Play Nice Adam Goodes

[JackOutback]

He is the one speaking up so he is the one copping it. I am pretty sure he wishes Eddie had not called him a Gorilla and that girl had not called him an ape.

But racism exists ...

Once he retires, another indigenous athlete will step up and do the same. Hopefully, the mob reaction will be less by then.

It'd be nice, wouldn't it.

Threads like this don't give me a lot of hope.

 

[deflated]

About as threatening as child calling a grown man a name.

Truly crappy comment. Try this - "About as threatening as a child raised to believe indigenous Australians are sub-human".

The dance had a strange context, Goodes is obviously fed up with the whole affair (I've a suspicion that AOTY did him no favours at all) but I don't see any possible reason to excuse bigotry.

 

[Glenn_]

I have not read the 1600+ previous posts, and I did not watch last night's game. I did however read the press coverage this morning.

I have absolutely no problem with Adam Goodes "war dance" as a celebration of Indigenous Round, but at a stadium filled with 32,000 spectators, of who, maybe, 2,000 were Carlton supporters, why did he have to do his dance right in front of a concentration of Carlton supporters?

It was that end of the ground, that side of the goals.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

Not being allowed to be offensive is a chore?

Some people go to the footy to enjoy the game, not watch a bunch of boorish idiots yell rubbish from behind a fence.

10 people go to the footy. Nine players boo an indigneous player because they don't like him, or he stages for frees, or any other emotional reason. The 10th goes "hey, I can use the boos of the other nine to hide the fact I am booing him because I dislike indigenous folk"

Not right, But also not right that the nine get somehow strung up as part of the problem, and are thus apparently engaging in racism. This is what gets me with the current media angle. I've never booed a player in my life but I sure as hell aren't going to stop being emotional at a sporting event.

 

[TheCryingGame]

Adam Goodes is a complicated case study. And yet, I still arrive at the conclusion that he is disliked/resented because he is outspoken about indigenous affairs and on casual racism. I see plenty of people say “I don’t boo him because I’m racist – I don’t boo (indigenous player X, Y, Z) – I boo him because he’s a tosser” or some variant – which explains nothing and in fact inverts the answer back to the question, why is Goodes disliked?

And of course, it’s not because Goodes is indigenous, in isolation. It’s because he’s an indigenous man with a voice and profile that he is unapologetic in using.

So he does a 5 second tribal dance and social media erupts. But it IS indigenous round, isn’t it? And Adam Goodes is an ambassador for indigenous people. And what exactly are people offended by? That it was directed towards Carlton supporters? (well if that’s the case its another tick from me!) Because it was a proud and anabashed tribute to his heritage?

The Drum in article last week rightly noted that football fans resent footballers using the game as a platform for anything political – they prefer their players to be oafish. Consider the popularity (still) of guys like Brendan Fevola, or Gary Ablett Sr. or Wayne Carey – the list goes on. Of course, footballers these days are discouraged from having any personality at all – unless involves abstract bogan-wit like Nik Cummins.

It’s interesting that Australian’s are given carte blanche in expressing their patriotism – “lest we forget” – wearing flags as capes and consuming large quantities of beer. It’s Billy Brownless or Bob Hawke skolling a pint at the cricket. Any expression outside very narrow anglo parameters is looked on with some suspicion – like, who does this self-absorbed narcissist think he is making it all about him?

Take this one of many images circulating social media about Goodes.

The digital age of “memes” have created a culture, I believe, that dilutes argument about complex issues through infantile selective soundbites under the guise of humour (It’s probably just one rung below tabloid journalism). It is definitely leading people to think less critically. Never mind Goodes' tireless and ongoing work with Aboriginal communities and charities or simply that his football exploits inspire to achieve – that isn’t funny, it contradicts people's strongly held prejudices against him and would take more than two seconds to think about.

And it shows where a lot of the animosity towards Goodes lies. Admittedly, the singling out of a girl (who happened to be 13) last year in front of national television was not ideal, nor was it planned. Goodes simply heard to comment and reacting, pointed to the direction it came from.

