“What are they and why? They’re everywhere. Never seen them on the mainland.” It’s been an interesting point of discussion as we’ve made our way around Tassie.
We’re are on an island after all we thought, so you’d expect down here on an island under Downunder there would have to be some cultural differences. After all Australia is an island itself and apparently they reckon we’re a bit different to everyone else!
But as multi generational Australians, if we think we have differences, how do more recent immigrants feel. I spoke to one of the organisers of a Multicultural Council of Tasmania festival we happened upon in Launceston. I asked him what the main challenge of their members were. After all, I suggested to him, we were all immigrants at some time. He said, “skin colour”. Employment bias was a big consequence. When you stop and think about it, how sad is that…. “skin colour”!
I recalled a conversation I had in Costa Rica some years back with Outback Jack as he called himself. He runs a bar there. He loved the hordes of traveling younger generation’s passion for cultural experiences. His point was, the more we share our experience with other cultures, the less we see differences, skin colour or otherwise. Then the less the dictators of the world can propaganda their way to war.
And that is the one small benefit of this multicultural festival here. Broadening our understanding of other cultures through sharing their food, dancing and art. Sharing what makes them unique. It highlights what a fascinating and amazing world we live in, respecting and celebrating our unique cultural qualities. How boring and inhumane to be dictated to become one of the same.
Which brings me back to the Tassie question that’s been intriguing us all around the state. Why do so many of their powerlines here have tea bags hanging off their wires. Well it eventually got the better of us. We pulled up under a powerline draped full of tea bags dangling from their power wires. We contemplated the ritual that must take place…. boiling the billy, pouring the cuppa. But then try as we may, there was no way we could see how you could flick a soggy tea bag and get it to hook on those lines. It’s clearly a local skill crafted over many generations!!
You gotta love Tassie. It’s amazing being different, no matter where you live… Thanks for having us Tassie. It’s been fun. And thanks to you for joining us on our little journey around this wonderful island.
PS – I was only joking about your power lines 🙂
Some of this weeks highlights…
Something that really resonated with me with the current European crisis I wanted to share…. It’s a picture of a young conscripted soldier. With a tear in his eye the caption read… “I’m fed up to the ears of old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in”. The post author went on to say, “War is a place where young people who don’t know each other, and don’t hate each other, kill each other, by the decision of old people who know each other, and hate each other, but don’t kill each other…” How true.
Congratulations to Wendy Norris, the Inaugural FluffOff Master 2022!! Thank you to all those that participated.
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