There are three R's you never want to bring up in conversation with Australians. Consider these lose-lose topics if you're not Australian!
- Republicanism: Should the Queen of England continue to be the head of state of Australia?
- Refugees: Should Australia admit refugees? (generally couched in the guise of 'what should the immigration policy in this country be?)
- Reparations: How should Australia deal with Aborigines?
Comments
Add to that list, Religion, which is linked to the other 3 anyway and Racism, which is also linked to the other 3 (the only reason Aussies like the term Republicanism, is because it's got a "Pub" in it :-) say no more!)
Drinking is the national sport!
They could just take the U.S. Approach... give Aborigines small plots of land with the crappiest weather possible and let them build casinos and sell goods that aren't taxable by the government. I'm all for advertising your niche in the market, but here in Nevada, there are ALWAYS ads on the radio for the Muapa "valley of fire" tribe selling cigarettes with no taxes on them. (well, they don't openly say that, but that's the subtext)
Not as bad but still sketchy:
"Retarded Aussie Stereotypes": Foster's Beer commercials and Paul Hogan. Some Australians have a good sense of humor about them, some don't.
"Ripping on Australian pop artists": Dissing Kylie Minogue or INXS is a sure way to have your eyeballs clawed out.
Hmm... ya know, now that I think about it, I only have beardoc as a data point for that last one. Maybe it's just him. ;)
(For the record, I don't care for Kylie or 70% of INXS' output, though I'm the proud owner of 1990's X.)