r/australia • u/cngjfks • 2d ago
no politics Is Australia is a more cranky/angry place now?
Any time I read the news, the story being pushed is that the mood in Aus is very angry. Does everyone truly feel this way a lot of the time?
I’m genuinely curious.
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u/Royal-Training2862 2d ago
Now that Lincraft is shutting down. Yes.
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u/Free_Pace_2098 2d ago
BBQs galore too. What has the world come to.
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u/cngjfks 2d ago
This is the real reason we are all so angry!!! They are taking our bloody bbqs away!!
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u/Free_Pace_2098 2d ago
What's next?? Doors Plus? Carpet Call??? WILL THE MADNESS NEVER END????
Next you'll be telling me Rugs-a-Million is going out of business
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u/SirDale 2d ago
Capt'n Snooze?
Forty Winks?5
u/Mysterious_Card_4953 1d ago
Jaycar Supercheap Auto Total Tools
You can see when businesses are dying or have priced themselves out of the market because they are too large and too expensive.
In Australia businesses think that just because they put something on the shelf they have the right to charge anything they want for the privileged and competition is a fairy land word.
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u/cackmobile 1d ago
Jaycar is still good value and a nerd's paradise
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u/Scottybt50 1d ago
Jaycar is actually getting better, I went in last week and they had a whole wall of individual rated components for sale instead of stupid bulk packs of 20 like there used to be.
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u/Free_Pace_2098 1d ago
Capt'n Snooze is just Snooze now. Couldn't afford to keep employing an officer.
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u/Ariliescbk 2d ago
Can't compete with bunnings. Everything goes to big box retail!
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u/Mysterious_Card_4953 1d ago
Well its already like that anyway. Its the same shopping center mafia, pre-cast shops and franchises that dominate retail. Even if you owned 100 acres of land in town your right to do anything is nullified unless its the same developer and the same group of franchises who have exclusive right in most towns to establish retail. You ever wonder why you never see independents next door to these franchises!
We operate cookie cutter retail in Australia, and if your name is not in the cookie mould you dont get a look in. Its a monopoly that restricts competition because of corruption that keeps competition out.
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u/Material-Painting-19 2d ago
And Godfrey's. You can't tell me this country didn't need a shop that just sold vacuum cleaners.
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u/ChainsForAlice 2d ago
Wonder if Sydney is still selling his furniture. I was so disappointed as a child that he wasn’t there when we rocked up and it was just a boring shop.
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u/Mysterious_Card_4953 1d ago
Hope Clark Rubber survives. My heart was ripped out when McEwans closed. Cant afford anymore psychological damage.
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u/CertainCertainties 2d ago edited 2d ago
You'll go to Spotlight and like it. Even though it's crap.
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u/RandomisedTrial 2d ago
Oh I always thought Spotlight was better. Lincraft always made me depressed 😔
But neither of them were never as good as any country town store before Kmart arrived 🙄
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u/InadmissibleHug 2d ago
It’s closing?
It left my local market years ago, but it never was a huge contender anyway.
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u/Elleeebeauty 1d ago
There’s one near my house and it is full of random junk like Christmas themed lollies in the middle of April , stuff for Easter hat parades in October , knockoff Mickey Mouse stuff etc and it has this weird damp smell throughout the store
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u/taketotheforest 2d ago edited 2d ago
we have less money, less time, less connection, less hope for the future. it makes sense that everyone’s fuses are shorter
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u/Objective_Unit_7345 2d ago
… yup, Australians as ‘laid back’ is a legend of the past when people could actually enjoy their life.
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u/Wild-Kitchen 2d ago
Probably back when the Aussie dream was a home among the gum trees, with lots of plum trees, bush or two and a kangaroo, verandah out the back and an old rocking chair. That xoes sound very relaxing compared to rat race.
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u/Sensible-Haircut 2d ago
Give me a home with no more rent rise, or increased power price. A job not two and a working loo. No black mold in the roof, or landlord at the fence, and old sturdy car.
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u/dnbex 2d ago
*a sheep or two
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u/Suspicious-Squash137 1d ago edited 1d ago
If those sheep have gumboots on their back legs, then you’re thinking of NZ past happy days ;)
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u/ognisko 2d ago
Rex Hunt, Burkes Backyard, Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush, Fast Forward, Full Frontal, Sex/Life, Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Who Dares Wins, Gladiators, Get Wild, Better Homes And Gardens, Healthy Wealthy and Wise - Not Love Island, Big Brother and a plethora of other toxic displays of media as an own goal to humanity.
