Sunday, January 28, 2007

Hey, there's a ceiling in here

Back from trip and it was okay. It wasn't a mindblowing experience, but it had its fun moments. We went camping at Blacksmiths, which is a little suburb just on top of Swansea. The first day was hella boring. A little bit of driving around Lake Macquarie (which is a hella big lake) then stayed at camp until sundown then slept and whatnot.

Second day was more exciting. We met up with some other family friends and drove to the Stockton sand dunes. There is nothing more exciting then driving on the sand dunes, with the possible exception of paintball and getting shot at. 4WDs only please. The key is to lower your tire pressure (14-16psi should do) and never ever stop or slow down. Once you slow down especially on the steeper slopes, you will get stuck. And forget about pinpoint control. You pick a destination and point the car in that direction. The sand can get very soft and steering becomes hectic.

We wanted to slide down the sand dunes, and so my cousin, my brother and I debated about whether it was possible to do it with a bodyboard. The bottom was a bit rubbery, but we decided that enough speed meant enough momentum to overcome friction between board and sand. We were wrong. I took a running start, threw myself forward and then stopped. Well, the board stopped and I rolled down the sand dune. So I was covered in sand and hella dizzy. And it was rather windy. So when we returned to camp, our portable gazebo was literally blown away.

Today would have been quick, except after leaving Woy Woy (where you can find the BEST fish'n'chips) we got stuck in a massive traffic jam. But while this little trip was fun, an issue keeps bugging me. The prejudice we encountered while driving in the sand dunes.

Generally, Australia is pretty cool. Except Tasmania. Probably the worst place. We have these CB radios so our convoy can communicate to each other, generally in Viet. But the furthur you travel from major city centers (like Sydney, Melbourne etc) the worse the prejudice becomes. It's like the people who live there are ineducated bogans who don't understand shit about Australia and how great a place it is. So while in the sand dunes, there was a variety of insults aimed at us. These insults are fairly common and don't vary too much. I wanted to counter-insult but my dad wouldn't let me. But if I ever get the chance I will. Below are the insults I have encountered.

This next section of text contains profanity and material that may offend some viewers. These comments are not aimed at everyone, but to the bastards that bring a bad name to Australia and the people who live there. This situation is not common to all of Australia and I wish to advise that the idiots here comprise only a small part of the Australian population. If you are easily offended, you may want to skip this next passage of text.

  • "I don't know if you know, but you're in Australia and we speak English here. So why don't you stop talking shit and speak some fucking English like the rest of us, you gooks." (Usually shortened to "Speak fucking English." or any variation of the above)
  • "Why don't you go back to your own country you fucking chinks!" (Or any variation of this)
  • "HAHAHA! SMALL PENIS! HAHAHAHA" (very common insult)
My response? Well I don't know if you know, but we're in Australia, which is a free and multicultural society. Freedom of speech means I can speak in whatever language I damn want and I'm speaking in Vietnamese because my friends and family are more proficient in it. You should shut up or better yet change to a different channel. You are ruining Australia's reputation and this kind of behaviour is unacceptable and unAustralian. Australia is my country and I am an Australian. So I can't go back to my country because Australia is my country. And the last insult? You should see someone about your possible low self-esteem. My counter-insult for the last one would have contained loads of swearing, facts about the population of Asia and Australia and some racist overtones so I'll hold back on that one.

Damn, thats good to finally get out of my system. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell these idiots will continue to exist. Multiculturalism will only get Australia so far in my opinion. These idiots are rare in the city but become more common as you travel furthur away from cities. That is to say that you shouldn't venture out of the city. You should. Australia has some beautiful flora and fauna and it is well worth seeing. Just get out there and maybe with more contact with other races, these idiots might rethink their ways and become a lot less common.

Damn idiots.

4 comments:

ssv★L said...

its horrible isn't it? those ignorant racist imbeciles??

but aagh!! aren't you lucky. you seemed to have travelled all over australia. i envy.

ssv★L said...

n dw, no vodka for me...perhaps one sip...(i've never tried it before) ^^

Anonymous said...

it's really sad to think that these type of things still do really happen.

as for those insults? i've heard some scarier stuff. who knows who actually lurks around on the internet. i stumbled onto this one day and it scared the hell out of me.

i wanted to do something about it, but wasn't really sure what i could do.

take a looksee if you dare.

http://www.stormfront.org/forum/showthread.php/shocking-state-sydney-313466.html

shame that your holiday was somewhat spoiled. at least there were some fun bits. =)

Anonymous said...

yeah, 3 hours out from sydney and it starts feeling weird... and you were a long way from any sorta city.

you know you're the one who's going to uni and making a life for yourself. go back in 20 years and see the difference.