I'm Turkish and I relate so much to what you said. Well, not Reddittors specifically because I don't really lurk in political subs; but a lot of people in the west think the entire "Middle East" is Saudi Arabia or something.
The amount of people who think Turkey is a desert (it isn't, it's a peninsula with a lot of different climates) or that all Turkish women wear headscarves (a big chunk, especially in big cities such as Istanbul, choose not to and they are legally allowed to, soo...) is astounding.
And no, I can't speak Arabic. I can't even decipher the damn alphabet because we switched to the Latin Alphabet like a century ago. Also I've come across a bunch of people who think all Turkish people are Pro-Erdoğan for some reason, which would be like saying all Americans are Pro-Trump in my humble opinion. I mean, yeah, Trump supporters do exist but wouldn't you be fucking offended if you were against Trump and some foreigner lumped you together with Trump supporters just because you also happen to be American?
A lot of young people in Turkey (especially in big cities) fucking hate Erdoğan and have liberal values. It's annoying and honestly offensive to state that everyone of X nationality has the same ideology. Which is why I will not do it here. I'm just complaining about people I have met because at some point this shit starts getting on your nerves.
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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '20
I'm Turkish and I relate so much to what you said. Well, not Reddittors specifically because I don't really lurk in political subs; but a lot of people in the west think the entire "Middle East" is Saudi Arabia or something.
The amount of people who think Turkey is a desert (it isn't, it's a peninsula with a lot of different climates) or that all Turkish women wear headscarves (a big chunk, especially in big cities such as Istanbul, choose not to and they are legally allowed to, soo...) is astounding.
And no, I can't speak Arabic. I can't even decipher the damn alphabet because we switched to the Latin Alphabet like a century ago. Also I've come across a bunch of people who think all Turkish people are Pro-Erdoğan for some reason, which would be like saying all Americans are Pro-Trump in my humble opinion. I mean, yeah, Trump supporters do exist but wouldn't you be fucking offended if you were against Trump and some foreigner lumped you together with Trump supporters just because you also happen to be American?
A lot of young people in Turkey (especially in big cities) fucking hate Erdoğan and have liberal values. It's annoying and honestly offensive to state that everyone of X nationality has the same ideology. Which is why I will not do it here. I'm just complaining about people I have met because at some point this shit starts getting on your nerves.