How to talk Australians
August 18, 2014 6:18 AM Subscribe
Delhi College of Linguistics presents How to Talk Australians. (YouTube playlist).
I enjoyed this when I saw it linked on Twitter the other day. Episode 2, Grub, is my favourite. 3.5 lambs a week! It looks like one of the creators was involved with Wilfred.
I feel like I should mention that there is a *lot* of swearing, including the c-word which some MeFites might prefer to avoid.
posted by harriet vane at 6:33 AM on August 18, 2014
I feel like I should mention that there is a *lot* of swearing, including the c-word which some MeFites might prefer to avoid.
posted by harriet vane at 6:33 AM on August 18, 2014
Crocodile?
posted by hal9k at 6:40 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by hal9k at 6:40 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
As someone who's had to deal with stupid exotifying comments about my ethnicity and nationality on this kind of level from Australians: BEST REVENGE EVER.
(the racism pie chart: lolololol)
posted by divabat at 6:40 AM on August 18, 2014 [14 favorites]
(the racism pie chart: lolololol)
posted by divabat at 6:40 AM on August 18, 2014 [14 favorites]
CO-FF-EE
posted by bitteroldman at 6:46 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by bitteroldman at 6:46 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
divabat: "(the racism pie chart: lolololol)"
Unless there's another pie chart later on, I think he's saying "casual dressers", not "casual racists".
posted by zamboni at 6:58 AM on August 18, 2014
Unless there's another pie chart later on, I think he's saying "casual dressers", not "casual racists".
posted by zamboni at 6:58 AM on August 18, 2014
zamboni: it's definitely casual racists.
posted by divabat at 7:04 AM on August 18, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by divabat at 7:04 AM on August 18, 2014 [4 favorites]
(australian racism is a running theme in this series)
posted by divabat at 7:05 AM on August 18, 2014
posted by divabat at 7:05 AM on August 18, 2014
Quilford: eh, from my experiences in Australia, most people here are a little too proud of their culture to the point of trying to point the others as invading and destroying everything and being "unAustralian". The cringe mostly comes from more progressive folk or other minorities, but even within those lots it's still super strong.
posted by divabat at 7:08 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by divabat at 7:08 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
divabat: "zamboni: it's definitely casual racists."
On a relisten, you're absolutely right.
Previously in Australian satirical anthropology: BabaKiueria.
The link in the post is dead, but you can watch it here.
posted by zamboni at 7:18 AM on August 18, 2014
On a relisten, you're absolutely right.
Previously in Australian satirical anthropology: BabaKiueria.
The link in the post is dead, but you can watch it here.
posted by zamboni at 7:18 AM on August 18, 2014
I moved to Australia a year and a bit ago, and I'm finding this hilarious.
Though in my experience, meat at "barbies" aren't as much burnt as cooked to death over a medium (gas) flame. Slow and agonising to watch.
posted by flippant at 7:23 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Though in my experience, meat at "barbies" aren't as much burnt as cooked to death over a medium (gas) flame. Slow and agonising to watch.
posted by flippant at 7:23 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Quilford: eh, from my experiences in Australia, most people here are a little too proud of their culture to the point of trying to point the others as invading and destroying everything and being "unAustralian".
I'm sorry about your experiences, but I don't think they're a representative sample of Australian culture. I would pit them against a very high migration rate and this Washington Post article, for starters.
I also haven't heard "unAustralian" used unironically in many many years.
posted by Quilford at 7:25 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm sorry about your experiences, but I don't think they're a representative sample of Australian culture. I would pit them against a very high migration rate and this Washington Post article, for starters.
I also haven't heard "unAustralian" used unironically in many many years.
posted by Quilford at 7:25 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Oh man, I beg to differ, Quilford. I lived in Australia from 2009-2011, and I absolutely 100% heard "unAustralian" used unironically many times. Also, that Washington Post map is about being welcoming to tourists, which has little to nothing to do with racism; and the fact that many migrants, including POC, live in Australia does not mean that they do not experience racism while living there! As a white Canadian, my impression was that overt racism is surprisingly common in Australia. I lololed at the pie chart for sure. (Canada is probably just as racist on average, we're just not as upfront about it.)
Only had time to watch the first episode of this so far, and plus it's not polite to laugh hysterically in the office. The first one was great, and I'm looking forward to the rest!
posted by snorkmaiden at 8:00 AM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
Only had time to watch the first episode of this so far, and plus it's not polite to laugh hysterically in the office. The first one was great, and I'm looking forward to the rest!
posted by snorkmaiden at 8:00 AM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
Oh, no, we're not in disagreement over the existence of racism, overt or otherwise. My problem with divabat's comment was her assertion that 'most' Australians are effectively racist. Even statistics as depressing and upsetting as these do not substantiate such a claim.
