Injecting a couple of points here...
You might notice that the specified countries make up what I call the "Big Six" native-English-speaking countries. I only have a limited number of voting options to work with, and this is how I selected them. Other countries, such as India, The Philippines, or Singapore, also claim with some validity that they are native English speakers, but it can be argued that their English differs considerably from the English of the Big Six (itself an incredibly diverse group), especially in pronunciation. Perhaps more to the point, the Chinese themselves are much less likely to identify most people outside the Big Six as "native speakers" when making employment decisions.
(I dropped South Africa from what used to be the "Big Seven" because the perception as "native speakers" divides so strongly along racial lines. This happens to some extent everywhere, sadly, but is strongest when accepting South Africans. It's racism, and we's agin' it.
)
(Hmmm...maybe this is a good reason to put them back in...)
Anyway.
I KNEW we were diverse and, well, riddled with Others,
possibly because I currently still handle New Member intake, but am still surprised by findings so far. I think Australians were the largest group for a long time, but had begun to suspect that this had changed...and this seems to be true. But until putting up this poll, I could only make inferences about our membership...
I'm stunned that Americans are currently leading the pack to a fairly significant degree. Not sure this has ever happened before. Perhaps this place should become more USA-centric?
(I am, of course, joking.
)
My personal guess was that we had evolved to a majority of Canadians, but it seems I was wrong. Perhaps it was just an indication of how mouthy and obnoxious these people tend to be.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Brits are outnumbering Canadians, at least to far. I knew we had a fair showing from various corners of the UK, but it's bigger than I expected.
Happily, we have a large contingent of Scots among us. Please don't talk about the Special Discount...
Of course, the poll only indicates members who are currently active and participating. Sorry, guys, but if you're not active and participating here, you've lost something in terms of relevance.
Let me close by saying that
it doesn't really matter where you come from. Basically, all teasing aside we are all brothers and sisters, and all in the same boat...and if we don't all hang together, we shall most certainly hang separately. I undertook this poll out of curiosity, and to give our management a better idea of who we are and what we need. But this Saloon warmly welcomes and serves ALL people of good will, no matter where they come from or what they look like.
Of course, you get more free drinks if you're cute.
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