ozzieeagle

Because you think you have the right to put your values on the local cultural idiosyncrasies.... Which is where America as a whole gets it so badly and often wrong. I personally think Australia has a right to it's own version of PC. Even if thats not palatable to our Anglo based cultural cousins in the NH. If those N dolls and Gollywog dolls were everywhere it would be a major problem, but to feign complete contempt over one outlet and assuming thats the majority view is right over the top IMO.

Most people in Aus wouldnt even realise a Gollywog was insulting... and why should they ? Why should they take on overseas influence in situations that dont arise in Australia. Again the American based dictation of it's values comes to mind. Your the one thats applying the N term to the Aboriginals... I doubt they think of themselves as that either... I dont hear the term used towards Aboriginals... the worst you can call them here is ABO actually, which is one abbreviation the average Aussie has managed to stop using.

Now personally I've always gotten along with Americans, I'm not one to disparage a whole nation based on a few examples.

I'm fairly heated about your arguments today, especially as I consider myself living in what is probably the most multi cultural part of Aus... and live here because I love living amongst diverse people and cultures..

Who the hell do you think you are to dictate to us. ????

DadAgain

..and THAT my friend might well be interpretted as a racist reponse. In most of the world dolls get made and played with without too much attention being paid to their colour. You're suggesting that a black doll in the US would be headline news? Thats weird...



Reminds me of the KFC add a few months back depicting an Aussie cricket fan surrounded by West Indians, he shared some chicken and made some friends... seemed harmless enough...

THEN the Americans got hold of it and told us a different story:
"A lone white guy is surrounded by an angry mob of black guys and pacifies them by giving them *surprise surprise* fried chicken" - There was uproar.

Firstly - In Australa nobody knew that Americans had a derogatory stereotyp of black people being addicted to fried chicken. Secondly - the skin colour was irrelevant to the advert - it was clearly depicting 2 sets of rival fans.

The orginal add wasnt racist at all - not in the slightest. The uproar from the US about it however was extremely offensive (and thanks to the 'Streisand Effect' [google it], it was a very succesfull campaign as Australians supported local KFC in their fight against US meddling racist do-gooders).

Fine example of Americans trying to dictate how others should live and causing great offence in the process.

ukecadet

I thank q

Swerv-o

Yes, I have always found this to be an odd inconsistency. A country where people campaign vociferously to make abortion illegal, yet are quite happy for significantly more people to die in a second rate health system that fails to accommodate the poor and underprivileged.

Madness IMHO.


S

BILDER

Well, firstly I don't see why mutual respect and equality should be American values, and not Australian values. The way I look at it, they are human values. I do believe that there is a term worse than Abo for an aborigine. I do believe boong is worse.

ozzieeagle

I never realised how much influence I've taken on from my local area until this thread.

I've definitely adopted my local values wholeheartedly.... and if baarstaard is going to try and change our culture based on their own values... they can go and get collectively fuuckkkeeeddd... I honestly believe my current values are the best ones I've adopted in my life so far.... All that bloody curtailing to upperclasses and looking down on lower classes in London was truly shiithouse.

No wonder the French and Arabs gets so collectively stroppy.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Cheese eating surrender monkey's, so who cares what they think.

ozzieeagle

I believe there are some Aboroginal groups that call themselves that... not sure on that one... I do know collectively they definitely do not like being called Abo.

I feel Australian society is far more Equal than American society... however I've not been to America to test that theory out. So thats a preconceived notion. At least I'm aware enough to admit that.

Maybe it's the way your taught as school.... impose these ideas as Freedom and Equality without taking into account that they could be upsetting an established status quo where people feel they are equal.

These American based ideas of freedom and equality in the American sense are cetainly currently doing your whole nation more harm than good, especially with emerging nations..... but you couldnt be wrong obviously. ;} that would be unthinkable.

Turban Explorer

In the words of Al Murray , ' The American dream? What's that all about? We British, we don't have a dream, do we? ...No, it's because we're f_cking' awake!'

Deancm_MKII

Well let's be honest here. Australia is not a little backward, it's an effing lot backward!

ukecadet

[QUOTE=unfair dinkum;9114843]I think one thing that unites Poms and Aussies (excluding politicians) is a wariness or mistrust of Americans. The Aussies probably more so.

See where your coming from...however.
I was having dinner with a Kiwi who went off to the second gulf war 2003.
We were telling each other old military ditties(talking shit) His experience in the gulf,when eating in the mess or mixing socially was that the Aussies and Americans stuck together and wouldn't have anything to do with the Poms,Kiwi's and the Canadians,who joined forces.

Deancm_MKII

You always know when there is an American around. You can hear them as clear as day even in a noisy establishment...

Then you only have to look at how badly they are dressed!

Kim67

Most Aborigines don't usually like to be called bung, abo, coon, nigger (most of these terms that are pretty unlikely to be used in this day and age anyway), but are quite open to black fella and the traditional aboriginal names of their region eg. noongar, Yamadji, Koori etc.

I agree with you in all you've said. Wogs is a name that certain ethnic groups in Australia refer to themselves.

I think that being PC doesn't stop people being racist.

BILDER

Oh that's a new one! Did you think that one up all by yourself? you should be proud! I would consider that ad hominem (google it), as you don't know me or how I dress.

BILDER

Considering that I went to school in Canada which would be a little more like Australia in some regards, I don't think that's it. I truly don't see how equality can be a bad thing in any shape or form. Just because it may upset some bigots, that doesn't mean that isn't a great thing. For anyone with over a high school diploma, I would think that is obvious. Maybe they don't teach that in Australian schools (or wherever you went to school).