bcworld

Agreed.

I heard it a bit in Qld and always from middle aged folk.

fish.01

Mainly the bogan/rough one's.

Pollyana

Not necessarily. I've heard words like that from people in rural areas who aren't "bogan" types, but are just rural Qlders, middle-aged and elderly people mainly. Its their generation, what they grew up with and so they don't see a problem with it. Its similar to comments and attitudes I've heard amongst older Qlders about indigenous communities - places like Cherbourg - attitudes that make me cringe, but which to them are completely normal.

fish.01

Yeah, I didn't want to mention the country types as I can't find a satisfactory word to describe who I mean without sounding like a snob. I still think you can split country people in to the more rough one's who would say that stuff and people who would never. Go to most regional towns and these attitudes are more common. Or the extremities of the cities. It's similar to anywhere....all about the demographics.

ozzieeagle

Copped it at my Daughters Symphony Concert at Melbourne Town Hall on the Saturday. Sat next to a older couple from Geelong... They were making comments about Asians in the bands, about dark skinned people walking past.... "Did they bring their wives" etc etc. Happens a lot with rural people IMO. Wife refused to talk to them when they tried to engage her. In fact I thought the Wife was going to have a go.... ""Who are these racists" she said after over hearing a snippet... I said... "They are from Geelong" Oh !!


I was going on to them about the Football after the concert, and how they would have to navigate 30,000+ Football fans at Southern Cross station .... Didnt like me calling football... "Football" told them to check out what it's called on Foxtel... then wait till the Geelong, A league team starts up LOL

Pollyana

Yeah, its the regional towns I'm thinking of. Not trying to be snobbish at all and I agree, its very difficult to find the right words, but I think you're coming from the same direction as me. Dealing with people in Brisbane, Ipswich, the more metropolitan areas, is very different from the langauge, attitudes etc that I often encounter when dealing with people from more rural and remote areas. I'm not really shocked by it now, not like I was a few years ago, as I now realise people don't see anything wrong in the words they use, they aren't even aware that some words of offensive because they are isolated from the more "modern" ways of thinking that some of the city people have.
Someone from another State that I was dealing with today, who now lives in Qld, commented that Bielke Pietersen held Qlders back and protected them from being involved with the outside world, to such an extent that they are really now playing catch-up and thats why the attitudes at times do seem almost "backward".

Kelli28

I hear it all the time from all kinds of people even uni lecturers.

Turban Explorer

My OH and I have experienced comments from that middle aged, relatively heeled sector quite often as we are banished to regional areas due to our temp residency visa requirements. It is mainly directed at the Aboriginals, Torres Strait Islanders and the PNG people around up here but I've also heard anti-muslim stuff. It is loathsome in the extreme but what I find tough is how to counteract it without offending people (who in every other way are warm and generous) and ending up with absolutely no friends! I tend to just push the conversation onwards rather than address their racism - unless I am alcohol fueled of course. It is an ugly feature of life in a very pretty part of the world. If there is any advice on how to disprove of racist comments without offence I'd love to hear it...

DeadVim

My response has been "It really is like rewinding 20 years".

Ozzidoc

Dymchurch in winter

fish.01

I'm not sure that they are onto the main reason - though I'm sure that arsehole had a bad influence. Most people in Brisbane have moved on from those years without using that as an excuse.

I think it might be more geography based. Queensland has a big percentage of people who live outside the capital city. A lot more than most states. Many of the places are far from big city Australia and quite rugged and/or remote. As you say, in more rural/regional environments the combination of less PC influence, more actual contact with struggling aboriginals and the type of people the sometimes harsh conditions require combines to leave some still with challenging views. I would venture you would find the same attitudes common in small town northern WA and some parts of country NSW. Luckily they don't make up the majority of Australians with most living in cities.

It is hard to talk about this without seeming to imply that city folk are king with county/regional people all racists. It is not that cut and dried, there is obviously good and bad everywhere. I noticed other countries like the UK have their own slightly different demographic splits with similar challenges....I guess these things will always exist everywhere to some extent but to give western countries their dues they are all trying to minimise them.

DeadVim

Leysdown in Summer

cresta57

Bunkum pure bunkum! You hear far more racist/derogatory remarks in any metro area, usually directed at the redneck country types or the local racial minority. Just look at this thread; a clear case of "It's not me gov, I live in a city, I'm far more cosmopolitan than those redneck bogans in the country!" Yet those of us who live out here [and are posting our experiences] are aware of it far more when we visit the cities. It's the main reason I changed my location tab to what it says.
It's the same in any Western country, after all you hear about the Cronulla riots, Redfern riots, the Brixton riots, Toxteth riots etc. etc. When was the last time you heard of a riot in Wondai or Tin Can Bay?
How about we conduct a little survey & ask the good "without sounding snobbish" folk when was the last time they mixed socially with an Aboriginal family? Have they been to dinner with any? Have any been to dinner at yours? Not by way of a pissing competition, merely to illustrate that in larger metro areas people tend to socialise within their own groups. Whereas in more rural areas I find we tend to all mix together, we even let women drink in our local now

Pollyana

Actually I think there last time there was nearly a riot in Wondai was when I had the audacity to walk into the local there (alone, without the then-OH) and order a beer. Sharp intake of breath from the bar staff and all the blokes round the bar put their glasses down and stared, I just paid for the beer and sat at the bar drinking it while they got over the shock. It was worth the price of the beer just to see hear the undercurrent of whispering that went round the bar for the next 10 minutes



I stand by what I said earlier though, a lot of the guys I talk to in rural Qld are a lot blunter and use terms like "coon" which I never hear from the city guys. I've noticed it recently during the flood events, when we have been talking about certain towns way out to the west with a large indigenous population - the guys at HQ will be very delicate (and politically correct) about how they describe the population while the guys out in the rural areas are a lot shorter and straight to the point - you always know exactly what they are on about without any flowery descriptions of people or situations!
Not saying this applies across the board, its a generalisation of course, but its based on my own experiences.

Turban Explorer

Yeah but I use that to refer to pretty much every aspect of life here already ..