Category Archives: Narrative

Australian ScoMo Prime Minister

The Informant

R.F. was born and raised in Australia and is politically active and involved with his local democracy as well as the nation’s news.

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A long-standing “rumor,” since it technically can’t be proven, but everyone says it happened. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison (ScoMo) shat himself in a Macca’s (McDonald’s) in Engadine. According to the informant, ScoMo went to watch his favorte rugby team play, and after they left, he went to a Maccas where he [allegedly] shit himself.

Analysis

This particular urban legend stands out to me as it was not the only urban legend Australia has on their prime ministers, the other being that one simply disappeared into the ocean one day never to be seen again. Although most embarrassing folk narratives about political leaders come from people of other nations, recent years have seen a rise in counterhegemonic distrust of authority and those in power. This is particularly reflected by these Australian urban legends, which combined with the laidback culture of Australia as illustrated by the dropbears and other quirky and humorous Australian slang, culminates into this urban legend regarding Prime Minister ScoMo having the reputation of having defecated into his own undergarments while at a public fast food restaurant.

The Devil’s Tramping Ground

The Informant

The informant (AW) lives in an adjacent county to the Harper’s Crossroad in North Carolina in Bear’s Creek where this legend is reported to be.

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A circle that looks like it has been scorched with a burning fire in a park. Nothing grows in this ring, and allegedly, Satan paces around it at night while in contemplation of his evil plans. Objects left in the ring will disappear, and dogs always bark and yowl when they’re nearby, often expressing distress or anxiety and a desire to leave the vicinity. Some say that it was an ancient meeting place for Native Americans.

Analysis

As North Carolina is a fairly Christian state, it’s not surprising that a superstitious area associated with Satan would be Native Americans as settlers displaced them over time. The informant also reported that their state’s history education lacked any details about its history with the indigenous people, but upon further research, I found that there was, of course, violent conflicts between the settlers and the natives. The superstition associating dark magic and satanic phenomenons with “ancient” Native American significance likely reflects a general xenophobic attitude toward the unfamiliar outgroup from the occupants of this colonized land. Just as it’s common for ghost haunting stories to take place on slave plantations and indigenous cemeteries, this likely explains why the largely Christian population associated this location with both the Native Americans and satan.

Dropbears in Australia

The Informant

RF is an Australian young adult born and raised in New South Wales.

The Text

Dropbears are known to only attack foreigners, ambush those standing under indigenous Australian trees, falls from branches and grab onto the victim’s neck. Said to attack based on accent, especially Yanks, when foreigners are speaking badly about Australian food. Deterred by putting a fork in your hair or smearing vegemite behind your ears or both. It’s considered every Australian’s duty to warn foreigners of these dangers.

Analysis

The “dropbear” is a rather interesting cultural phenomenon where the entirety of a nation agrees to gaslight any and all foreigners about Australian wildlife as a practical joke. For the fooled foreigners, the “dropbear” appears to be a plausible urban legend until they realize it’s a practical joke. The specificity of accents seems to reflect a sense of pride Australians may have about their uniquely recognizable accent, and similarly, the utilization of an animal may reflect a pride or at least a sense of self-aware humor surrounding the reputation of Australia’s native wildlife, which is required for the victim to believe in the joke. Additionally, the specificity of “Yanks” indicates a tongue-in-cheek distaste of Americans, particularly with an association that they’re loud and annoying and complain too much whenever they visit. This practical joke may have been more effective before the age of the internet when the victim could not simply fact check the existence of this “dropbear,” and given that it’s “every Australian’s duty” to uphold this urban legend to foreigners, several have likely worn forks in their hair in public for the amusement of all the locals around. As with the nature of most practical jokes, once the victim has been played for the fool and realized the prank, everyone has a good laugh with no real hostility as the foreigner now becomes in on the joke and take up the “duty” of warning other foreigners of this danger.

“Old Age, Poverty, and Cold”

Context— This story was part of the larger Navajo creation myth. It follows two monster slaying twins. It was told to me by a young man in Arizona when asked for his favorite stories. It comes after the twins have slain most of the monsters in the world, save for three.

“There’s only those three left– Old Age, Poverty, and Hunger. Each twin goes to their mother Changing Woman and asks– where can we find these monsters? Changing Woman won’t tell them, but the Wind does. They first go to find Old Age on a mountain. This wrinkly old woman who just laughs when they say they came to kill her. She asks them, “What will you do when I am gone? When all of you stop growing old and having children? No one will be there to pass the knowledge on.” And so the twins spare her. 

“Next, the Wind tells them where to find Poverty – these two old bats living in the mountains in squalor, basically. They take and take everything people have until there’s nothing left, so the twins say they’ve come to kill them. They say, “Alright, if that is what you must do. But think, what will happen when we are gone? People would just go on using the same tools over and over. There would be no change. No betterment.” And so the twins decide to spare them too.

“Finally, the Wind tells them where to find Cold Woman, who freezes everything every winter. They find her on top of this winter mountain and they tell her the same thing – they have come to kill her. She only says, “If that is what you must do, then I will not stop you. But once I am dead, there will be no more winters. The land will get hot. Land and water will all dry up and people will die.” And finally, the twins decide to spare her too, leaving only these three monsters in the world.”

Analysis-= In this myth, twins confront three “monsters,” one by one. While it begins as a traditional heroic narrative of slaying the monsters, it quickly subverts these expectations. Instead of killing these monsters, the twins come to learn that they serve a unique purpose, making each encounter a moral lesson. Old Age does not just cause death– she brings wisdom and life, reminding the twins that without her, there would be no generational change or birth. Poverty is portrayed similarly– framed as a source of motivation rather than a monster. Finally, Cold Woman brings winter, something considered monstrous to the twins at first. Her warning that her death would upset the environment highlights core Navajo values of balance, nature, and cyclical life. Rather than eliminating all challenges to the Navajo people, this myth emphasizes that negative forces are as integral to harmony as sacred ones while also emphasizing interconnectedness (one monster cannot be killed without affecting the entire population), hardship, adaptation, and survival. 

“Coyote & The Giant”

Context: This was a story told by a teenage girl in an isolated village on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. When asked for her favorite myths, she told me the story of Coyote and the Giant –

“Every day, Giant comes around and eats people. He’s too fast for the monster hunters to get him, too fast for anyone to outrun him, and too big to fight. He loved to come down and eat all the children. But Coyote had a good idea, a way to make Giant less dangerous. Because Giant’s so big, he can only go so fast, so Coyote offers to make him as fast as him! Of course, Giant agrees. Coyote tells him that the reason he’s so fast is because he breaks his leg and heals it with his spit. If Giant does that too, he’ll be just as fast as Coyote. So Giant wacks his leg into two pieces. Splinters the bone and tells Coyote to spit on the bone. Coyote does. But of course, nothing happens. Coyote just made Giant break his own leg. Became too slow to catch anyone, much less Coyote.

Analysis: This myth features Coyote, a central figure in Navajo folklore. It highlights the importance of cunning in Navajo culture, as it is well-established that brute strength is no match for Giant. Coyote’s actions prove that intellect can win over physical power while emphasizing how these traits are heroic. The telling also included a lot of physicality and a sound effect when describing the “spit” Coyote produces. This comedic element creates engagement and entertainment. Additionally, Coyote’s choice to make the Giant break his own leg emphasizes nonviolent means of resistance and survival, another key value of Navajo culture.