NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF INDEPENDENCE (Page 3)

Guys guys guys,

where all friends here.

In case you didn't realise Aussies are a bunch of muck about have a laugh people.
We take the piss out of everyone
We don't think we're better than anyone.

And in case you forgot there are Aussie's over in Iraq as well.
We also had Aussies in Afghanistan - in fact I lost a good friend to that conflict.
Enough on that

Please lets be friends

1 of my good mates is a Yank he is also in the Air Force (Yeah I know air force a little bit la di da unlike the Army)
He was like a lot of u guys when I fist met him and didn't understand our humour but he learnt.
We dont mean to insult its Aussie humour if u were to come here u would see it first hand we even take the piss out of each other.

Don't take life so seriously

Anyway goto go
Damn Kangaroos are in me vegi patch

Skull,

Are you the name sake of the cricket commentator????

Thanks for putting things back in perspective. Its easy to get carried away when beer is involved. Are those roos in the vegis the same ones you ride to work?

"When did it become okay to laugh at our country, our president, and our history? "

When the framers wrote the Constitution. I'm not trying to be mean or snarky or ANYTHING nasty, but that's the answer. That's one of the principles that we are supposed to defend and cherish. I am supposed to defend with everything I have, your right to say things that make my blood boil. And the other way around. That's part of what makes the United States special.

So... claiming that challenging or critical or even nasty speech is unpatriotic or dangerous kind of misses the point. My personal fear is that we are at gravest risk from our own willingness -even eagerness- to give up these rights in the pursuit of an elusive security.

Andrea

Edited by Andrea 2004-12-26 9:05 AM

Ha ha

Yeah but u gotto watch out for the wild ones
Did you know they have to shoe them off the Harbour Bridge every morning as they cause nightmare traffic jams

Well guys, it is definitely an interesting debate. I'm apparently not getting through.

For the record Andrea, I understand all to well what the founders fought so hard for. You missed the whole point of that post. When I asked "when did it become okay", I wasn't asking "when did it become legal", instead I was asking "when did it become acceptable". We all have the freedom of speech, but we don't have the freedom from the responsibility for the outcome of things that occur as a result of what we say.

When you pick out a group of people and laugh at them because you perceive them to be dumb, you create sterotypes. I used racism as an example in my previous posts because it can almost be directly applied, but I could have used religion. Would that have made a better point? How is picking on a nationality all that different?

I'm not above laughing at myself, and I certainly realize that I didn't help my argument by lashing out at others on the board. For that, I'm sorry.

I also understand that we live in a time where what you say is apparently not what you mean. This makes "jokes" all the more difficult for me to discern, especially when I'm supposed to be the butt of it.

Ok, well I thikn i see your point now chucky. I agree with you that to hate someone based on their nationality is no different than hating someone based on their race, religion, etc. But I think that difference between this post and a racist joke though is the intent. I didn't this was written with the hatred of America in mind. Yes, it was being critical of some of the ways we do things, but not things that really matter, and if it is perpetuating a stereotype maybe we can learn from it & say "well what can we do to change the stereotype the world has of America as arrogant and conceited." I'll shut up about it now.

Skull - Thanks for explaining what the traffic jams were - I assumed Steve Irwin was making an appearance & everyone was coming into Sydney to see him.

Hilarious. Kangaroos in your vegi patch? Just send Steve Irwin out there to wrangle them! All will be well.

Hilarious. Kangaroos in your vegi patch? Just send Steve Irwin out there to wrangle them! All will be well.

Its moronic to hate someone based on the their nationality or race or religion, when if you just take the time to get to know the person you'll so many more valid reasons... - Dennis Miller

i'm going to give this a big fat ditto.

it is my right to laugh at the man that was elected in November. i'm not a fan. i didn't vote for him and he scares the hell out of me. it scares me even more that the majority of this country seems to think he makes a good president.

it is my right to disagree with bush supporters. it is my right to believe and argue that the framers actually intended that church and state be separate. it is my right to believe and argue that gay marriage should be freely permitted. it is my right to speak out against the apparently conservative majority. it is my right to be a flaming liberal.

it's not unpatriotic to disagree, disagreement and discourse embody the essence of the rights granted by the constitution. i get to disagree and vocally.

i personally find it insightful to see how we poke fun of ourselves and how other countries poke fun at us. it's a learning tool. learn some humility. america isn't some perfect utopian ideal. we have problems. there are things we can learn from other countries, and there are greater things that can be achieved with the assitance, instead of the alienation, of other countries.

and american lager is heinous.

The funniest thing in all this is that someone thinks that Long John Silver's passes for fish 'n' chips.


Ian

When I checked this post, I thought one of the guys was announcing that he proposed over Christmas and was getting married....  Oops, I was wrong.  Darn, no one to congratulate or commisserate with now?

I would never question your rights. I understand what your rights are. Oddly enough, what comes out of your mouth is alot like what goes into your mouth. You can eat as much of and whatever you like: hamburgers, tacos, candy, etc. Or you can eat food that benefits yours body. Just because you can eat whatever you like (or speak whatever you like), doesn't mean you should...

For the record, I didn't vote for Bush either. Then again, I didn't vote for Kerry. Right or wrong, I still back the President until I have another opportunity to unseat him.



