BPARD, which is run by a committee of 14 and claims to have branches in Perth and Melbourne, said yesterday through its spokesman, David Thomason: "The Oxford Dictionary classes Pom as being derogatory, just like wog, wop, dink, dago, coon and abo."Apparently they don't stand much chance of being taken seriously.
(Btw, are Poms just the English, or would Scots and Welsh be classified as Poms?)
I'm hoping that some other Australians (or expatriate Britons) clarify this. My suspicion is that, as far as Australians are concerned, fine distinctions don't matter, and anyone from Great Britain is a "pom", just as anyone from anywhere on the Mediterranean is a "wog". Though perhaps there would be some Scots/Welsh Australian residents who would take objection to being lumped in with the English like this. Perhaps it's time for a debate?
Shouldn't we be asking you that?