I’m an American (sorry for ruining the world) and i just tried Vegemite. I was surprised to find that i neither love it or hate it. From the way people talk about it I thought it was this EXTREME thing that supposedly you love or hate. It’s certainly a strong flavor, but it’s not like wasabi level intense. To me it tastes very similar to the burnt bits stuck to the pan after cooking a burger.
I tried it straight and the first taste made me say “huh” out loud. The best thing I’ve tried it on is croutons (because i didn’t have bread to toast). I’ve tried it with a few other random foods and it doesn’t seem to improve anything.
Is it unusual for someone to have a neither love or hate opinion of it?
Is there any specific food you recommend to use it with?
No, it’s not unusual. I actually don’t know a single Australian who loves or hates it. Vegemite is just one of many spreads we eat and not particularly special.
Australians have a very bad habit of performing to foreigners, whether that’s random people in online spaces like reddit or Hugh Jackman on Conan. They play up stereotypical “Aussie” traits and culture because it gets them attention. Foreigners interpret this fake behaviour as genuine and it reinforces all kinds of completely false narratives about Australian people.
Another one is that we are constantly swearing and casually dropping very offensive words like the C-word. Also completely fake. This is just began culture, normal Australians would find this word offensive in most situations.
Cunt is not highly offensive. Let’s not neuter ourselves so carelessly.
The cunt one I think is highly contextual. There are certain specific contexts where I would not be shocked to hear it used casually, but it definitely is not as normalised as Internet culture would have you believe. I think one thing that is always true is that it does not carry nearly the same level of stigma as it does in other countries. In Australia, it would not be unusual to say “you fucking cunt” to someone who, for example, cut you off in traffic. In America, that response would generally sound far harsher than is appropriate in that circumstance. It’s vulgar and avoided in polite company either way, but not to nearly the same degree.
Vegemite though? I fucking love that shit. I’m boring as hell and the only way I’ll have it is with butter/margarine on bread/toast. No cheese. No scrolls.
Oh, I guess I will also have it scooped up by the finger.
The one that bothers me is the “dropbear” joke. It’s boring and worn out at this point. And the doubling down and making the lore around them ever more increasingly detailed just worsens it.
Just be different circles. Even my mother says cunt in a loving way.