Sorry, the way you denegrate Australia I felt surely you couldn't actually be an Australian. No doubt you are good mates with Paul -Australia is the ******** of the world- Keating.
"that sort of crap"? where were you 26 January last? Perhaps you weren't allowed out of the ward that day so you didn't see thousands of people with flags. But surely one of the nice nurses gave you a flag to wave?
All countries have their problems, and Australia is no exception. When I see one of those problems, I speak out ... sure. However, I have no desire to live anywhere else and I've actually said that on this forum on several occasions. Australia is the best place in the world to live, but it aint perfect. I don't go out of my way to denigrate Australia, however, I certainly don't wrap myself in the flag at every fireworks show. (yes, I've had a beer or two with Paul, and Bob ... good blokes)
Indigenous Australian's are not equal citizens according to the Constitution of Australia. The government can Constitutionally pass legislation that discriminates against Aborigines specifically. There is an obvious separation between "Australians" and "Aboriginal Australians" Constitutionally. I'd be pissed off too. What does the flag represent to them? British colonialism, the invasion of their homeland, the near extinction of their people and 200 years of oppression and discrimination. If they want to burn it, they have the right. I don't see how anyone can accuse them of being "un-Australian" for doing so. Burning the flag is not their shame, it is the nations shame. Too much patriotism on the other hand, is very un-Australian. Certainly these retards that wear the flag as some symbol of "white supremacy" are extremely un-Australian. That is far worse than burning it. Keep flag waving where it belongs, at sporting events. Australia day is stupid, the landing of the first fleet is not worthy of a national holiday. When we become a Republic we'll have a proper event to celebrate.
Bad stuff happens to all sorts of people. People gotta learn from the past but live in the present. Burning the Australian flag is un-Australian no matter the reason. I agree with that for sure. You mean waving the US flag?
Yep, there certainly were thousands of people out there with their little flags (many supplied by Newspapers). No denying that. However, the population at this very minute is 22,827,436 So, let's say there were 100,000 people waving flags: that's 0.44% of the population. Or, to be generous, let's say there were 200,000 of the little flag wavers: that's still only 0.88% of Australia. So, on one day of the year there's less than 1% of Australia's population waving the flag. I'm gonna have to agree with bugulugs on this one: "We don't go for that sort of crap here." Seriously, the flag wavers are a very small minority (and they only come out in big numbers on one day of the year).
Sounds good but its bent logic. A 'flag waver' does not have to be waving a flag on Australia day.... so your figures only represent the people waving a flag on that day and are therefore meaningless to the number of Australian's who would be or are flag wavers at other times.
Sure. How many do you think then? Double? More? Most flag wavers are going to be out on Australia Day, even if they wave them on other days too. (???) Someone who waves a flag at the cricket is most likely going to do it at the fireworks show too. Or, do you think I'm wrong? (I admit it's an assumption - I could be wrong, I'm neither a sports fan nor a flag waver). Let's say my highest figure is way out: there's actually 10 times more flag wavers than I assumed. That would be 2 million of the little buggers. That's still less than 9% of the population. If you have access to reliable figures, I'd certainly like to see them. Until then, I agree with bugulugs: "We (i.e. most Australians) don't go for that sort of crap here."
When they are no longer discriminated against in our Constitution, then you can say that. You can if you like. The day we became a nation was the 1st of January 1901. But New Year's day is already a public holiday. When we become a republic, we should choose a date around August/September sometime so we can set a new national holiday, one with some actual meaning for Australia.
I can understand how one can miss so much of the outside world when the window in one`s padded cell is too high for one to see out of.
Disrespecting is completely different to destroying because disrespecting can include very minor things.
Exactly. Nothing wrong with setting a record. I wish you luck in your endeavour. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ2HcRl4wSk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ2HcRl4wSk[/ame]