Nice thoughts Furry (though I'm sure you're not surprised to hear I also like Hawkey more than you do). Good to see you are still alive, we missed you last week. Hope we'll see you this week.
I think Kim Beazley's thoughts on the word 'mate' around the time of Howard's infamous Constituional preamble were pretty on the money. It's a great word in all its connotations (deliberately patronising, referring to the club for the boys, or affectionate). In fact I would argue that what separates our use of the word 'mate' from the British use is its newer connotations.
The issue of Mate-Gate itself doesn't really bother me one way or the other, but it worries me when people start using these issues as a way to undermine a far more important issue, like political correctness.
BTW my reference to the word 'fat' is actually in reference to a letter to the ed that said we should be allowed to say what we think and call people 'fat' or a 'dwarf' etc. The use of the word 'dwarf' is usually inaccurate (dwarfism is a very specific condition) and it's hardly very gentlemanly to say to someone 'my, you're fat'. I don't think 'fat' is necessarily a negative term, as personally I've been attracted to 'fat' women. Nonetheless, I think in most circumstances you could find a more diplomatic way of saying something like this.
