Quote:

Originally Posted by Marko

I did pick up on the fact that he's a wanker, a keyboard warrior as well as shallow. Do I not get points for that?


Seriously though, just report his comments. The admins will do the rest.

Judges results 10 10 10 perfect score

Quote:

Originally Posted by kngo6803

Yes, you do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjmac

Judges results 10 10 10 perfect score

Hahaha, so long as I'm scoring high!!!

Another good thing about living close to the city is you dont get Possums in your roof! I do not miss them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shazzboy

Another good thing about living close to the city is you dont get Possums in your roof! I do not miss them.

I live inner-city and we still get possums.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kngo6803

I found this very offensive. Mainly the racism, which nobody else seems to have picked up on.

Racist? why because I used the words asian, indian and muslim? How is that racist? You're being overly politically correct, get over it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shazzboy

Another good thing about living close to the city is you dont get Possums in your roof! I do not miss them.

Yes possums can be a problem; thankfully we haven't had that problem here. I know that you can still have issues with them in the outer lying areas of most cities. I think it's more along the line of whether you're fortunate enough to be in an area that they aren't a problem.

Like all big cities it just depends on where you live but the main thing is to be as close to where you work as possible.

Bobby you will love Surry Hills to Newtown as you have partly experienced already. Most young gays want to immerse themselves fully
into the gay scene and after a few years most move on. Some stay their whole loves living in/around the gay areas.

You want a house you move out to the burbs , love the beach you move close to the beaches.

Most people get itchy feet fjmac. I was born in the country as well and as far as I can see I have no intention of moving back.

Sydney has all I want. 15mins to work , 5 mins to gyms/shops/beach , 20 mins to Oxford St but have never been out partying there for 15 years.
Hordern spoilt me on that. Big supa centres.

Sneakos and I live in same area and its more like a holiday place yet so close to the city.

Love Sydney.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOldie

Like all big cities it just depends on where you live but the main thing is to be as close to where you work as possible.

Bobby you will love Surry Hills to Newtown as you have partly experienced already. Most young gays want to immerse themselves fully
into the gay scene and after a few years most move on. Some stay their whole loves living in/around the gay areas.

You want a house you move out to the burbs , love the beach you move close to the beaches.

Most people get itchy feet fjmac. I was born in the country as well and as far as I can see I have no intention of moving back.

Sydney has all I want. 15mins to work , 5 mins to gyms/shops/beach , 20 mins to Oxford St but have never been out partying there for 15 years.
Hordern spoilt me on that. Big supa centres.

Sneakos and I live in same area and its more like a holiday place yet so close to the city.

Love Sydney.

Thank you "The Oldie" your input has been valuable, Ye is my case as strange as it seems I have never been to a gay scene. I met fjmac, fell in love and we both have been happy I'm in my thirties now, and contrary to what is up on his age he is actually early forties. There's a long running joke about this. He has been on the scene, it just gets so bloody lonely for us at times. I guess that's why as soon as we can, we're travelling around Aus. hopefully we can check out some of the places mentioned

Quote:

Originally Posted by xpansion

Racist? why because I used the words asian, indian and muslim? How is that racist? You're being overly politically correct, get over it.

" Its a mixture of aggressive uncouth ugly bogans, snooty eastern suburbs yuppies, asians, indians and muslims."

No, I was not offended because you used the words "asians, indians and muslims". What made it offensive was the context in which you used it. There are nothing wrong with these words until the negative associations are attached. What I saw in your comment was implied contempt for Asians, Indians and Muslims in a broad, sweeping generalisation of 4 billion people, over half of the world's entire population.

yep check out Bris-Vegas and even places like Lismore which is a country town but a good size gay population. Try it for New Years !
Tropical Fruits.....my gang planning for it this year and will be our third time.
Sydney not the answer to everyones ideal place to live.
Even places like Coffs Harbour have a gay scene.

Good luck !

Bobbyandmimmi, next time you come to Sydney make sure you have enough time and visit Surry Hills, Newtown etc... I don't think you'd like Surry Hills (too much pretentious hipster wank) as much as you would Newtown and surrounding areas. Also there are heaps of young gays and lesbians around your age who live out that way and you'd have no trouble making decent friends.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kngo6803

" Its a mixture of aggressive uncouth ugly bogans, snooty eastern suburbs yuppies, asians, indians and muslims."

No, I was not offended because you used the words "asians, indians and muslims". What made it offensive was the context in which you used it. There are nothing wrong with these words until the negative associations are attached. What I saw in your comment was implied contempt for Asians, Indians and Muslims in a broad, sweeping generalisation of 4 billion people, over half of the world's entire population.