posted by Quilford at 8:09 AM on August 18, 2014
posted by Quilford at 8:09 AM on August 18, 2014
Taking a swipe at white Australian culture isn't the entire joke, here. Those are the easy, obvious digs, couching the larger lampoon of modern Indian expats and how they assimilate (or don't), by other Indian expats, and it is pretty biting. I don't think they could have gotten away with it without tackling Australian nativism at the same time. It's viciously clever on a number of levels.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:28 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:28 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Anyway this is definitely not some sort of mocking expose of racism in Australia. It's an examination of the way Australia presents itself to the world. Anyone can see that what the Indian students are learning about is a grotesque caricature. You've got to ask yourself: why do they persist? Why are they enthusiastic? How do we feel for them and how do their experiences with Australian culture reflect our own?
posted by Quilford at 8:28 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Quilford at 8:28 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Quilford: "I would pit them against a very high migration rate and this Washington Post article, for starters."
I'd be cautious about using that Washington Post article to draw conclusions about Australian attitudes towards immigrants - it uses figures from a WEF survey about "foreign visitors".
From the 2013 Recent Arrivals Report:
posted by zamboni at 8:32 AM on August 18, 2014 [4 favorites]
I'd be cautious about using that Washington Post article to draw conclusions about Australian attitudes towards immigrants - it uses figures from a WEF survey about "foreign visitors".
The WEF gathered the data from late 2011 through late 2012 by asking respondents, "How welcome are foreign visitors in your country?" The WEF explains that the survey results are meant to help "measure the extent to which a country and society are open to tourism and foreign visitors."A more relevant source is the Scanlon Foundation's Social Cohesion Surveys, which All Together Now draws on.
From the 2013 Recent Arrivals Report:
Recently arrived immigrants do not find Australian people to be caring, friendly, or hospitable, a finding in contrast with those of earlier surveys. Recent arrivals report relatively high levels of discrimination on the basis of their ‘skin colour, ethnic origin or religion over the last 12 months’. This is the reported experience of 41% of non-English speaking background immigrants who arrived between 2000-10, compared to the national average of 16%.2013 Mapping Social Cohesion Report:
In 2013 there was a marked increase in reported experience of discrimination. The Scanlon Foundation survey asked: ‘Have you experienced discrimination because of your skin colour, ethnic origin or religion?’ The 2013 survey found the highest level recorded across the six surveys (19%), an increase of seven percentage points over 2012. There is large variation in the experience of discrimination within sub-groups. Analysis by country of birth indicated highest experience of discrimination by respondents born in Malaysia (45%), India and Sri Lanka (42%), Singapore (41%), Indonesia (39%), and China and Hong Kong (39%).Multiculturalism:
The findings indicate strong levels of support for multiculturalism. Thus 84% of respondents agreed that ‘multiculturalism has been good for Australia’. More than seven out of ten respondents agreed that multiculturalism ‘benefits the economic development of Australia’ (75%) and ‘encourages immigrants to become part of Australian society’ (71%). Close to six out of ten agreed that multiculturalism strengthens the Australian way of life (60%) and gives immigrants the same opportunities as the Australian born (58%).From the National summary:
Given that one of the key objectives of the Scanlon Foundation social cohesion research program is to measure Australia’s immigration performance, an important finding is the continuing majority support for immigration. There is consistent endorsement of immigration from the major source countries and for a diverse intake. Further, there are new findings in the 2013 survey of strong support for multiculturalism across the broad spectrum of Australians – and high levels of satisfaction with life in Australia indicated by recent arrivals.These are self-reporting surveys of course - I have to imagine that a certain percentage of people fib about holding racist opinions. In any event, I hope Oz is now doing better than 77%.
The increase in reported discrimination may seem to be in contradiction with these findings, but the positive findings relate to majority opinion while discrimination stems from the actions of a minority; as the Scanlon Foundation surveying has shown, some 10% of the population harbours strong negative views towards cultural diversity, with higher proportions within specific demographics.
posted by zamboni at 8:32 AM on August 18, 2014 [4 favorites]
My problem with divabat's comment was her assertion that 'most' Australians are effectively racist.
If you're white and Australian, and you might well be neither, I put it to you that someone who's not white and not Australian might have a much better sense of how racist Australian society tends to be then you do.
Kinda like how when women talk about being harassed on the street, men probably shouldn't chime in about how not really believable their tales of harassment are.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:52 AM on August 18, 2014 [6 favorites]
If you're white and Australian, and you might well be neither, I put it to you that someone who's not white and not Australian might have a much better sense of how racist Australian society tends to be then you do.
