Anger turned inward or outward?

@Appleblossom i'm not going to the library yet; have hurt my ankle.

i must admit, although there are, of course, 'good' and 'nice' people in australia, i cannot actually name one good or nice value of the mainstream culture, unfortunately. the aboriginal people probably have much nicer cultures but we've wrecked their sanity 😞

the australian mainstream culture is misogynistic, racist, mean-spririted, excessively-nationalistic, anti-intellectual, aggressive, sports-obsessed, tall-poppy-lopping, materialistic, etc etc 😞

as i say, there are still 'good, nice' people in australia, but our culture is revolting, unfortunately. weather's nice 'though (mostly) and you can't beat the affluence or lifestyle.

I agree with your criticisms of the general mainstream culture. I had to say to one lovely chinese lady in church that I my inner spirit recoiled from the very attributes you list.

I have no desire to force myself or my son to behave or fit in with such behaviours and attitudes. I have become proud of our quirks ... who'd want to fit in to those norms.

The culture is changing though.

Reading Cloudstreet and Ozlit has helped me understand why the traits are there ... but that does not mean we have to submit to them.

My son dragged himself into the city to see a fellow who works at his uni and a good one. Sorry about your ankle.

@Appleblossom it's actually the back of my foot (new shoes rubbed up my heel), not my ankle, but i probably won't be going out of the house again today.

yes, our culture is revolting. i find what i have to deal with on a day-to-day basis highly offensive.

@Appleblossom yes, when you say that you agree with my criticisms of the mainstream culture - they're actually not my crticisms inasmuch as they were well-documented unfortunate features of the australian culture well before i got old enough and observant enough to put my 2c-worth in. this country might be fun if you're straight, white, male and able, but i suspect even those people aren't having a very good time. we have VERY high rates of mental illness in australia and despite being the richest country in the world (along with switzerland) and having an enviable lifestyle and climate, we rank very poorly internationally in all credible studies of national happiness and life satisfaction. i'm out of here again as soon as possible (although i'll miss the weather, lifestyle and affluence, yes). 😞

Thanks for bringing to attention about this story @Appleblossom.

Its really a heartbreaking situation what happened.

@ivana i just read up on it. we li sounds pretty guilty to me.

Not disputing that he did it, but as a piano teacher and aunt of a half-chinese boy, I have seen the pressure games all too often .. it is tragic that it is not surprising that this happened, it has been a big issue.

Re Aussie society @Terry ... have you heard about "Murder without Motive" ... re the death of WA girl Rebecca Ryle.

I just think these are relevant to anger and the directions it can take if not well managed.

@Appleblossom yes, i did read about the 'murder without motive'. not sure what that case has to do with anger, 'though. the perpetrator wasn't angry at the victim as far as i read - that's why it was called the 'murder without motive' - the perpetrator maintains that he 'doesn't know' why he murdered her.

as for we li - it all sounds a bit cold-blooded to me, that case.

@Appleblossom i have heard that depression is anger turned inwards. women have no real way to get anger out as the law victimises us very heavily and so are more prone to depression than men. that's certainly why i developed depression.

yes, and the sad fact is that anger drives some to hurt themselves and/or hurt others.

Re the journalists description of the WA suburban male psyche in "Murder without motive" .. I am talking about James Duggan's generalised anger. He had no understanding where it came from and therefore it unfortunately landed on an innocent target.

Re Wei Li. I dont like sensationalist journalism. My BS filter sparked when I saw the news feed asking if he was cold blooded .. then I checked story. I dont think it is our right to decide degree of guilt. I just also happen to work in the industry as a piano teacher and have struggled with similar issues, discussed it with a range of other piano teachers and seen it to a slighter degree in my nephew. I just think we should not be too quick to judge.

Btw I wouldnt waste my money on a Renee Fleming CD, dont have much to throw around. When I finally decided to update my CD collection on the specials at Sanity ... have a guess what ... I had an interesting chat with 2 salesgirls. One was Caucasian and the other Asian. I mentioned being a piano teacher, the white girl told me of the suffering of her co-worker being made to learn piano .. it is a very common issue ... I dont know the ins and outs of the Wei Li case .. but felt it relevant to MI issues.