Hi guys.

I've had a debate with someone on 64Digits over MSN… It pretty much started with them saying (something along the lines of):

"The Australian Cricket Team is so mean and unsportsmanship-like, and so I am sure that 99% of Australians are exactly like that too." That's the summary of a few messages the person said. When he comes online next I'll ask whether I can present his name so he can provide his arguments in the comments here too. From seeing just 15 odd Australians, all with similar interests being a bit bully-like on the Cricket Pitch, he thinks we are all almost exactly the same. All with the same attitude. Firstly I think this is pretty racist and definitely a huge over-statement of my land. Australia is a multi-cultural country, we've got people from all 'round the globe coming to live here, around 1,000 new citizenships are given out every week. I honestly don't see how citizens could immediately become obnoxious like our Aussie Cricket team as soon as they became one. What about me? I'm a punctual nerd - you wouldn't see me rubbing a cricket ball on my balls and calling out the stereotypical Australian slang. Am I part of that 1%? I know heaps of people with at least one of my attitudes persistent in them too.

And what about, say, the Australian Soccer Team? They have an entirely different attitude to the Cricket team and there's more players. If the person who is arguing against me see's the soccer team he has no choice but to either agree or say something stupid. He also said this: "never the less *Australian's* are made up of rejected people from England. So I don't think their attitude would be NICE.". Australia was founded on 'rejected' people from England. But the government was established by the highest-paying explorers on England. But that was over 200 years ago - since then we've had millions of migrants, coming here to share their culture. I just don't understand how this person could make such a blind statement - what if (coing by his accusation) the Cricket Team happened to be made up of that 1% of Australians who he says do not represent the attitude the cricket team has? He would then be falsely accusing us by an even greater deal, because the cricket team might be the only people in Australia with that attitude.

I don't actually see why I need to make such a list of arguments, it's quite clear that one Australian Cricket Team, though "representing Australia", is not portraying how 99% of us are like. The person arguing against me said that his country all stick together - if one person runs, the rest will run with them regardless of whether they enjoy running. Fair enough. Australia doesn't - we respect what people do and don't want to do but go the way we would like to go. Also, I don't see how his country does that - he beat up a gay person. I don't want anyone posting stupid comments in reply, this is a mature discussion only and I want your honest opinion.