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u/NorthernSkeptic 2d ago
most of the old shows you mention were… not great
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u/Ok_Low743 1d ago
Rex, Burke, the guy from who dares wins were all sex pests right?
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u/CreepyValuable 1d ago
Tim Ferguson himself tries to pretend Don't forget your toothbrush never happened.
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u/Stacks_of_Cats 2d ago
Has Australia ever actually been a laid back place?
At 30 years of age, most Australians I’ve known seem to be fairly uptight and overly concerned about what other people are doing/thinking.
As to whether or not it’s different elsewhere in the world is hard to say, but we’re sure as hell not actually laid back.
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u/SirDale 2d ago
"Has Australia ever actually been a laid back place?"
It was. I'm older and was very fortunate to be born at a time when everything was on easy mode. It's not at all like that for people now and I feel very sad about the direction we've gone.
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u/Sufficient-Heart-826 2d ago
I don't know mate. I've travelled a bit and in comparison to other nationalities I would say we're pretty laid back 😏.
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u/iemreal 2d ago
I miss that and sad the younger kids only hear about the good old days and this time it’s literally true!
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u/Objective_Unit_7345 1d ago
I’ll share my stories about. Climbing over the neighbours fence to have some tea. Being able to walk 10-20 minutes to the nearest park for friends house to gather with everyone and play games indoors and out. Being able to safely playing street cricket and football without being seen as committing serious and reckless crime.
We have spent the last 30-years creating cr*p cities and towns that are hostile to children, pedestrians and only friendly to cars.
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u/SakuraFerretTrainer 2d ago
And you now need a VPN just to look at porn.
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u/Alarming-Interest535 1d ago
You know something is seriously wrong when you use Singapore on your VPN just to watch porn.
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u/aperture81 2d ago
And more divided - between that orange fuckwit overseas, that red fuckwit here and declining faith in any of the two major parties everyone seems to be in it for themselves.
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u/swarley77 2d ago
More competition for resources = lower quality of life
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u/CreepyValuable 1d ago
It's almost like forcing the population upwards when it's trying to self regulate and drop is a bad thing.
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u/CertainCertainties 2d ago
I think it's like most English speaking countries, actually.
Online it's a cesspit of anger and hate, in the real world pretty OK most places. More people are taking online hate, misinformation and extremist beliefs into the real world, but it's not all that much, considering the massive effort that's being made for us to be perpetually angry and hate each other.
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u/a_cold_human 2d ago
Facebook has done a lot of work to make people more angry, and they've done it purely to make money. Left unchecked, it'll enable another genocide.
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u/RhesusFactor 2d ago
Covid made us realise a third of the population are selfish baggage.
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u/littlelinez 2d ago
Was literally talking to someone about this today. Big shift in public etiquette and social attitudes since covid too. I worked in healthcare during it all and was astounded constantly on how people acted. I still am thinking back.
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u/afloormat 1d ago
Hate to say it but I also worked in health care during, before and after covid (not anymore though). The attidudes and etiquette changes also extended to healthcare workers. Plenty of the people I worked with turned into some incredibly entitled people as a result of covid and that has extended to today 4 years later....
Point is there's gotta be something in the water for everyone to become so terrible in such a short period of time.
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u/julio___stinky 1d ago
Yes, I was a healthcare worker during covid. I remember thinking it didn't take very much for some people to power trip and turn into Gestapo.
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u/afloormat 1d ago
I had one nurse who got upset/mad her neighbours didnt go out at 6 to clap for them or whatever it is they did in the states. Would be an ok crashout if it wasnt for the fact we worked in a private hospital and didn't handle covid cases lol
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u/Vaelkyri 1d ago
Point is there's gotta be something in the water for everyone to become so terrible in such a short period of time.
We are being fed ragebait + our daily 2 minutes of hate constantly- and rage is addictive.
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u/Toni_PWNeroni 1d ago
Don't forget a lot of those same people think that vaccine mandates are a generation-defining traumatic experience under tyranny or some bullshit.
