Is there bigotry against POMS in Australia?

Show all answers

TonyB

I would say NO, there's isn't bigotry against POMS.

There is some good-natured slagging off, mostly because of the cricket, but that works both ways.

I've got heaps of English friends and we take the pi*s out of each other every day. Is this bigotry? Certainly not.

I've never heard of an English person being refused entry to a club or turned down for a job because of his nationality. There is no bigotry, but please bring your sense of humour and leave your whinging at home and you'll be right.

ll_jenny_ll here

ROTFLMAO at thom jo d's answer ... fair dinkum mate it seems like a Good Idea that you returned to where ever it was from whence you came...

We aussies hang Shyte on EVERYBODY .. including ourselves, infact .. sometimes the more we hang on a particular group the actual more affection we feel for those people...

Take the Kiwis for example .. i don't know how many sheep jokes I have heard at their expense .. BUT our history is forever melded with theirs in the ANZAC story .. and I will always defend our Kiwi cousins from REAL attacks against them ...

thom jo d did bring up a couple of points that had validity BUT to say that the average australian didn't give a damn to me indicates more thom jo d's bigotry against australians.

we WILL seriously knock those who take themselves too bloody seriously ( including those of our own) and people who think they are Better than others.. BUT it has little to do with the person's nationality but the indiviuals character...mind you it is far easier for them to think that we are knocking Their nationality than for them to consider it just might be THEM personally we have issue with

Some of the best people I know are Poms ..

molly

Well I immigrated from England so I have been a pom all my life in this great country and I have never been treated with prejudice also I married an aboriginal man and never had a problem with bigots and I object to people saying we don't treat our citizens equally everybody gets a fair go in this country but not a free ride and if they don't like our way of life there are plenty of others lining up to get in.

thekittiesinthehood

The simple answer is yes....BUT, not all Australians are like this. While I generally agree with Thom's answer, I take issue with his statement that "And when you put this to the Aussie man in the street they show no shame and couldn't give a damn". That suggests we are all like that and we certainly are not. Many Australians are ashamed, embarrassed, and very upset by the way refugees and other immigrants entering this country are treated and many of us detest racism and bigotry and are ashamed to call ourselves Australian in view of the way our Government treats refugees. Some of us wish the UN would take sanctions against the country over our refugee policy and don't understand why they don't. Many of us hate racism & bigotry.
In the greater scheme of things here, the English probably face less bigotry here than most other cultures. The worst racism here seems to be against those from different colored backgrounds (some still would like the White Australia Policy to return) and at present, the Muslims. After about 20 years here it seems to me that the targets of bigotry change all the time. For awhile the Vietnamese were being blamed for all the crime, now it's the Muslims. BUT, please remember, a large percentage of us are not at all like this.

TONe

yeah yeah whatever..vivian salons a multi millinare now due to that little side trip thank you,thanks to us taxpayers,wish someone would deport me...pommy we love you,but do you love australia

rick JAMES

yes definately but its all in good spirits

ope1rsh

I'm a POM in Australia. During the cricket, there was obviously bigotry towards us. I find that the general person on the street is ok, but its when you go into the pubs (the alcohol is flowing and peer pressure is involved) that the true bigotry happens.

Australia is cool to live in, but England also has its own charms too. It always amazes me though that when I am over here that the majority of Australians really quite envy the European lifestyle and the access from England to the European cities and the rest of the World.

So, I would agree that the true POMS are the Australian's because they are so isolated.

: - )

barbara b

yeah they do. I was there and I am Irish, I got bored listening to the English being slagged off. And ye would think I'd enjoy such a thing!!!

Think though , it's all in good fun :*

Smoochy Poochy

english people get a rep as a 'whinging pom' when the compare england to australia and moan about things being so different from here. I don't know the scale of it though.

Peter F

As a pom living in Australia I haven't found any bigotry towards me whatsoever. Any jokes about poms directed towards me are always tongue-in-cheek and you just have to laugh and join in!

twoteles

I am not sure how true this is - but someone told me recently that the real explanation of the word POHM (that was the correct spelling) means Prisoner's Of Her Majesty - meaning that the Australians are the real POHMs because they were sent to the biggest open prison in the world for the crimes they committed in England all those years ago.

Hugh Jarce

Oh yes indeed there is ! And not only toward English. Been there and they are very much the bigots, so what you heard is TRUE !

Thom Jo D

You'd be hard pushed to find a country where more bigotry exists against any and every race they can target. That is why they hide behind such a cheesy patronizing facade of "the great easy going Aussie". From the Aboriginal indigenous peoples to the present day's immigrants, the arrogant "Aussies" who are really the POMS (Prisoners) have a seething dislike for cultures because they have none of their own. Some examples of the appalling inhumane disgraces still happening in Australia today.>>

** Vivian SolonÂ´s extraordinary story is a vivid reminder of what happens when over zealous bureaucrats,aided and abetted by government policy and a pliant fourth estate, are able to deport people without judicial overview.
Vivian Solon was born in the Philippines; she had been in Australia for 18years, had 2 children in Australia and had become an Australian citizen!!.
She was troubled by mental illness and failed personal relationships.

In 2001 she was involved in a motor vehicle accident, sustained head injuries and was admitted to Lismore hospital. A short time later this,obviously distressed, woman was handed over to immigration authorities.
They took only 3 days to deport her. She was taken to the airport in a wheelchair and without too much fanfare was dumped in Manila. Two years ago, the Immigration authorities realised their mistake but did nothing to rectify the problem. Her family in Australia did not know she had been deported and assumed she had met foul play, her children were put into foster care and she disappeared from sight in the Philippines. If this story had happened to an Australian anywhere else in the world, it would
have created a storm in this country. **

*** The detention of refugees in Australia goes far beyond that which is necessary to protect national security, verify identity, or determine the elements upon which the claim to refugee status is based. The policy of detention is universal, factors such as a persons health, age, bona fides and previous experience of trauma or persecution are not considered. The mere fact of arrival without authorisation is sufficient alone to require detention. The universal detention of undocumented arrivals in these conditions clearly breaches...human rights provisions. ***

**** However, Australia is still the only country where detention is mandatory for adults and children seeking asylum for the duration of their processing by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA). Particular concerns have been expressed by many, including members of the medical profession, over the detention of children in Australia's Immigration Detention Centres. ****

Are you disgusted enough yet ? These are the tip of the iceberg, believe me as I have and am constantly investigating this issue. And when you put this to the Aussie man in the street they show no shame and couldn't give a damn !

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200507/s1419051.htm

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: