Mediocrity as standard....

This article was published in the FB group “Portugal Propaganda - the truth about living here”. It’s written by a Portuguese person and other Portuguese people (who also dislike their own country) confirm it’s endemic in their culture. I found it very accurate as someone who has lived here several years and wants to leave.

“Portuguese society is indeed predicated on mediocrity. But Portuguese people are well aware of this. You're incorrect to believe we don't complain about the state of the nation, in fact, that's all we complain about!

Because mediocrity walks hand in hand with inferiority, the Portuguese will never admit this to a foreigner. That's where the "we're the best!" mentality comes from, deep awareness of our inability to achieve anything meaningful and an immense fear of being found out. If you're a foreigner in Portugal, you'll be treated very nicely, just know that Portuguese people do this to fish for compliments about our climate, our food or how nice we are, as insecure people seek validation constantly. Know also that if you criticize Portugal in any way, you'll immediately become persona non grata, even though we complain about the exact same things you've just criticized.

We're still experiencing the effects of fascism, in a way. We're an unsophisticated, servile people. The social order changed a little but most of the pieces are still in place. People are educated now (not that long ago Portugal had an 80% illiteracy rate) but the system is so mediocre, students are discouraged from thinking critically. You'll be much more successful sucking up to your teachers and later your bosses, than pointing out the system's points of failure. Every tall poppy shall be decapitated!

You're 100% correct that the Portuguese are a miserable, jealous people. Even with this many hours of sunlight, over half the country is running on antidepressants. I'm currently working at a large company. There was a meeting with our European counterparts to share what everyone is working on. After the meeting, the Portuguese promptly patted themselves on the back as being the best in show, but not before commenting how the other team who are researching the same topic had a terrible presentation and basically had nothing of worth to show. Of course, the official discourse is "we love collaborating and sharing knowledge with our European colleagues". Portuguese people are such frauds. And there's no such thing as meritocracy here. There's a culture of secrecy and withholding information, first, so no one can see how shoddy your work is; second, so you become indispensable and less likely to be fired. Companies talk about "retaining talent" but they'd rather keep lazy, incompetent obstructionists, than workers who are productive, share knowledge within the company and strive to optimize processes. If you're a woman, then you're also subjected to humbling treatment, lest you think your hard work will better your career in any way.

Yes, at work and in social circles, as many foreigners realize, it's quite difficult to make friends here. Even among the Portuguese, most relationships are incredibly superficial and you can never really trust anyone. These people will smile to your face and bad-mouth you behind your back, while actually believing you're doing the exact same to them. They think that's the expected, normal behavior.

Portuguese people are deeply antisocial. That's why there's such a disregard for the law and other people's rights. The laws themselves are written so the average (objectively not so smart) person won't understand them. If you're fighting for your rights, you can counterpoint every legal objection to the point where you'll no longer get an answer. In the end the system isn't meant to be accessed (growing up, "Before the Law" was one of my favorite stories and I swear, Joseph K. was part Portuguese).

We complain about corruption but will soil our hands for the most insignificant things. We're actually jealous of the big fish, if only we could steal as much as them! There's nothing a Portuguese person enjoys as much as feeling they've pulled a fast one on someone. In a country where most people barely graduate their secondary education, that's one way to feel smart, I guess.

I should've left years ago, but where would I go now? I feel like a stranger in my own country. Maybe it's not too late. Thanks for sharing your frustration with Portugal and her people… it echoes my own experience in many ways. Sometimes it feels like I'm being gaslit by an entire nation."