Pat Wanis

[Helena]

Another Fox News stooge contributor.

opinion.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=34606&content=65145022&pageNum=-1

Check out number four on his list of why Australia is great.

That one really stood out, but his other points are full of bs as well. Does Fox search for these people, have open casting calls, or do they have a fool factory somewhere?

[Austin]

This is #4:

4. We Are Comfortable with Traditional Roles for Men and Women

In some ways, Australia is still like the United States of the 1950s - plenty of women still do all the cooking at home and not as many women compete directly with men - although they are still highly successful and educated.

Just like in America, many women are happy and proud to be mothers and housewives; the man is allowed to be a man - to protect and provide and yes, be rough around the edges. He is not told that he is supposed to be feminine or PC and a woman doesn't feel stupid, inferior or threatened if she decides to ask a man for help.

Aussie men are physical; on the rugby and soccer fields we will fight -- literally. If you don't believe me watch some YouTube videos of Australian Rules Football - no padding, no helmets and we punch each other.

Yes, it's very primitive behavior but it's also a reflection of the extreme Aussie way - do or die - everything at 100%.

[dairyfreelife]

Most of his points I don't get and to call it What American Can Learn from Aussies is pathetic-there's nothing to learn at all. How long has Pat lived here?

Don't lose your sense of humour-because Americans don't have a sense of humour?

Don't get caught up on PC-because people are always pc and never insult others here, right.

We never give in without a fight-we don't either hence all the movements and protests and rallies, etc. we have. We Americans just people get away with everything, even when we disagree. History shows us this too. We never fight. :snooty:

We are comfortable with traditional roles for men and women-we have stay at homes and working parents and rough and tumble men and women. We allow men and women to work and compete and play together and that's bad because...why exactly?

We work to live, we don't live to work-people here do both. There is a balance here. It's not either/or, all or nothing.

We go on Walkabouts-Americans also sometimes backpack and go explore after high school and before college-here and in other countries.

Wear Sunscreen-because Americans don't?

Immigrants assimilate to Aussie way of life-so do most immigrants here without a generation. However, we don't force our immigrants to lose all of their culture. We are a stew of cultures and ways of life and we are who we are because of our immigrants. Why is that so bad?

"Mateship" is everything-Um, Americans don't call just anyone a friend either. A friend special and most people would risk their lives for one here too. We aren't one culture, one entity and people here value friendship differently. As for Idol, I never liked the show and some of the judges on these contest shows are actually British-Sharon Osbourne? so the point is...what exactly?

We are still learning-so are we, all the time, everyone is, it's called life. If you aren't learning, you aren't really living.

[jaelh]

We work to live, we don't live to work-people here do both. There is a balance here. It's not either/or, all or nothing.

We go on Walkabouts-Americans also sometimes backpack and go explore after high school and before college-here and in other countries.

Wear Sunscreen-because Americans don't?

While the vast majority of what was said in the article is the standard OzzieOzzieOzzie dickblistering that plagues the Australian psyche, having lived in both countries the three above ARE very different between AU and the US.

Holidays - the Australian minimum leave allowance is 4 weeks; police and nurses for eg get 8 weeks; other jobs you can negotiate your package. This compares to 2 weeks as a leave allowance in the US. There is a huge difference in approaches to work also because AU doesn't have the protestant work ethic pull yourself up by your bootstraps sense of meaning attached to work. It's much, much more laid back in Australia, despite Australian's working more hours over all each year.

Walkabout - the difference between AU and US and young people travelling is either having debt or racking debt up for college. We don't end up with commercial school debt: it makes travel in those young years very accessible. Because of a working visa program with the UK, hundreds of thousands of under 30 Australian's can be found in the UK each year. Despite Australia's *incredible* provincial-ness, young Australian's leave in vast numbers (also, high flyers tend to need to leave; in much the same way that kids from Ohio might take off to the big colleges on the coasts, before returning home to run the state or something.)

