Ah! Missed that joke. That's actually a really interesting thing though. "Barbarian" is of Greek origin, and decribes pretty much everyone that doesn't speak Greek. The Romans used it in a wider sense, for everyone that wasn't Greek or Roman. So it wasn't only the Germans, Gauls and Picts but also all the other ones, for example in north Africa. From there it became a synonym for uncivilized.
indeed, the history of the term barbarian is pretty interesting. The fact that so many peoples were painted with the same brush leads to them being relatively unstudied, as calling the Gauls and the Franks the same because their barbarians is a fools mistake. Seeing as they were still looked down on even centuries later is fascinating
Everybody loves a clown, so why don't you? (I am so surprised this song didn't make it into Joker 2019 somewhere) She doesn't want to choose the restaurant. She wants you to choose the restaurant. Don't say "We are going to X," in most cases that is too demanding. "Does X sound good?" That is the best of both worlds. You are taking charge, but she you are not ordering her around. Lets say she says no. Then she turns down Y and Z, and that point it is now time to lay down the law. That's when you start making macoroni and cheese or a peanut butter jelly sandwich or whatever quick and easy food you have on standby at home. Stand your ground. If she doesn't immediately come up with a reasonable restaurant. Eat your sandwich and go to bed. The next time you say "Does X sound good?" I bet you'll get a different response. The same goes for "What do you want to do tonight?" If she won't suggest an activity and she turns down three suggestions you make, start doing something by yourself. Of course I'm single, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but most of my friends are coupled and I noticed that the relationships where the man gently takes charge tend to be longer lasting than those that do not. As funny as it is to post "Women are weird" memes, most dilemas like this are pretty easy to understand. You might not like the answer, but the answer is there. I think there was also a reference to them bleating like sheep. Probably some poor beastiality jokes, it's amazing how common it is around the world and throughout history of people accusing the Other Guys of doing that.
Or you simply tell her something along the lines of "I'm taking you out to dinner tonight and I've picked a great place. I think you're really going to like it; bet you can't guess where it is?" When she puts out a guess, you simply go there and pretend that was your intention all along! She feels clever for making the correct guess and you seem clever for picking the perfect restaurant for her. Simply tweak this formula to suit your situation and don't overuse it.
Indeed! That and similar stuff (look up the Moabites and Ammonites for example and where they supposedly came from) is very common. If you can point to stories or even a holy book that paints your neighbors and their ancestors in a not quite favourable light that can be used as an excuse for basically everything.