Ask an Aussie

[MENTION=14675]Night Owl[/MENTION] So what about the relations with the Aborigines (or indigenous people) Is progress being made there? Do they recognize the title of the immigrants over what was their land prior to the conquest? Are the treaties they entered into being respected? Were children taken from their families to be assimilated into mainstream culture, like the Canadian Indian residential school system?

Look at the similarities Residential Schools https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system and the Stolen Generations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Generations

Some weird parallels here
 
Victim mentality and ethics are a relatively recent and popular addition to Australian Aboriginal relations. The older Aboriginal people (outside some small towns in North-West New South Wales), are mostly easy-going, friendly, and "just another good neighbor" kind of people. Younger Aboriginal people are increasingly prickly, isolated from the rest of the community, and quick to find bias, where there isn't any there.

To me it seems as though outrage over things one has not experienced, but knows from history is not constructive. Native people getting up in arms today because of what happened in the colonial times, is about as pointless as Christians getting upset at non-Christian Jews for the crucifixion of Christ. (Jew in this context = those Jews that didn't convert, juxtaposed with those who did).

It seems entirely possible, given the stupidity of our world, that native people in various places could still be harbouring resentment in 1000 years from now.
 
I would like to start by saying I have met many Aussies since moving to LA and they tend to be really cool. They seem to love travel and adventure. I have a number of random questions. Why aren't Aussies afraid of sharks, especially surfing in close proximity to great white sharks? Were Aussies very upset when Steve Irwin died, or secretly relieved? Why are Aussie girls so damn sexy? Were you amused or annoyed by the classic Simpsons episode where they travel to Australia so Bart can apologize to them? Who is the most popular Aussie in Australia? Do all Aussies play rugby growing up in school? Have you ever seen a koala in the wild? And finally, how do Aussies feel about INXS (they were big in the States in the late 80's)? Enjoy mate.
 
Victim mentality and ethics are a relatively recent and popular addition to Australian Aboriginal relations
Click to expand...

You seem to be suggesting that racism doesn't exist in Australia against the Aboriginal population, but unfortunately some younger Aborigines are intent on playing the victim.

Younger Aboriginal people are increasingly prickly, isolated from the rest of the community, and quick to find bias, where there isn't any there.
Click to expand...

That's great and its great that bias against them doesn't exist! Good on you folks down under for treating your Aboriginal population with the dignity and respect they deserve and for creating a colour blind society. Racial discrimination against natives is unfortunately very common in Canada so we sure could learn a thing or two from Australians.
 
[MENTION=14199]brightmoon[/MENTION] I wasn't aware of the great similarities in our historical (though quite recent as well!) treatment of our indigenous populations. I have studied somewhat the Aborigine Australian situation, and it is certainly complex. I agree with [MENTION=862]Flavus Aquila[/MENTION] , yet don't think he was mentioning how there is a lack of racism over all, simply that there is a conflated martyr-complex held by some younger gen X and millennial aborigines (and strangely, by non-indigenous SJW) that decries certain biases that are not there, or wholly historic. Such an attitude is counter productive to progress forwards, and blames present generations of Australian citizens which had no actual part in the policy resulting in the Stolen Generations. Correct me if I'm wrong in reflecting your view Flavus. It is mine any way.

A lot of Australians speak in a racist manner about aborigines 'as a whole', yet the vast majority of these, wouldn't treat an individual indigenous person any differently than another person, nor actually hate/dislike them because of their ethnicity. Australians can be like that. They can speak racistly, yet aren't really racist at all. One probably has to spend time here and see it first hand to really know. Indeed most Australians have a respect for indigenous persons. Still there is a lot of progress to be made, especially in healing the relationship between the indigenous and the majority - Anglo-Australians. In a lot of remote areas there's drastic poverty (relative poverty that is, since such communities like to live simply - but things sometimes lacking like health care, nutrition etc.) and issues of sexual, domestic and substance abuse abound. The government has had policies involving throwing money at these communities and individuals, which has led to major issues of dependency and delinquency (the result if money is thrown freely at any community, no matter what ethnicity), instead of using those millions and millions of dollars on grass roots solutions that are culturally relative to the specific community and that empower them to be productive members of their community in the manner they choose - which for the remote communities is often a mix between a Western lifestyle and a traditional lifestyle of the land. Hand-ups and not hand-outs are needed, but not from some office guy who has no idea what's going on.

Are the treaties they entered into being respected?
Click to expand...