Kinda like how when women talk about being harassed on the street, men probably shouldn't chime in about how not really believable their tales of harassment are.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:52 AM on August 18, 2014 [6 favorites]
Excuse me? The whole point of referencing statistics is so that we can quantify the problem without using anecodes. Moreover, I have never described divabat's comments as unbelievable. That's repellant. Of course if she says they happened I believe her. But it's when you start making generalisations that we must turn to a more comprehensive source.
posted by Quilford at 9:08 AM on August 18, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Quilford at 9:08 AM on August 18, 2014 [3 favorites]
Given how this show wears its Indianness on its sleeve (almost as much as Sacha Baron-Cohen's Borat persona wears his Kazakh identity on his sleeve), it makes me wonder whether this did originate in India, or whether the Indianness is not just a device to hold up a mirror to Australia. (It's not the first time this would have happened; sometime around the 1950s, an Irish-Australian author named John O'Grady wrote a book titled “They're A Weird Mob” under the pen name Nino Culotta, ostensibly an Italian journalist who emigrated to Australia).
posted by acb at 9:39 AM on August 18, 2014
posted by acb at 9:39 AM on August 18, 2014
Given how this show wears its Indianness on its sleeve (almost as much as Sacha Baron-Cohen's Borat persona wears his Kazakh identity on his sleeve), it makes me wonder whether this did originate in India, or whether the Indianness is not just a device to hold up a mirror to Australia.
A parody web series about an Indian call centre training college learning to converse with Australians.posted by Sys Rq at 9:45 AM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
From director Tony Rogers (Wilfred) and writer Rob Hibbert, (Images You Should Not Masturbate To) comes How to Talk Australians, a comedy web series set in an Indian call centre training college.
Presented in the format of an elaborate educational video, the series delivers a satirical take on the Australian way of life. An assembly of Indian teachers dissect our national identity, as they perform re-enactments, conduct lectures in linguistics, and attempt impersonations of famous Australians.
Mining the depths of every aspect of the Australian stereotype, the 8-part series presents us with a unique outsider’s perspective, and asks us to visit that most Australian trait: to laugh at ourselves.
The whole point of referencing statistics is so that we can quantify the problem without using anecodes.
It's the difference between "most" and "many". "Most" implies >50%. "Many" implies "a lot". I don't think any Australian in this thread would argue with "many".
Even if only 10-20% of the Anglo-Australian population were racist, if those people were open about their views you would expect 100% of non-Anglo Australians to have to put up with their bullshit on a regular basis. An obnoxious minority affects everybody.
What the rest of the Anglo-Australian population needs to do is pay attention to what's going on and do what they can to challenge it. Which many do. Unfortunately, Australia has had some high-profile bullshit merchants in recent years who have given the everyday variety the confidence to speak up more than they once might have.
posted by rory at 9:53 AM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
It's the difference between "most" and "many". "Most" implies >50%. "Many" implies "a lot". I don't think any Australian in this thread would argue with "many".
Even if only 10-20% of the Anglo-Australian population were racist, if those people were open about their views you would expect 100% of non-Anglo Australians to have to put up with their bullshit on a regular basis. An obnoxious minority affects everybody.
What the rest of the Anglo-Australian population needs to do is pay attention to what's going on and do what they can to challenge it. Which many do. Unfortunately, Australia has had some high-profile bullshit merchants in recent years who have given the everyday variety the confidence to speak up more than they once might have.
posted by rory at 9:53 AM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
What Sys Rq posted should have gone in the OP, really.
Key point: 'it mines the depth of every aspect of the Australian stereotype ... asks us to laugh at ourselves.'
posted by Quilford at 9:54 AM on August 18, 2014
Key point: 'it mines the depth of every aspect of the Australian stereotype ... asks us to laugh at ourselves.'
posted by Quilford at 9:54 AM on August 18, 2014
Even one racist is too many. Unfortunately, the word used was 'most.'
posted by Quilford at 9:56 AM on August 18, 2014
posted by Quilford at 9:56 AM on August 18, 2014
My problem with divabat's comment was her assertion that 'most' Australians are effectively racist.
Who is your Prime Minister, and why?
posted by Sys Rq at 9:58 AM on August 18, 2014 [5 favorites]
Who is your Prime Minister, and why?
posted by Sys Rq at 9:58 AM on August 18, 2014 [5 favorites]
Even one racist is too many. Unfortunately, the word used was 'most.'
Quibbling about whether the number exceeds 50.000000% and so formally constitutes "most" is a good example of the sort of nitpicking that POC and women say they repeatedly face when trying to talk about racism or sexism with anglos and men.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:30 AM on August 18, 2014 [6 favorites]
Quibbling about whether the number exceeds 50.000000% and so formally constitutes "most" is a good example of the sort of nitpicking that POC and women say they repeatedly face when trying to talk about racism or sexism with anglos and men.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:30 AM on August 18, 2014 [6 favorites]
Quilford: "Even one racist is too many. Unfortunately, the word used was 'most.'"
NOT ALL AUSTRALIANS
posted by zamboni at 11:24 AM on August 18, 2014 [3 favorites]
NOT ALL AUSTRALIANS
posted by zamboni at 11:24 AM on August 18, 2014 [3 favorites]
I love Indians in general. Good seeing them in these Australian movies acting funny.
posted by Meatafoecure at 11:38 AM on August 18, 2014
posted by Meatafoecure at 11:38 AM on August 18, 2014
I'm married to a non-white Australian and thusly my little monsters are half non-white Australian. Divabat is on the money, there is A LOT of racism here. I had no idea exactly how bad it was before I married my husband and had my daughters. I just hadn't noticed it. Oh privilege.... it's an insidious invisible thing. I, myself, had been guilty of not noticing it... much to my shame.
