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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 35923" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>OK, I finally looked this guy up to find out about the whole story. He sounds like an idiot trying for cheap ratings, using shock tactics. When people complain, he gives whatever apology he's force to and nothing more and then carries on as usual. Am I right?</p><p></p><p>We have TV & radio people like this over here. Most of them are also stand-up comedians who admittedly do sometimes shoot from the lip and ask questions (or apologise) later. Most of the time I enjoy their stuff but when it's humour at someone else's expense, it's not funny.</p><p></p><p>As for ANY minority group (or even a majority group, but it always seems to be a group who think they've got a point to prove, some sort of "I belong to this little group and you don't") who promotes their own mini-dialect and vocabulary that is only permitted for their little "in" crowd, this is divisive and racist. They may be doing it out of a sense of feeling excluded, and trying to set up their own mini-sense of belonging, but it backfires when this sort of thing happens.</p><p></p><p>We do get that here. A lot of Aussie humour, 'joking around' with mates is reverse humour, but it is acceptable ONLY if it is acceptable to the recipient. And that can be risky - someone can declare it acceptable for social reasons, when it still hurts. An example - an Aussie greeting often uses the word "b*st*rd" in a friendly way. As in "G'day, you old b*st*rd, what are ya drinking?" as you buy your mate a beer. Similarly with a word like ratbag. (nothing like "dirt bag"). Used this way they are gentle and loving, believe it or not. But call a bloke a whiny b*st*rd, or a stingy one, or a lousy one, and it's a HUGE insult. This all goes beyond boundaries of race, but it DOES isolate us from any group elsewhere in the world who don't understand how it works. Say the right thing in an Aussie pub and you get free beer. Say the wrong thing and you get your head punched in.</p><p></p><p>A lot of it comes down to intent. Also, if it is not received well, it must stop. Unwritten rules. I remember years ago as a student in residential college, I was hanging around a friend's dorm. This college had two buildings - Men's Hall and Women's Hall. But there were more men enrolled than women, so they made the ground floor of Women's Hall co-ed. My friend Roger had been born in South Africa, he still had a strong accent. he was white. His best mate, Ratnam, was a very dark lad whose parents were from Mumbai. These two guys did everything together, including panning practical jokes on everyone else. They were my mates too. Roger had moved into Women's Hall the week earlier, and now, against better judgement (who would put two practical jokers in the same dorm?) Ratnam was moving his gear too. Roger walked past him on the landing (Roger was heading down the stairs to f etch Ratnam's big bag for him) and slapped Ratnam on the back, declaring loudly, "YOU'RE moving in here? Crikey, there goes the neighbourhood!"</p><p>Ratnam shouted back something abusive, but these guys had big grins on their faces - it was friendly banter. But coming out of a white face with a South African accent and directed to a very dark Indian, it did sound a bit - well, - sus to anyone who didn't know them. </p><p>A new student had just arrived. He was from Ghana, had never lived in Australia before. We'd spent the night before welcoming him and reassuring him that nobody he was living with would be racist towards him. He heard the exchange between Roger & the Rat and panicked, it took us hours and lots of coffee to calm him down. Roger & the rat tried to involve him in their next practical joke (to celebrate the reunion of the Terrible Two) but he was too nervous. He did watch, though, and they did convince him. I doubt he ever took to Aussie mate-bashing, though.</p><p></p><p>We have an Aboriginal comedian/TV presenter called Ernie Dingo. A great bloke. He also does a lot of Aboriginal rights awareness stuff, but tempered with his gentle approach. (He refers to his kids as the "dingo pups" - I love it!)</p><p>He was on morning TV one day, showing how he can play a vacuum cleaner like a digeridoo, and mentioned he was collecting money for an Aboriginal campaign of some sort - it might have been health care, I can't remember now. The TV host leaned over and gave him a large cash donation, saying, "This is just a start - we'll set up an appeal." Ernie pocketed the notes and commented, "Great! We'll hit the bottle shop for a flagon for lunch, eh? You join me? I'll order two straws, then..."</p><p>Ernie was joking, having a shot at the white Aussie perception of Aboriginals drinking cheap alcohol on the street corner. If anyone else had said it, they'd have been out on their ear. But Ernie could say it because HE was the <img src="/community/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/2012/censored2.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":censored2:" title="censored2 :censored2:" data-shortname=":censored2:" /> of the joke. People were uncomfortable, though - and that very discomfort was telling.</p><p></p><p>I think, from what I read, that if we had someone like Don Imus broadcasting in Australia he'd be copping a fair bit of flak every time there was a problem like this. We DO have people whop do this regularly and seem to get away with it by handing out grudging apologies every so often - eventually they end up as sad cases on regional radio, with a listenership of two. We have only one exception - Alan Jones. Google him if you feel like getting enraged, or totally disbelieving.