From there, what is Goodes supposed to do? He is an icon for indigenous people so he can’t very well say – “well she’s 13, I guess we can let it slide” – the girl probably didn’t know the term “ape” had racist connotations. But I suppose if we’re trying to achieve anything near racial equality, it has to start from the ground-up. It’s very unfortunate a young girl had to be made example of in such a public manner – but you might argue the public exposure of the incident might raise more awareness about it. I know, in my experience growing up, casual racism starts in the school playground (where there are often no indigenous children around to challenge the stereotypes) – it filters through the various channels becomes embedded in their psyche that indigenous persons are different, they are the butt of crude jokes.

Goodes will attract attention no matter what he does – whether he dances, or not. Whether he gets a suspension or a reprimand. He is one of premier players in the game, an ambassador for Indigenous affairs, and in my opinion deserving AOTY winner. If you take issue with him you should review some of the other winners from previous years, with much less claim to the award than him.

We need to turn our focus (and outrage) to the people who are ensuring ongoing racial prejudice by ensuring they remain impoverished – i.e. the current government

 

[Monkey King]

As a way of giving weight to what they were saying. Hence an authority.

No, I just want people to consider whether their opinion should carry weight on the issue.

"As David King said ..." is what was posted. You've completely inferred authority here. To me it reads as someone having read or heard something and in agreeing with it, used it as a reference point for expressing their own opinion.

Do you think your opinion carries any weight on the matter? Does anyone's on an internet forum? I'm confused as to the relevance.

 

[McOrist]

I heard ex-Lion Chris Johnson on the radio this morning. He was watching last night's game at home with his young sons. When Goodes did the dance, his boys thought it was fantastic -they got up and copied it. Goodes action was aimed at promoting pride in being indigenous. Looks like it worked.

 

[peternorth]

if there is a racist fan who attends afl games and abuses aboriginal players, what does he think about his own teams indigenous player(s)

 

[Gasometer]

Read 'Brotherboys' about the racism the Krakouers endured.

 

[YES! YES! YES!]

Seriously go and have a look. This stuff is on the public record.

I think the one that stands out the most for me is life expectancy- Aboriginal's have a life expectancy 10 years lower than non-Aboriginal's.

Will do with the self-research.

Life expectancy is definitely an issue. However I don't understand how that is an aboriginal rights issue.

If it's to do with healthcare, I always thought there were government programs where med graduates were relocated to those communities (could be wrong on that though). Sort of like an internship.

I think life expectancy is more due to drug/alcohol/violence abuse problems in those communities. In that case, I don't think it's so much an aboriginal rights issue, but more of a cultural modification issue for those communities.

 

[Plugger35]

You've nailed it in one.

I have never seen the a Hakka performed by the NZ team directed at the opposition supporters and if it happened it would be quickly stopped.

Thanks for pointing this out

The haka is a war cry so it should really only be directed at the opposition players you are going to go into battle with, doing a war cry directed at opposition supporters who are sitting in the stands drinking beer and munching on pies looks pretty stupid.

I don't have a problem with Goodes doing the war cry but I think he got the timing and direction of the war cry a bit wrong but it's not really a big deal.

 

[Gasometer]

I heard ex-Lion Chris Johnson on the radio this morning. He was watching last night's game at home with his young sons. When Goodes did the dance, his boys thought it was fantastic -they got up and copied it. Goodes action was aimed at promoting pride in being indigenous. Looks like it worked.

I am keen to hear from the Indigenous junior footy playetrs I know as well.

 

[Southerntakeover]

"As David King said ..." is what was posted. You've completely inferred authority here. To me it reads as someone having read or heard something and in agreeing with it, used it as a reference point for expressing their own opinion.

Do you think your opinion carries any weight on the matter? Does anyone's on an internet forum? I'm confused as to the relevance.

I think that Adam Goodes opinion on the celebration of his culture carries weight. I don't know that either of ours does.

Agree?

 

[WagonBang]

It was that end of the ground, that side of the goals.

So why not dance towards his own fans? The one bay that's Carlton in a pocket that had mostly Sydney supporters he goes straight for them? Is it hard to dance one bay to the left?
Im all for players celebrating goals and think it should be seen more because AFL players are the most robotic people in world but don't run/dance/slide/skip/jump straight to opposition supporters. You are asking to cop crap and booing will be the politest of it.