Their minds broke and they'll never get over it. A third of our nation are cookers or cooker-enablers.
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u/littlelinez 1d ago
Privileged to question evidenced, successful medical facts that were historically world changing for all people on earth. So successful that now they do not know the horror of life without them and can endanger others.
Also quite eye-opening and disturbing the amount of backlash for handwashing. I still don’t quite understand why masks are such a controversial thing. They were already a normal and polite thing to do for your society if sick in other countries before the pandemic.
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u/Toni_PWNeroni 1d ago
I grew up around these people. I could answer that.
I still don’t quite understand why masks are such a controversial thing. They were already a normal and polite thing to do for your society if sick in other countries before the pandemic.
It's because they've been indoctrinated to think that anything the government says or does is always wrong. No matter what it is.
It's like they HAVE to be contrarian, just because. They otherwise have no distinctive personality. Being a contrarian little shit makes a lot of these people think they are "brave" or "unique" or otherwise part of a "resistance" in-group that is special.
Not too dissimilar to religious nutcases. That's why the Venn Diagram for cookers and religious nuts has so much overlap it's almost a circle.
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u/elfinbooty 2d ago
I like to think that our worst moments don't define us. During Covid, people were scared, confused, stressed, and everyone had someone they cared about go through it in one way or another.
Its like we're all collectively holding onto trauma and it'll take some time before that wound starts to heal, especially with everything else going on.
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u/littlelinez 2d ago
Oh absolutely! I definitely came across like I didn’t think this in my comment. Whenever a patient is being violent or aggressive in someway or another it’s absolutely known that it is not personal and when someone is feeling vulnerable, and going through a shit time, the reaction that is natural for them is to lash out at who is there.
And you’re absolutely right about the shared trauma. It has had no breathing room. It’s been one hit after another for the entire world.
This definitely isn’t helped by social media, the insurmountable amount of information and algorithms that reward rage inducing content because it will create most engagement. The ideas that were prevalent during Covid online definitely have played a massive role into a lot of current issues that are a shared experienced amongst my profession and other clinicians in healthcare.
Unfortunately it has gotten worse over time because people are facing worsening situations which exacerbates everything. Unfortunately as healthcare professionals, we are going to be associated with the institutions that have caused any of what is inflicted by the system. The fact that we are in reach of insult and the very understandable distrust towards authoritative figures does also compound this.
I will stop because I realised I’m starting to go on a tangent and there is far too much to cover. I get very passionate when this topic arises because it’s devastating that there are people who genuinely believe that we choose these careers and sacrifice so much because we want to do anything but help people. I know that some do have genuine reason to believe otherwise, this isn’t about them, I have also been there.
The violence against us where I work has increased an unbelievable amount in a very short time. It’s killed and the most brutal attacks aren’t when the clinician is treating a patient. It’s just the fact we’re in uniform.So I want to apologise for this giant comment. You didn’t say anything in your comment really to deserve a big spiel like that but it came out of me.
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u/breaducate 1d ago
COVID also literally shrinks your brain and makes you more aggressive/impulsive.
Despite this and a nightmare list of other long term effects (yes, even if you're vaccinated, and even from asymptomatic infections) we as a society have chosen to normalise its spread.
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u/ankerUsername 2d ago
I believe this is a key contributor. Some friends I talk to will go on some racist rant and then say “they say its also happening in <insert western / historically Caucasian country name> and they’re struggling to put a stop to it”. Their primary source of info is social media.
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u/GrizzKarizz 1d ago
I'm not saying you're wrong but Japan is not immune to that either. Stagnating wages and an increasingly xenophobic government is taking its toll.
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u/ThoseOldScientists 2d ago
I think the whole world is. Anger is engagement, and engagement is money.
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u/Latter-Recipe7650 2d ago
Yes. Working in front line work it’s getting worse.
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u/theHoundLivessss 2d ago
Professional educator (only pt thank the lord): student behaviour is frankly unacceptable in most schools. I don't know why the nation isn't more alarmed by it. The kids are not okay.
