederacy
– Republic or monarchy
It could escalate quickly 😅
Sweden, pronunciation of ‘Kex’, basically meaning cracker.
About half the country pronounce it as spelled, with a hard K. But they are obviously wrong as words with K followed by an E (and other consonants) will have a ‘soft K’, meaning the correct pronunciation is ‘Shex’. Just like any other Swedish word, like kedja, kärring, kika, käka, kyrka, kivas, körning, etc.
Recently there was a major seasonal discussion, if ham belongs to Christmas potato salad. Luckily this discussion vanished along with fermented leftovers of the salad in the trash bin few days ago.
If Spanish tortilla goes with onion or without it. First step for a second civil war and the total annihilation of the country. Forget about politics, economy, sports or whatever. Onion or not in a tortilla is what’s gonna destroy this country.
Barrys or Lyons. Its Barrys by the way.
Also, If Northern Ireland were to have a border poll tomorrow that resulted in a vote for a united Ireland, I think the resulting debates would very quickly become extremely toxic. Yes the majority probably would be in favour, but then realistically could we afford Northern Ireland? What with its security cost, healthcare, benefits, infrastructure costs etc Are we willing to make compromises on the flag and anthem to appease a now significant minority who have no love whatsoever for the Irish Republic and its symbols, as they are associated in their mind with terrorism? Do we now change the healthcare system in line with the better one up north or do we force an inferior one on them and straight away start causing resentment. Are we going to make the Gardai an armed police force or have them walk the streets of towns with significant paramilitary activity unarmed like in the rest of the country? Will the army be deployed to assist with security?
Its a lot to think about.
Poland. Mayonaise Kielecki vs Winiary. Kielecki is very acidic so some people hate it for it, Winiary on the other hand has no flavour at all and people who prefer it are clearly wrong.
Not my country but it’s always fun to bring up
“Isn’t it strange that a part of Ireland is British why don’t you guys have given it back like India” when I’m in voice chat with my British & Irish guild mates
Language politics is one of the rudest thing to bring up at a dinner party. Much worse than, say, religion – I would say 70% chance of a shouting match even if nobody are angry people.
This is because we have two written languages, officially equal, one based on the written Danish and “polite speech”, the other based on the dialects. There was a push to slowly close the gap between them, but that became very unpopular among some as it was gone about it in not the best way. Getting rid of one is also not an option as nobody particularly wants to lose their ability to write close to their dialect. Also, the newest one is the most popular.
Even just describing it as neutrally as I can, as I have above, may get some people mad. Not because it is a bad description, but because there is no true neutral description. We of course also disagree a lot on what should be done.
We treat it like a civil war somehow – there is a ceasefire right now, but everyone knows things could ignite at any moment. It is quite bizarre.
Another controversy is the less than 100 strong wolf population (from “shoot them all” to “never shoot any at all” – in my opinion both sides are being extremely shortsighted and unrealistic, but neutrality is not acceptable).
There is also the relationship between school and religion, which comes back every year near Christmas, but is an evergreen really.
Poland has 3 major arguments:
1. Should tomato soup be served with pasta or rice? However, I’ve also met some barbarians who have it with potatoes.
2. Cheesecake with or without raisins.
3. And obviously which mayo? The main contenders are Kielecki or Winiary. Few are lucky to avoid and have Kętrzyński instead.
Whether you put vinegar on tomatoes or not 😁.
Some people live with the idea that you can’t season fresh tomatoes with oil and vinegar. It’s to the point where people’s origins (villagers or not 🤪) are brought in to the arguments. Others even live in a reality where the most known salad, the Shopska, is ignored just because of the presence of vinegar in the original recipe.
Bulgarians take the tomatoes seriously but I wish this could be put to an end already 😁.
Edit: I’m not going into the ethnic stuff here. This will open the WWIII for good.
Poland:
“Are potato pancakes sprinkled with sugar an abomination” is always a nice debate.
Cheesecake with or without raisins is a neverending battle.
Whether you add sugar to mizeria (cucumber with sour cream/kefir, a staple side salad) – seriously, my grandma always made two because we can’t agree on this even within the family. No sugar mizeria is clearly superior though.
Germany – establishing a general speed limit on the Autobahn. That would probably end in a civil war.
The classic: [Pain au chocolat vs Chocolatine](https://www.demotivateur.fr/uploads/2860/EGBjuIrXYAA3hzb.jpeg). That’s a lighthearted debate obviously, there are necessarily more serious ones but I can’t think of a particular one atm, maybe my compatriots can.
Where the north of England starts, and where the south ends. Also, the existence of the midlands.
This upsets people because they might identify as a northerner because they’re from somewhere like Crewe (Google the location of it) but others see them as midlands or a southerner.
Alternatively, Londoners might claim the north begins above Luton (a place about 30 miles out from the north of London).
Using German terms for things like Tomate/Kartoffel/Blumenkohl instead of the Austrian Paradeis/Erdäpfel/Karfiol can really get folks worked up here. Do not, under any circumstances, say that a meal is “lecker”. That way, madness lies.
It goes without saying, we keep an eye on the really important stuff 🙂
So which one is the right side now? I always use the flat side, when I’m in Sweden (I love that stuff, I always take some bags with me 😂).
