Japanese call them ‘gaigin’ which translates intruder or ‘invader’, Italians call them ‘straniera’ or strangers, Indonesians call them ‘bullei’ devil with strange eyes, Samoans call them ‘parlungi’ foreign white man from the sky. Aussies call them the full gamut from ‘kook’, ‘gook’, ‘wog’, spaghetti eater’, ‘spik’, ‘cabbage roll’, ‘towel head’, ‘jap’, ‘chinger’, ‘rice eater’, ‘seppo’, ‘yank’, ‘English muffin’, ‘pommie’, ‘frog’, ‘kraut’, ‘brazzo’, ‘K1W1’, ‘nig nog’, ‘coconut’...creative mob, aren't we?!

In my travels, I’ve heard many words for different crew, yet the depth behind the words used to describe a person from outside of that race is almost always derived from strong feelings of ‘Us and Them’.

In Oz, you might hear an Aussie say, “Fair dinkum, there’s heaps of japs in Surfers today”, or “Melbourne’s loaded with wogs”. For all the political correctness it is never intended with malice or hatred; simply an observation.

Me mate Mike and I were driving along the beachfront road out to the Westside of the island of Samoa yesterday. Driving slowly through the villages we would often hear ‘PARLUNGI’. Mike made the comment, "Why do they have to say "PARLUNGI"? Mike is from Kauai, Hawaii, he grew up island style and understands the undertones of what the word means.Instantly I knew it wasn't an affectionate term. Mike rarely complains so I thought about his comment a while.

It got me thinking.

Everyday Aussies aren't racist. They call a spade a spade.

I've encountered more incidences of hard core racism overseas than in Australia 10 to 1. When do you ever hear kids calling out and pointing when an ethnic person is riding his bike down a street in suburban Australia going, "Look Mum, a foreigner/invader/stranger/a WOG"?!

Other nationalities tolerate us as outsiders. They don't accept us, nor are they expected to or commanded to. It has never been more clear that Aussies would have to be some of the sweetest people on earth. We live in the Supermodel of countries, we have awesome resources, the worlds' most ripping surf breaks, it's SAFE, miles of unpopulated beaches clean forests and snow fields that rock in Winter, no acid rain, we are the richest nation in the world when it comes to natural assets, we have the spunkiest chicks and the hottest guys and we are REAL. 

Not only have we been tolerant of sharing this great wealth with others from outside, we've welcomed them and accepted them. Most of 'em make an effort to fit in with the Aussie way.

There is absolutely fat chance of this ever happening in another country on this planet.

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We are quite entitled to be discerning of foreign outsiders with all their foreign gods and false religions and hypo political insanity. If their gig's so great what are they doing here in the first place?

For example, what's with Muslims pushing us to take on their approach to life because they don't like the way we do things as Westerners? Since when would Aussies ever have shops in town centres dedicacted specifically to selling acid to throw in the faces of their wives for allegedly 'shaming' them? Or perform clitorectomies on their daughters so they can't enjoy a good roll in the sack? Cat's meat, nothing. They haven't even started. Islam is fully suss.

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"What's an Aussie, then?" You can be defined by what you are not, as well as by what you are.

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Keep standing your ground, Young Lovers!