Aus Vets Reject Airline Recognition

[Bob Crowley]

I sincerely apologise to you and Quid. I know that you can't help your affliction. From now on I'll only pick on New Zealandish iccents. (the liss sid about thit tha bitter eh bro')


I think ANZAC Day is in danger of being turned into a Sacred Cow. Its mythical significance has increased with time. I have no problem with recognising the event but it seems to be
getting bigger than Ben Hur. Docu-dramas on Gallipoli or the Western Front have become a staple of the local film/TV industry.
OB

In a way I think you're correct. There seems to be a willingness by Australians to glorify the Australian Vets particularly the World War I vets, but not many Australians are actually prepared to do military service.

I was talking recently with a young Australian lady who had spent a holiday or some extended time in Turkey. She advised me that if I was in Turkey on Anzac Day, not to say that I was Australian, due to the way Australian tourists behaved. She said if she was asked, she'd say she was British, or Kiwi or whatever, but not Australian.

So if she was speaking the truth, not only are we making Anzac Day an ever expanding myth, we're also rubbing the Turks up the wrong way with our behaviour when we visit their country at that time of year.

The odd thing is a lot of Vets weren't particularly interested themselves in marching on Anzac Day. As far as they were concerned, the war was something they'd rather forget. I grew up in a street where just about every father had been a Vet in World War II, all Army as far as I know. One of them had a captured Samurai sword as a token with which he jokingly chased me down the street one day, with me yelling my head off and him laughing his head off, although both of us fortunately actually kept our heads.

I don't remember a single one of them bothering to march in the Anzac Day parades. My father in law was the same and he saw a lot of service as a machine gunner, both in the Middle East and Papua New Guinea.

To reiterate, we're prepared to glorify the Vets, but not too many of us are prepared to do anything about military service, and the way I see things, in a fairly short period of time we just might be fighting for our lives ourselves.

 

[Tanj]

in a fairly short period of time we just might be fighting for our lives ourselves.

Fascinating. Please do explain further. Who will we be fighting against?

 

[Bob Crowley]

I expect a lot of trouble with a northern neighbour sooner or later. No proof - just what you might call a long term suspicion.