Australian Prime Minister Bans The Word Mate?!
 

haha you aussies are off the rocker these days.... :1orglaugh

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/as...ralia.mate.ap/

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has labeled "absurd" a directive requiring security guards at the country's Parliament House to stop addressing visitors and lawmakers as "mate."

So

A) he didn't ban it
B) they overturned it
C) it was banning certain workers from using it to visitors

but still.. :1orglaugh

wow, totally misleading thread title then! :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

but crazy that they had previously banned it in the first place! :1orglaugh

It was banned for one day and then overturned, total shit but hey us aussies are wild. Now where did that dingo put my beer???

I don?t see it as offensive at all, it is just a signature word for Australians.

i dont see the problem anyway. isnt "mate" like an american saying "man"?

mate, drink and be merry! or just find a mate named Mary and be happy and let her be a merry mate! political correctness has not run it's full course yet! :helpme

except that it's more than that.. "man" sounds like stoner hippy talk.. "mate" means more than that :

?Companionship? and ?friendship? do not convey the same message as ?mateship?. For example, "He's my mate", "We're mates" or "He's my best mate" are common utterances. The unique of ?mateship? can been seen from the unique configuration: equality, solidarity and mutual support. There is no same concept for Australian English ?mateship? in American English and British English. It is, as ?whinging? and ?dobbing?, Australian culture-specific concept. Australians do not accept ?whinging and dobbing? because of ?mateship?. Anti-whinging and anti-dobbing attitude reinforced the cultural value of ?mateship?.

I hate this word too ... I agree that a governemental employe should not use it with visitors.

MATE how much can a Koala Bear ? Fair dinkum mate, that drongo of a Prime Minister wouldn't have any mates in a pub on dole day when it was his shout. How about the footy on Saturday arvo mate ? We can knock back a few coldies and down a pie or three mate ? But mate, I can only go if dingoes - the trouble and strife and tin lids can stay at their Nanna's mate. Crikey ! Strewth, we can even take the Holden mate, whip down the "G" and see the Roos drop kick the Crows from here to the back of Bourke. Whaddya reckon mate ? Is it a goer ?

:winkwink: