As a Macedonian how do you feel culturally?

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  • nushevski77
    Junior Member
    • Jul 2018
    • 19

    As a Macedonian how do you feel culturally?

    post deleted
    3
    Mediterranean
    0%
    2
    Slavic
    0%
    1
  • Gocka
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2012
    • 2306

    #2
    Neither!

    I feel Macedonian.

    Comment

    • Vangelovski
      Senior Member
      • Sep 2008
      • 8531

      #3
      Its an odd question to be honest, with equally odd responses.
      If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

      The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations...This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution. John Adams

      Comment

      • Liberator of Makedonija
        Senior Member
        • Apr 2014
        • 1595

        #4
        I don't think the responses properly relate to the question, which is very open-ended to begin with
        I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

        Comment

        • Rogi
          Senior Member
          • Sep 2008
          • 2343

          #5
          You're asking a question and mixing geography, lingustics and culture. That's why you get odd reactions.

          Are the Danes to answer Northern European, or Germanic? Or Norse? Or Danish?

          Comment

          • sydney
            Member
            • Sep 2008
            • 390

            #6
            Nushevski, I admire your need to understand who we are. I understand your sense of confusion about your identity. But you need to spend more time reading and listening on this forum. Engage wisely. Perhaps you could have started this as a thread discussing whether Macedonia belongs to the Balkan or Aegean world, both in modern times and the past. Culturally speaking there is no debate - you’re Macedonian.

            Comment

            • vicsinad
              Senior Member
              • May 2011
              • 2337

              #7
              Ah, don't be so hard on the guy!

              But I'm with Goce -- neither. Macedonian.

              Comment

              • vicsinad
                Senior Member
                • May 2011
                • 2337

                #8
                Originally posted by nushevski77
                Okay thanks for the responses everyone, I think the problem was that I hoped to find a answer to my own confusion whiteout directly stating what I am trying to understand with hopes that someone would answer it directly; I think this is issue lies greater to the fact that I struggle with the past of my family even though I know I am Macedonian, its hard when I grew up with greek people all my life who I thought were my friends & I've never really had other Macedonians in my life, when my dedo died the whole family stoped going to village picnics, dances, etc, as well my baba stoped getting invited so for 6 years throughout my high school and now start of university besides food I've been without my Macedonian heritage in my life which I am now trying to fill this void by learning, going to church, and just doing stuff but my family is weird and they still tell me that I should just be Canadian and stop with this macedonia stuff so idk anymore its something I deal with that idk if I should even be posting here as idk think you ppl want to here stuff we deal on a personal level, as well my last name is still hellenized in real life with a slight modification "nushevski" was the name before it was changed so its something that is with me all my life now and ive thought of changing it but I decided against it as it would further divide me from my family.
                I understand how it can be. You're welcome to talk to me any time you want. Just send me a message, I'll make time to listen.

                Comment

                • Risto the Great
                  Senior Member
                  • Sep 2008
                  • 15658

                  #9
                  Nushevski, one of my closest friends comes from a family of Grkomani. He changed his name much to the disappointment of his family. His relatives regarded him as a rebel and and tried to reduce their interaction with him.

                  20 years later, even the strongest of his Grkomani relatives are now asking him about Macedonia and are devastated at the erosion of "their" common identity.

                  I changed my Greek slave name at 18 years of age. My family followed soon thereafter. It was if I lifted a load off my shoulders and I claimed some dignity back.

                  You are at the beginning of your journey. You have an opportunity to light the path for your confused relatives. As they become older they will suffer from their own existential crises. The only thing they will ever be sure about is their commonality as Macedonians.

                  Change your name and unshackle yourself.
                  Risto the Great
                  MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
                  "Holding my breath for the revolution."

                  Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

                  Comment

                  • YuriB
                    Junior Member
                    • Jan 2019
                    • 54

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Risto the Great View Post
                    I changed my Greek slave name at 18 years of age. My family followed soon thereafter. It was if I lifted a load off my shoulders and I claimed some dignity back.
                    Risto, I'm so sorry we treated you and your family so bad.. I strongly believe that we would have been a much better place had we embraced our Macedonian compatriots.
                    Last edited by YuriB; 02-07-2019, 05:42 PM. Reason: Grammar
                    Regards,
                    A Greek supporting self-determination of Macedonians!

                    Comment

                    • Risto the Great
                      Senior Member
                      • Sep 2008
                      • 15658

                      #11
                      Originally posted by YuriB View Post
                      Risto, I'm so sorry we treated you and your family so bad.. I strongly believe that we would have been a much better place had we embraced our Macedonian compatriots.
                      Thank you YuriB. I have said it before, if Greece played the game differently, Macedonians could have been the best and fiercest of Greeks. By differently, I mean by acknowledging the differences in language and culture and yet embracing/including them as part of the modern Greek culture (which could have used commonality in religion). Sure it sounds strange to hear a proud Macedonian say this, but we are talking about an era long gone now. Perhaps around the time the modern Greek nation was formed until about when the Abecedar was introduced.

                      Greece is still a multi ethnic State and still suffers from its own existential dilemmas.
                      Risto the Great
                      MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
                      "Holding my breath for the revolution."

