I don't know Sydney anymore. The recent Big Day Out seemed to attract a bunch of Howard's Children, banging on about how proud they are to be Australian. Organisers of the event suggested leaving the Aussie flag at home may be a good idea because the event was to be promoted as one of celebration, not nationalism. This request of course would be seen as un-Australian, and so flags were everywhere and "worn with pride".
To be a "proud Australian" all one needs do is to buy a polyest
er Aussie flag, most probably made in Taiwan or China, drape it round ones waste/make it into a boob tube/use it as a sling for the broken arm you received at a recent brawl you got yourself into down the local, and write on the words "support it or fuck off". Then proceed to stay out in the sun all day without a hat, mosh to music and chuck your rubbish about a showground, leaving some poor migrant worker on minimum wage to pick up your mess.
To be a "proud Australian" all one needs do is to buy a polyest
er Aussie flag, most probably made in Taiwan or China, drape it round ones waste/make it into a boob tube/use it as a sling for the broken arm you received at a recent brawl you got yourself into down the local, and write on the words "support it or fuck off". Then proceed to stay out in the sun all day without a hat, mosh to music and chuck your rubbish about a showground, leaving some poor migrant worker on minimum wage to pick up your mess.So on the eve of Australia Day I weep. I weep for an Australia, in particular, Sydney, that I don't understand anymore. What have we done to be proud lately? And why do we keep celebrating this day that for many is filled with mixed emotion because we still deny part of our history, which is essentially, the genocide of Aboriginal Australians?
We need a new day - like 1 January, the day the states became a federation. That way, everyone can participate and debate about what it means to be Australian. We are, after all, lovely, innocent, multicultural Australia....
Actually, not. Nasty pro-Lebanese gangs Vs pro Aussie gangs are fighting it out on You Tube so John Howard has decided to cancel multiculturalism and exchange it for integration and interrogation (you must pass the citizenship test to gain entry). Rest in peace Al Grasby. I want someone to go onto talkback radio and say to the Prime Minster.... "Just what is it about multiculturalism you can't face John Howard?" (as this is an aural joke, perhaps say this sentence again and you'll reveal my true feelings about the man....).
I don't like this rise in nationalism. I don't loik it. I really miss Australia and being over here in the UK, you look at Australia and the lifestyle is second to none. I love being Australian. Our stable democracy is what makes our country great..but even that is slowly being eroded, with more and more power going to the commonwealth (IR...water....anti terrorism laws). Democracy has to be cared for and nurtured.
I wonder how many of those punters at the Big Day Out really thought through what they were actually proud of.
"Humans are not proud of their ancestors, and rarely invite them round to dinner". Douglas Adams
I'm not proud at part of the history we celebrate on Australia Day. I am proud of being what I believe to be a good citizen, but you can do that in any country. Lucky then that the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) is being scrapped for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIC). Now that Vandstone has been sacked, along with presumably her department chiefs, I wonder who the DIC head will be?
We need a new day - like 1 January, the day the states became a federation. That way, everyone can participate and debate about what it means to be Australian. We are, after all, lovely, innocent, multicultural Australia....
Actually, not. Nasty pro-Lebanese gangs Vs pro Aussie gangs are fighting it out on You Tube so John Howard has decided to cancel multiculturalism and exchange it for integration and interrogation (you must pass the citizenship test to gain entry). Rest in peace Al Grasby. I want someone to go onto talkback radio and say to the Prime Minster.... "Just what is it about multiculturalism you can't face John Howard?" (as this is an aural joke, perhaps say this sentence again and you'll reveal my true feelings about the man....).
I don't like this rise in nationalism. I don't loik it. I really miss Australia and being over here in the UK, you look at Australia and the lifestyle is second to none. I love being Australian. Our stable democracy is what makes our country great..but even that is slowly being eroded, with more and more power going to the commonwealth (IR...water....anti terrorism laws). Democracy has to be cared for and nurtured.
I wonder how many of those punters at the Big Day Out really thought through what they were actually proud of.
"Humans are not proud of their ancestors, and rarely invite them round to dinner". Douglas Adams
I'm not proud at part of the history we celebrate on Australia Day. I am proud of being what I believe to be a good citizen, but you can do that in any country. Lucky then that the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) is being scrapped for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIC). Now that Vandstone has been sacked, along with presumably her department chiefs, I wonder who the DIC head will be?
Okay, this incoherent rant is over.
2 comments:
I am with you, Ali. As you know. I was glad to be freezing my arse off riding hire bicycles in Brussels. And not paying $7 for a half pint of Leffe in Perth (thanks to Roland for that info)
Not so happy with your Jan 1 comment. That would lose us workers another public holiday. Well, not really; they've already all gone.
Jan 26 would still be a holiday Mad because we'd be counting down JJJ's hottest 100.
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