Theres nothing wrong with such races but when you can't even walk down the street in the place you grew up without feeling like you're in another country then thats not acceptable. How would asians, indians and muslims feel if their suburbs were over run with foreigners? they wouldn't put up with it like we are expected to in this politically correct insanity. It wouldn't even happen in those countries anyway because they wouldn't allow it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xpansion

Theres nothing wrong with such races but when you can't even walk down the street in the place you grew up without feeling like you're in another country then thats not acceptable. How would asians, indians and muslims feel if their suburbs were over run with foreigners? they wouldn't put up with it like we are expected to in this politically correct insanity. It wouldn't even happen in those countries anyway because they wouldn't allow it.

I do agree with you on most of this; I have no issues with any culture or country or their people, even if there are a lot of them here. My only gripe is their attitude with us and how we live is offensive to some of them. For those who are not happy here in Australia because we don't live by what they do... the simple solution is to send them back to their country.
In some of these countries we'd be stoned to death shot or imprisoned.
For those who have forgotten why they came here in the first place, send them back. I do and will agree that political correctness has gone insane. It was invented purely by those who are thin skinned and have forgotten to laugh at themselves or just can't cope with reality.

I just think it's a bit hypocritical for LGBTIQ individuals to tell people to go back to "their country" for not conforming to the cultural "norm" when the queer community has and still is persecuted for also not conforming to the the hetero "norm". It's especially difficult when some of those individuals from ethnic minorities have only ever known Australia as their home, and yet they're still marginalised for non-Anglo-Celtic customs or non-Western-Christian religions they may practice.

People within & from different cultures consider things from different psychological frames of reference, behaviours & attitudes change over time, it's unrealistic to expect all people in society today are going to behave in a manner inoffensive to the rest of the population.
Like the saying in Europe 'better the world - start with yourself'

Quote:

Originally Posted by kngo6803

I just think it's a bit hypocritical for LGBTIQ individuals to tell people to go back to "their country" for not conforming to the cultural "norm" when the queer community has and still is persecuted for also not conforming to the the hetero "norm". It's especially difficult when some of those individuals from ethnic minorities have only ever known Australia as their home, and yet they're still marginalised for non-Anglo-Celtic customs or non-Western-Christian religions they may practice.

Agreed, I've said many times I love people in all their varieties; it's just these that carry their hate here when they have come here for looking for a better life and get on the band wagon with existing haters, that we are already struggling with who are adding fuel to existing hatred. In that minority there is even a smaller minority who for reasons that they can only answer are making it even harder for not only us LGBTIO but other people who just want nothing but peace.
What it boils down to is gather every religious leader who practices hate and their narrow minded followers and dump them elsewhere. The bible itself is not a book on hatred, but love and those that have hate in their hearts are despised by the creator.
I know that for us to show hatred toward others only places us in the same pen. All I am saying; these characters who come over here to incite hatred to continue their religious bigotry but say they come in peace. They are the ones who need to go back. We can blame religion for so many things and in some cases it's true. But at the end of the day we are adults and we must take blame for our own actions. I'm not even talking about those born here who carry their beliefs as they grow up and yes they will be judged by Australian law. Just that small amount who incite hate knowing that is why they came here for in the first place. Sadly there are those who are "model citizens" who have a side to them that none of us see. Look at what happened in London, these were people who had gained so much respect but meanwhile had plans of killing people because they/we did not conform to their countries teachings. Yes I know that even Anglo-Saxon people have been brain washed at times to carry out these evil deeds. All of these are marginalised outsiders.
Who, when weighed up did it because their religious teachings have said it is is to be done. It is these outsiders who come to Australia and not born here with that hate they should go back we have enough to deal with. All else welcome; and yes even the boat people everyone is entitled to freedom from persecution. I would love to see our world without borders but it won't happen until hate ends. Sadly there is far too much of that even in our world, we are the worst for it, we marginalise gay women from gay men old from young fat from thin, it happens in the hetero world also; however not all are like this in either world.
But more so yes we need to be more complacent toward other minorities. But we should not have to embrace hatred because they have come here to live a "better life"

Quote:

