Just read this in today's West Australian.

Holy crap. Look like that PC brigade have arrived safe and well on these shores then.....



Oops. Meant to post this in The Barbie. Maybe a kind mod could be so kind as to move it in there for me?

How can the word Pom be a racial slur ? You come from England then that's what you are. What a load of PC B0llox !

I'm proud to be called a Pom ! An affectionate or racial slur ? I don't really care !

Yet more confirmation for the Aussies that Brits really are a bunch of whinging poms Never actually heard anyone say it (maybe they wait until I've left the room)

Well, I've always wondered why this word was exempt from all the normal rules of politeness (the few that there are here). Why is it that the only nation it is totally acceptable to slag-off and use slurs about is the British?

About time they sorted themselves out on this. After all, where the hell do most of the people in this country think they originate from?! Talk about short memories.

I agree. I would never dream of referring to someone by their nationality. Whilst I wouldnt call it a racist term, its definitely ..............something. :curse:

I remember a news item here a couple of years ago that Australian sports broadcasters were not supposed to be using any ''rascist'' terms any longer to describe other nations. I distinctly recall that the news item noted that ''poms'' and ''pommys'' were still allowed. I can't help but think this speaks volumes about the Australian attitude towards the Brits. Anyone who seriously thinks that this term is used purely ''affectionately'' is delusional.

I was listening to Fifi Box and Marty Sheriden (?) who did a drive time radion show about 2 years ago.

Can't remember what the discussion was about but they started going on about how Poms never wash (yawn)...but would not let it drop and made a big issue about Brits being a nation of grimy smelly people who did all they could to avoid water.
I was so incensed that I emailed the show....can you imagine the uproar if the word 'Pom" was replaced for example by "Indian" or "Somalian" etc?

The programme was dropped after- not I doubt anything to do with my complain,but the guy was crap!

The reality here, and it's almost not worth bothering to say so because of all the Australian Apologists here who have to defend their adopted country and all their new-found Aussie ''mates'' at every perceived attack, is that the Aussies love to generalise about every nation/ethnic group on the face of the planet and also love to use a ''nickname'' to describe them. So we have poms, yanks, clogs, wogs, frogs, kiwis, curry-munchers, slopes, abos, bungs etc. It's a part of their ''culture''.

That said, I do think that this is starting to die-out with the younger generations here. Let's hope so, anyway.

I have only rarely been called a 'pom' in my ten years in Australia, but I did have one complete asshole of a boss who regularly refered to me in unpleasant terms (and no - he wasnt having a laugh) like "bastard pom". It was noticable that the venom of his terms for me increased in unpleasantness as international rugby fixtures were close - but I felt VERY uncomfortable with his use of the term. (I did leave the job and made a point of highlighting to the organisation that they had a serious corporate bullying issue with him - he was soon moved OUT of any 'people management' position)

I'd be quite happy to see the terms use die out as for *me* it has some very unpleasant memories and associationsn despite the fact that most users of the term mean no malice or offence whatsoever.

Being called pommy dosnt bother me at work iam the pom i work with an aussi of mixed race hes the blackman, although ive never felt ok to call him the blackman & find it a bit strange when my boss is asking were the blackman has gone, we did make a name up for an aussi that works with us & he ok with it. Whinging poms i think

Why use it at all then?

I don't think the Aussies are great ones for ''thinking before you speak''.

Your ex boss sounds like a nob but if he called you a "bastard englishman" would that be ok!

Talking about generalisation......................

maybe you should have a word to Prince Harry for using the word "pakki" before you single out Australians