sammyg

oh Grayling, put your wooden spoon away!

I'm sure your a lovely little old man really

moin

LMAO!!

I am ready alot about monkey's these days and there is one of my mate who is planning to keep a pet monkey ...wtf!!

ozzieeagle

I can vaguely remember reacting negatively to strangers approaches in the UK as well, but why I did that and exactly when I stopped is harder to recall. I seem to remember thinking that anyone that tried to talk to you was either after something, an idiot, drunk or a looney, lots seemed to be Irish. It was almost a fear I think, definitely something to be avoided.

I slipped into conversing with strangers here over a few years, it was all part of the new culture that Australia throws at you. I was uncomfortable at first I'm sure, made all sorts of stereotypical judgments about the people trying to chat, then I simply adapted.

I'm now more curious about the barriers that people throw up about this kind of thing. To me it seems that some people are reacting on a whole heap of preconceived ideas and conditioning.

What is wrong with simple human interaction ? Is there a reason why people have to feel superior to others, or is it simply that they dont want to expend the mental energy ? My gut reaction is that it's deep seated fear that people are barely aware of, which is why some of the reactions on here seem to be so hostile.

I guess there is some truth in the saying that Ignorance is Bliss.

BadgeIsBack

I don't think G is a misery guts at all - far from it. It's only on BE that he sometimes comes over like that... See where he is coming from, just that I would not dismiss a kid in a supermarket especially when some make more of an effort than they need/could do.

Grayling

Indeed.

Generally I am very selective about who I bother to converse with.

Supermarket automatons are just one of quite a long list.

MartinLuther

I think you've got a handle on the situation. This thread speaks volumes.

Possums

classic

hevs

Of course they would...nothing like a whopping bit of snobbish generalisation to while away the hours of boredom of your life down under hey G?

MartinLuther

So why are a lot of Brits rude to shop staff?

scottishcelts

Think it's because we are so used to miserable, grim faced, underpaid brit shop assistants that don't give a toss, and the most you'll get from them is a grunt!

So we come here and it's a huge shock that they are pleasant and want to talk to you!

I done a few double takes at first, now i find it quite annoying.

hevs

Fook off.....

Grayling

I'm not just rude to shop staff.

I am also rude to lots of other people

Today I was very rude to a few Horses and Jockeys:curse:

G

ozzieeagle

Now thats something I do agree with. At times it can be annoying, you dont have to respond though.

Shop assistants and check out people can also be useful for giving you uptodate local information. Last week, my wife learned that there was a local shop having a closing down sale with 75 pct of the local merchandise... apparently due to a 800 dollar a month rise in the rent, So it's not all platitudes. When we shopped up in Port Macquarie, we learned from the check out people, the best restaurants, where the BMX track was, and which whale tours to avoid.

I wonder why people would choose to see them as non human though.

Grayling

That was never my experience in England.

I found shop assistants there much more genuine than here.

G

sonlymewalter

Amazes me when people get so worked up over this. It's called being civil.

If people were more civil to each other the world would be a better place.