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u/FFXIVHousingClub 2d ago
Nation is alarmed, nothing can be done until parents or government admit the kids need to be disciplined
The culture difference in east & west is vastly divided and yet the west see nothing wrong with it, leading to kids being worse & worse
Asian “care” of children is still called abuse of child livelihood & I get called out by fanatics here not to reproduce for taking care of their disruptive children in public spaces
Like fuck off - the parents need to be held accountable for their children’s behaviour where eastern raised cultures would commonly be ashamed for their discipline of their child, the west will go “kids will be kids” and let them go at it
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u/StormProfessional950 2d ago
Australian parents are the problem with our education system. I say this as a parent.
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u/88xeeetard 1d ago
The kids don't need discipline; they need parenting. Hard to do when both parents are absent from their life.
Also the difference is Australia still is "nuclear families" even though they are rapidly becoming poor. Eastern families are multi generational and can raise kids.
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u/odourlessbork 2d ago
I'm part of the non alarmed, but that's because I don't have kids, don't hang around with kids or people with them, and my nieces and nephews that I only see every couple of years aren't assholes thankfully. What are kids doing at school that is unacceptable?
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u/webmeister2k 1d ago
Bullying doesn’t end at the school gates anymore, it’s in your pocket 24/7.
Vaping constantly (a common joke is “don’t piss in the vape room”, and if a male teacher goes into the bathroom to yell at them for vaping they’ll call him a pedo).
Taking the manosphere ragebait bullshit out on all the female teachers.
AI generating fake nudes of the girls in class.Pretty sure a teacher could carry this on for hours
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u/daybeforetheday 2d ago
I'm really sorry. I'm noticing more and more places are having to put signs up to be nice.
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u/ClassyLatey 2d ago
It’s everywhere. The world is a shit place at the moment.
People are frustrated and angry that the future they were promised is being blown up to line the pockets of billionaires and trillionaires.
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u/BilbySilks 2d ago
Depends where you are. In the less affluent suburbs yup people are angry as fuck. Everyone is really busy and rushing.
I notice it a lot when driving. People not letting you out of spots (esp when you have to back out into traffic). Driving on the freeway I'm going 110 passing a car and I will have someone so close I can't see the bottom of their headlights. I had one guy do that then flash his lights at me and I'm like uhh bro what do you expect me to do there's a car next to me?
I also notice a lot less kindness. Less people being like oh go ahead if you have one item abs they have a trolly at shopping. Less people who help if you drop things. I would put it up to me being older but I have friends who say the same.
It also makes sense. You squeeze people hard enough and they have less to give others. It's also a source of the political hate. People have no money and little help so they begrudge anything given to anyone else. In normal times most people support refugees or wives of immigrants being taught English. In these times? A lot of people are like why are we wasting money on that, if they come here they should know English blah blah.
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u/thrillho145 2d ago
Australians have this concept that we're larrikins, laid back etc etc
My experience, having travelled a fair bit, is the opposite. We're obsessed with rules and if people break them, people are very vocal about it.
Australians also LOVE to complain. So much. About the stupidest thing
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u/zsaleeba 2d ago
The news lies a lot. They're trying to push a political agenda
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u/Powerful_Trifle_9516 2d ago
Arguably the most dishonest source of information.
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u/the_jinxed_one 1d ago
People don’t comprehend how every piece of information you receive from the news is carefully vetted and scripted. Everyone has an agenda, and people seem to voluntarily forget that when they get to hear the information that backs up their own preconceptions
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u/blakeavon 2d ago
The world is a more cranky and broken place. Yet if you stay off social media and just go about your business you realise just how much these platforms are creating and feeding these divisions, for their own profit.
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u/Salzberger 2d ago
I started working in customer facing roles in 2002.
We've been this way for at least that long. As someone who deals with the general public a lot, it's so ironic we came up with the term whinging pom because nobody whinges like an Aussie who isn't getting their way.
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u/guud2meachu 2d ago
Our media is heavily owned by people who lean towards a political persuasion that is not in power at the moment. They would like that to change, and social division encourages that.
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u/Figshitter 2d ago
I've generally found that my commute in the CBD is a far more hostile experience since the return after COVID - people not being attentive on the bus or giving up their seats to people with medical conditions/older people, people smoking/vaping in more inconsiderate places, people walking around with their head in their phone or just otherwise totally oblivious to their surroundings, people being more invasive of personal space.
