++ [ originally posted by Kaiser Franco ] ++
Italy
- Let's first get the obvious reasons out of the way : the rigid labour market, crime (organised or not - Milan used to be a safe city once..), illegal immigration, drugs (apparently we have one of the highest rates of heroin addicts in Europe), the North/South divide, the ageing and shrinking population and of course the guy in charge at the moment.
- The mummy boys. They're everywhere. People in their late 20's/early 30's who still live with their parents, get their clothes washed and ironed out, their food prepared and their bills paid. Granted, no one makes the risotto alle fragole like mother but ffs there comes a time when you need to get your act together and move out. Many have a steady job and could afford to live on their own, even in these times of raising cost of living. Others are just profesional students, playing on the fact that you can re-pass failed exams ad infinitum and thus taking 10 years for a degree that would normally need 4 or 5 (ironically, many of those study political sciences).
- Campanilismo , literally bell-towerism. That's the tendency to be over-attached to your own roots to the point of disliking your neighbour. While this phenomenon is of course present elsewhere (a Bordelais or a Hamburger won't relate very well with, say, a Parisian or someone from Munich), it is all the more evident in Italy, for historical reasons. In some regions (Tuscany or Veneto), there is a fierce rivalry between certain cities or even between different areas of a same city.
- The asphyxiating omnipresence of laws and regulations on the most insignificant things. No wonder people don't respect them : if you had to play by every rule of the book you'd need a blood test to be granted the right to breathe and an accreditation from the Interior ministry to take a dump (not practical if you really must take it coz you're likely to wait a long time). I wonder how many are observing the new legislation regarding the ban on smoking in public areas btw. Not that I don't agree with it, though.
- Cellphone mania. Whoever invented cell phones must have had the Italian consumer in mind. Apparently we have the highest rate of cell phones pro capita with Japan. That's all well and good, but I doubt the usually reserved Japanese will shout so loud while using it as to give severe migraine to anyone standing at a distance less than 5 meters ("DOVE SEI?????" i.e. "Where are you??" Which generates an equally enthusiastic "MA VAFF..." on my behalf).
- Dietrologia . Literally "behindology". The instinctive distrust for what is being told you, the systematic belief that everything must be part of a grander scheme that is being hidden to you. While this is a good attitude for keeping what's left of our political élite in check and highly entertaining when it comes to football conversations, it can also tend to become pathological and counterproductive.
- Last but not least : esterofilia , or the Italians' love for everything foreign. Foreign music, foreign food (yes, even that, talk about blindness), foreign brands of everything , whatever. If it comes from abroad or at least has an exotic name, it has to be cool. And nevermind if the way they pronounce the thing would have them laughed at by a national of said foreign place. The most irritating example is the invasion of foreign TV hosts who receive standing ovations for muttering a few words in Italian (see Oliver Hardy's grandaughter who used to run her own show on national TV despite being as dumb as my left foot and virtually impossible to understand). More generally, it's the Italians' incapacity to realize how good they have it compared to most of the rest of the world that gets me upset.
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