Talkemada – Member
Am I the only one who sees the irony of a Brit being stung by the police, for a trivial crime in a country WHERE THEY ARE ALL DECENDED FROM BRITISH CRIMINALS who got sent there for as little as theft of a loaf of bread.
Is criminality a hereditary genetic trait?
You're forgetting, of course, that Australia has an indigenous population, as well as the many immigrants from places like Greece, Vietnam and Italy? Granted, 90% or so of Australians are descended from British or Irish settlers, but only a small number of early settlers from Europe were actually transported convicts. The Gold rush in the middle of the 19th century saw massive immigration to the country.
Still, don't let annoying little things such as facts get in the way of your assumptions, eh?
There were only about 150,000 convicts sent to Australia, ending in the 1850's. There were more convicts sent to the US than to Australia, yet the inevitable inference Australians as having some ingrained criminality seems to remain a popular slight in Britain. This despite the fact Australia and the UK have similar rates of the population being imprisoned. Anecdotal evidence would also point to Australia having significantly less crime than the UK. Nevertheless, I'm sure the stereotype will persist as it accords well with an ingrained sense of superiority in much of the UK population.
