What does this mean?
It has been brought to my attention that my total and complete lack of celebratory activity last Thursday (i.e. January 26 or "Australia Day") marks me as "un-Australian". I had always thought that taking the day off work was about the most "Australian" thing anyone could do, but I digress. It did get me wondering, however, what exactly does "un-Australian" mean?
I hear it used so often by people in the media wanting to condemn (or encourage) pretty much any kind of behaviour that upsets them for one reason or another. It's becoming so overused that it seems to be losing any meaning that it ever had. To me it appears to be nothing more than simply a way of trying to control people or make them behave in a certain way without providing any kind of justification for whatever it is a person wants them to do.
Then again, since I'm already "un-Australian" to the point where my name could "disappear" from the electoral roll immediately prior to the last federal election, I'll take it one step further. Here are just a few things that mark me down as "un-Australian":
- I didn't bother betting on the Melbourne Cup last year, nor did I pay any attention to the result. I have better things to do with my money, and in anycase, horse racing is probably one of the more barbaric "sports" in existence.
- It's not "soccer", it's Football. How can other games in which you're allowed to use your hands possibly call themselves "football"?
- I don't believe in locking up children in "detention centres" for several years in conditions far worse than where we keep murderers and rapists -- simply because it takes the government that long to decide whether or not their parents fit the criteria of refugees.
- I don't believe in going to war with an oil-rich nation on a false pretext simply because "the Americans did it".
- I don't need a 4wd or some other giant metal cage to go to the shops for a loaf of bread -- I have a much lighter and more efficient vehicle for that task (i.e. a bicycle). Nor, for that matter, do I feel the need to drive a ute around the city (or, more accurately, the suburbs) at some ridiculous speed simply so I can attempt to live out some fantasy of "living in the outback" I actually grew up in the country, so I've seen the reality.
I could think of more, of course, but that lot should already be enough to get me deported. Of course, the laws currently hold that an Australian citizen can't be deported, but with the government's control of the senate and general paranoia about anything that could be described as a "terrorist" (no matter how loosely), I'd say it's a matter of time until those laws are amended. I wonder if I get a choice in where they send me?
posted by Chris L @ 1:29 pm
3 Comments:
I think I must be pretty un-Australian too.
I've never put money on the Melbourne Cup, or any other horse race for that matter.
I certainly don't agree with kids, or their parents, being locked away in detention centres. Obviously a judgement needs to be made on the merits of each case but I don't understand why we 'send people to prison' for simply wanting to flee corruption in their home country.
I don't want a 4WD. We have a medium sized family car but I prefer to cycle. I'm amazed that so many find it odd that I cycle in all conditions.
As for 'football', sorry, I still think of it as soccer.
The whole un-Australian thing is a bit of a joke. (Which is why I used it on my blog for my Australia Day post) It's such a convenient way of branding those who disagree with a certain viewpoint.
If choosing to think differently than everyone else in the country makes me less of an Australian I'll have to wear that I suppose.
Interesting points you make. You could easily come to the States and become "un-American".
Here we have Super Bowl XL this year, the only time we use Roman Numerals, unless it means Extra Large commercials and overdone halftime entertainment.
Our fast driving ute (or pickup truck) drivers dream not of the outback, but of being the wildest Cowboy on the prairies, while soccer mums drive Hummers and SUVs large enough to patrol Bagdhad.
We have Memorial Day (similar to ANZAC DAY) at the end of May and what we remember the most is that this is the weekend to watch the Indy 500 car race.
Our Independence Day on July 4 is similar to Aus Day. 230 years ago we told the pomies to #$@%&# off, and we celebrate our founding fathers efforts with a barbie and by exploding thousands of dollars worth of Chinese explosives into the night sky.
On the first Monday in September we celebrate Labour Day ... by NOT working! Another day for a barbie at the lake.
Part of our freedoms is not having to vote, so most of us don't. If all votes had counted. Bush would have lost to "I don't care".
:)
Well, I've often thought of Australia as "State 51", and there seems to be the proof.
Incidentally, Australia doesn't actually have compulsory voting either -- we have compulsory "turn up and get your name marked off a list". Once a person has turned up, there is nothing legislating what can be written on a ballot card, so in effect I could just recite Shakespeare and turn it in without casting a formal vote. Nobody would be any wiser.
Hmmm, maybe there was a reason they removed my name from the list after all... :^)
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