quote:Originally posted by Anna: ...the general level of respect and tolerance is higher than in France.
Are you sure that's accurate? I really like Australia too, and am thinking of moving there in the future on my New Zealand passport, but insofar as it's possible to generalize, I haven't found "tolerance" to be one of Australia's cultural virtues -- at least with respect to the indigenous population. I'm not putting my own country (Canada) up on a pedestal here, either, because we've treated our aboriginal population just as badly.
Added: I'm not suggesting that France has a sterling record with respect to cultural or racial tolerance either, of course.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Anna: So I take the risk of being absolutely out of context and saying that I love Australia. If it wasn't so far from home that's where I would like to live. Australia is such a beautiful country, and the general level of respect and tolerance is higher than in France.
I'd say the same thing about France, except I havn't actually been there or met any substantial number of french people.
Posts: 1138 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by ElJay: Are you maybe sleep deprived or something?
A little bit. I'm kinda used to it though.
Because you really aren't making much sense, because your spelling and syntax are worse than they usually are, and because your tone is completely different than the one you usually use here. You really aren't sounding like yourself.
[Edit--you must have edited your post a half second before I quoted it. When I clicked the "quote" button it still read "A little bit, why?", or words to that effect.
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El JT, by all means do. I spent one month in Australia and a good part of my top ten good memories comes from that month.
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I take it that free public toilets unusual in France, Anna? I remember being shocked by their general absence when I was in England. It's one of those things I didn't even realize I appreciated about the US until I discovered that it wasn't a ubiquitous feature in all first world countries.
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It's hard to see how the Democrats' hatred of Bush makes Australians love US movies.
I think the US cultural dominance is partly a population thing -- we are the population behemoth in the rich world -- exaggerated by Hollywood: the US could grow this monster in its domestic market, and it turns out the rest of the world likes our films (although sometimes I wonder why).
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Twinky : ->not once in 1 month have I been mocked or discriminated in any way because of my accent or the fact I'm French ->People always answered my questions nicely ->There are no papers in the streets. Neither dog poops. ->As I said, toilets, free and clean. As a matter of fact Asutralia is definitively cleaner than France. I had a real cultural shock when we came back to Charles de Gaulle airport and there were only one place with toilets which were stinky and there were of course no paper. ->I have a friend there who had her first baby in France and her second in Asutralia. She says it's so much better in Autralia because in France we have an awfuly high level of cesarean and the birth is just another medical procedure. They don't care about the Mom or baby well-being. In Australia you have far more chances to be treated as a human being and to have your wishes (regarding the epidural for exemple) respected. (I admit I have only 1 testimony about birth in Autralia but I have plenty in France so that part at least is not contestable). I'm sure there's more and I'll post about it later.
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Noem, oh yes. You can spend an entire day in a town and not find free toilets. And even the paying ones are generally less clean than the free ones you find in Australia.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Mig: He changed the topic! "Bleh"
Cherios, explain significance please. This I gotta hear.
Bleh (America) is Clara's (Australia's) mentally challenged cousin.
Best answer I could think of.
There's got to be a better way to overcome your sense of Australian inferiority relative to the US than expressing it by hating the US and by insulting a country with so many common interests.
Is your hate also limited to just Americans? Do you resent the French for their wines? Do you also hate the Japanese and the Koreans because they make better cars and electronics and Australians aren't buying more indigenous cars and electronics?
Posts: 407 | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Do you also hate the Japanese and the Koreans because they make better cars and electronics and Australians aren't buying more indigenous cars and electronics?
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