October 21, 2004

Winging Poms

Interesting:-

“Western Australia has passed legislation that allows racially charged terms such as pom, wog and ding to be used without fear of prosecution.
The word wog, while deeply offensive in Britain, in Australia refers to people of Mediterranean descent and is bandied around without embarrassment - as in the television comedy Wogs Out of Work. A ding is someone of Italian heritage.
Western Australia's attorney general, Jim McGinty, said that while the state would punish violent race crimes, it would be wrong to outlaw "light-hearted" references to a person's ethnic background..
Mr Thomason, 56, who emigrated from Birmingham to Perth in 1970, said Australians regarded pom-bashing as a joke. He added: "They can give it out, but they can't take it. They hate it if you call them convicts or Skippys."

Said Thomason, displaying a bite that would have done Oscar Wilde proud.

Posted by wardx107 at October 21, 2004 07:36 PM
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