Thiago Oppermann wrote:
>
> In my experience, and generalizing wildly, Australians love taking the piss
> out of themselves, in that disarming kind of way, but are horrified if
> anyone else pokes fun at them. It's the sort of self-deprecating humour that
> isn't self-deprecating at all, but the Aussies think it is, and it makes
> them think they are all the more immune to criticism.
>
Several years ago on this list we had a thread in which Yoshie and I argued that "self-criticism" is always fake unless in response to criticism from others. "Self-launched" self-criticism is, as you suggest here, a way of avoiding actual criticism.
Carrol
> Thiago