I thought more about what I was thinking about in my last post.
I came up with an example involving Australians.
So my feeling is this: It's okay, if I meet an Australian to make the guess that they probably like Vegemite. It's likely my guess would be correct. However, there's a chance I could be wrong.
What's not right is to insist they must like Vegemite or to say that if they don't like Vegemite, they're not real Australians. I mean joking about it is one thing. Fine. But if I was serious, that would be nuts, rude, and wrong.
It would also be rude if I had a friend who told me they didn't like Vegemite, but then I went ahead and bought it for them when they came to visit. But you're Australian...you MUST like Vegemite.
Well, I could have just forgotten. Yeah. But what if they told me multiple times, and I refused to listen and accept it? That wouldn't be nice of me.
I came up with an example involving Australians.
So my feeling is this: It's okay, if I meet an Australian to make the guess that they probably like Vegemite. It's likely my guess would be correct. However, there's a chance I could be wrong.
What's not right is to insist they must like Vegemite or to say that if they don't like Vegemite, they're not real Australians. I mean joking about it is one thing. Fine. But if I was serious, that would be nuts, rude, and wrong.
It would also be rude if I had a friend who told me they didn't like Vegemite, but then I went ahead and bought it for them when they came to visit. But you're Australian...you MUST like Vegemite.
Well, I could have just forgotten. Yeah. But what if they told me multiple times, and I refused to listen and accept it? That wouldn't be nice of me.
You may feel uncomfortable saying they are not real Australians, but I feel no discomfort at all in saying so. I think I met someone once, who was born here of parents who were born here and he didn't like Vegemite. Maybe there are more but they stay guiltily silent about their lack of patriotism. They need to be hunted out and re-educated, by whatever means it takes.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Totally. I was just trying to be nice, because I was hoping to trap a few of the fake Australians. I figured they'd confess on my blog and then the proper authorities could send them off to...Canada, maybe?
What a cunning and devious plan Dina, but maple syrup land is too good for them. Send them to the land of Marmite and Bovril.
ReplyDeleteOkay. Good plan.
ReplyDeleteConfession: I have never heard of Bovril.
I should write a post, and being a fan of alliteration, called Bex and Bovril. Silly really, as Bovril is English and I just asked R about Bex and he thinks it is Australian.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI think it will be a great post.
Now I shall need to look up Bex.
I can't find Bex. What is it?
ReplyDeleteAll I saw was a place in Switzerland.
Wait.
ReplyDeleteI found it. R is right. It's Australian.
So it might be a cross-cultural type post.
The advertising slogan went, 'take a Bex and a good lie down', and thousands of housewives did, later to become addicted and have kidney failures.
ReplyDeleteThat's not good : (
ReplyDelete