I had recently arrived in Australia. It was a nice hot and humid Saturday night in
Sydney, I was at the Coogee Bay Hotel enjoying a few drinks and I was in need
of another one. I had been drinking vodka tonics for the last hour or two
and decided it was time for a beer.
As I walked up to the bar all I was thinking about getting
my hands on an ice cold Corona. I was absolutely baffled by what I saw happen
after ordering my Corona; the bartender went to the coolers, grabbed a Corona,
used the bottle opener to pop the top, and then on the short walk over to me
decided to pour my bottled beer into a glass. I was shocked; I didn’t
think the situation could get any stranger. I was wrong. Basically
I let the bartender know that no one in the history of drinking would ever want
a Corona poured from an ice cold bottle into a glass, what followed was a
dumbfounded look in return and my change.
I realized I wasn’t getting anywhere in this conversation so
I grabbed my glass and chalked it up to cultural differences. Only then
did I realize my glass was actually made of plastic! Not only was I
drinking my Corona out of a plastic cup, it was a plastic cup that recently
came out of the dishwasher and was warm. Unreal, what kind of country is
this?
The answer is as basic as it is telling of the Australian
culture and societal norms. Government and private organizations decided
it would be best to step in and limit the amount of glass that was to be
distributed to patrons in bars, pubs, and clubs depending on the crowd and the
time. I have witnessed the glass cut off as early at 7pm and as late as
midnight, no rhyme or reason involved.
Any normal person would ask why they would do that, it
doesn’t make sense. The response is simple, Australians are known for
“Glassing” each other while out on the piss. Guy bumps into you in the
bar – Glass him, a girl is dancing with another girl’s man – she gets Glassed, a
tough stare between blokes – they Glass each other.
Since living in Australia I have had to field numerous
questions about US culture and why we are the way we are. The one
question that comes up without fail is about the gun culture in America.
Australian’s would insist that their society is much safer without the presence
of guns, they would say that The United States should ban guns the same way
they did.
At first I felt like I had to defend the US gun culture as I
am a registered/licensed gun owner, but after debating numerous people and
playing point/counter point I realized I was getting tired of the same song and
dance.
My response is – Australian’s shouldn’t worry about the US
gun culture when they aren’t even allowed to have their alcoholic and
non-alcoholic drinks in glass after a certain time at night due to
the fear of a prison style riots will erupt in bars and pubs with patrons smashing
bottles and glasses over each other’s heads like it’s a scene out of an Old
Western movie. I am not surprised you don’t understand a society that has
access to guns when your access to glass has to be limited to ensure public
safety.