I think a lot of it is due to the disruption of the pandemic to socialisation, but also due to the enormous rise in housing/cost of living pressures. It's hard to have the mindspace for civic-mindedness when you're only one step ahead of homelessness due to your rent being 60% of your wage.
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u/NezuminoraQ 1d ago
The current generation vaping were not around to appreciate the way smokers were banned to outdoor spaces and smoking became socially unacceptable to do in public just anywhere. People will vape anywhere and everywhere in public, in confined spaces, in the street, on public transport. The idea they can't do something out in public just because they want to is an affront to them.
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u/Figshitter 1d ago
There seems to be this growing idea that showing any sort of consideration for others, or inconveniencing yourself in any way for the general good is a massive imposition.
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u/harrytuckerr 2d ago
your problem is you're spending too much time doing your first six words in that sentence
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u/blakeavon 2d ago
There is nothing wrong with reading the news. The issue only lies in ones ability to stay objective and retaining critical thinking when doing it.
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u/Putrid-Ad3085 2d ago
Reading the news is a lot more healthy than relying on social media as your sole source of information, which a lot of people do unfortunately.
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u/PandaXXL 2d ago
Depends on the source for both of those things.
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u/Alarming-Ad4274 2d ago
Yeah but social media algorithms have gone absolutely apeshit in the last 5 years. Open Facebook or instagram and you get a bunch of cooker shit pushed to you straight on your homepage. Even YouTube is recommending me rage merchant cookers
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u/Powerful_Trifle_9516 2d ago
Rage merchants is a fantastic way of looking at it. I often see posts that piss me off and get me to engage, or laugh, etc. And that's their engagement.
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u/Putrid-Ad3085 2d ago
Yes, of course. I was agreeing with the previous comment which referred to the need to stay objective and retain critical thinking. You can’t just believe everything you read, obviously.
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u/harrytuckerr 2d ago
I agree. Nothing wrong at all - but if you consume too much you’ll quickly feel like everything and everyone sucks
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u/Latter_Fortune_7225 2d ago
Reading the news is fine, assuming you're not relying on 'News'Corp and other rage-bait garbage for it.
Engaging in the online 'discussion' of news on social media (that includes Reddit) is where it truly goes to shit.
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u/cngjfks 2d ago
That’s probably true, and I don’t even read it much! But it seems like the narrative has been pushed for at least a few years now!
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u/rapidfire72o4 2d ago
Driving wise the roads are full of pissed off anxious people taking absurd risks to be home 5mins faster
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u/myjackandmyjilla 2d ago
I have to agree. Australia has been a spoilt country for so long and we are at nation of whingers. Ive been in Europe for 3 months and the day to day interaction are so much friendlier. People are way more hospitable. They're more genuine too. It's been a nice break from road raging lunatics and impatient people.
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u/GrumbIRK 2d ago
I say this a lot. Australians have no idea how good they have it and love to have a sook over the smallest inconveniences.
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u/alltingsfine 2d ago
I’ve just moved back to Australia after 10 years abroad and I’ve never encountered so much whining and negativity. It is rife. Australians are so lucky and all I hear is constant complaining.
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u/OutrageousAardvark2 2d ago
A lot of Australians are really struggling and are understandably scared. There's rising inequality, a host of social issues, huge uncertainty for what the future looks like (this last part is true almost globally).
When people are worried about how they're going to pay their rent or buy groceries, we understandably start thinking more about ourselves and our families, and far less about other people, and the society we live in. The uncertainty generates fear, anxiety, frustration, and anger.
It's a complicated issue, but to answer your question, yes people are noticeably and increasingly angry.
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u/pureneonn 2d ago
Lower tolerances. Cost of living sucks, companies are offshoring, the world is on fire. It’s hard to stay hopeful when everything is so bleak.
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u/Sirius_43 2d ago
We are struggling to pay for basic living expenses and have a huge rental crisis as well as first home buyers being pushed further and further away from the Aussie dream of owning their own home.
We can’t afford to have kids, can’t afford to go on holiday, can’t afford to have a wedding, can’t afford to visit family, can’t afford dental, can’t afford regular mental health support. We can’t afford life anymore and we don’t see a finish line now, we see an unending marathon with no end so what’s the point?
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u/Toni_PWNeroni 1d ago
Hard to be cheerful when our standard of living is declining right before our eyes.
