bondipom

Thats about 30,000 Australians headcases a year.

RichS

If being a local equates to lowering my behavioural and linguistic standards to those which you so eloquently portray then I'll be standing by my George Cross thanks very much all the same.

btw - I'm sure Ceri will join me in wishing you a Happy St Davids Day !

ozzieeagle

At least it's to the point, I wouldn't use the term Lowering ones standards more like shifting.

Yehp have a fosters/VB/or even a coopers for St Davids day, May your leeks stay firm and white

Gibbo

[QUOTE=RichS]I was asked to comment (about 3 pages back) on why I think Australia is racist. I think I'd be best served directing you to threads on that topic in general, but will say that one mans 'up front aussie attitude' is anothers racism.
My rule of thumb is that if you look at the comment made, imagine you are in England and imagine directing the same comment at a black person substituting the term nigger or coon in the apppropriate place, would they react favourably. I suspect not. In my mind racism is hugely endemic in this society. Not saying the UK is any better, just that to pretend this is some sort of cosmopolitan utopia is on what I've seen a bit short of the mark.


Why imagine yourself in England when commenting about Australia? What you have to realize is that Italians were termed as "daygos" and Greeks as "wogs" in the past but are now assimilated and accepted as Aussies. This is a totally different culture to that which you find in England. We are not as politically correct. Is that a bad thing? I think not! We accept people for what they are not for what their back ground is. We like or dislike them for what they are as people not for their cultural background

bondipom

Do you think the Italians and Greeks enjoyed the prejudice, abuse and discrimination the Anglos inflicted on them? They were not accepted and those communities had to fight hard to push themselves into the Australian community. If you had a foreign surname you were put into the slow classes even if your English was better than the Anglos. Les Murray (who was born to Hungarian migrants)had to change his name to get anywhere in Australian media.

Nowadays there is an Australian/Italian and Australian/Greek culture which is accepted by most but it has not been plain sailing. The Vietnamese and Lebanese are still trying to fight misconceptions about their communities. I'd prefer PC over the hate, abuse and isolation that the cruel words of the so called Politically Incorrect can produce.

Quinkana

Ta. It's also a two way street - immigrants (as distinct from "guest workers" waiting for another passport) need to make an effort to learn the culture - and most do.

bondipom

Indeed it is a 2 way street. Alienating migrants on arrival makes integration much harder. Migrants who isolate themselves in communities of their own also brings out the worst in the established population.

Badge

in my regt, the last thing you did was obey orders, we were taught to use iniative, in fact we always did everything our way. Anyone else from any other regiment was told to bugger off - even the seniors - they were often too shocked to say anything. If we didn't like anything, we said so. And we were listened to.

Badge

no worries...

Mercedes

Can Identify with you on this Merlot, I also felt the same.

Gibbo

[QUOTE=bondipom]Do you think the Italians and Greeks enjoyed the prejudice, abuse and discrimination the Anglos inflicted on them?

I was not in Australia immediately after the second world war when the largest influx of these nationalities occurred but since arriving here in the mid sixties I have met many of these people and have not heard one complain of their treatment. In fact they have a good laugh about their early days in Australia, if the subject arises. As for the other nationalities you mentioned, my experience, and that is all I can comment on, is that they are accepted or not for the people they are not because of their culture. The only racism it has been my misfortune to encounter was that directed at one of my sons by one of the other nationalities you mentioned. This was in high school. If he had said one syllable of what was said to him to the other party he would have been in all sorts of trouble but although a complaint was made, he was told simply to forget it. I do not believe that Australia is the racist country that some on this site would have people believe.

jad n rich

Pom Morning Tea at my place saturday