There's a lot of casual and unexamined racism here. Australians don't realise it most of the time. The overt stuff is rare. Unless you're a politician, it seems. (Hi Clive! Hi Scott! How ya goin' Tony?). I think Australians are horrified at these kinds of assertions because they believe they have good hearts and any racially based jokes are all positive ones...they're not as sophisticated about race as north Americans are. They think the horrible ugly bus rants of aggressive or violent racists are all that racism is. And it's not. It's subtle, it's constant and it's everywhere. But I believe we're no worse here than many other countries. If you look at malice... it's largely ignorance and the dreadful "no offense, mate" attitude.
posted by taff at 3:55 PM on August 18, 2014 [11 favorites]
There's a lot of casual and unexamined racism here. Australians don't realise it most of the time. The overt stuff is rare. Unless you're a politician, it seems. (Hi Clive! Hi Scott! How ya goin' Tony?). I think Australians are horrified at these kinds of assertions because they believe they have good hearts and any racially based jokes are all positive ones...they're not as sophisticated about race as north Americans are. They think the horrible ugly bus rants of aggressive or violent racists are all that racism is. And it's not. It's subtle, it's constant and it's everywhere. But I believe we're no worse here than many other countries. If you look at malice... it's largely ignorance and the dreadful "no offense, mate" attitude.
posted by taff at 3:55 PM on August 18, 2014 [11 favorites]
I'm not going to weigh into the debate of how racism should be defined and how much racism exists in Australia. I do think some of those taking a hardline about how racist many Australians are are missing an aspect of the Australian way of thinking.
My parents, particularly my mother, is a classic example of what I mean. White Australians with 98% Northern European blood (according to 23andme.com). When we were children, my parents would invite Vietnamese boat people from detention camps to visit our home and show them an Australian weekend. They couldn't speak a word of English but we would use sign language and try to understand each other. (This education was successful because my first girlfriend was Vietnamese.) They would invite foreign exchange students including Americans and Chinese to stay with us. My father would help overseas men get jobs locally to support their families. They would both walk up to Asian cleaners in shopping malls (much to my embarassment) and start joking with them and being their friends in their naive, uneducated, Australian way. They never spoke a word of any other language.
My mother is fundamentally a kindly soul, but certainly not a gentle or complex one. She only ever had a high school education. (I have a PhD). For example, my best friend at school was a rather intellectual and gentille lad (white Australian). She would make fun of his quirky differences (e.g. his glasses and his soft voice) in a playful but direct and blatant way. My friend couldn't handle it at all. Girlfriends experienced the same thing. They eventually understood it though. It's when she is being overly-polite to you that she feels you're not "one of us". Because she would do the exact same thing, only worse, to me - whom she considered an eccentric nerd. It's her rather unsophisticated way of saying: "hey we know you are different, we all have our differences - but don't feel self-conscious about it, we're all family here and we accept you".
My girlfriend/partner is Chinese. I live in Beijing.
posted by zaebiz at 4:18 PM on August 18, 2014
My parents, particularly my mother, is a classic example of what I mean. White Australians with 98% Northern European blood (according to 23andme.com). When we were children, my parents would invite Vietnamese boat people from detention camps to visit our home and show them an Australian weekend. They couldn't speak a word of English but we would use sign language and try to understand each other. (This education was successful because my first girlfriend was Vietnamese.) They would invite foreign exchange students including Americans and Chinese to stay with us. My father would help overseas men get jobs locally to support their families. They would both walk up to Asian cleaners in shopping malls (much to my embarassment) and start joking with them and being their friends in their naive, uneducated, Australian way. They never spoke a word of any other language.
My mother is fundamentally a kindly soul, but certainly not a gentle or complex one. She only ever had a high school education. (I have a PhD). For example, my best friend at school was a rather intellectual and gentille lad (white Australian). She would make fun of his quirky differences (e.g. his glasses and his soft voice) in a playful but direct and blatant way. My friend couldn't handle it at all. Girlfriends experienced the same thing. They eventually understood it though. It's when she is being overly-polite to you that she feels you're not "one of us". Because she would do the exact same thing, only worse, to me - whom she considered an eccentric nerd. It's her rather unsophisticated way of saying: "hey we know you are different, we all have our differences - but don't feel self-conscious about it, we're all family here and we accept you".
My girlfriend/partner is Chinese. I live in Beijing.
posted by zaebiz at 4:18 PM on August 18, 2014
I'm Indian-Australian.
