In Australia, Doody Occurs In Different Ways

Prison Island opposition leader Tony Abbott is currently embroiled in the delightfully Australian named “shitgate” controversy, which concerns remarks he made when discussing the death of a soldier. “Sometimes shit happens, doesn’t it,” asked Abbott, and while many seem willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, the whole episode has inspired a fascinating linguistic debate: “Australians use the phrase in two quite different ways, and the clue to whether what Mr Abbott said in Afghanistan was disrespectful or not lies in the modulation of his voice. Did he say ‘shit happens’, meaning ‘get over it, suck it up, spilt milk’? Or did he say ‘shit happens’, meaning ‘nothing could have been done, it was fate, or God’s will.’… I think he meant it in a sympathetic way, reassuring those soldiers around him. In your head, do a voiceover. Replace ‘shit happens’ with ‘these things happen in war and you are not to blame’.”