If you have friends from Colombia, you might notice that nothing gets them angrier than when others have a stereotyped conception of the Republic which involves cocaine, Pablo Escobar, and plastic surgery.
Of course, a Colombian friend knows very well that this stereotype exists, yet they still get very bothered by it every time it surfaces. In many cases, Colombians are so sensitive that they will see the stereotype and take offense, imagining that someone is a sex or drug tourist when they’re not.
In a sense it’s reasonable to expect that people will know the nice things about the country we identify with, just as it’s reasonable to expect that our colleagues will arrive on time, or that people will always be polite to us. Realistically, people will sometimes have these unpleasant ideas and behaviors.
The moment we form more realistic expectations, we will cease to find our unrealistic expectations thwarted, and find greater peace.
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