This dude on a panel at the CWA in Boulder said that the countries that are the happiest in the world have it much easier than the US because they are not as divers. And then there was something about it being easier to take care of your population if everybody looks just like you. I live in one of the top 10 happiest countries in the world (I think we ranked 6th right behind the Netherlands) and Switzerland has been accused of not being divers, not having any immigration and not understanding problems other - more divers - nations face because of it.
So, what he was actually saying is that diversity is the problem. Maybe that attitude is the problem. If you’re looking at other countries and all you’re seeing is that they are less divers than yours. And then your conclusion is that that’s why they are happier. Just … wow.
I guess that’s what happens when your country did not participate in the slave trade or go around colonizing other countries. We just kept to ourselves. I mean how did you get a racially divers population? You either promised them a better life in the colonies (or later your new country) or you brought them back as slaves.
And apparently we’re not counting white immigrants, because they look like us. His words not mine. Yes, I’m oversimplifying things just as he did. It was not the first time during that week that Switzerland was painted as a very homogenous country that likes its traditions and does not have any immigration.
We do like Swiss things. We do like our things well organized and in good quality and we take pride in it. We do expect visitors and foreign residents to be well-informed about the local rules or customs and follow them. That’s why and how Switzerland works. We are more than happy to explain some of the stranger rules and customs to people or help them out if they are confused. You will struggle here if you want everything to be like it is at home – especially if you’re German or French and think “oh, they speak my language – I can behave like at home”. That never works. We take pride in being different from the French and the Germans.
And let’s talk about the no immigration issue. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The permanent population of Switzerland is made up of very close to 25% foreign nationals. We don’t do statistics on race, but I think people would be surprised at the number of non-white people they see in Switzerland. Especially in the more urban areas.
Having said that: Yes, our nationalist party is very much against opening our borders to immigrants and refugees and yes that is a problem. We have many different parties so we can usually keep them at bay. Except for certain votes – like the one where we decided that burkas are banned in Switzerland. And by “we” I mean the slightest of majorities.
Not divers? You can’t be too well informed then. With our four national languages, we’re four different cultures mixed together to start with. And given that fact, we have automatically embraced immigration from neighboring countries. Sometimes we grumble about the French and the Germans, but we generally get along. And the Italians are so easy going and brought great food, not much of a problem there either, I think. I can’t speak for the people in Ticino who might feel differently.
Those are mostly white immigrants; I give you that. But they are immigrants, nonetheless. Some of them might not speak my language, but then about 35% of my country’s Swiss population doesn’t. A lot of us are loving foreign foods (have you tried Mongolian Momos? OMD!) and we’ve always introduced a great number of loan words into our languages. This is part of what makes Swiss High German different from German High German.
Granted it takes a bit longer to make friends with Swiss people. Generally, I don’t believe the reason behind that is what people think it is. We very much like to keep to ourselves. We love speaking Swiss German (in my part of the country). Any foreigners moving to Switzerland will not speak Swiss German. They might speak German, but that won’t work. Friendships do need a solid basis and having a way to communicate is one of them.
Personally, I don’t mind speaking English – obviously. Not sure I could be close friends with somebody I had to speak High German with. To me that’s a real barrier. French or Italian – that might work. I could totally learn those. And I would love to see a statistic of how many Dutch chiropractors live in Switzerland. It seems like all of them are Dutch. They fit in well. And you know why? They pick up Swiss German so fast and speak it well. It’s all those /x/ sounds that hurt everybody else’s throats. And then there’s the diminutives. They are equally obsessed with those as we are.
So that’s a no from Switzerland on not being divers - sorry dude.
Oh, and this other guy said the Swiss love their traditions. I don’t know if I should point out all those public and national holidays the US has … We have like one – August 1 and maybe a regional one in every area. All the others are religious holidays that are observed in many countries. Not really a Swiss invention.
I’m not saying diversity can’t be a challenge – I was a teacher for 10+ years and heterogeneous classes in terms of language levels were the more difficult ones. That’s part of the job and you make it work for everybody. What I have a problem with is saying that you can’t take care of your population well, because they don’t all look like you – that’s just complete BS. And saying that some of the happier European countries are all white and that’s why they’re happy – that’s a freaking scary attitude.
I have also never heard Asia being accused of being full of Asians. It’s just such a weird thing to even say.
I have a different theory when it comes to happiness. Look at how religious or secular those happy countries are. There’s your answer.
Thank you.
Did no one call him out for being racist? Diversity isn't a problem, racism is.
I'm one of those people who loves diversity. Every culture has different ways of seeing things, and it's so interesting to learn from people of different backgrounds. And people are people. If you can connect with them, that's the main thing. And I adore the Swiss friends I've made.