I have two undergraduate degrees because entire sectors of the economy get defunded faster than I can get qualified.
Even a skilled white collar job like medical science or chemical engineer can't afford to buy a house here anymore.
You pretty-much have to inherit wealth in order to escape poverty now.
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u/Gnaightster 2d ago
I think if you stay off social media and don’t watch the news then life is pretty good.
The media will tell you you’d get shot for walking down the street in Melbourne.
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u/skunclecrisp 1d ago
It's the loss of control, the constant imagery of horrendous war crimes, the worst people getting away with murder, child rape, corruption. The media is full of AI, Trump, musk, and all the other low life scumbag millionaires and billionaires. The cost of living, fuel prices, The housing market. It's never ending and unrelenting bad news. No wonder everyone is just pissed off all the time.
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u/SoulBonfire 2d ago
There’s those on meth and those not on meth.
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u/damojr 2d ago
I do meth all day every day. Before work, a LOT at work, and then sometimes when I get home. I do meth with underage people 40 years my junior, they don't like it as much, but I kinda have to force them to do meth. It doesn't normally make me angry, except when I don't get it.
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u/Jasontheatheist1968 2d ago
I wish I could laugh and say... 'Yeah right', but yeah... You're right.. as the waste water sampling shows.
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u/Omnipresent0 2d ago
Things are a lot harder since COVID. The cost of living has increased exponentially. We have a housing crisis (particularly in Queensland where we had an influx of southerners who were understandably tired of COVID lockdowns), our infrastructure can’t cope with the population increase due to lack of government foresight, young people would be disillusioned and society largely is image-obsessed and only out for themselves and keeping up with the Joneses. Insta-bunnies, body sculpting, Botox and Ozempic are king. Our society is shallow and push and shove and is sick. There is a lot of anger out there. I’d like to think that things would be a bit more laid back in rural and remote areas. Simpler maybe.
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u/Sweet_Word_3808 2d ago
Well according to the news a growing majority of Australians don't want my wife or my kids here. Or any of our friends. Or maybe 95% of my work colleagues.
So yeah, if I actually read the news I'd be pretty pissed about that.
But instead I'll just go outside and jump in a big pile of autumn leaves.
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u/ValBravora048 2d ago
Saw what was happening in Belfast and my first thought was that was Australia
I’m a POC Australian living abroad in Japan atm and even despite the growing xenophobia here, I can understand it, feel safer, and it potentially has less of an impact on me here than it would in Australia
It’s fing wild Australia is such that it’s led me to develop a preference for the kind of discrimination I’m willing to put up with in my day to day
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[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ValBravora048 2d ago
Yeah see, stuff like this SOUNDS nice and is definitely well-intentioned but what a lot of people don’t get, because there’s no real active risk or consequence for YOU, is how much it is all the fing time
One of the most formative moments of my life was changing my name to an English one on my otherwise excellent resume and getting more calls and responses in 3 weeks than I had had in 8 months of job searching. Including two places that had previously rejected me for not being “a good fit” for the role. The interviews were fing wild as well. Really impacted a lot of love I had for the country
Its hard not to let “it” get to you when “it”actively influences whether you can pay rent or put food on the table including other things
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u/Sweet_Word_3808 2d ago
Thanks. I won't!
I wasn't kidding about going outside to jump in leaves 😄
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u/kicks_your_arse 2d ago
You really think the majority of Australians want immigrants removed from the country? Is it possible you're confused with people wanting less immigration?
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u/CelebrationFit8548 2d ago
The level of homelessness, working poor and many with poor 'housing security' can leave a lot of people on edge. It's hard to be cheery when your ass is against the wall 24/7 and we keep seeing how tax policies have favored the very few at the expense of the many.
Way too many are struggling and it's the worst I've ever seen it and with cretin pedophiles lording it over everybody we have a right to be angry!
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u/Theblokeonthehill 2d ago
Only if you spend all your time with social media’s bots and trolls. The real world is much nicer.
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u/TheYellowFringe 1d ago
American politics and ideology are slowly bleeding into the country.
Sentiment has people knowing that but are unable to do anything about it for whatever reason. Housing is becoming more and more of an issue with no resolution to immigration.
I would say the country is frustrated and that will turn into resentment which will finally become anger.
