That’s about as patriotic as I get on the fourth of July.
I have always been somewhat conflicted about the best way to celebrate the American day of independence. On one hand, we managed to wrench ourselves from the grip of our British oppressors and in doing so craft a nation around the highest ideals; on the other, we stunningly massacred, raped, and pillaged hundreds of tribes of people who lived here for generations and generations and there was that little slavery thing going on too. So, yeah, a soccer jersey and a six- pack of Bud is all the fourth of July celebrating you will get out of me.
In lighter news, Cate and I did have a lovely day this past Saturday, especially since I have just begun the July school holidays. I am essentially off work for the next two weeks (I’ll still work three days each of the next two weeks, but only in the capacity of a camp counselor for the activities that we’ll be running at the youth center)! We grilled up some bacon cheeseburgers (burgers in general are apparently a very American food, I guess I have never lived in any other country, but it’s fascinating what one learns away from home) and washed them down with our frosty Budweisers.
Speaking of Budweiser, for some reason those old “wasssssssup?!” commercials popped into my head and I showed them to Cate. They are JUST as hilarious nine years later… don’t believe me? Take a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDTZCgsZGeA&feature=related
ANYway. In my musings about the fourth of July, I was really trying to come up with something clever/ witty/ not too cliché to write, but for some reason, all I could think of was a miniature list of Australian words/ phrases that amuse and/ or confuse me.
Enjoy.
1. “Sweet as!” commonly followed by, “bro!”
- Contrary to my initial impression, my backside was not constantly being complimented, and this is just an expression of deep approval. Like, ‘That car was as sweet as brown sugar, bro!’ But, the phrase is just shortened to sweet as, bro; in all fairness, this one might be of New Zealand (Kiwi) origin, but I hear it here, and not in the US, so it stays on my list.
2. “Fella.”
- Clearly the word ‘fella’ is heard in America, but generally not out of the mouth of someone under 65 years of age. Yet in Australia, many of the young people I work with use the word fella every day. In case the context is lost on you, “fella” is like the movie Goodfellas, or perhaps Rocafella for any hip-hoppers out there. This one is used most prominently by my Aboriginal students and often as a racial term, like blackfella or whitefella, no distinction made for gender might I add.
3. “Reckon”
- Not a force to be reckoned with, but rather, ‘I reckon that if we don’t round up these kangaroos, they’ll cause some serious problems for those koalas.” Haha, sorry, that was a stupid sentence, but I don’t care, I’m just flowin now. Reckon is one of those words that is again, a babyboomerism, if not older; like it’s the sort of word that my 85 year old grandfather who was born and raised in a small town in Mississippi uses frequently, yet here I am in Perth, in 2009, and it’s everywhere. Crazy.
4. Usage of the word “the” in a sporting context.
- Certainly we all know that the name of the team that Michael Jordan played for was The Chicago Bulls, however, if we were exhorting the team on to victory in the stands, we would shout, “Go Bulls!” In Perth, and I believe all of Australia, they would say, “Go The Bulls!” Perhaps we do it all wrong in America, but I had never heard of such a thing before I got here and no one I talk to can give me an explanation as to why the, “the” is left in front of the team’s name when cheering. Sweet as, bro.
5. Usage of the word “colored,” but since this is Australia, “coloured.”
- I debated whether or not to include this one, but like I said, I’m on a roll. Yes, coloured, is used here, by both whites and non-whites to describe non-whites as a group. No, it is not 1950. Clearly, coming from my background as an African- American who majored in African- American Studies, who may or may not have a tendency to passionately pursue an argument or two, it is a struggle to hold my tongue when I hear people using the word. However, in the wisdom of my old age, I have learned to listen and think before launching into a verbal assault because we all know that I am more than equipped to wage that war. But, why is the usage of the word coloured so offensive? OK, by calling all non-white people ‘coloured’ a direct assumption is inherent, that all white people are in some way grouped together and that all non- white people are all grouped together. The deeper implication is that “whiteness” is the standardized, maybe even “pure” racial category and the other group (us coloured fellas, ha, that was good hey?) has impurities; that whites are normal and everyone else is somehow abnormal. Now, we all know that ALL of that is a load of garbage, which is why the word “colored” is no longer used in America (except by ignorant folk). Today, we use words like, “minorities” or my favorite, “people of color.” Really, what this all boils down to (hold on, I’m about to get off my soapbox) is a need for us as humans to stop classifying people by “racial” groups, because let’s face it, “race” is something that was constructed by those in power to tighten their grasp on those whom they oppressed. That is not to say that we shouldn’t acknowledge and appreciate cultural differences because, I wholeheartedly am in favor of that, we just need to stop worrying so much about lumping people into groups for the purposes on classifying.
Thanks for taking time to read through all my thoughts, I appreciate it.
Take care,
J
