Monday 26 December 2011

American music influence

I can't say what is heppening elsewhere in the world, but I'm a little annoyed at the influence of American music in Australia. In fact, just any American influence. Full Stop.

I find it so annoying to be walking down our main mall here in Adelaide - Rundle Mall - and seeing young lads about 14/15 or so in age, talking and walking around like black American rappers, with a focus on ''gangsta'' image. They are not doing anything wrong per se, I just dislike seeing further American influence on our Australian culture. It's bad enough reading stories from on-line publishers like AdelaideNow which are riddled with spelling errors, bad grammar, bad copying and pasting (of sister papers news stories) and - you guessed it - more and more American spelling. Even local journos who have their stories published can't get it right. Australians spell centre as CENTRE, NOT CENTER. We have biscuits, not COOKIES. And the growing popularity of spelling with ''z'' instead of ''s''. Aussies spell it as recognise, NOT recognize. There are of course, many other words where you can do this substitute.

I don't want to see our Aussie culture destroyed because of slack journalists, black rappers imitated by the young. American music. I want to keep being an Aussie. In 20 years time, I want a prawn to be a prawn, I don't want to see advertising for shrimps.

When you see your local papers or on-line media publishing stuff with American spelling, send them emails or messages to the editor, telling them that you would appreciate them using correct spelling and grammar. If you don't complain, they'll continue to do it, and its use will become everyday. I've even saw a young girl recently at a Woolworths supermarket writing out something and using a ''z'' instead of an ''s''. When I told her of her error, she looked at me blankly as if her error didn't hit home.

If spelling and grammar isn't bad enough, every year, we have to put up with the growing influence of Halloween. And yes, I know Halloween didn't originate in America, for all intents and purposes, to todays people, it is an American tradition. That's fine, no problems, but keep it in America. I don't want it here. I have a sneaking suspicion, it is pushed onto us by American based multinational companies that just want to market more and more stuff in Australia. Halloween means nothing to Australians and should not be celebrated. It's just another influence we have to put up with.

We are not Americans, and I don't want to be. Enough influence. Lets do our thing to remain Aussies. If we don't start getting vocal about the influences creeping into our lives, it will only get worse and worse. It's not criminal, and I'm sure there is no bad intent in any of the influence, but at the end of the day, I want to be an Australian living the Australian way of life. What will be next ? will I see ads on telly preparing us for Thanksgiving?

Get Real

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