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Genuine Friendship

Entry 487, on 2007-03-05 at 13:37:47 (Rating 4, News)

I saw in the news this morning that some clown has suggested we should make less jokes aimed at our (that is, New Zealand's) neighbours, Australia. The Christchurch and Canterbury Marketing chief executive Ian Bougen, has said we should be nicer to the Aussies so that they will be more likely to visit New Zealand and spend their money here.

New Zealand and Australia have always had a friendly rivalry. I don't think I know anyone who genuinely dislikes Australians - its the country closest to our own both geographically and culturally. How could anyone dislike the Australians good natured and relaxed attitude? By the way, I know I am using stereotypes here, but I think there is a genuine national characteristic of the inhabitants of most countries.

So this idiot is saying we should stop this good-natured banter and play nice. But all he really wants is to extract more money from them, so who is really the one who cares most about Australians? Actually, I can feel a rant starting here, because I really hate marketing. Its one of the most sinister, dishonestly motivated professions around when you analyse what its really all about.

It reminds me of a situation I encountered years ago when I was exchanging emails with a woman in the US. After a while she mentioned that she was training to be a marketing and public relations manager for a hospital. I remarked "so you're going to be a professional liar then?", which she had to admit had an element of truth. Now that I think about it, our correspondence ended shortly after that!

So I think Australia is a great country and I think Australians are great people, but that doesn't stop me telling a few offensive Aussie jokes! For example: What do you have when you have an Aussie up to his neck in concrete? Not enough concrete. What’s the difference between an Aussie and a bucket of shit? The bucket. Why was the Christ child not born in Australia? They couldn’t find three wise men, much less a virgin. Yes, I know these jokes can be aimed at any country or group, including New Zealanders, but the best way to show your genuine friendship (as opposed to the fake version advocated by marketers) is often through a joke!

Comment 1 (3028) by Valerie Tyers on 2012-05-08 at 16:42:33:

Yeah, be nice to Australians especially if they live in Parkdale!
Could you reply to this please Ian?

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