Larrikinism can make people a character or a peanut

When men are gentle, fair and kind, they are forgiven the odd bit of larrikinism, in fact it can be seen as charming, but when larrikinism is taken too far, it is just flat out rude. There is no doubt that there is room to be a good person AND a bit of larrikin, but as my Grandmother used to tell me - "Everything in moderation..."

While not being the catalyst to make comment on societal behaviour, the resignation of Swimming Australia's president Barclay Nettlefold after accusations of making an inappropriate remark towards a female staff member in a lift at the Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide last month is the straw that broke the camel's back

Nettlefold was appointed after the Australian swimming team's limited success at the London Olympics, and was in charge during the "Stilknox probe," where the mens 4x100 metre relay team interrupted their teammates games preparations as they went on a late night, sleeping tablet fueled rampage of stupidity. If the accusations against Nettlefold are proven true, his rein over the inappropriate behaviour of members of his own team has some "pot calling the kettle black" similarities to Eddie Maguire giving advice to 13 year olds about racial tolerance.

Rare acts of larrikinism when interspersed with human decency by good people can be legendary. When Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh told South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs "You've just dropped the World Cup," after Gibbs dropped Waugh while he was on 56 (he went on to make 120 runs on the way to Australia winning the World Cup). Waugh's infamous jibe highlights how thin the line is between "larrikinism" and "inappropriateness." Waugh not only got away with his comment, he was praised for it, not because of the semantics of what he said, or who he said it to, but because he is, at heart, a good person.  

Good people who have an odd larrikin streak are referred to as "characters", but larrikins with an odd streak of decency are referred to as "peanuts." So we could all take my grandmother's advice and use everything in moderation.