Comments on: Kiss this flag or else http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:32:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: rich http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else#comment-196 rich Mon, 20 Feb 2006 00:23:27 +0000 http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else#comment-196 yep there was definately an eerie feel about the day although i'd say the vast majority weren't of the 'cronulla pride' variety...i'm pretty sure one of the alcohol sponsors were giving out flags as some sort of promo...poor form really but the youngens embraced it...i think that's the weirdest part for me, i don't know how anyone..esp young people can identify with that flag. there sure were a lot of bogan idiots but its been like that for a while now...doubt it has anything to do with the move to homebush... homebake is much the same now. yep there was definately an eerie feel about the day although i’d say the vast majority weren’t of the ‘cronulla pride’ variety…i’m pretty sure one of the alcohol sponsors were giving out flags as some sort of promo…poor form really but the youngens embraced it…i think that’s the weirdest part for me, i don’t know how anyone..esp young people can identify with that flag.

there sure were a lot of bogan idiots but its been like that for a while now…doubt it has anything to do with the move to homebush… homebake is much the same now.

]]> By: jen http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else#comment-195 jen Sun, 19 Feb 2006 15:02:08 +0000 http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else#comment-195 http://www.metamute.org/en/Under-the-Beach-the-Barbed-Wire http://www.metamute.org/en/Under-the-Beach-the-Barbed-Wire

]]> By: Sam http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else#comment-193 Sam Fri, 17 Feb 2006 08:36:28 +0000 http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else#comment-193 Wow, I had no idea it was that bad at the Sydney Big Day Out. I'm really glad nothing like this was going on down in Perth. It's good to know our town has something going for it. Wow, I had no idea it was that bad at the Sydney Big Day Out. I’m really glad nothing like this was going on down in Perth. It’s good to know our town has something going for it.

]]> By: Snarl http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else#comment-192 Snarl Fri, 17 Feb 2006 08:20:20 +0000 http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else#comment-192 Somehow I'm not surprised. Even back in the early 90s at the beginning of the Big Day Out, there has been broad diversity of youngsters at it. I don't think the move to Homebush really has anything to do with it, more that as the scale of the event has got bigger, it has just become a bit more representative of Sydney as a whole. And Sydney has changed. There has been an underlying xenophobia here for years. Living in Sydney has got very competitive and in competitive times people will use anything to put their 'competition' down. Unemployment and underemployment especially amongst young men is out of control. Education is unevenly distributed especially since the flight to private schools and the 'choose any public school' shift at a state level. Howard's politics have fed this competitiveness and centred the blame squarely on those who are 'others'. Conservative is the new radical. There are some disturbing photos and great commentary over at <a href="http://aliasfrequencies.org/son/2006/01/28/567/" rel="nofollow">Well Futile</a> that capture the vibe. Somehow I’m not surprised.

Even back in the early 90s at the beginning of the Big Day Out, there has been broad diversity of youngsters at it. I don’t think the move to Homebush really has anything to do with it, more that as the scale of the event has got bigger, it has just become a bit more representative of Sydney as a whole.

And Sydney has changed. There has been an underlying xenophobia here for years. Living in Sydney has got very competitive and in competitive times people will use anything to put their ‘competition’ down. Unemployment and underemployment especially amongst young men is out of control. Education is unevenly distributed especially since the flight to private schools and the ‘choose any public school’ shift at a state level.

Howard’s politics have fed this competitiveness and centred the blame squarely on those who are ‘others’.

Conservative is the new radical.

There are some disturbing photos and great commentary over at Well Futile that capture the vibe.

]]> By: Alistair http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else#comment-191 Alistair Fri, 17 Feb 2006 07:49:41 +0000 http://fortunegrey.com/2006/02/17/kiss-this-flag-or-else#comment-191 It was a massive issue for all of us as well. At the end of the day, I was walking along with Mewz and Pornstylus, and we were discussing this very issue - reports for an member of the Sleater-Kinney message board are that someone draped in a town was standing behind her at MIA yelling "FUCK OFF DARKIE" on loop untill she (the sk board member) elbowed the guy in the stomach harder than she ever had attacked someone before... To the guy that was in the line for the ATM bragging to his mate about "Being there at the 'nulla", mullet, flag thongs and wife beater completing his incredibly popular look of todays alternative youth... We were all scared and intimidated by the sight of the flag that day, which is a really odd sensation when its coming of the official symbol of your own nation... And we couldnt work out whether it was our intellectual snobbery, middle class upbringing that made us scared of these boorish bogans draped in the flag, or whether we should *actually* be worried... Its still odd. My goth friends reported that this year they diddnt cop as much grief as they normally do, however. It was a massive issue for all of us as well.

At the end of the day, I was walking along with Mewz and Pornstylus, and we were discussing this very issue - reports for an member of the Sleater-Kinney message board are that someone draped in a town was standing behind her at MIA yelling “FUCK OFF DARKIE” on loop untill she (the sk board member) elbowed the guy in the stomach harder than she ever had attacked someone before… To the guy that was in the line for the ATM bragging to his mate about “Being there at the ‘nulla”, mullet, flag thongs and wife beater completing his incredibly popular look of todays alternative youth…

We were all scared and intimidated by the sight of the flag that day, which is a really odd sensation when its coming of the official symbol of your own nation…

And we couldnt work out whether it was our intellectual snobbery, middle class upbringing that made us scared of these boorish bogans draped in the flag, or whether we should *actually* be worried…
Its still odd.

My goth friends reported that this year they diddnt cop as much grief as they normally do, however.

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