Zwarte piet aka black pete. Funny enough the history of it is less than 100 years but it is our santa not coca cola’s
I don’t know if it’s still controversial, but about 20 years ago a (far-)right leaning politician had a fatal car crash while driving drunk. (Note: Considering DUI not a big deal is a frequent problem here, though it’s gotten better in the last few years.)
For years some people insisted that he was assassinated.
In Germany? Setting up a speed limit on the Autobahn at 130 km/h or so and if you put butter underneath Nutella or not. Yes to both imo.
In Italy it’s which Christmas dessert you prefer: Panettone or Pandoro. As a matter of fact the r/Italy subreddit has a yearly civil war on this, it even offers the related flairs for you to pick a side.
I’m trying to think of others but I don’t know how much are they widespread, like: when do you put the salt in the pot while heating the water for pasta, before or after the water boils?
For the more serious ones there are some taboos that *will* get people riled up instantly everywhere: Polentoni vs. Terroni (Northern vs. Southern people, a scar left open from the 70s), Immigration, and the Riforma Fornero (a law that increased the national retirement age, naturally causing rage from most working age people). Probably even talking about the 110 superbonus would get everyone mad, ‘twas an initiative to thermally insulate houses for everyone for free but it naturally ended up draining the state’s funds.
Any change, no matter how small, to *Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul* that’s aired at 15:00 on Christmas Eve.
Even just suggestions or rumors can cause a torrent of opinionated debate. Very common for media to run stories on it as well.
Link to the English Wikipedia article about the show here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_All_of_Us_to_All_of_You?wprov=sfla1
Three food ones:
* the ingredients of the [potato salad](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=210ddee6c841c9b3&q=kartulisalat&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0AHFYiAPHj53hIK7USnBDXXrHuW_aVLQOSgaCBObsxr3KQ9OfYatJrJJQvRzPTjFEsOBxjiEceAMtFwnirdioTpVnGvGQuRyfeZNo9rlgxhCE-N3fcMuqo_FseW48hdeKDmmRmhHrMPFzGDvRAHB6ksFW-OzA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjz2bG2k9KKAxWEFxAIHRNxDMQQtKgLegQIEhAB&biw=1280&bih=559&dpr=1.5) (do you add peas? carrot? onion? apple?)
* the “correct” [cookie cake](https://www.google.com/search?q=k%C3%BCpsisetort&sca_esv=210ddee6c841c9b3&udm=2&biw=1280&bih=559&ei=sPZzZ6qHEo2zwPAP_tPJqQE&ved=0ahUKEwiqn663k9KKAxWNGRAIHf5pMhUQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=k%C3%BCpsisetort&gs_lp=EgNpbWciDGvDvHBzaXNldG9ydDILEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgARI3hdQoAZYkBZwAXgAkAEAmAFaoAGWBaoBAjExuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIMoALYBcICEBAAGIAEGLEDGEMYgwEYigXCAgYQABgHGB7CAg4QABiABBixAxiDARiKBcICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAggQABiABBixA5gDAIgGAZIHBDExLjGgB5Q3&sclient=img)
* pickles – [sour ](https://www.google.com/search?q=hapukurk&sca_esv=210ddee6c841c9b3&udm=2&biw=1280&bih=559&ei=xfZzZ8DgHZG_wPAPlLetsAY&ved=0ahUKEwiA17vBk9KKAxWRHxAIHZRbC2YQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=hapukurk&gs_lp=EgNpbWciCGhhcHVrdXJrMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgQQABgeMgQQABgeMgQQABgeMgQQABgeSOUdUJQFWLsccAN4AJABAJgBPKAB_wOqAQIxMLgBA8gBAPgBAZgCDaACxgTCAhAQABiABBixAxhDGIMBGIoFwgIGEAAYBxgewgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICBBAAGAPCAggQABiABBixA8ICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAgcQABiABBgKwgIHEAAYgAQYE8ICCRAAGIAEGBMYCsICCBAAGBMYChgewgIGEAAYExgemAMAiAYBkgcCMTOgB9Yy&sclient=img)or [marinated](https://www.google.com/search?q=marineeritud+kurk&sca_esv=210ddee6c841c9b3&udm=2&biw=1280&bih=559&ei=7fdzZ4-3J_6zwPAPhrP0oAc&ved=0ahUKEwjP4dfOlNKKAxX-GRAIHYYZHXQQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=marineeritud+kurk&gs_lp=EgNpbWciEW1hcmluZWVyaXR1ZCBrdXJrMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBBAAGB4yBBAAGB4yBBAAGB4yBBAAGB4yBBAAGB5IoyhQsQNY5yZwA3gAkAEAmAE3oAH7BqoBAjE5uAEDyAEA-AEBmAIToAL9BsICBhAAGAcYHsICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICDhAAGIAEGLEDGIMBGIoFwgIIEAAYgAQYsQPCAg0QABiABBixAxiKBRgKwgIEEAAYA5gDAIgGAZIHAjE5oAfuWA&sclient=img)
And then also:
* the capital – is it the worst or best place to live in
* heating – what is the cheapest way to heat a home of x m2 and with y walls.
There are also the discussions about the correct wedding ring hand (right from German and Russian tradition, left from US movies), the correct way to hang the toilet paper (pulling from up vs under) and the correct place to store sleepwear (under the pillow of course, you morons).
Taking the good chocolates out of a Aladdin box. Many Christmases have either been ruined or nearly ruined by that white pearl