                      Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

                      Comment

                      • Niko777
                        Senior Member
                        • Oct 2010
                        • 1895

                        #12
                        Macedonians have to be the most divided nation on the planet. Since the borders were put in place in 1913, our homeland and our people were divided:

                        -Linguistically (Greek in Aegean Macedonia, Serbian/Bulgarian in the north)
                        -Religiously (different Orthodox churches, different church calendars where we can't even celebrate Christmas together)
                        -Time zones (Aegean/Pirin Macedonia is an hour ahead)
                        -Economic systems (Yugoslav/Bulgarian communist economy vs Greek capitalist economy)
                        -Political systems (East/Soviet oriented government vs West oriented government)
                        -Writing systems (Cyrillic vs Greek)
                        etc. etc. etc.

                        Whether Macedonians should be grouped with the Eastern Europe/Slavic countries vs Mediterranean countries is just another division stemming from 1913.

                        Comment

                        • Vangelovski
                          Senior Member
                          • Sep 2008
                          • 8531

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Risto the Great View Post
                          Thank you YuriB. I have said it before, if Greece played the game differently, Macedonians could have been the best and fiercest of Greeks. By differently, I mean by acknowledging the differences in language and culture and yet embracing/including them as part of the modern Greek culture (which could have used commonality in religion). Sure it sounds strange to hear a proud Macedonian say this, but we are talking about an era long gone now. Perhaps around the time the modern Greek nation was formed until about when the Abecedar was introduced.

                          Greece is still a multi ethnic State and still suffers from its own existential dilemmas.
                          I've always thought along similar lines. If Greeks just accepted Macedonians as a unique nation and accepted the fact that they do occupy part of ethno-historic Macedonia, which is Macedonian and not Greek, then there would have been a massive rapprochement between us. Macedonia could not make any territorial claims and I don't think it even would have wanted to. We can barely deal with a few hundred thousand Albanians, let alone adding a couple of million Greeks, Turks and more Albanians to that mix.

                          If Greece respected the human rights of Macedonians within their borders, it would have been a full and final settlement. But the Greeks have just as much, if not more, of an identity crisis as us. I suspect their real fear was not losing territory, but losing a part of the myth of Greekness. Which to me is strange because they have plenty to celebrate - probably much more than we do. The Greeks excelled in areas we couldn't even come close to - areas such as philosophy, political thought, science, mathematics, literature etc.

                          What the appropriation of the Macedonian contribution to history added to Greekness I will never understand. The most we achieved was the mastery of brute force - and when we need it the most its long gone.
                          Last edited by Vangelovski; 02-07-2019, 06:53 PM.
                          If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

                          The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations...This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution. John Adams

                          Comment

                          • Big Bad Sven
                            Senior Member
                            • Jan 2009
                            • 1528

                            #14
                            Macedonians are neither ‘slavic’ or Mediterranean. They are part of the Balkan group of people but ultimately they are just simply Macedonians, unique amongst the other Balkan people. I’m not going to waste my time going into details about history and other stuff, but you can simply see Macedonians are a different people when you look at their physical appearance when comparing them to the regular serb, Greek etc
                            Btw I classify Balkan people who are an old, mountaines race of different people, who are a mixture of ancient and modern peoples.

                            Excluding the Slovenes there are no ‘pure slavs’ in the balkans. Ironic considering most right wing Slovenes think they are german and even more ironic as serbs think they are the most purest ‘slavs’ in the Balkans and thus little Russians (they are the least Slavic ‘slavs’ along with bulgars and Macedonians).

                            Look at the Romanians, they are genetically very similar to Bulgarians and Serbs (and probably Macedonians) yet their national idea is that they are a ‘latin people’. My opinion is that they are a mixture of Dacians (ancient people) with a big Slavic influence and a bit of “latin” (modern peoples) – basically the typical Balkan mix.

                            Comment

                            • Big Bad Sven
                              Senior Member
                              • Jan 2009
                              • 1528

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Vangelovski View Post
                              I've always thought along similar lines. If Greeks just accepted Macedonians as a unique nation and accepted the fact that they do occupy part of ethno-historic Macedonia, which is Macedonian and not Greek, then there would have been a massive rapprochement between us. Macedonia could not make any territorial claims and I don't think it even would have wanted to. We can barely deal with a few hundred thousand Albanians, let alone adding a couple of million Greeks, Turks and more Albanians to that mix.

                              If Greece respected the human rights of Macedonians within their borders, it would have been a full and final settlement. But the Greeks have just as much, if not more, of an identity crisis as us. I suspect their real fear was not losing territory, but losing a part of the myth of Greekness. Which to me is strange because they have plenty to celebrate - probably much more than we do. The Greeks excelled in areas we couldn't even come close to - areas such as philosophy, political thought, science, mathematics, literature etc.

                              What the appropriation of the Macedonian contribution to history added to Greekness I will never understand. The most we achieved was the mastery of brute force - and when we need it the most its long gone.
                              Good point.

                              I think it would have been easy to turn macedonians into good greeks, and this would probably lead to macedonians being loyal to greece, or possibly eventually assimilating them into greeks in the long run.

                              Who knows perhaps in this alternate time line imagine if republic of macedonia was to become independent from yugoslavia and immediately be looked after by greece and turned into a small greek satelite country support and controlled by Greece.

                              Instead the greeks have turned (intellegent) macedonians into enemies for eternaty. Its typical balkan short sightness and greek backwardness.

                              Comment

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