1 post tagged “crocodile-hunter”

Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin was a larrikin - not that there's anything wrong with that.

As an American I was not aware of larrikinism before Steve's tragic death. Larrikins seem to be a uniquely Australian phenomenon. Other larrikins that Americans may be familiar with are Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) and the late Bon Scott (AC/DC).

So what is this larrikinism? And more importantly is it communicable?

Wikipedia defines Larrikinism as: Larrikinism is the name given to the Australian folk tradition of irreverence, mockery of authority and disregard for rigid norms of propriety. Larrikinism can also be associated with self-deprecating humour.

Now I should note that not all Australians are proud of their national larrikins (yes, that includes Steve). I mean would Americans be happy if the rest of the world thought that all Americans were like Larry the Cable Guy?

For discussion:
Do red necks in the US mock authority enough to be considered American larrikins?

For further research:
Larrikinism, Larry the Cable Guy, Red neck.

Note: this first appeared on my Newsvine column - link.