This... is an educational experience.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:35 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
This... is an educational experience.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:35 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
OK, I only have time to watch the first video at the moment, but this is at the very least well researched. All those slang terms are legit. Except for 'Jimmy Grant'; never heard that before, and I am one.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:43 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:43 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Except for 'Jimmy Grant'; never heard that before, and I am one.
I heard that that's one of those old bits of Aussie slang, which you might have heard old blokes using in a pub in the 1950s or something, but not so much these days. Though I definitely heard it before this series.
posted by acb at 4:49 PM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
I heard that that's one of those old bits of Aussie slang, which you might have heard old blokes using in a pub in the 1950s or something, but not so much these days. Though I definitely heard it before this series.
posted by acb at 4:49 PM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
I see it's actually written by Australians, which explains a lot.
Which also puts the racism and #notallaustralians stuff to bed. It's OK, we're allowed to call ourselves racist.
Anyway, as zamboni points out, racism is a legit problem for Australia. I wouldn't say it's the most racist place in the world, or even in the Anglosphere. but that doesn't make it not a problem.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:54 PM on August 18, 2014
Which also puts the racism and #notallaustralians stuff to bed. It's OK, we're allowed to call ourselves racist.
Anyway, as zamboni points out, racism is a legit problem for Australia. I wouldn't say it's the most racist place in the world, or even in the Anglosphere. but that doesn't make it not a problem.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:54 PM on August 18, 2014
As a white Australian, I found this whole series hilarious. I thought it was a great display of two quite different, but increasingly interlinked cultures, getting together and laughing at each other. I love it.
Yes, there is overt and subtle racism here. In the particular case of folks from India, a lot of that is tied to the fact that "you're taking our jobs", which, really, is just the way of the world, and individuals from India or anywhere shouldn't be held to account for. It's the same as what happened in the manufacturing industry a couple of decades ago. Also, many Australians' sense of nationalism kicks into high gear when they call the national telco, or their ISP, and end up talking to someone in Bangalore.
As someone who works in IT (so is in the forefront of this), I and most people I work with treat our sub-continental co-workers with appropriate respect, and judge them as individuals.
That rant aside, this series was awesome and I hope they do more.
posted by Diag at 4:55 PM on August 18, 2014
Yes, there is overt and subtle racism here. In the particular case of folks from India, a lot of that is tied to the fact that "you're taking our jobs", which, really, is just the way of the world, and individuals from India or anywhere shouldn't be held to account for. It's the same as what happened in the manufacturing industry a couple of decades ago. Also, many Australians' sense of nationalism kicks into high gear when they call the national telco, or their ISP, and end up talking to someone in Bangalore.
As someone who works in IT (so is in the forefront of this), I and most people I work with treat our sub-continental co-workers with appropriate respect, and judge them as individuals.
That rant aside, this series was awesome and I hope they do more.
posted by Diag at 4:55 PM on August 18, 2014
The racism doesn't even escape progressive sectors either. The radical activist/queer/etc circles around here are overwhelmingly white, and cultural appropriation is all over the place. The most striking example I have is when I went to a meeting by socialist/radical/feminist activist types in Brisbane about protesting a White Power concert happening nearby - and I was the only non-White person in the room. (And one of them had the gall to ask me if I had done any anti-racist work! Yes, it's called MY LIFE.)
posted by divabat at 5:14 PM on August 18, 2014
posted by divabat at 5:14 PM on August 18, 2014
This all rang a bell. Previously on MeFi - an article about actual training given to Indian call centre staff including a section on Australians.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:14 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:14 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
I do think some of those taking a hardline about how racist many Australians are are missing an aspect of the Australian way of thinking.
Many people think they're not racist, but there still can be a lot of subtle racism tied into their culture and preconceptions. I think it's fair to ask why Australia is an exception. As I see it, there are three main reasons.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:19 PM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
Many people think they're not racist, but there still can be a lot of subtle racism tied into their culture and preconceptions. I think it's fair to ask why Australia is an exception. As I see it, there are three main reasons.
- Firstly, we are a nation of immigrants. All Australians are people who chose to come here, or descendants of people who moved here a few generations back. This makes us more tolerant of people from other backgrounds. For example, you need look no further back than the 1970s and early 80s, when we let Vietnamese boat people arrive here.
- Secondly, we are historically an Anglo-Celtic society, which imbued us with a natural sense of generosity and fair play. I stress that this isn't just a white Australian value; it's shared commonly, even among people from Southern Europe. They say that Melbourne is one of the largest Greek cities in the world.
- Thirdly, as a society, we have worked hard to create a feeling of community that transcends nationality, through things like the SBS and the Buy Australian program.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:19 PM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
it's the tolerant and welcoming attitude that lets people come here and, hopefully, absorb a bit of our way of life before they go back to their homes.
