March 9, 2008 at 6:13 am
· Filed under Uncategorized
A client of mine talked about me in their executive committee meeting this week. I’m to present results of an internal communications audit to all staff - and highlight next steps. One of the executives paused and asked - “Don’t you think he’s too American?”
My client asked what they meant. Do you think he’s too loud? Too forward? “Well - yes,” came the reply. Thankfully my client remarked that staff had all responded favourably to my energetic style. The issues was resolved.
But it made me think. What other nationalities could you equally single out?
“Don’t ask her to present - she’s so Chinese!” I don’t think so!
Or how about - “Will people understand him? He is very Greek.” Sounds like a lawsuit, doesn’t it?
“Staff won’t respond favourably to him because he’s so Italian (or Lebanese or Vietnamese or Thai).”
I have to say you’re right to cringe at all these phrases.
Yet in Australia it’s okay to pick on the Americans. And the British. Equally, an Aussie in London gets complimented by being told, “You’re not very Australian.” Does that mean the hat with corks is missing and there are no Vegemite stains on their tie?
I know the comment was not meant to discriminate or exclude or whatever. But in a backwards way it still stings.
I took up citizenship in 1994 and choose to live in Australia. That’s a forever decision (or so it feels right now). But to many I’ll always be American. And while I retain my USA citizenship I live in Sydney, travel on my Aussie passport and feed my son Vegemite for breakfast.
So now I know what Laotians, Indonesians, Mongolians, Chileans and all others feel like when they’re in Australia.
At least as an American you get it to your face.
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Well, I get that you’re upset, but part of what you love about Australians is our straight-forward nature, isn’t it?
We practice equal opportunity discrimination, in that we’re somewhat derisive of all cultures including our own. That’s what outsiders mean when they describe us as “down to earth” and “relaxed” or “casual”.
You can’t have it both ways - either you like that, or you don’t.
“Yet in Australia it’s okay to pick on the Americans. And the British.”
“We” pick on everyone, which doesn’t necessarily explain what happened to you in this case. I’m not going to pretend that cultural aversion doens’t exist here, that would be stupid (it exists literally everywhere)… but one guy disliking brash Americans and making a deal out of it doesn’t automatically extrapolate to a nation of discriminatory xenophobes.
“So now I know what Laotians, Indonesians, Mongolians, Chileans and all others feel like when they’re in Australia”
Really? you know what it’s like to grow up with a fourth-rate education and have your work prospects limited by a dead-end economy, only to struggle your way to Australia where your skin colour is different to most people’s and folks look at you like you’re retarded because you don’t speak the same language?
You know what it’s like to live in a cultural bubble where you struggle to express your needs and frustrations because you simply don’t have the words?… To be laughed at and hurried along when you’re searching for the words to communicate why you’d be the best person for this really shitty job, with the same nuance as you would in your own language?
I think it’s time for some perspective. Americans can indeed be … brash… which does rub some of the rest of the world the wrong way because as a people in general you have a tendency to walk the world as if you own it. I think other cultures are sensitive to that, and rather than completely distort how offensive that is compared with other people’s experience, maybe you should just be more aussie and let it roll off your back.
PS: In my opinion feeding a kid vegemite is child abuse 
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