australia_for_mistree sab i been thinking [what the hell have i been drinking] about what you asked in sydeny and i stand here, ashamed it's taken me so long to reply australia. i was talking about how australians view themselves to judas jsut yesterday. our view of ourselves is very much based on the idea[l]s of the bushrangers, and the rebellion at the eureka stockade - which was the closest we ever got to civil war, and it was a bunch of gold miners who got jack of authority, barracaded themselves in and were slaughtered in a morning. a single mornings work, and we have built a ledgend, a mindset and some might argue a nationhood upon it. australians also see themselves as: larikan, disrespect for authority, work hard, keep your head down, self sacrifice, xenophibia, respect for physical prowess, anit-intellectualism, these are the stereotypes you understand [thanks to judas for that bit] we like to think of ourselves as a classless society, that all are equal. this is, of course, not true, but the people in power encourage this mindset at every turn, because if we are unwilling to even admit that there are people higher up on the class ladder than us, then we cannot rebel against that which we will not see. australians like to see themselves, on the whole, as hard workers. they have the idea of the Digger. this was originally the name for the aussie soilders at... erm... gallipoli i think, but we, as a nation, carry the ideal on proudly. Digger is someone who grimly carries on in the face of hardship, the term Digger envelopes the ideals of mateship and beer. it is a term used interchangably with "aussie battler" which means much the same thing. we like to think that we are fighters with the strength to carry on against anything against everything. see from_the_lambing_to_the_wool for the ideal of the australian farmer, which we see as having an intergral part in building this nation and thus people who instinctivly see themselves as Battlers [pronouced 'bat-l'rs] dispise those they see as having an easy time of it. lower class, for although we like to think that we are a classless society, we still hold the doublethink idea of working class, middle class and upper class, the working class are the hard workers who built this nation. at the same time, they are all dole bludging scum who could better their lives if they truly wanted too. because they have not escaped the poverty trap, thus they must want to be there, and middle class australia despises them for it. the middle class eyes off the upper class, wanting to be them but not willing to admit it to their mates. but i think that kind of idea is across-the-board in western civilisation. as to society, theres this odd idea that we dont have time, or the inkling [im not quite sure which] to be frivolus things. the arts is often looked down upon as a waste of time. there is an over developed sence of not wanting to look like a wanker in front of your mates, and participating in the arts, in theatre, in pretty much anything that isnt footy and bbqs is seen as such. of course, these are all generalisations, and there is a small if thriving arts community in every major city, but we are kind of preaching to the converted. its nigh impossible to get people who arnt already willing to come see a play, see a concert where people get to sit down, come see an art exhibition or visit an art gallery. art is seen as wanky, as a bit poofy, and australia, although it likes to see itself as progressive, still holds onto the mindset of being suspicions about anything that could vaguly be construded as fruity. this, all this, you understand, is the nation's ideal of itself, and does not nessecarily reflect the veiw of the individual or the writer. and ok, that all sounds a little disparaging. lets see if i can even out the score. herm. well, the country itself is often beautful, but i figure you can find gorgous pics anywhere on the net, so that's not really something i will dwell on here. there is a strong sence of community in the rural areas, people banding together after natural disasters, which is something that occurs quite a bit here. because we have that eureka stockade background, we had, until recently, a strong union force as well, and that's part of the australian mindset. protests are common against a bunch of things. i work in the CBD and it warms my heart every time a protest swings by my office window. when the War on Terra was breaking out, there were protests everyday, and that was beautiful. of course, it didnt make any difference in the end. hmm. there has got to be more stuff, i'll get back to you 040421 ... misstree i will chew upon and poke more specifically if anything comes to me. but you gave me quite a platter to lick at. thankee dahlink, this is exactly what i was looking for. *grin* 040423 what's it to you? who go blather from