The assumption about "they go back to their homes" just shows that the welcoming attitude only really extends to tourists: if you migrate here, you're not welcome, go back to your own country.
posted by divabat at 6:24 PM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
The assumption about "they go back to their homes" just shows that the welcoming attitude only really extends to tourists: if you migrate here, you're not welcome, go back to your own country.
posted by divabat at 6:24 PM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
The assumption about "they go back to their homes" just shows that the welcoming attitude only really extends to tourists: if you migrate here, you're not welcome, go back to your own country.
I think you might be drawing a long bow there - I'm sure Joe can add some context, because I don't think that's what he meant.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:56 PM on August 18, 2014
I think you might be drawing a long bow there - I'm sure Joe can add some context, because I don't think that's what he meant.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:56 PM on August 18, 2014
It was supposed to be satire: it was basically an amalgamation of every well-intentioned piece I've read about Australia's unique ethos. I guess it didn't come off.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:59 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:59 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Australian racism mostly is of the kind that just by default assumes that the norm is white, Anglo-Celtic. Everything outside of that is othered, to the point that even people who aren't Anglo-Celtic have internalised that norm as well and say "Australians" when they really mean white people.
When I look where I work, there is not one single person of non-European descent in a senior position that has decision-making authority. Not one. If that isn't institutionalised racism I don't know what is.
posted by awfurby at 7:58 PM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
When I look where I work, there is not one single person of non-European descent in a senior position that has decision-making authority. Not one. If that isn't institutionalised racism I don't know what is.
posted by awfurby at 7:58 PM on August 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
Yeah, that was an epic amount of Poe's Law-ing Joe. Excruciating.
I choked at the pie chart and a friend of mine watched the whole lot in one go, hollering quotes at us on Skype after my partner linked it. It pings a little bit too much of my embarrassment squick for me to deal with more than one episode at a time. I'm also a little side-eyeing at the written by white men bit too.
My daughter's school has a bilingual program in Japanese, and they go pretty heavy on culture with the language. The discussions at pick-up have been difficult. Parts of my family are Japanese, or Japanese-Australian, and we have friends who are Japanese, so this is such a good opportunity for us. But for others? The language is okay but none of that cultural shit, this is Australia for fuck's sake, why the fuck should some kids be sitting at tables with tablecloths for lunch while others aren't? They should all sit on the ground like normal kids. And so on.
(Meanwhile, I'm like "wait, my kid sits on the dirty ground to eat normally?")
Or it's just too much to expect little kids to learn other languages (...like the Japanese kids in the class, or the Chinese kids, or the PNG kids?). Or why Japanese. Or any number of reasons that not only is it a bad idea for their family, it's a bad idea all around. This is all the white families, the white parents, while the non-white or mixed race families stand awkwardly on one side.
Australia, and Australians, are racist as fuck.
posted by geek anachronism at 8:04 PM on August 18, 2014 [3 favorites]
I choked at the pie chart and a friend of mine watched the whole lot in one go, hollering quotes at us on Skype after my partner linked it. It pings a little bit too much of my embarrassment squick for me to deal with more than one episode at a time. I'm also a little side-eyeing at the written by white men bit too.
My daughter's school has a bilingual program in Japanese, and they go pretty heavy on culture with the language. The discussions at pick-up have been difficult. Parts of my family are Japanese, or Japanese-Australian, and we have friends who are Japanese, so this is such a good opportunity for us. But for others? The language is okay but none of that cultural shit, this is Australia for fuck's sake, why the fuck should some kids be sitting at tables with tablecloths for lunch while others aren't? They should all sit on the ground like normal kids. And so on.
(Meanwhile, I'm like "wait, my kid sits on the dirty ground to eat normally?")
Or it's just too much to expect little kids to learn other languages (...like the Japanese kids in the class, or the Chinese kids, or the PNG kids?). Or why Japanese. Or any number of reasons that not only is it a bad idea for their family, it's a bad idea all around. This is all the white families, the white parents, while the non-white or mixed race families stand awkwardly on one side.
Australia, and Australians, are racist as fuck.
posted by geek anachronism at 8:04 PM on August 18, 2014 [3 favorites]
All Australians are people who chose to come here, or descendants of people who moved here a few generations back.
"A few" being, what, two thousand? Three thousand?
posted by Sys Rq at 8:05 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
"A few" being, what, two thousand? Three thousand?
posted by Sys Rq at 8:05 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Crikey, way to miss the joke.
Very amusing.
I expect my 'whitey' daughter who goes to high school with predominantly indian and sri lankan kids will find it pretty funny too.
In our house we talk about casual racism, and the kind that requires a tuxedo.
posted by bystander at 8:49 PM on August 18, 2014
Very amusing.
I expect my 'whitey' daughter who goes to high school with predominantly indian and sri lankan kids will find it pretty funny too.
In our house we talk about casual racism, and the kind that requires a tuxedo.
posted by bystander at 8:49 PM on August 18, 2014
descendants of people who moved here a few generations back.
"A few" being, what, two thousand? Three thousand?
Forty thousand or so, I think.
posted by lollusc at 9:26 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
"A few" being, what, two thousand? Three thousand?
