[extropy-chat] italian football victory

[Amara Graps]

spike:
>Thanks Patricia!  This is very insightful.  There were plenty of rants
>regarding the evils of nationalism, the evils of conservative politics
>etc, but what I was really looking for was why the contrast between
>Italian and French.

Flag waving is not part of the French 'cultural character', Spike. I
think the answer is simply that. IF the French were a flag-waving
culture, then their flags would still be visible in six months, while
in Italy, the flags will be off of the balconies in a few weeks.

At lunch yesterday, I asked the French graduate student in our group
your question, and he said they don't like to put up flags and do that
sort of thing. Of course they are just as crazy about football/soccer as
the Italians and we know that are a patriotic culture.

France is a much older 'united' culture than the Italian culture. That's
one large difference in their nationalistic feelings. As a country, Italy
is very new; about 120 years only, so there was and is a strong bias to
one's local area and not outside. I suspect that this is as large a
factor as Mussolini towards not feeling nationalistic. The character
that brought Mussolini into power is still embedded in the culture today
so that people like things as they are, want the stability and a
permanent position, no changes, no business competition, etc.

You could ask similar questions about Spain. They are even less 'united'
than Italy; their regions are really autonomous. What role did Franco
play in their unpatriotism? Maybe half, but I'm not convinced it is all
of the reason. And Greece? That looks even more complicated.

OK. Remember, too, how long the Italians waited for this football win
(and that they lost the World Cup in penalty kicks to the French
previously). Even though the two cultures are neighbors, they are very
very different!

Amara