Yes, I know, lots of you will say---well everything, but Aussie is America's bitch,' doing what the big slapper says.' Why?---Because Australia sees itself as some sort of Great Power' in the Southern Ocean, emulating what 'big brother' does elsewhere in the world. It also takes this attitude to extremes when it comes to performance on the sporting field. When Aussie is doing well, it is wall-to-wall TV coverage. The same can be said for the USA.
Take for example, the media coverage of the America's Cup finals in SF. When Oracle was preforming to plan, the coverage was right up there, with constant news chatter and glorification of the 'boat and sailors.' Then came the losses and New Zealand edged towards the magic number of victories needed to bring the Cup back to Auckland. What happened? Many new channels went dead, as the big eye turned towards other more important news issues, like Syria, the nation that most Americans would have a problem finding on the map! I did see a few brief mentions of the Cup when Oracle actually won a race against Team NZ, but after yesterdays drubbing by the Kiwis---that was it!
Aussie does something similar when any NZ team takes it to them. Am I accurate in my summation? Mostly; just do a little survey for yourself. Does anyone care? Of course not! It goes with the territory. Do we love the afore mentioned countries any less? Of course not! We are used to such posturing and have learnt to deal with it for many years. After all; 'friends' always have 'tidal- like' relationships; the ebbing and flowing is a natural event, indeed one that is necessary in order to keep the 'natural flow.'
We only need to look at our collective histories where the behaviours of other countries has thrown the three of us together. Is that from a sense of 'caring' or is it more to do with the interests of the two big daddies that have so much influence on our lives in tiny NZ?
In the next few days, if everything goes to plan, Team NZ is going to lift the Cup from SF and bring it home. Maybe the big eye of the USA media will focus on this insignificant country in the South West Pacific for long enough to inform the American public where we are. Then they will line up to buy our farms----Ooops, that sector of the USA is already doing that! Damn!
www.authorneilcoleman.com
Take for example, the media coverage of the America's Cup finals in SF. When Oracle was preforming to plan, the coverage was right up there, with constant news chatter and glorification of the 'boat and sailors.' Then came the losses and New Zealand edged towards the magic number of victories needed to bring the Cup back to Auckland. What happened? Many new channels went dead, as the big eye turned towards other more important news issues, like Syria, the nation that most Americans would have a problem finding on the map! I did see a few brief mentions of the Cup when Oracle actually won a race against Team NZ, but after yesterdays drubbing by the Kiwis---that was it!
Aussie does something similar when any NZ team takes it to them. Am I accurate in my summation? Mostly; just do a little survey for yourself. Does anyone care? Of course not! It goes with the territory. Do we love the afore mentioned countries any less? Of course not! We are used to such posturing and have learnt to deal with it for many years. After all; 'friends' always have 'tidal- like' relationships; the ebbing and flowing is a natural event, indeed one that is necessary in order to keep the 'natural flow.'
We only need to look at our collective histories where the behaviours of other countries has thrown the three of us together. Is that from a sense of 'caring' or is it more to do with the interests of the two big daddies that have so much influence on our lives in tiny NZ?
In the next few days, if everything goes to plan, Team NZ is going to lift the Cup from SF and bring it home. Maybe the big eye of the USA media will focus on this insignificant country in the South West Pacific for long enough to inform the American public where we are. Then they will line up to buy our farms----Ooops, that sector of the USA is already doing that! Damn!
www.authorneilcoleman.com
No comments:
Post a Comment