Forty thousand or so, I think.
posted by lollusc at 9:26 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yup, they've been here a while some of them. They seem familiar with the place... know the food and the lingoes. Yeah, about 40,000 years seems about right.
posted by taff at 9:41 PM on August 18, 2014
posted by taff at 9:41 PM on August 18, 2014
Not that it excuses it, but the Australian racism against immigrants pales in comparison to the racism against aboriginals. Try to comprehend a racism that renders an entire people and their culture almost completely invisible and unmentionable.
posted by um at 10:31 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by um at 10:31 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
(Argh that came across a bit derailly. Ignore and carry on.)
posted by um at 10:33 PM on August 18, 2014
posted by um at 10:33 PM on August 18, 2014
I was all set to defend my adopted country to divabat and all others, as I have done on the Blue before (ie, that I get that there are racist elements in Australian society, but as an immigrant and an ethnic minority, I don't personally experience racism in my day to day life very often...etc.)
And then I saw this: Outraged By Coffee Shop Owner's Racism, Aussies Respond With, Well, Racism.
So, fuck it. Australia is racist. We suck.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 12:08 AM on August 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
And then I saw this: Outraged By Coffee Shop Owner's Racism, Aussies Respond With, Well, Racism.
So, fuck it. Australia is racist. We suck.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 12:08 AM on August 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I can understand the cafe owner's failure to grasp the nuances. There is a pretense that we have not descended to hell this century that must be kept up.
I don't think the Aboriginal Australian issue is a derail, um. Indeed, it's interesting that it doesn't feature in the series (at least so far).
posted by hawthorne at 5:38 AM on August 19, 2014
I don't think the Aboriginal Australian issue is a derail, um. Indeed, it's interesting that it doesn't feature in the series (at least so far).
posted by hawthorne at 5:38 AM on August 19, 2014
Just watched ep. 2. Parts of it came uncomfortably close to truth.
My dad loves meat raffles at the RSL. I suspect is looks very much like the scene in the pub.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:02 AM on August 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
My dad loves meat raffles at the RSL. I suspect is looks very much like the scene in the pub.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:02 AM on August 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Forty thousand or so, I think.
Forty thousand generations? Babies having babies!
posted by Sys Rq at 10:03 AM on August 19, 2014
Forty thousand generations? Babies having babies!
posted by Sys Rq at 10:03 AM on August 19, 2014
I'm troubled by racism or, more correctly, troubled that I don't directly see much of it. Which, as a WASPy style Aussie I generally wouldn't.
I mean, I see the shit in the papers, and hear the politicians and their fear of BOATPEOPLE!1!! and am appalled.
But I'm bothered that I don't see the personal, face-to-face racism that I'm sure exists. Especially so as my wife is chinese, and hence so are my children. I suspect what I'm missing is all the insidious cultural bollocks - #1 has already said she wishes she could have white skin (thanks Disney!), and has a tendency to describe the multitude of Hannahs as "white Hannah" "Asian hannah" "tall hannah" etc.
posted by coriolisdave at 4:02 PM on August 19, 2014
I mean, I see the shit in the papers, and hear the politicians and their fear of BOATPEOPLE!1!! and am appalled.
But I'm bothered that I don't see the personal, face-to-face racism that I'm sure exists. Especially so as my wife is chinese, and hence so are my children. I suspect what I'm missing is all the insidious cultural bollocks - #1 has already said she wishes she could have white skin (thanks Disney!), and has a tendency to describe the multitude of Hannahs as "white Hannah" "Asian hannah" "tall hannah" etc.
posted by coriolisdave at 4:02 PM on August 19, 2014
Some of my own experiences with racism here in Australia:
- The woman in a chip shop in Apollo Bay (tourist town about 100 km from Melbourne) telling me and my sister, on learning she was a tourist but I was a recent arrival in the country, and was here to get married to an Australian, "not to worry, it's the Asians we don't want". Some of her staff within earshot were Asian. I later learnt about Pauline Hanson. This woman in Apollo Bay was her understudy.
- A man in his 70s shouting at two African women with prams and kids who were talking in French to "speak a proper language" in a train from Melbourne to Clayton (seat of a prestigious university) which also serves some remote suburbs.
- An elderly family member of my wife's family railing (privately, from his couch and to his own family) against foreigners at the same time as being very nice to me, and particularly railing against Asians at the same time as being very polite to his Chinese neighbours.
This last case is particularly poignant. There are some people who have a great deal of cognitive dissonance. They act one way, but they speak another way, because their opinion machinery has been overtaken by what they read in the (Murdoch controlled) tabloids. So they aren't racist in how they act, but in what they say... except that they also vote the racist way.
posted by kandinski at 4:23 PM on August 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
- The woman in a chip shop in Apollo Bay (tourist town about 100 km from Melbourne) telling me and my sister, on learning she was a tourist but I was a recent arrival in the country, and was here to get married to an Australian, "not to worry, it's the Asians we don't want". Some of her staff within earshot were Asian. I later learnt about Pauline Hanson. This woman in Apollo Bay was her understudy.
