[nullflux]

I'm going to ask the dumb question that the article doesn't explain: why do people hate Romanians so much? I've never found Romanians awful people. Is this just more ethnocentric rubbish and typical hostility toward Eastern European immigration?

[Radim]

Romanians are a magnificent, proud nation. Disclaimer: I married one :)

To a large degree, the bad image comes from a small sub-populace that rejects the western life style, western values and produces a lot of what western laws see as criminality, all over Europe. So yes, typical ethnocentric rubbish.

Most Romanians themselves are deeply unhappy about this image. Despite the general air of oppression/depression in the country, Romanians are very nationalistic and hardworking, and care about their country's image abroad very much. (hence this campaign)

I realize this will likely get downvoted on PC basis, but your honest question deserved an honest answer.

[rdtsc]

I think part of the pride thing is that they get embarrassed if one of theirs is acting stupid. So that probably accounts for "Romanians are stupid" phrases in Romanian language.

> Romanians are very nationalistic ...

Interestingly I hang out with the immigrants and they are not very nationalistic. As most are trying to escape and forget about their old country. But my perception is strongly biased according to a particular (rather small) sample of the ones I met.

[duskwuff]

I can only speak to my own experience: I used to hang out in #linux on Undernet in the early 2000s. There were a lot of Romanian users on the network at the time, but basically every one of them that joined the channel was showing up to ask about something sketchy (how to hack a server, how to use a proxy, how to delete/disable logs...).

[rdtsc]

That is my impression as well. They are smart but distrust authority and consider laws "optional". If there is a new botnet or some horrible virus going around, chances are Romanians had something to do with it.

[vixen99]

In the UK at least, they get a bad press.thanks to the criminal element who find lucrative pickings in Britain.Go to a popular newspaper such as the Daily Mail, search and count the negative stories and you'll soon have your explanation.

[almost]

Please don't go the Daily Mail for anything more than an idea of what small minded scared bigots we English sometimes can be.

[moilolita]

UK and other western countries were sitting ducks in the face of the eastern european gipsy invasion and their supernatural ability to exploit the social protection programs and other benefits. And now all the romanians take the blame. I'll retract my stereotypes when you will show me one gipsy having a real job.

[StavrosK]

As a Greek, no idea. If anything, I'm positively predisposed towards them.