Originally Posted by xpansion

Isn't it hypocritical to go to a new country and impose cultural ways onto that country? Such as muslims trying to impose sharia law? Whatever happened to "do as the romans do" ? Seems to have flown out the window with the intro of multi culturalism. If you go to a new country to begin a new life you will miss your home perhaps but shouldn't you be respectful of the culture you are welcomed into by trying your hardest to live as they live?
If I go to asia or indonesia etc and go into a temple I would cover my shoulders as a sign of respect for that culture. Even if I go for a short holiday I try to learn basic language. Yet in Australia we have entire suburbs of non english speaking people. You can goto a restaurant where they don't even speak english!! The very suburb where I grew up I wouldn't even call Australia anymore. Its Asia.
Im not alone when I say that many immigrants have absolutely no intention of integrating with Australian culture. Its not "conforming to the norm" its called respect. Why come here if this is the attitude?? They come here and set up a mini version of their own country and don't even do the most basic things such as learning the language. Its offensive to many people to behave this way. Dialogue is needed but anyone who speaks about these things is accused of being racist.
I have watched the place I was born and bred transform into an unrecognisable place. Go to any Australian university and see the ratio of Asians and Muslim students to Australians. You have to ask WTF is going on here.
As I said earlier this would never happen in the countries these people are coming from.

I am sorry to hear that your experience of multiculturalism has not been very positive. I am hearing how upsetting the evolution of your community into something you don't recognise any more has been for you. It is true that there are immigrants who have not integrated into the greater Australian society, and that some of these people do not even try to. There are those who live in Australia and ignore what Australia stands for: freedom, democracy, and freedom of opportunity. These are not the people I am defending.

However, it is also true that for some of these people, it has been extremely hard for them to learn English. It is not that they do not want to learn, but for many immigrants, particularly refugees in the 80s, the first priority for these people was to find the first jobs they could for themselves and support their families. This may have prevented some of them from really learning English. Later immigrants would have found it difficult to compete with those who already had a command of the language, and instead found jobs provided by people speaking their own language, trapping them into a situation where they do not have the time or opportunities to practice English. As more people came, more people settled in what developed into enclaves. When in another country, it can be hard to adapt to the new environment. Of course these people will seek out support and what's already familiar to them, just like Aussie expats overseas seeking out other Aussies.

And a note on students. After funding reforms driven through by the Howard government, universities have had to rely increasingly on the fees they charge international students (which are in their tens of thousands of dollars per student, per year). In an effort to increase profits, universities have increased their international enrolments upwards to over a quarter of the entire student body is some places. With Australia situated rather close to Asia, high quality universities in North America, and the the affordability of tertiary education in Europe, it is understandable than the vast bulk of international students are from East, South-East and South Asia. But don't you worry. The bashings in Melbourne, the mugging on that Sydney train, and the high Aussie dollar are already convincing the families of international students to take their billions of dollars elsewhere.

In terms of domestic students, I find it hard to put blame of individuals of migrant backgrounds for being overrepresented in tertiary education. I always thought that it was commendable of individuals who come from non-English speaking backgrounds to study hard and do well enough to complete their studies in some of our most prestigious institutions. Isn't that something to be proud of? That there are individuals, some of them coming from low socio-economic backgrounds, if not poverty, rising through the system and coming out on top? Is that not a testament to the openness of opportunity in Australia?

I agree that is is sad when enclaves develop which are not open to the outside world. However, I sometimes wonder if it's just as much about the earlier residents moving out as it is about new residents moving in. Also, in Sydney at least, we have seen an opening of enclaves to be more inclusive, something you would not really see in the ethnic enclaves of places like southern California. But I am digressing here.

Immigrants are not all the same. Immigrants do not usually try to impose their customs on others. The broader Australian culture is still strong in Australia, and you can see it in generation after generation of children born into migrants families who are increasingly losing their culture and mother language to Australia's western culture and English language. This in itself can be quite sad. These are Australians who have integrated into Australian society, but in the totality of their integration, Australian society is losing something very important. Australia is lagging behind other developed countries in the area of foreign language acquisition. Bilingualism is dreadfully low in Australia, and is potentially hurting us economically in the long term. But again, I digress.

I just wanted to say that there are elements of Australian society which are not integrating into the rest of the community. However, it is not helpful to lump all of these immigrants together. It has taken decades, but most of the migrant communities who arrived from Europe after the Second World War have become almost indistinguishable from the rest of Australian society. Before that, we had the eventual integration of Australia's Irish community into the British culture of Australia. Although more recent migrants may look different, and their cultures more exotic, in time, everyone will integrate and create a richer, more colourful, but still Australian future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjmac

