28 January 2007

City of Dobbers?

| johnboy
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The Canberra Times is decrying the willingness of Canberrans to turn on each other.

They start by telling us it’s a bad idea to report neighbours breaching water restrictions and move on to Canberrans using Rate the Plate and idiotdriver.com.au (where’d you lift that idea from Brad?).

City of whingers? Or just more able to express our feelings?

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Australians value being able to do, think and say whatever the hell we feel like. Therefore the act of calling something “unAustralian” is in itself “unAustralian”.

Hmm, my witty and amusing comments didn’t make it.

Note to self: anything enclosed in will be taken as an HTML tag.

Although I will admit to liking… Hendrix, Neil Young…

Hendrix American?
Neil Young American?

If Jim Morrison was your neighbour I think you’d find your garden hose getting shorter and shorter each day.

WMC – perhaps you should buy a letter because you are a lit firecracker at the moment. (That’s WMD on account of you are an american and I’ll have to provide you the solution before you get the joke)

Its Sceptic on account of I say it is, on account of I really want to drawl the ‘Sc’ sound out. On no account was it intended to read ‘septic’ because I wouldn’t want to associate americans with something useful.

Hear that wooshing sound over your head ?

You should probably duck – it’s gunfire.

Absent Diane4:37 pm 29 Jan 07

I personally watch heaps of american tv, mostly doco’s though alongisde; curb your enthusiasm, the family guy and south park (the only three american comedies that almost rival brit humour)

Jim Morrison wouldn’t waste water, but then he’d never dob on his neighbour either. He’d just go over to the neighbour’s house and flash his flaccid member at them while he’s pissed on vodka and tripping on acid.

Woody Mann-Caruso4:20 pm 29 Jan 07

Woody, I’d say you’re slightly deluding in saying that we are the 51st state. Maybe you should get out more?

Maybe you should quit assuming that your experience is the sum of all experience. Just because you don’t like “Yank” anything, doesn’t meant that the rest of Australia isn’t gobbling it up in all aspects of their lives each and every day. I don’t happen to think it’s a bad thing myself, because you get tired of “Mother and Son” and vegemite on toast after a while. The universe doesn’t revolve around you and your delusions, sunshine.

Piss off to America then, Sceptic Lover.

Actually, I am a sceptic, but I’ll assume you meant “septic”. I don’t need to move to America, because it’s already moved here, and anything I could get there I can, and do, get here (with the exception of White Castle hamburgers). Hear that whooshing sound over your head? That was the point.

“Sadly, calling someone Un-Australian seems to be particularly Australian”

A quote from Wil Anderson’s peice ‘The Sunday Roast’ from the Sunday Telegraph’s magazine ‘Sunday’. Never heard of the term ‘Un-Australian’ until a little while ago, and it seems to be thrown in when someone does something that someone else dosen’t like.

‘You wash your car on the road – that’s Un-Australian’
‘You can’t ban the Australian Flag – that’s Un-Australian’
‘You can’t wear those sock with your thongs – that’s Un-Australian’

The only other nationality I can think of as using the term “un-wherever-we-are” is the Yanks (indeed, most notoriously in the House Unamerican Activities Commission – HUAC). So it’s possible that Watson was merely mentioning a possible derivation…

Piss off to America then, Sceptic Lover.

(Really, I had to say that)…

Woody Mann-Caruso2:41 pm 29 Jan 07

I disagree {that un-Australian = Anti-American}, as do most Australians !

Ever since John Howard became PM, Australia’s interests have been America’s interests, and to be against America’s interests (for example, free trade, the war on terror, the war on drugs, intellectual property, the media) is to be against Australia’s interests.

As for Australians themselves – for all their mindless jingoism about “septic tanks”, we sure do enjoy our American food, American beverages, American television, American fashions, American cinema, American magazines, American websites, American Christianity and so on. We’re deluding ourselves if we think we’re not the 51st state. Even with the accent, we could probably pass for Boston southies. Pahk the cahr in the yahrd, and we’ll have some chowdah!

I’m not into P.Correctness – they really meant to say fat chicks do it like they need to impress you a lot because they don’t get it that often, except that thats a rather long lyric.

Fat bottom girls that is Mael

Depends on what your neighbour is doing.

Dobbing your neighbour in for nude sunbathing is un-Australian.

I’ll omit the obvious fat guy snide remarks – it’s not just for your benefit peoples, and as Queen so famously sang ‘fat women make the world go round’.

Some people say I must now become Oztrayan.
Will that make me un-Australian?