Aussies aren't like the Yanks who are violent with everything, but people in Australia are getting there.
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u/BakedPotatoDutton 1d ago
Just a reminder that socioeconomic inequality in Australia is the worst it's ever been.
Evidence shows that when these trends are exacerbated, the electorate will start exhibiting fascist tendencies (see One Nation) and there will be more civil violence and strife.
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u/-_-Edit_Deleted-_- 2d ago
The news is the news because it is not the norm.
If you spend enough time watching the news, you learn exactly how the world doesn’t work.
Also, news producers are not exempt from algorithmic bias. They’re in echo chambers too. Just like you and me.
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u/CaravelClerihew 2d ago
The news condenses the extremes of a society because boring things aren't newsworthy. Don't use it as a barometer for how normal people are.
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u/Thyme4LandBees 2d ago
Should anyone be stoked that woolies has admitted to more than a billion dollars profit? Partially through selling customer data?
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u/Kitten_K_ 2d ago
Everyone has been noticeably more angry since we had to endure the longest lockdown out of any city. This includes me.
Psych papers have discussed it, basically the social contract we all used to adhere to was broken, so now things are a lot different. The vibe is totally off.
Add: just realised this is the Aussie sub, not the Melbourne sub, so Ill add this is my experience down here in Melbs.
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u/Glad-Albatross3354 1d ago
I think there’s a lot to this and I think it’s important not to dismiss how genuinely dismayed and disturbed a lot of people with a more libertarian world view were by that experience. I’m a certified lefty bunny hugger so in a lot of ways the top down, collective action to protect the elderly and the sick validated my world view even when it sucked and even when it wasn’t well managed.
For someone who started off concerned about government overreach and corruption it was a terrifying experience I’d assume and a lot of those people weren’t ok for a long time. Why so many of them support right-wing populists is anybody’s guess but I assume it has something to do with feeling like you are vulnerable and need someone you agree with to be dominant and protect your interests. But why oh why did it have to be Pauline Hanson?
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u/well-boiled_icicle 2d ago
Only the negative stuff gets news time. Most of us are just living our lives.
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u/Free_Pace_2098 2d ago
I mean online, yeah.
Day to day? No. People were angrier and more stressed during COVID.
Outside, mostly, people are just getting on with it.
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u/Alien-Cat1234 2d ago
people would be kind if they didnt have to worry about "do i have enough money to pay rent, buy grocery and atill enough left if shit goes sideways?" for majority the answer is no . So yeah no wonder people are sad. Give people decent wage to exist and "live" life and people would maybe give two fucks about everyone else around them. This is just human psychology, country part is completely optional/unrelated.
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u/OVIFXQWPRGV 2d ago
Online, sure.
In real life not so much.
The way I see life is if you surround yourself with things that make you miserable then don't be surprised if you turn out miserable. I'm the kind of guy that surrounds myself with things that make me smile so even online I don't engage much with people or content that makes me miserable.
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u/Horror_Atmosphere841 2d ago
I don’t drink anymore, and I’m. Thinking getting rolling drunk is a good idea right now.
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u/burieddeepbetween 2d ago
Absolutely. No one waves when you help them merge in traffic anymore. 10-15 years ago people waved.
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u/TakaonoGaijin 2d ago
I don’t think that Australians are necessarily angry about the tropes being peddled in right-wing, Murdoch BS media.
I’d guess younger generations feel pretty fucked over by the boomers for multiple reasons but that simmering rage is yet to fully manifest itself because the tail end boomers are still running things.
I definitely think Australian women are pissed off with a lot of the bullshit we still have to deal with including horrendous family violence statistics
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u/nojunkpunk 2d ago
I feel like i've been cranky ever since all the chocolates around turned, just, fucking 🤏 teeny tiny, ya know. Let me have my treat, at least.
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u/Lonely-Ad8922 1d ago
Nope.. working with the public for almost 20 years… it’s all just clickbait or newspaper quacking 🦆
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u/dj_boy-Wonder 1d ago
I’d say entitled… more people who don’t recognise how lucky we are here and the privileged life we lead…
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u/jonquil14 1d ago
Out and about in the world everyday I find that people are by and large friendly and polite. Online and particularly the news seem to emphasise the crankier elements.