- A man in his 70s shouting at two African women with prams and kids who were talking in French to "speak a proper language" in a train from Melbourne to Clayton (seat of a prestigious university) which also serves some remote suburbs.
- An elderly family member of my wife's family railing (privately, from his couch and to his own family) against foreigners at the same time as being very nice to me, and particularly railing against Asians at the same time as being very polite to his Chinese neighbours.
This last case is particularly poignant. There are some people who have a great deal of cognitive dissonance. They act one way, but they speak another way, because their opinion machinery has been overtaken by what they read in the (Murdoch controlled) tabloids. So they aren't racist in how they act, but in what they say... except that they also vote the racist way.
posted by kandinski at 4:23 PM on August 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Australian racism mostly is of the kind that just by default assumes that the norm is white, Anglo-Celtic. Everything outside of that is othered, to the point that even people who aren't Anglo-Celtic have internalised that norm as well and say "Australians" when they really mean white people.
Surely “Anglo-Celtic” should by now be “Anglo-Celto-Italo-Hellenic”, and to be “Anglo-Celto-Italo-Helleno-Indochinese” in a generation or so?
posted by acb at 7:43 AM on August 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Surely “Anglo-Celtic” should by now be “Anglo-Celto-Italo-Hellenic”, and to be “Anglo-Celto-Italo-Helleno-Indochinese” in a generation or so?
posted by acb at 7:43 AM on August 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Surely “Anglo-Celtic” should by now be “Anglo-Celto-Italo-Hellenic”
Yeah... I mean, it's nice that the Mediterranean-Australians have successfully reappropriated the hateful slur used against them and rebranded it as a cute nickname, but in the end, people are still calling them wogs, and that's still super racist.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:36 AM on August 20, 2014
Yeah... I mean, it's nice that the Mediterranean-Australians have successfully reappropriated the hateful slur used against them and rebranded it as a cute nickname, but in the end, people are still calling them wogs, and that's still super racist.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:36 AM on August 20, 2014
Ditto to everyone who has described how racist Australia can be. I've heard a fair bit just because people assume a white girl like me will be fine with hearing it.
The other interesting thing to me in these videos is if there's a class aspect. The barbecue scenes looked like several I attended with my bogan dad while my 1st-gen immigrant mum tutted over no-one eating salad.
Either way, cake-based lamingtons are going to be a bit of a disappointment from now on.
posted by harriet vane at 5:35 AM on August 21, 2014
The other interesting thing to me in these videos is if there's a class aspect. The barbecue scenes looked like several I attended with my bogan dad while my 1st-gen immigrant mum tutted over no-one eating salad.
Either way, cake-based lamingtons are going to be a bit of a disappointment from now on.
posted by harriet vane at 5:35 AM on August 21, 2014
When I used to visit dad in nursing homes (we had to go through a few before we found a suitable one) I noticed that almost every carer or nursing role was filled by someone from overseas. Indian, Filipino, Malaysian, usually.
Elder care is hard work. It is
* low pay
* low status
* physically, intellectually and emotionally taxing
Immigrants in Australia gravitate to it because it is one of the few areas in which working will not violate your visa (provided they are also studying). So if you were here from Malaysia and wanted to combine work and study and stay in Australia you might sign up for a certificate in aged care.
Anyway, old people are racist as all get-out. And they wind up being cared for by the same people who they despise. Not only that, but most of their decisions are made by these same carers (when they eat, what they eat, when they sleep, where they sleep, etc.). Poetic justice I guess but they still manage to be horrible sometimes. In a totally impotent way, but still.
posted by um at 8:05 PM on August 21, 2014
Elder care is hard work. It is
* low pay
* low status
* physically, intellectually and emotionally taxing
Immigrants in Australia gravitate to it because it is one of the few areas in which working will not violate your visa (provided they are also studying). So if you were here from Malaysia and wanted to combine work and study and stay in Australia you might sign up for a certificate in aged care.
Anyway, old people are racist as all get-out. And they wind up being cared for by the same people who they despise. Not only that, but most of their decisions are made by these same carers (when they eat, what they eat, when they sleep, where they sleep, etc.). Poetic justice I guess but they still manage to be horrible sometimes. In a totally impotent way, but still.
posted by um at 8:05 PM on August 21, 2014
um: International students in any field in Australia can work up to 20 hours a week while studying, unlimited during breaks - and the work doesn't have to neatly correlate to your degree. It's easier for certain fields than others (mostly because, in my experience, a lot of employers want a commitment of at least 25 hours/week).
posted by divabat at 7:16 AM on August 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by divabat at 7:16 AM on August 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Vice: Even for Australia, last week was pretty racist.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 11:56 PM on August 25, 2014
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 11:56 PM on August 25, 2014
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posted by Going To Maine at 6:30 AM on August 18, 2014