Ok then – I am Australian by birth – have national pride but not Yobbo by nature – I like my straw hats too – but im not a yokel or redneck. I’m danman – who is Australian…

(In trying to stear this thread back home) I would suggest dobbing on your neighbour would be more un-neighbourly rather than un-australian.

The Australian term for that is as correctly stated, Yobbo

A Yobbo can be an Australian, however it is generally accepted that he or she is currently engaged in Un-Australian conduct at the time they are being a Yobbo.

It is my personal belief that the only people who should have flags draped over them should be dead and/or in a casket.

These beer swilling yobbos who believe that national pride is draping yourself in a flag getting drunk and shoutng so called patriotic (but in reality racist) slurs while demanding to kiss the flag or “get bashed” are not representitive of what I believe is patriotism.

Can it be Un Australian to be deluded into thinking your representing Australians ?

i’m with a.d.
i consider myself a human being first, australian second. you can stick this jingoistic crap that the media thrusts on us daily. it appeals to those humans that i prefer not to associate with.

Absent Diane of the internet proxy ?

Absent Diane10:51 am 29 Jan 07

I am not australian… I am the animal known as a human being, a native species of the planet earth… I generally reside in the region known as australia, which is very comfortable place to live in, but human beings are known to inhabit many varying places throughout the world.. I worship no piece of material.

VYBerlinaV8_now with_added_grunt10:32 am 29 Jan 07

Calling the cops on people doing something blatantly dangerous is one thing, but dobbing on someone for washing their car on the lawn? Gimmee a break!

I washed my car on my front lawn on Saturday morning (early). I always wash from a bucket, and turn the hose on only for a minute or so to rinse the car off. The lawn gets a but damp as an added benefit. When you think about how businesses are eating up our water supply, filling a bucket and running my hose for 60 seconds is no issue.

From the gist of that – I guess being un-australian is being teh opposite of what an australian is.

So what is an Australian.

An Australina is soo much – it can not be defined by a scattering of words and cliches – so in that regard – for someone to be un-Australian ( being that being australins id all encompassing ) then they would, essentially, be nothing – non existant if you will.

From Watson’s Dictionary of Weasel Words, Contemporary Cliches, Cant and Management Jargon : un-Australian = Anti-American.

I disagree, as do most Australians !

From a nation that gave birth to the term ‘Sceptic Tank’, the drafter of that translation had his/her head in the clouds.

I love youse all!
-Oh, what an un-terubo comment.

hmmm ralph probably is my neighbour?

Well call me petty then I suppose, if I should choose to report my neighbour.
If he was only wasting on the odd occassion, then hey I wouldnt given a toss, but he constantly seen wasting and I’m sorry but this really gets under my skin!

Woody Mann-Caruso9:12 am 29 Jan 07

From Watson’s Dictionary of Weasel Words, Contemporary Cliches, Cant and Management Jargon:

un-Australian

Person, attitude or remark held to be inconsistent with or hostile to Australa’s interests, essence, identity, traditions, customs or zeitgeist. Whatever is at odds with her icons or sport. To foul one’s own nest. To be a smart-arse or wanker. Latte drinker. Elite. Out of touch. Aka. ‘Not the Australian way’. Black armband historian. Anti-American.

“Echoing the political philosophy of the two Josephs – Goebbels and McCarthy – Stone claimed that the recent ‘negative outpouring against the Howard Government’ was ‘un-Australian’.” Mark McKenna, Age, April 2006.

Using the criteria some seem to apply to water “dobbers”, Crimestoppers is distinctly un-Australian. You’d think if anything was against “Australia’s interests”, it’d be pissing a precious resource up against the wall, blatant disrespect for the law and a “fukc the rest of you – I got mine’ attitude. Sorry, what I meant to say was – Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer!

If they’re bashing their wives or growing dope then you should call the cops.

Screeching over car washing and lawn watering is just petty.

darkladywolf8:54 am 29 Jan 07

Have a yarn and a beer with your neighbours. Don’t go slinking around dobbing on the phone to the Department of Social Control because that’s un-Australian!
Here we go again. Have you met my neighbors? Probably not.

Over the years I’ve had a few whom I could have a good yarn with. Whom I could discuss things rationally with. Whom I (God forbid) could be friends with.

Then I’ve had others who are more willing to start a war than talk. Who only care about themselves.

Sometimes you can talk to your neighbours about issues, and mostly that’s where you should start. On the other hand reporting behavior when there is no other recourse, is sometimes necessary.