You and I are not far off. I disagree with Bush supporters all the time As an agnostic, I also agree that church and state should be seperate. I also agree that gay marriage should be "free"ly permitted but that is for reasons other than morality. Speak away you flaming liberal!



Disagree at will and loudly! But shouldn't there be a responsibility that goes along with your rights? For example, you have the ability to have and raise children. Shouldn't you only have them if you can afford to provide for them? Shouldn't you be just as responsible for the words that come out of your mouth?



How personal does the joke have to be for you to get offended? I have no problems laughing at myself. But if someone said I was fat, lazy, and stupid, I think I have the right to be offended - especially if the guy telling me I'm fat, lazy, and stupid doesn't even know me.

I know the U.S. isn't perfect. But to steal a line from a guy that lived a couple thousand years ago (I really am agnostic), "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

I agree that we can learn from other countries, but I don't think being the butt of any joke is gonna help me learn. If anything, it is divisive and alienating.



This is why we have California wine!

I have a slightly different view - I support and respect the office of the President and the job of President, but I don't see this as requiring that I support the man that presently holds that office. Especially as I can't think of one point of agreement with his policies.



Excellent. Pleased to meet you, fellow flaming liberal. Not that I wouldn't be pleased to meet a staunch Bush supporter, you understand, but it sometimes gets lonely and warm in flaming liberal land.



Oooh. Treading on thin ice. I don't think personal responsibility should be legislated any more than morality should be legislated. In a perfect world, I think people would inherently understand that they should be able to afford children before having them.

I, however, believe that being responsible for the words coming out of your mouth isn't so much a matter of personal responsibility as it a matter of understanding what you say and only saying what you mean. Yes, I hold myself accountable for my words, and I believe others should be held accountable as well. Part of being held accountable is discussion, and backing up your opinions and perspective. Such discussion, in my book, encourages respect on both sides, even in the midst of disagreement.


Again, slightly different perspective. I don't get offended by political jokes that easily. I also find the greater my first instinct to be offended, the more likely it is that the joke hits close to home and causes me to think about the subject matter in question and my beliefs in that regard. Being the butt of a joke to me isn't itself divisive, is exemplary of the divisiveness and makes me wonder what, if anything, can or should be done to try to bridge that gap. Of course, with the current administration and jokes out there, I really can only nod my head in sad agreement.

and re: california wines... conundrum. my favorite white. highly recommend.

Edited by debs 2004-12-28 6:37 PM

You know, I've never been called a flaming liberal before! Go figure. I'm guessing you and I are standing on different sides of the flaming liberal fence. I'll say it now, I'm Libertarian. Stop hissing! j/k j/k



NEVER NEVER NEVER would I want the government to legislate morality. Did I say NEVER? If the government can't balance its checkbook, I'm certain that it shouldn't be telling you and I what is moral.



Right on, but I hold you responsible for what you say regardless of whether you want to be held responsible for it



Fair enough.

Just a couple of things:

1. We (The U.S.) are the Big boys on the block, and because of that we are going to get "bashed" from time to time. We (the U.S.) can take it because we ARE the Big Boys on the Block.

2. The Aussies and the Brits are our (The U.S.) biggest allies! Historically, whenever the U.S. has been involved in an armed conflict you can be pretty much assured that there are going to be Aussies fighting along side our guys, and 90% of the time there will be Brits. When things get hot in the world, it's not the Swedes, the French, The Russians, The Italians that we count on, it's the Aussies and the Brits.

3. If Spanner says he meant this as good natured ribbing, he should be given the benefit of the doubt about that.

4. Can anyone tell me what type of bike I should buy?
;-) ;-)

5. Everyone also needs to understand that Free Speach also means the freedom not to listen! Just because you are able to say something doesn't mean I have to listen.

6. But equally important, as the U.S. Supreme Court has noted, if protected speach is offensive, turn the station!

I personally thought it was pretty funny, and the first thing I thought of was John Cleese ranting at the top of his lungs in parliment, reading aloud this document. Makes me laugh just thinking about it. But. likewise, that doesn't mean that someone who is offended is off the mark. Humor, is a very personal thing, some people love the three stooges, some people think they are idiots.

Everyone needs to chanel their energies and go run or something. Some of us seem to be suffering from winter stir craziness!

"Slow Children 1000 points each"

Oh my god! I hadn't seen Kim's avatar.

As a former child myself, I truly feel children bashing is inappropriate. Why don't you bash on something or someone else. I believe it is our right not to bash on children. They are the future.

Now, I'm really upset.

ooooohhhhhhhhhh (sorry, still a child!)

Edited by dragoman 2004-12-29 3:50 PM

Can I bash Venezuelans? ;-) LOL!

You can definitely bash on Venezuelans, you can even start with our President.

or am I supposed to get hyped up, "patriotic" and start insulting people?

I love this bully thread; it's actually funnier than the original post.



Edited by dragoman 2004-12-29 4:10 PM

Three stooges rock. Just got a DVD with 4 episodes on it for Christmas. On Friday night, there is nothing I like more than a nice glass of Syrah, a wide assortment of cheeses, thinly sliced sourdough bread (crackers are for amateurs), and the Three Stooges on the boob tube.

I'm not conceding the debate, I'm just ready for some wine, cheese, bread, and Stoogemania.