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I don't understand it. Most Australians don't really like the Brits and xenophobically refer to them as "pommy bastards". The animosity towards Brits in Australia is plain as day. They're not popular.
No, you don't really understand Australian culture, it's a game. It can be seen as a sign of respect, that Australians think enough of the British that they're able to share laughs over insults with them.
But often it's simply a response to British snobbery, an attempt to bring them back down to earth.
Note that Americans are given similar treatment, nick named sepo, short for septic tank, rhymes with yank.
And New Zealanders, with frequent jokes about sheep bestiality.
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Interesting. In 1776 The Queen came to the US for our Bicentennial. She gave a speech in Philadelphia, and a segment of that speech is on display at Independence National Park. In a nutshell she explained that because the American colonists rebelled with force of arms, the UK tread much more lightly with Canada and Australia and other colonies at the time. In the speech she actually thanked the Americans for saving their other possesions. She explained that British colonies were given more autonomy after our rebellion, and certainly not treated with the harshness the American colonists dealt with. Food for thought.
This is interesting indeed, because there was an armed rebellion in 1854. The Eureka Stockade, Australian miners rebelled over excessive taxation and a lack of representation. They demanded the right to vote for all Australian males and the abolition of mining licenses.
They were defeated by the British army. But their popularity with the general population was great, they were regarded as heros and still are. They were put on trial for treason and sedition, but in a trial that has been called a farce, were acquitted much to the cheer of the public. The government changed the laws and granted the miners demands to avoid future rebellions, the event is considered the birth of Australian democracy.
When Mark Twain visited Australia, he had this to say about it.
"By and by there was a result, and I think it may be called the finest thing in Australasian history. It was a revolution — small in size; but great politically; it was a strike for liberty, a struggle for principle, a stand against injustice and oppression....It is another instance of a victory won by a lost battle. It adds an honorable page to history; the people know it and are proud of it. They keep green the memory of the men who fell at the Eureka stockade, and Peter Lalor has his monument." —Mark Twain
I don't understand it. Most Australians don't really like the Brits and xenophobically refer to them as "pommy bastards". The animosity towards Brits in Australia is plain as day. They're not popular.
Meet Matematik everyone, 99% of his threads and posts are anti-British.
Why are Australians in such a hurry for everything to change? Is it really broken? Anyway with a British PM your flag probably won't change anytime soon, actually she may be planning to hand over control to the crown once again - all part of our plan, you see.
Why are Australians in such a hurry for everything to change? Is it really broken? Anyway with a British PM your flag probably won't change anytime soon, actually she may be planning to hand over control to the crown once again -all part of our plan, you see.
Ha Ha Tony Abbott the leader of the main oposition party also came hear under the assisted migration (10 pound Pom) scheme, except he's from London, you could be onto something.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 02-20-2012 at 04:14 PM..
Australia was the "cream of the crop" of the British Empire. I am American and I don't really understand the Commonwealth system however. Why is Australia (Canada and other countries too) considered "independent" if the queen is still head of state? I think of Australia as an exotic exclave of the UK because most Australians are of British descent, dare I say ethnicity. Canada however in my opinion is much more American than British. But their loyalty to the Commonwealth is what sets them apart from the USA. Australians still have a British accent (unlike Americans/Canadians) because Australia was never really colonized until after the American Revolution. "Independence" happened in 1901 (coincidentally 100 years after the British fully conquered Ireland) but even though it was a long time ago culturally, 1901 is recent compared to 1776. The Industrial Revolution happened in between the two. America settled Texas and California during that time. Does the fashion from movies like Mary Poppins look anything like the fashion from Colonial times? Or does (US) Civil War fashion even look anything like the fashion from Colonial times?
I don't understand it. Most Australians don't really like the Brits and xenophobically refer to them as "pommy bastards". The animosity towards Brits in Australia is plain as day. They're not popular.
Understood it was a term of endearment, i think Australia has more to worry about than "poms" there have been new migrants since them that were called vile names also 'ities" "slit eyes" wogs some Aussies are good at giving it out.
Why is Australia (Canada and other countries too) considered "independent" if the queen is still head of state?
Firstly, unlike the US system the Head of State has no power to make law, the English civil war made sure of that. The Parliament is sovereign.
Secondly, she is the Queen of Australia seperately to her being the Queen of any of her othe realms, the UK included. The Queen of Australia's official title is
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Originally Posted by kleinberglowenstein
I think of Australia as an exotic exclave of the UK because most Australians are of British descent, dare I say ethnicity.
That's not really true. While the British Isles is still reponsible for much of the population historically. Waves of immigration after WW2 mean the population is much homogenous than it once was.
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Originally Posted by kleinberglowenstein
Australians still have a British accent (unlike Americans/Canadians) because Australia was never really colonized until after the American Revolution.
Why are Australians in such a hurry for everything to change? Is it really broken? Anyway with a British PM your flag probably won't change anytime soon, actually she may be planning to hand over control to the crown once again - all part of our plan, you see.
I don't think she'll be PM for long enough to put her plan into action.
Why are Australians in such a hurry for everything to change? Is it really broken? Anyway with a British PM your flag probably won't change anytime soon, actually she may be planning to hand over control to the crown once again - all part of our plan, you see.
The PM is a republican!
And Australians love to complain about the flaws in things, it tends to be a culture that has the attitude of 'there's a glass half empty, why can't we make it full?'.
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Originally Posted by kleinberglowenstein
Australia was the "cream of the crop" of the British Empire. I am American and I don't really understand the Commonwealth system however. Why is Australia (Canada and other countries too) considered "independent" if the queen is still head of state?
Because the Queen's powers are exercised through the Governor General. In effect, the Head of State is the Governor General who acts on behalf of the Queen. The Queen might be the Head of State, but her powers are fully 'outsourced' to an Australian representative.
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I think of Australia as an exotic exclave of the UK because most Australians are of British descent, dare I say ethnicity. Canada however in my opinion is much more American than British. But their loyalty to the Commonwealth is what sets them apart from the USA. Australians still have a British accent (unlike Americans/Canadians) because Australia was never really colonized until after the American Revolution.
The Australian accent is not British! The cultivated accent might sound rather British, but it's quite obvious that even it is not British if you listen closely.
Also, most people aren't wildly interested in their ethnicity, most people just see themselves as Australians, part of a country that is a mix of all sorts of people.
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Tony Abbott the leader of the main oposition party also came hear under the assisted migration (10 pound Pom) scheme, except he's from London, you could be onto something.