 

[Lester Burnham]

Do you really need a History lesson, on why the name is so offensive to the Indigenous population?

A child called a footballer a name and it's the end of the world. A footballer waves an imaginary spear at opposition supporters and it's great because it's 'cultural'.

Either way it's all about Adam.

 

[Strangled Cat]

As much as I try to like Adam Goodes, I just can't. I should like him, and he should be held as beacon for which other young indigenous people aspire to be like. But the fact that he's not like a significant number of other indigenous players and members of the community who've had behavioural/substance abuse issues and the like doesn't change how I feel about him. Adam Goodes wouldn't want to be liked just because he's a shining example of his own people, for that wouldn't be treating him with equality. Adam Goodes, while not giving a shit either way about what some anonymous person on the internet thinks of him, would prefer to be thought of as a dickhead in his own right, rather than a good Aboriginal.

 

[Mr Meeseeks]

Just watching him interviewed on Fox. He had a different dance that he planned on doing if he goaled at the other end, yet he still chose to do the antagonising war dance directly at the Carlton fans.

He made a decision and then has the gumption to play the "I dont know what all the fuss is about card". He's either very stupid or incredibly arrogant.

 

[Rusty Brookes]

I still stand by my assertion that not all of the booing towards Goodes is racially motivated (although I do concede it has become a forum for some racists to express their views). And I still stand by my assertion that the media's coverage over the week has been incredibly simplistic (eg Mark Robinson today grizzling that perhaps Hawthorn indigenous players should be supporting Goodes - perhaps if he did an iota of research he could have checked Cyril Rioli's twitter feed).

But I got to admit I loved what Goodes did last night. It turns the debate away from booing or even the reason for doing it. Now we get to discuss whether we have problems with an indigenous man expressing pride in his heritage. It doesn't matter IMHO whether he directed the dance to Carlton supporters who would have been the ones booing him or Swans fans or fellow players. It was great theatre and a great response to the situation.

 

[TheCryingGame]

Just watching him interviewed on Fox. He had a different dance that he planned on doing if he goaled at the other end, yet he still chose to do the antagonising war dance directly at the Carlton fans.

He really is a combative douchebag

How was it antagonising? Are Carlton supporters that fragile? This is the club that proudly trumpets "we are Carlton F** the rest."

 

[Docker Alyssa]

I went to a Collingwood game in 1993 and there was a guy in the crowd telling the idigenous players to go and eat grubs and called them black 'c's' from the back of the stand.

OK... and?

Newsflash its not 1993 and painting todays footballers as in the same boat as a 1993 environment at the footy is highly insulting to those indigenous players back then.

 

[peppy la pew]

At least 60 Inches.

Whatever, you are being pedantic and precious

Just watched his presser, congrats Goodes you Flog, you have made this round all about you again.

 

[Lester Burnham]

Just watching him interviewed on Fox. He had a different dance that he planned on doing if he goaled at the other end, yet he still chose to do the antagonising war dance directly at the Carlton fans.

He made a decision and then has the gumption to play the "I dont know what all the fuss is about card". He's either very stupid or incredibly arrogant.

Or both.

 

[Mr Meeseeks]

How was it antagonising? Are Carlton supporters that fragile? This is the club that proudly trumpets "we are Carlton F** the rest."

I agree, **** Carlton, hate the bastards. But it was an aggressive war dance, it was by definition antagonising..

 

[Saints1873]

Next time the swans are in Adelaide I'm going just to boo the shit out this flog of the year. Maybe there will be some kids in the crowd he can pick on again?

 

[brmiau]

I have not read the 1600+ previous posts, and I did not watch last night's game. I did however read the press coverage this morning.

I have absolutely no problem with Adam Goodes "war dance" as a celebration of Indigenous Round, but at a stadium filled with 32,000 spectators, of who, maybe, 2,000 were Carlton supporters, why did he have to do his dance right in front of a concentration of Carlton supporters?

He just explained on fox footy that it was because they are the opposition, in the same breathe he also explained he couldn't do it to Chris Yarran because he is part of the war cry.

So my question to Adam would be, were Carlton the opposition or is it everybody who isn't aboriginal the opposition?

The man is wants to promote anti racism yet in his own words creates a divide between Aborinial people and others.

Dead set grand standing flog.