Taking off overweight... A big no no in most airliners including the one I fly. With QAR data, we would be called by the safety department immediately. And in the other hand it's a common acceptable praticse in other small airlines. No need to mention any countries; I can not recall any colleagues who had flown in Africa who never took off overweight. Surely any aircraft can do it. We all know that. And noone will question you as long as everything is normal. But then if something bad happens, good luck to explain to the authorities why you accept to take off overweight. I guess it's a question of knowing and accepting the risks... A bit like driving slightly over the speed limit.
it's kinda annoying when people say: " if this happens or that happens... blablabla." Well if you lose one wing, guess what you will surely die. But sometimes, we have to relax, assess the risks going with flying and do what you have to do. Having saying that, I'm not saying we should take off overweight. Especially when it's due to extra fuel, it does not hurt anyone except the environment to wait few minutes on a taxiway to burn that extra fuel.