Wowsers of the World Unite

 

This week 9 young Australians were arrested in KL for stripping down to their Reg Grundies – specifically on this occasion, budgie smugglers made of the Malaysian flag - and chanting “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi”.

One of the men arrested works for a political party happy to use the Australian flag as a symbol on their advertising; a party happy to talk about our sovereign right to make laws and demand visitors respect our laws when in our country.

When I commented on social media that the young man should for those reasons have known better, I was branded a wowser and told to get a life.

Later someone went into overdrive:

All you wowsers calling for these men to be locked up for offending Malaysians by stripping down to their undies just remember this is the same country where female genital mutilation is legal and the political opposition leader received a lengthy prison term on trumped up sodomy charges. I don't care if they acted like bogans or one of them was Christopher Pyne's staffer i will never respect that countries laws until they lift their game.

Firstly, Australian Government websites helpfully advise travellers that Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, and that it is a good idea to respect the laws of the countries we visit or expect consequences. So I have no sympathy for these young men if they are jailed for two years. At least they won't be Indigenous Australians locked in Australian jails, and will probably all live to tell the tale.

Secondly, there is little they could do to lower Malaysia’s opinion of Australians as uncultured bogans. The tragedy here is that because one of the young men is a government staffer, it will not improve diplomatic relations.

Thirdly, not ALL laws, ours or anyone else’s, are necessarily worthy of respect. Nonetheless, actions have consequences. Their disrespect for the principle of sovereign rights weakens the principle of sovereign rights. How do we promote respect for human rights or democracy when we show no respect for diplomacy or process?

Fourthly, it does not matter if FGM is legal in Malaysia. It is not legal here. What these young men were doing was not fighting against a bad law, they were simply showing contempt for a law they would demand respect for in their own country, i.e. respect the flag. Unacceptable hypocrisy.

Fifthly, it took a long time before homosexuality was decriminalised in Australia; thus far only one state has expunged all convictions, and only one other state will accept applications to have them expunged. [How very kind of them.] And as many of these convictions were the result of entrapment they, too, are the result of trumped up charges. Where is the outrage? Are we free to disrespect ALL our laws until we lift OUR game?

Finally, but only because this has to stop somewhere, I’m not a wowser, just a bore.
A real wowser would want to stop car racing, stop people from wearing budgie smugglers, stop the boozing, and certainly put a stop to the Aussie Aussie Aussie chant.
As much as I fail to see the point in any of it I don’t want to stop it, and am happy for it to happen anywhere but my back yard if it must happen at all. Go forth and be bogans if you like, just don’t say it isn’t fair when you get locked up, and don’t be surprised if visitors to our shore don’t give a shit about our flag or think all this talk of respect for the democratic process and sovereign rights is just a lot of hot air.

THE GONG FOR BEST DEFINITION OF WOWSER

In a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald back in 1968, H. Fellows of Mosman explained
“A wowser is a man who locks his roosters up on Sundays”.