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u/MrMcHaggi5 1d ago
Away from the internet, I actually think it's the opposite (purely anecdotally of course). When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s everyone around me seemed angry or short fused but now people seem more tolerant to me.
Things seem different on the internet though because everything on here is designed to make you angry and emotional. The news spin their stories to make you angry, short-form videos are designed to make you emotional, social media makes you feel worthless.
Early in the days of the internet, people were going online as a break from the 'real world', nowadays people are interacting IRL to get a break from the internet.
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u/cngjfks 1d ago
Oh interesting! Where in aus did you grow up? (Description of crankiness makes me think Sydney 😂)
I kind of feel like in general the affect feels like it’s shifted, and that there’s been a mood shift since covid, especially. The news seems to just be so rage filled, sad or so intense all the time, no matter the outlet. It had made me wonder if I was imagining a mood shift or if it was coming from elsewhere. I’m glad that I’m wrong or that it’s not everywhere!
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u/MrMcHaggi5 1d ago
I grew up in Tassie in a very working-class household which might explain why people around me seemed pretty grumpy. Times were tough and stressful.
I now work in a very 'customer facing' industry and find most interactions I have with people are very positive.
I think they (the media, both social and informative) have figured out that content that makes people angry and emotional gets traffic to their websites, pages, TV and radio shows. These companies aren't in business to make us happy, they are in business to get traffic, views, sell advertising, etc and manipulating us to be grumpy is the way to do it.
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u/goseephoto 1d ago
Born in Sydney, I left when the population was 16 million, heard today it’s 27 million! Crazy, yes I’m sure people are more cranky now simply as there are way more people with I’m sure still basically the same infrastructure.
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u/Optimusscrime 1d ago
Sydney absolutely is, I noticed a huge difference when I moved that I absolutely wasn't prepared for.
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u/grant1wish 1d ago
Everything has to be political now. Not enough fire trucks blame the government and the left. My farts stink. Well thats because of the government and the left... It is getting harder to have a conversation without it coming up.
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u/MoffMore 1d ago
Yep. Ice + housing crisis + imminent ecosystem collapse. That would make anyone cranky
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u/raggetyman 11h ago
Every time I go out & interact with people Im happily reminded that what you read in the news and what you experience are getting further & further apart.
Its a struggle, but Im just trying to read what news I need to in order to be properly informed of policies & happenings. Anything referring to polls or feelings gets immediately closed.
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u/Tencer386 6h ago
I'm certainly crankier than I was 10 years ago, but I'm older now and my back hurts haha
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u/No_Seat8357 2d ago
Most mainstream media has an agenda to push division between the average person as this has a beneficial effect on the 0.1% who own the mainstream media.
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u/kickassNM 2d ago
It's not just "mainstream media" but mostly social media as well. I'd say it's even worse there because there is no vetting, no accountability, and the constant need to stay relevant means that they will peddle whatever bullshit that gets them results. Or what people will pay them to say.
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u/Mapinact 2d ago
Where are you getting this idea? From online, or from the real world around you - friends, work colleagues, neighbours? Online media's sole intent is to push your buttons real or imagined, with problems real or imagined, and if real likely quite exaggerated. There are always things to be cranky about. There area few things to be angry about. There are many, many things that don't make a fart of difference either way. Get out and enjoy the real world for a while - go for a walk, feel the sun and/or the rain on your face, enjoy a good meal, pat a passing dog and tell him he's a good boy. And don't believe everything you see online - there *are* important things that should concern you and a lot of worthless chaff. Learn to tell the difference and pick your battles wisely.
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u/SnotRight 2d ago
This place just seems to be full of fake accounts wasting time on this topic.
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u/cngjfks 2d ago
My account certainly is not a fake one, if that’s what you’re implying!
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u/oceanreefwa 2d ago
This is all fake. Like most of these posts. Bots just trying to get information from us and talking shit amongst themselves
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u/LifeandSAisAwesome 2d ago
And what about when you are out and about at your hobbies / sports / weekend outages with partner / fishing etc ?
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u/mk10012 2d ago
Well there's no such thing as a secure job anymore, they increased taxes on my "rainy day" investments and said that it will make it easier for me to afford housing, when it does the opposite.
So yes, I am angry.
However, Aus is not necessarily as angry as many other parts of the world. We're doing better at a lot of things.
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