I think the Swiss mean well...

• You know, the problem I find is that those defending Switzerland are getting so defensive. Truthfully, if you know your country is fantastic, or you like it, then don't bother defending it other than a few short words. If you love it, who cares what people think? Guess what, Canada has problems...LOTS of them, and I get really frustrated by my fellow Canadians at times. But ultimately, it's where I live, it's what I'm used to, and it's not worth fighting about if someone is convinced that Canada sucks. Maybe it does to them.
  
  I guess what I've found in interacting with Swiss Germans (specifically), is that they are slow to open up, can be quite sincere, are quite serious, are very nationalistic, and were extremely polite. The bad sides I've seen were some displays of intolerance, and sadly, homophobia.
  
  I think there are worse places in the world than Switzerland, but in meeting Swiss people, I've sometimes felt sad for them that they don't laugh as easily as some other cultures. They don't really laugh at themselves (unless you're in a very close-knit circle of Swiss), and they don't like to be teased about their country. Given that Canadians are always being made fun of, it's hard for me to understand patriotism being taken so seriously (if you aren't an American). But generally, I've liked the Swiss I've met. I just don't know that they would ever become my best friends. It's just not a very warm culture.

  The Alps are Beautiful! 11 feb 2009, 08:51 - Rapporteer misbruik

Switzerland sucks