am i the asshole reddit pet kangaroo

Aussies Are Taking The Piss Out Of This ‘Am I The Asshole?’ Post On Reddit

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ICYMI, Reddit’s r/AmITheAsshole is an absolute treasure trove of infuriating stories, which will often leave the reader yelling at their screen ‘YOU’RE SUCH AN ASSHOLE!!!’.

The premise of the subreddit is to present a story to the channel’s 2.6 million subscribers and for the masses to decide if the person is deemed an ‘Asshole’ or ‘Not The A-Hole’. The latest post that piqued my interest, after it was shared by journalist and author Jenna Guillaume, is just peak Australian culture.

The post was from a woman we presume to be American who, after inviting her Australian girlfriend to meet her family, was left furious when her girlfriend lied to her parents about having a pet kangaroo back in Australia. This user wrote that “she did it to make a fool” out of her parents. Err, OK!

Read the full post below:

AITA for getting mad at my gf for lying about having a pet kangaroo? from AmItheAsshole

OK, I have thoughts.

First of all, the girlfriend is vegetarian and this person didn’t think to tell her parents?? Because of this, the parents served her meat pies under the guise that this was Australian cuisine, so already it’s clear they have little to no knowledge of Australia. The Aussie girlfriend then eats the meat pies — even though she’s vegetarian! She obviously didn’t want to be an imposition and she sounds like a saint.

Then when pressed about Australia, she tells the parents something that literally every single Aussie tells foreigners — and especially Americans — just to take the piss: that we have pet kangaroos, or more commonly that we ride kangaroos. It’s a classic joke that’s always funny. “As an Australian, what you have described is both normal and hilarious,” one Redditor wrote in reply.

The majority of replies to the AITA post were from Australians defending what the girlfriend did. “Going to say it is definitely part of our culture to do this,” a Reddit user wrote. “Visited cousins in the USA whose mates asked me if I actually rode kangaroos to school, after 30 minutes of asking me to repeat how I said ‘tomato’. Told them not only did I ride kangaroos to school (lived in the suburbs of Sydney), but I also had a pet wombat. I also explained bushwalking safety tips to prevent drop bear attacks. Of course I came clean, and everyone had a good laugh and were good sports. Just part of our humour.”

Another added, “Also Australian and laughed so much reading this. I don’t know many people that wouldn’t do this/laugh about doing this.”

Some non-Australians may wonder why we do this, but we could also ask: why do you believe us so easily?!

“As an Australian I’d say it’s also a response to how fucking weird Americans (and other nationalities) can be about Australia. They seem to forget that it’s a place with normal people doing normal human things and not Narnia.” Another presumed Aussie added, “My favourite part of our culture, f-cking with foreigners.”

Our New Zealand mates also pitched in. “I’m a Kiwi and when I moved back to England, everyone was obsessed with my accent. I got asked lots of dumb questions like ‘did you have electricity?’ and ‘did you live in a mudhut?’ After a while, I made a big joke out of it and overplayed Kiwi culture – e.g ‘oh yeah hobbits are actually real, I’ve only seen one before but I[sic] didn’t see me’ etc. It’s a laugh really,” they joked. That DOES sound very funny.

This reply summarises the whole debate perfectly: “Every American on this thread: OMG she’s alcoholic and a pathological liar. Every Australian on this thread: Wait, she left out the bit about the drop bears. Your girlfriend sounds like a good sport, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Chalk it up to a cultural experience and carry on.”

For what it’s worth, the post’s author was labelled ‘Asshole’. The people have spoken.