In light of recent australia day activities, i was pondering this question: How relevant is mateship in todays society? Do you think it permeates every aspect of Australian life?

Do you have any stories of mateship in business?

Have you saved a mate? Do you need to?

What do you mean by 'mateship'

Isn't mateship the relationship you have with your mates/friends?

Shouldn't you respect and like your friends and do what you can to help them?

Shouldn't you have quality over quantity?

Save a mate from what exactly?

I have very few good mates and those I do have I would move heaven and earth for and I know they would do the same.

I have two 20+ year mates and they can both be absolute idiots but I look out for them and would help them with money or whatever they needed.

My director is also a bloody good mate for about 6 years.

Mateship was invented by Banjo Patterson, published by The Bulletin and bastardised by politicians.

yeah I have a bunch of mates that I've known since primary school, some I knew before then.

I like how Australians invented our own word for friends and we try to use it like it's a different word

lol, Kat is channeling FaceMan in her post :-)))) hahaha

Mateship is becoming less and less relevant as affluenza sweeps our society. Once upon a time it was probably the norm to help your friends move house or some such thing like that, now I believe the majority of people find themselves in the position of being able to fund professionals for the job rather than requiring said mates to give up their weekend to save you money.

I believe this also comes down to the 'both parents working' thing. With both parents working, there's barely enough time for just general daily life let alone a proportion of time to piss up against the wall with your mates.

That being said, there are simply some times in life mates are a godsend.

I rely on my mates more than my family.

Atleast they don't give me s*** over petty things.

MATES 4 LIFE YO!

that's because your mates are your family murderer

that's because your mates are your family murderer

Touche.

Fellow Taswegian signing-in.

Also, last time I checked mates DO give you s*** over EVERY petty little thing.

Just now my good mate Alberto d'Atissimo Rodriguez Epastona Snr. Esq. SMS'd me and said, "We need boots and runners at training?" and I consequently delivered just the right amount of petty sarcastic s*** with my reply, "Nah, Stillettos and Ugg boots if you've got em", to which he replied a very lame comeback of, "You really are a fag aren't you?", to which I replied, "Haha, nice comeback...not"

It's pretty deep, you might need to read that twice.

Most of my longterm mates are down south (NSW), I keep in touch but we don't really see each other much. I have a few friends in Cairns but not many, I reckon once you get to 30 and start a family your accretion rate for mates slows a lot (well it did for me).

I'm just so busy these days with the family and kids and business that I just don't have f***ing time. I guess in a few years if it all works out and I'm rich in a big f***ing house on the hill looking down on everyone I can buy an entourage or something.

Or sit there rich and alone and drink booze all day. Either way works for me.

Mateship is just an extension of tall poppy syndrome. Discuss.

Anybody else noticing a trend of Pinky bringing astute details of his personal life to the boards like kat? Now with names :/

But OT; I'd do what I can for my mates, and they do the same.
I don't think its really confined to an australian thing though.

I am not entirely convinced that other people actually really exist in the same sense that I do. I accept that I may be alone in this cosmos, but my vivid imagination of having work colleagues, a girlfriend, and a bunch of wierdos on a forum I can talk to helps me deal with consciousness and existence itself. In reality the people I encounter are probably just a reflection of myself.

go on

When I walk, I'm not really moving through the world. The world is moving around me, I stay in the middle, and it is through actions such as moving my legs that I convince myself that I am infact moving. But it's sort of like a treadmill.

there is an easy way to test you theory thermite. kill yourself... if the universe really ends... well i guess it was just a figment of your imagination. but if the world keeps spinning then it's more likely that you were just a bit too insular.

But it's sort of like a treadmill.

The real question is, will you take off?

Modern Australia does not demonstrate mateship.

Mateship is giving your own shirt off your own back to your mate because he needs it and you can do without. Mateship is disregarding authorities in order to help your mate so no one is apprehended (or even taking a minor rap yourself).

Mateship is a cheeky disrespect for authority and prioritisation of your close friends over society's overarching institutions, that can be referenced back to events like the Eureka stockade and Gallipoli.

