Rory Gibson: I can’t stand ‘un-Australian’ behaviour

Too many people trot it out to belittle something or someone they don’t like, but Rory Gibson tells us the ‘un-Australian’ behaviour that has him fuming.

The epithet “un-Australian” has lost its way, its power to rebuke diluted by scoundrels who hurl it as an accusation of last resort.

Too many people trot it out to belittle something or someone they don’t like, regardless of whether or not it has anything to do with our lovely laid-back national character.

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I don’t use it, except as an expression of faux-shock. Eg. “The whole time Steve was at the barbecue, he only talked to the women. So un-Australian.” That sort of thing.

But “un-Australian” in its pejorative sense was the first word that popped into my scone when I discovered someone had pinched my pushie.

The thief had walked off the street in the middle of the day and nicked my bicycle from where it was leaning against the wall of the carport.

That is decidedly un-Australian. A man’s carport/garage/shed is sacred ground. You do not enter unless by invitation, and you certainly do not enter with an intention to steal the treasures that lie within.

Columnist Rory Gibson slams un-Australian behaviour. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

Even if you can see bikes, fishing rods, tools, surfboards, camping gear and perhaps a beer fridge from the footpath, it has always been the rule that you respected that space.

What has happened to this country, that one’s prized junk can’t be left rusting in the yard for all the world to see without some chancer thinking it’s OK to help themselves to it?

So now I go around town looking at everyone with suspicion, hoping the thieving swine will reveal themselves.

In doing so, I’ve noticed some other un-Australian behaviour proliferating. If a car stops at a pedestrian crossing to let people walk across, it is good manners for the pedestrians to acknowledge the driver’s actions. A smile and a nod is all that is needed, and everyone can feel good about themselves.

But too many people cross the road ignoring the fact another human being interrupted their day to allow them to do so.

I suppose it would be un-Australian to mow those ingrates down. Wouldn’t it?