</p><p></p><p>I'll say no more.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 35923, member: 1991"] OK, I finally looked this guy up to find out about the whole story. He sounds like an idiot trying for cheap ratings, using shock tactics. When people complain, he gives whatever apology he's force to and nothing more and then carries on as usual. Am I right? We have TV & radio people like this over here. Most of them are also stand-up comedians who admittedly do sometimes shoot from the lip and ask questions (or apologise) later. Most of the time I enjoy their stuff but when it's humour at someone else's expense, it's not funny. As for ANY minority group (or even a majority group, but it always seems to be a group who think they've got a point to prove, some sort of "I belong to this little group and you don't") who promotes their own mini-dialect and vocabulary that is only permitted for their little "in" crowd, this is divisive and racist. They may be doing it out of a sense of feeling excluded, and trying to set up their own mini-sense of belonging, but it backfires when this sort of thing happens. We do get that here. A lot of Aussie humour, 'joking around' with mates is reverse humour, but it is acceptable ONLY if it is acceptable to the recipient. And that can be risky - someone can declare it acceptable for social reasons, when it still hurts. An example - an Aussie greeting often uses the word "b*st*rd" in a friendly way. As in "G'day, you old b*st*rd, what are ya drinking?" as you buy your mate a beer. Similarly with a word like ratbag. (nothing like "dirt bag"). Used this way they are gentle and loving, believe it or not. But call a bloke a whiny b*st*rd, or a stingy one, or a lousy one, and it's a HUGE insult. This all goes beyond boundaries of race, but it DOES isolate us from any group elsewhere in the world who don't understand how it works. Say the right thing in an Aussie pub and you get free beer. Say the wrong thing and you get your head punched in. A lot of it comes down to intent. Also, if it is not received well, it must stop. Unwritten rules. I remember years ago as a student in residential college, I was hanging around a friend's dorm. This college had two buildings - Men's Hall and Women's Hall. But there were more men enrolled than women, so they made the ground floor of Women's Hall co-ed. My friend Roger had been born in South Africa, he still had a strong accent. he was white. His best mate, Ratnam, was a very dark lad whose parents were from Mumbai. These two guys did everything together, including panning practical jokes on everyone else. They were my mates too. Roger had moved into Women's Hall the week earlier, and now, against better judgement (who would put two practical jokers in the same dorm?) Ratnam was moving his gear too. Roger walked past him on the landing (Roger was heading down the stairs to f etch Ratnam's big bag for him) and slapped Ratnam on the back, declaring loudly, "YOU'RE moving in here? Crikey, there goes the neighbourhood!" Ratnam shouted back something abusive, but these guys had big grins on their faces - it was friendly banter. But coming out of a white face with a South African accent and directed to a very dark Indian, it did sound a bit - well, - sus to anyone who didn't know them. A new student had just arrived. He was from Ghana, had never lived in Australia before. We'd spent the night before welcoming him and reassuring him that nobody he was living with would be racist towards him. He heard the exchange between Roger & the Rat and panicked, it took us hours and lots of coffee to calm him down. Roger & the rat tried to involve him in their next practical joke (to celebrate the reunion of the Terrible Two) but he was too nervous. He did watch, though, and they did convince him. I doubt he ever took to Aussie mate-bashing, though. We have an Aboriginal comedian/TV presenter called Ernie Dingo. A great bloke. He also does a lot of Aboriginal rights awareness stuff, but tempered with his gentle approach. (He refers to his kids as the "dingo pups" - I love it!) He was on morning TV one day, showing how he can play a vacuum cleaner like a digeridoo, and mentioned he was collecting money for an Aboriginal campaign of some sort - it might have been health care, I can't remember now. The TV host leaned over and gave him a large cash donation, saying, "This is just a start - we'll set up an appeal." Ernie pocketed the notes and commented, "Great! We'll hit the bottle shop for a flagon for lunch, eh? You join me? I'll order two straws, then..." Ernie was joking, having a shot at the white Aussie perception of Aboriginals drinking cheap alcohol on the street corner. If anyone else had said it, they'd have been out on their ear. But Ernie could say it because HE was the :censored: of the joke. People were uncomfortable, though - and that very discomfort was telling. I think, from what I read, that if we had someone like Don Imus broadcasting in Australia he'd be copping a fair bit of flak every time there was a problem like this. We DO have people whop do this regularly and seem to get away with it by handing out grudging apologies every so often - eventually they end up as sad cases on regional radio, with a listenership of two. We have only one exception - Alan Jones. Google him if you feel like getting enraged, or totally disbelieving. I'll say no more. Marg [/QUOTE]
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