But I guess that’d be ‘un-Australian’.

and a boo hoo to being so called un-australian…
I havent yet dobbed a so called neighbour of mine in (and I may not) for his lack of control with watering (which has been happening since stage 3 was introduced), but I am however extremely annoyed that the rest of the street can do the right thing and follow the stage 3 restrictions, regardless whether we think the systems stinks or not and water when we are supposed to, unlike the clown that lives 2 doors up from me!
I have however had words with him and advised that it is inappropriate and eventually he would be caught out and probably fined.
Hell I might just get jack of him and his water wasting efforts and be the UN-AUSTRALIAN person that dobs this fool in!

Ralph, the quality of any term is determined by its most enthusiastic proponents. Given that the cited instances are the Johns Elliot and Singleton, that pretty much confines the term to the shitcan for me automatically…

1. not Australian in character: an un-Australian landscape; an un-Australian novel.
2. (of conduct, behaviour, etc.) not conforming to ideas of traditional Australian morality and customs, such as fairness, honesty, hard work, etc.: *Mr Elliott said the idea should not be seen as un-Australian or against the ethos of the nation’s culture of not `dobbing in mates’. –WEST AUSTRALIAN, 1992.
3. violating a pattern of conduct, behaviour, etc., which, it is implied by the user of the term, is one embraced by Australians: *It’s un-Australian to drive past a pub. –JOHN SINGLETON, 1988.
4. Obsolete disloyal to the Australian nation, especially by virtue of being subject to manipulation by an influence from outside Australia, derived from certain political, religious and ethnic affiliations.

Have a yarn and a beer with your neighbours. Don’t go slinking around dobbing on the phone to the Department of Social Control because that’s un-Australian!

there it is.

Im going to the former Yugoslav republic so i can say OMG thats just so un-former Yugoslav republican

darkladywolf8:22 am 29 Jan 07

Can we drop the ‘un-Australian’ crap folks? Just ’cause you disagree with a stance doesn’t necessarily make it ‘un-Australian’.

And this ‘never dob’ mentality; it’s so schoolyard.

If nothing else, maybe you should remember that some ‘dobbers’ are doing it because they hope it might make things better? Disagree with their stance, with their logic, or whatever. But don’t tag them as ‘un-Australian’ for ‘giving it a go’.

I am so friggin sick of people saying something is “Un-Australian”
I mean seriously – what the f*ck is un-australian ?

Its just a catch cry of over zealous media outlets – and unfortunately it has become a national phenomenon.

Its so stupid to sau un-australian – i mean do other countrys say un-uzbekistani or un-commonwealth of independent statesish ?

Maybe someone has access to urban dictionary and can tell me – im stupefied as to what it means.

Like I said – I think its just a generic term that will fade from being in vogue back into obscurity – and not soon enough I think.

I’m with Cranky on the inconsistencies and the tolerance.

My neighbour can pour hundreds of litres on his lawn for three hours a week, but if I park my car on the lawn and do *exactly* the same thing, I’m acting illegally.

It’s brain-dead policy-making. Policy should reflect the aim of the restrictions, not make arbitrary decisions on whether lawn is more valuable to someone than their car.

I had to drop off some boxes at the local recycling centre today. At the centre there are these huge ‘Dob in a Dumper’ signs encouraging people to dob in others who are dumping rubbish.

Three thoughts sprang to mind:
1. How un-Australian
2. Has our society degraded so much that we need to police each other
3. It obviously isn’t working judging by the rubbish dumped around the centre.

City of whingers.

Anyone who dobs in neighbours over water use is un-Australian, and needs to get a life.

Re: dobbing. Some local fools were racing their car around our streets last night. Initially I thought nah don’t call the cops. After all, I probably did as bad when I was new to driving.
But after 10 minutes of rally laps (at 11.30pm) I thought – nah it’s getting dangerous, so went out onto the balcony to get their details.
But their number plate lights were out, but a moment later – smash!
Turned out they smashed in the garage door of their own next door neighbour, but it could have been a LOT worse – cars,people, property…
So on reflection, I should have called the police straight off.

Wash-up was that these idiots parked their car in their garage then took off in another car, so all the necessary evidence was right there for the police when they arrived.
Hope you enjoyed the drive boys – I’m sure it’ll cost you a pretty penny in more ways than one. I’ll certainly be chasing down your rental agent to make sure you are turfed out of the estate.

Have neighbors I have had nothing to do with for years as a result of their objections to a renovation. Cost me heaps in time and money.

They wash their car each weekend on the front lawn, and have no grasp of the odds and evens system.

I would never consider dobbing them in. Maybe I’m old school. Maybe I also think the whole water restriction business is so full of inconsistencies that I can tolerate a degree of civil disobedience.

NIce of the CT to refer to their sources.

Seems those amateurs do nothing else but pinch stories from RA

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