Sunscreen - you forget where Australia is: under the ozone hole. for the last 20 years, you've not been allowed out of the classroom without a large or flapped school hat; often classrooms have a pump tub of sunscreen by the door. AU had one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world - we may still do, I'm not sure - but there have been enormous public policy measures put in place to remedy this (as the state is footing the medical bill through public health care, there's a pretty enormous incentive there). While parts of the US have similar sun exposure, sun awareness is not part of the national psyche as it is in Australia.

anyway. Skydog I'm looking forward to getting out again soon enough! :)

[Austin]

As an Ohioan, I am aware of the slip-slop-slap campaign through news reports (I thought it was clever), but sunscreen is not part of the US national psyche. Something like 8 out of 10 Americans who even use sunscreen use it wrong, too.

[dairyfreelife]

While the vast majority of what was said in the article is the standard OzzieOzzieOzzie dickblistering that plagues the Australian psyche, having lived in both countries the three above ARE very different between AU and the US.

Holidays - the Australian minimum leave allowance is 4 weeks; police and nurses for eg get 8 weeks; other jobs you can negotiate your package. This compares to 2 weeks as a leave allowance in the US. There is a huge difference in approaches to work also because AU doesn't have the protestant work ethic pull yourself up by your bootstraps sense of meaning attached to work. It's much, much more laid back in Australia, despite Australian's working more hours over all each year.

Walkabout - the difference between AU and US and young people travelling is either having debt or racking debt up for college. We don't end up with commercial school debt: it makes travel in those young years very accessible. Because of a working visa program with the UK, hundreds of thousands of under 30 Australian's can be found in the UK each year. Despite Australia's *incredible* provincial-ness, young Australian's leave in vast numbers (also, high flyers tend to need to leave; in much the same way that kids from Ohio might take off to the big colleges on the coasts, before returning home to run the state or something.)

Sunscreen - you forget where Australia is: under the ozone hole. for the last 20 years, you've not been allowed out of the classroom without a large or flapped school hat; often classrooms have a pump tub of sunscreen by the door. AU had one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world - we may still do, I'm not sure - but there have been enormous public policy measures put in place to remedy this (as the state is footing the medical bill through public health care, there's a pretty enormous incentive there). While parts of the US have similar sun exposure, sun awareness is not part of the national psyche as it is in Australia.

anyway. Skydog I'm looking forward to getting out again soon enough! :)

I was responded to what he thinks we need to do more like them.

I think it depends on the job here, but yes, many places have better times and leaves than here. I just meant in regards to jobs-some people work to live, to survive and some live for work.

I know people who travel so that does happen here-that's all I was saying. Not as common due to finances-young people usually can't afford it, but it does happen. I've heard of backpacking in Europe and people traveling. It's not financially feasible very often, but I don't see why it's a problem that people here don't. It's not cheap at all. Travel even within states can be wallet draining.

As for sunscreen, I guess I just grew up differently. My grandmother and mother have both had skin cancer and a lady from my old church and another woman's son (a friend of my mom's) both had melanoma and luckily survived so sunscreen was always a big push growing up where I lived in Appalachia. Seemed like lots of people had issues with skin cancer for whatever reason. I always saw people slathering in on their kids and on themselves when out for sports and stuff from May-September. I know where AU is and that is very warm and I figured people used to sunscreen, but it sounded like the guy was implying Americans don't and that's not my experience personally. I see it pushed all the time to wear it-maybe it's not as vital as here though because of location. It's a cooler climate, except in regards to the southern states like Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, California where summer temps often hit in the 100-120 range and it's desert. And Florida and Hawaii, which are tropical. Maybe some places don't push it as much here, I'm not sure.

[jaelh]

I was responded to what he thinks we need to do more like them.

You don't think the US would benifit from a more expansive attitude to holidays, experiencing the other and skin protection?

Also - why travel in Europe? Once you get to Asia, it's *cheap*.