There's an issue of treating all the aboriginals as one big group, and even of having a few aboriginals speaking on behalf of all, when in reality no tribal community has the exact same outlook, and each needs to be addressed specifically - this kind of micromanagement is needed. Still, a lot of good work has been done. Various aborigines have 'native title' which is the legal rights to large masses of traditional land, and government and corporations cannot meddle with such land except through consultation. Some communities are happy to allow mining projects on their land, and make a lot of money through extended leases, money which maybe can be used poorly (like any government), but which can and has been used by such communities for their self-sustainability.
Do they recognize the title of the immigrants over what was their land prior to the conquest?
Click to expand...

It's hard to answer the first question, since it's hard to generalise here. But to generalise, one might say that the aborigines who live in the outback, in regional communities that are fairly socially stable, an attitude of mutual respect for the most part exists for 'the white fella'. This positive attitude is generally less apparent among those who are urbanised and live in the suburbs - namely those within lower socio-economic areas. This is understandable, as a positive attitude towards 'these' aborigines is likewise less apparent among non-indigenous Australians. Certain behavioural/criminal issues existent within the indigenous body perpetuate this tension of negativity on both sides. One can see how this general pattern of anti-social behaviour is the way it is - the Stolen Generations (despite a minority of Aboriginals quite liking the system in their personal experience) disrupted families, and broke down the mechanisms of many 'taken' to form healthy relationships -namely as parents; combined with genuine mental health issues, substance abuse connected with this, and subsequent short-term-fix financial hand-outs without attempts to truly address the problem. So no wonder such patterns of behaviour are there.

Still, there's a lot of progress that has been made, and in general both sides have, and are, slowly coming to learn and respect each other as neighbours on the one land.
 
Last edited:
Unfortunately many Canadians are quite racist when it comes to people of First Nations ancestry. The history has not been a happy one and most First Nations continue to face racist attitudes from the society as a whole. The legacy of past insitutional racism cannot be easily overcome, First Nation peoples couldn't even vote until 1960. Their lives are generally tougher than the general Canadian population. They are generally more likely to victims of crime and more likely to be incarcerated than the general population. Suicide rates are among the highest in the world. 16% of female murder victims and 12% of missing women have been aboriginal, while demographically they comprise only 4% of the overall female population. Life expectancy at birth is significantly lower for First Nations babies than for babies in the Canadian population as a whole. Many live in poverty on their reserves with inadequate housing and poor drinking water.

Some attempts are being to redress this sad situation but attitudes are slow to change
 
dang said:
Why aren't Aussies afraid of sharks, especially surfing in close proximity to great white sharks?
Click to expand...

Some Aussies are scared, the surfers couldn't care less. Most are happy to wait until a day or two after a shark sighting to go back into the water to swim. There's so many, and so often spotted, and shark attacks relatively infrequent but frequent enough to remain casual news, that people are desensitised to them.

Were Aussies very upset when Steve Irwin died, or secretly relieved?
Click to expand...

I think most Australians can say they knew where they were when they found out Steve Irwin died. A lot of Aussies found him an annoying figure, yet loved him at the same time as a national icon and embodiment of certain classical Aussie values/traits.

Why are Aussie girls so damn sexy?
Click to expand...

I can assure you there are plenty that are beautiful only on the inside, and some who are beautiful on the outside yet the way they talk is enough to make one run for the hills. Generally though it is mostly true. A fairly relaxed lifestyle, sunshine, and a healthy mixed gene pool, combined perhaps with accent (with can shape one's face via repetitious movements of facial/jaw muscles) may serve as combining factors in this. Western Australia, Queensland, and NSW have the good beaches (though QL has box jelly fish...). People from each state have generally different appearances.

Were you amused or annoyed by the classic Simpsons episode where they travel to Australia so Bart can apologize to them?
Click to expand...

I was very amused.

Who is the most popular Aussie in Australia?
Click to expand...

I'm not the best with having my finger on the pulse, and it's hard to say as each generation has their pick. Supposedly Cody Simpson is popular with the younger ones (I sound like some old guy), yet I have no idea who he is or what he really does to be quite frank. Hugh Jackman is the most popular over all. An article I looked up, said "Glamour girls and nice guys are Australia's most popular celebs". Here's a few key female names: Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Hawkins and Miranda Kerr. Russel Crowe is up there too.

Do all Aussies play rugby growing up in school?
Click to expand...

Not all Aussies play rugby, and most Australians couldn't care less about Rugby - that's a sport which one state (NSW... well, two - the ACT) really cares about, and which elements in other states care about. Yet NSW is perhaps the dominant state - 1/3 of Aussies live there, and so this rugby-love does form a key part of Australian sporting culture. But AFL, Australian Football League is by far the dominant Australian sport, and is the most popular in all the other states/territories. It is the Australian sport. (I'm not too into sport at all really).
Have you ever seen a koala in the wild?
Click to expand...

Never. They live mainly in the Eastern side of Australia, and not so much in the central south, rarely in the north-east, and never in the west.

And finally, how do Aussies feel about INXS (they were big in the States in the late 80's)?
Click to expand...

Younger millennials (post 1995) probably have never heard of them, those born prior then are aware of them and their main songs, Gen X of course is often in love with them. They were very popular in the late 80's and early 90's, but perhaps in a different kind of popularity than they had in the US - it's a different kind of fame that one has when famous in Australia. They're still revered moderately and played back frequently on the average radio station.
 
Last edited:
Night Owl said:
Some Aussies are scared, the surfers couldn't care less. Most are happy to wait until a day or two after a shark sighting to go back into the water to swim. There's so many, and so often spotted, and shark attacks relatively infrequent but frequent enough to remain casual news, that people are desensitised to them.



I think most Australians can say they knew where they were when they found out Steve Irwin died. A lot of Aussies found him an annoying figure, yet loved him at the same time as a national icon and embodiment of certain classical Aussie values/traits.



I can assure you there are plenty that are beautiful only on the inside, and some who are beautiful on the outside yet the way they talk is enough to make one run for the hills. Generally though it is mostly true. A fairly relaxed lifestyle, sunshine, and a healthy mixed gene pool, combined perhaps with accent (with can shape one's face via repetitious movements of facial/jaw muscles) may serve as combining factors in this. Western Australia, Queensland, and NSW have the good beaches (though QL has box jelly fish...). People from each state have generally different appearances.



I was very amused.



I'm not the best with having my finger on the pulse, and it's hard to say as each generation has their pick. Supposedly Cody Simpson is popular with the younger ones (I sound like some old guy), yet I have no idea who he is or what he really does to be quite frank. Hugh Jackman is the most popular over all. An article I looked up, said "Glamour girls and nice guys are Australia's most popular celebs". Here's a few key female names: Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Hawkins and Miranda Kerr. Russel Crowe is up there too.



Not all Aussies play rugby, and most Australians couldn't care less about Rugby - that's a sport which one state (NSW... well, two - the ACT) really cares about, and which elements in other states care about. Yet NSW is perhaps the dominant state - 1/3 of Aussies live there, and so this rugby-love does form a key part of Australian sporting culture. But AFL, Australian Football League is by far the dominant Australian sport, and is the most popular in all the other states/territories. It is the Australian sport. (I'm not too into sport at all really).


Never. They live mainly in the Eastern side of Australia, and not so much in the central south, rarely in the north-east, and never in the west.



Younger millennials (post 1995) probably have never heard of them, those born prior then are aware of them and their main songs, Gen X of course is often in love with them. They were very popular in the late 80's and early 90's, but perhaps in a different kind of popularity than they had in the US - it's a different kind of fame that one has when famous in Australia. They're still revered moderately and played back frequently on the average radio station.
Click to expand...

A+ answer. I thought Aussies were supposed to be brutish knuckleheads. You are defying stereotypes my friend.
 
Have you ever pulled a knife out on a New York mugger?
imagejpeg
 
the said:
Have you ever pulled a knife out on a New York mugger?
imagejpeg
Click to expand...

Funnily enough a New Yorker tried mugging me in Sydney. Let's just say that fella never got a chance to renew his visa.

Police disclaimer: non-serious comment.
 
dang said:
A+ answer. I thought Aussies were supposed to be brutish knuckleheads. You are defying stereotypes my friend.
Click to expand...

Why merci. There is an element of backpacker/traveler culture consisting of Australian knuckle heads.

dang said:
How accurate is this picture?:
Click to expand...

1. Nobody really drinks Fosters in Australia.
2. That haircut is something men used to have in the 1890's.
3. Unfortunately our canned alcoholic beverages are normal size.
 
Seriously now, how do young non wealthy Aussies manage to get away with such long vacations? Once I met four Aussies who were on a vacation in America for like 6 months. Are they holding up banks or something? And they were pretty blue collar too.
 
dang said:
Seriously now, how do young non wealthy Aussies manage to get away with such long vacations? Once I met four Aussies who were on a vacation in America for like 6 months. Are they holding up banks or something? And they were pretty blue collar too.
Click to expand...

Yeah it even amazes me how they can afford it. However the average blue collar worker earns $1229 a week (white collar on average get $1085). So with a little saving they can last a while lol
 
Night Owl said:
Yeah it even amazes me how they can afford it. However the average blue collar worker earns $1229 a week (white collar on average get $1085). So with a little saving they can last a while lol
Click to expand...

Is that in USD or magic?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top