Does Bavaria know better?

An international cliché is that the French people are arrogant and always act like they know better. In France, when disliked by our EU neighbour, we answer with: "you're just jealous because we are better; you just wish you were French!"
A German national cliché is that the Bavarian people are arrogant and always act like they know better. Hu. What a coincidence, they are not much liked in the rest of Germany and they justify it with... "you're just jealous because we are better". Do you see where I am going there?

So why is Bavaria to Germany what the French are to Europe? I think the first reason is that Bavaria always detaches itself really clearly from the rest of Germany…and clearly defines itself as better than the rest of Germany (better economy, better education system, etc). And most of all Freistaat Bayern! But this is something I already discussed in my post "I live in Bavaria, it's next to Germany".

The second reason for dislike is that Munich is clichéd as a posh city and well...that’s just not completely false. I must say, on bad days it does get on my nerves too. If the city is wealthy and benefits from it on a lot of level, a loooooot of people in Munich are also really bourgeois.
The common German adjective used is “spießig”. It does not always relate to money and income actually, even though it often does, it is more an attitude. And it is a lot about having the right clothes, going to the right clubs, liking the right music, driving the right car: you sometimes really feel like you are back in High school. The need which some of the Munich inhabitants have to blend in and belong to the “right crowd” gets sometimes close to ridiculous. It is also pretty boring I think because if you take a look at it closely, all these people, desperate to be and look “good enough” to pass the Munich Bourgeois standards become interchangeable. They just look all the same.
For the girls, same pony hair cut, same pearls-earrings, same leather boots and same blouses. For the guys, same stripes shirt and boring haircut, same brand clothes, brown leather-shoes.
After a while, it just gets sad and insipid and you can’t help but think to yourself “gee, just get a personality”. Most of the time I try and avoid this crowd but some times, when I feel like being mean and silly, I like to start debates with the few specimens I know. But that’s another story…

The third annoying Munich/Bavarian thing I see is still in line with this perceived and/or actual arrogance and the whole i-know-better attitude: they know better so they come and share that with you. so kind...
Here some total strangers come up to you to make comments on your attitude, your clothes, or whatever they think you are doing wrong, to teach you how to be a better person. The most astonishing thing about it is that they always look like they are so righteous, that you should almost thank them or burn in hell. And god, does it drive me crazy.
For example, I got yelled at in the street by an old man for wearing t-shirt showing a bit of cleavage when going out. I got lectured for, in a weak moment, smoking a cigarette outside a bar (not smoking where it is forbidden, just smoking when this person disapproved of smoking…glad to know). I got summoned for talking in an ungrammatical way in German (the person apologized when I explained I was French) and another time for eating a burger (unhealthy). I got grumbled at for reading a book in English in the metro (“what is it with the young people, always doing everything in English, no respect for German…*more grumbling*). I also got insulted for wearing a “Germany” t-shirt (I was allegedly a Nazi…). So now i learnt a lot on how to be a better person. Thank you...

Anyway, half of the time, it is just grumpy old people but that would be totally underestimating it to think it is only the old people. In the end of course, it is only a lot of funny anecdotes for dinner conversation but I think the funniest thing of it all, is when I get lectured by Bavarians themselves about how the French people feel they are always right… Do we reaaaaaaally?