Agreed, I've said many times I love people in all their varieties; it's just these that carry their hate here when they have come here for looking for a better life and get on the band wagon with existing haters, that we are already struggling with who are adding fuel to existing hatred. In that minority there is even a smaller minority who for reasons that they can only answer are making it even harder for not only us LGBTIO but other people who just want nothing but peace.
What it boils down to is gather every religious leader who practices hate and their narrow minded followers and dump them elsewhere. The bible itself is not a book on hatred, but love and those that have hate in their hearts are despised by the creator.
I know that for us to show hatred toward others only places us in the same pen. All I am saying; these characters who come over here to incite hatred to continue their religious bigotry but say they come in peace. They are the ones who need to go back. We can blame religion for so many things and in some cases it's true. But at the end of the day we are adults and we must take blame for our own actions. I'm not even talking about those born here who carry their beliefs as they grow up and yes they will be judged by Australian law. Just that small amount who incite hate knowing that is why they came here for in the first place. Sadly there are those who are "model citizens" who have a side to them that none of us see. Look at what happened in London, these were people who had gained so much respect but meanwhile had plans of killing people because they/we did not conform to their countries teachings. Yes I know that even Anglo-Saxon people have been brain washed at times to carry out these evil deeds. All of these are marginalised outsiders.
Who, when weighed up did it because their religious teachings have said it is is to be done. It is these outsiders who come to Australia and not born here with that hate they should go back we have enough to deal with. All else welcome; and yes even the boat people everyone is entitled to freedom from persecution. I would love to see our world without borders but it won't happen until hate ends. Sadly there is far too much of that even in our world, we are the worst for it, we marginalise gay women from gay men old from young fat from thin, it happens in the hetero world also; however not all are like this in either world.
But more so yes we need to be more complacent toward other minorities. But we should not have to embrace hatred because they have come here to live a "better life"

Okay okay, so I may have defended multiculturalism, but I am definitely not defending beliefs and practices which infringe on the rights of others to live in peace and dignity. It is very much about new arrivals adding their fuel to the flame of hatred which already existed in Australia and preventing us from extinguishing it forever.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjmac

We live in Lithgow, we bought a house here in the belief that we wouldn't have to travel far for entertainment. Should have done our homework first. We have already crossed Katoomba off the list. Everything is so overpriced and over rated. The people are friendly here, some of them know about us; however it's discretion in most cases. Let them do the maths. So after all that; where would you suggest?

Mate get yr self a few rifles maybe a 303 and a 222, get a beanie and get out there shooting animals.
I mean there nothing to do out that way but get into the shootin... shootin some goats or pigs or rabbits,foxes..

Shootin is great fun, those bullets are so nice an brassy and you can build a camp fire and drink piss and kill stuff

Its great going to sleep in the camp tent with the knowledge that in the morn you can don your bear ghrylls survival knife and 303 and kill some furry animals...

Fucking awsome!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyBoyFreindIsGay

Mate get yr self a few rifles maybe a 303 and a 222, get a beanie and get out there shooting animals.
I mean there nothing to do out that way but get into the shootin... shootin some goats or pigs or rabbits,foxes..

Shootin is great fun, those bullets are so nice an brassy and you can build a camp fire and drink piss and kill stuff

Its great going to sleep in the camp tent with the knowledge that in the morn you can don your bear ghrylls survival knife and 303 and kill some furry animals...

Fucking awsome!

well we got the beanies the tent lol

Surely you didn't move to Lithgow for the nightlife?

*sigh*....I miss hunting. :[

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyBoyFreindIsGay

Surely you didn't move to Lithgow for the nightlife?

Not if the nightlife we want is to rape crickets and chase drop bears

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marko

*sigh*....I miss hunting. :[

Move to a little country town, every now and again the feeling goes by where you would love to "pop something" off lol

Lol I still pretty much live in the sticks, although not sure whats on the cards for hunting around Armidale. Back out at Parkes, the sky was the limit, an the meat on some of those pigs were mmmm!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marko

Lol I still pretty much live in the sticks, although not sure whats on the cards for hunting around Armidale. Back out at Parkes, the sky was the limit, an the meat on some of those pigs were mmmm!

My partner used to do a little pig hunting a number of years ago, that an a little roo shooting. He said it use to feed them and the animals. He also reckons roo tail stew is lovely, not sure about that. I wasn't as country as he was

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marko

Lol I still pretty much live in the sticks, although not sure whats on the cards for hunting around Armidale. Back out at Parkes, the sky was the limit, an the meat on some of those pigs were mmmm!

Fox, and rabbit.

Cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjmac

My partner used to do a little pig hunting a number of years ago, that an a little roo shooting. He said it use to feed them and the animals. He also reckons roo tail stew is lovely, not sure about that. I wasn't as country as he was

Actually the tail is the best part! It's very nice also minced up, or marinated! Mmm Yum!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marko

Actually the tail is the best part! It's very nice also minced up, or marinated! Mmm Yum!

He mentioned that as well. Used to do his own tanning. He came from a place called Charters Towers up in Queensland somewhere. I've never been further than Rockhampton