Today it's every man for himself - individual sacrifice is non-existant - and an omniscient presence of government in every aspect of our lives. Mateship is dead.

wow mateship is all those things... i thought it was just having some friends. :P

Today it's every man for himself - individual sacrifice is non-existant - and an omniscient presence of government in every aspect of our lives. Mateship is dead.

heh what does that government bit in the middle have to do with anything? if people are generally more selfish & lack self-sacrifice... that's a product of capitalist society... your beloved free-market... nuthn to do with big brother.

Anybody else noticing a trend of Pinky bringing astute details of his personal life to the boards like kat? Now with names :/

Soz bra. I hope you aren't doubting the existence of Alberto d'Atissimo Rodriguez Epastona Snr. Esq. mentioned in my post...

Also, something must be lacking in my life to do such a heinous crime on a public forum. I shall commence soul-searching immediately.

you should suffer an eternity in hell for your hideous crimes against society pinky

nothing to do with the market and everything to do with people's lack of community as they blame/rely on the government for everything.
back in colonial times, there was virtually no government so people needed to rely on their social network for assistance.

protit is right. Nowadays there's little requirement to lean on anyone (a good thing). Mateship as i displayed in my previous post is non-important in an affluent society like we have now, where people can actually afford to pay for those things that in previous times we would have imposed on our mates for.

nah i rekn you both just have s***ty mates :D

i have mates that help me move stuff... nothing at all to do with whether or not i have the money to pay a professional mover... my mates have utes n such.. i help them, they help me.

nothing to do with the market and everything to do with people's lack of community as they blame/rely on the government for everything.

how does that affect friendships? i can blame the govt for s*** i don't like & rely on them for the stuff i like... doesn't affect my friendships at all.

back in colonial times, there was virtually no government so people needed to rely on their social network for assistance.

back in colonial times we also didn't have the rampant cut-throat capitalism that we have now. the capitalism that sends the message that anything given for free is bad... communistic!

demon, i don't think mateship is a bad thing nor do i have bad mates. however, i'm answering the original question of does it permeate life? and the answer is no becuase of the reasons i gave. i also realise i probably just took the bait.

taking the bait is part of mateship. we are bringing it back right now.

mates are like a fine wine, they get better as they get older

cliche but true

I'm pretty self reliant but mates are there when the s*** hits the fan. nothing else.

mateship........lol.....
sounds like boganism i fear.....

don't worry, taking the bait is part of being a mate.

my mates are really important to me, prob coz im a mad c*** and have mad c*** mates

were all pretty tight.. its good, how i like it. i class my close mates nearly as important in my life as my girlfriend. 5 or so of my friends, all their parents were mates when they were our age, and they grew up together and all had kids, and now were all best mates. so yeah, works well :)

I count my true friends on just one hand - yes pinky it's hard holding up that 'cow' with one arm

one ripped me blind years ago, the other is going to tomorrow morning.

it's not always about money - but we accept some things because of the individual's ability to fulfill our personal psychological/emotional needs.

I guess I want 'unlimited money' so I can afford to go through the s*** that the very few people on this planet that I genuinely connect with don't cost me too much to live life with friends as I'd like.

(wow - I just tried to say that out aloud 3x and still didn't make it sound understandable to my wife - especially the cow bit)

I suppose that's just another explanation for greed

last edited by koopz at 20:09:43 29/Jan/10

cash must be flowing through your homes more than mine, because I especially rely on my tradie mates - sparkies to help me cable and move powerpoints, chippies to help me rebuild things that are rotting, etc. They rely on me heavily for computer stuff.

I see examples of mateship each and every single day in the army. It exists.

one ripped me blind years ago, the other is going to tomorrow morning.

it's not always about money - but we accept some things because of the individual's ability to fulfill our personal psychological/emotional needs.

I guess I want 'unlimited money' so I can afford to go through the s*** that the very few people on this planet that I genuinely connect with don't cost me too much to live life with friends as I'd like.

3 statements, i read them 5 times each, and i cant understand any of them...

are you drunk/high? coz it really doesnt make much sense

Stupidest thread ever. We all know your all nerds and don't have IRL friends.

last edited by JigZie at 21:56:50 29/Jan/10

hey trog, whats with all the anti-australian comments? you are frenchy or something?

are you drunk/high? coz it really doesnt make much sense

It's koopz. Haven't you been paying attention :-P

boost i always thought he was a seppo?

bros before hoes