Booing of Adam Goodes by fans of Melbourne clubs

[AnnieH]

Patrick Smith wrote a FANTASTIC article in today's Australian.
I can't post a link to the article (as I read it old school-style - paper and stuff), but if you google "Twist of hate: Why Goodes' war cry stirs the easily offended", you won't be sorry.

(The Australian don't let you read their articles online without paying, but if you google the headline, you can read the article.)


"This is what Adam Goodes does. Provokes you. He confronts you."

He's hit the nail right on the head.
Kudos.

[Ludwig]

We are dealing with 2 issues that 2 communities continue to struggle with.

Much of the Euro-Australian community is resisting fronting up the so-called black armband view of history. Encouraged by the Andrew Bolts of the world, they don't want to face any kind of reality that whatever they possess may well have been ill-gotten, effectively stolen from another people, even if it was done many years ago and by people that may have not been related to them. They don't want to accept that the poor state that the Indigenous community finds themselves in has anything to do with the history leading up this state of affairs, nor do they believe that special consideration or compensation is in order, for if you simply deny the sins of the past as non-existent they need not be addressed.

The Indigenous community has endured abuse and shame that has ripped apart a heritage going back perhaps 40,000 years or more, which is one of the oldest persistent cultures subsequent to the human migration from Africa which began around 70,000 years ago. How discouraging it must be for a People to have their land taken from them, denied the right to choose the leaders in their own land, and so weak that they could not even prevent their children being taken from them. Is it any wonder why restoring pride in one's heritage would be so important?

Adam Goodes addresses both of these communities. He reminds the first that it was his people whose land that they find themselves on and the benefits derived from that fact. And he is a leader for Indigenous Australians, both young and old, showing what can be achieved and that they can be proud of who they are.

These are not political issues. There is not a left or right on these matters. It simply speaks to who we are as human beings, both individually and collectively.

[Go Swannies]

Patrick Smith wrote a FANTASTIC article in today's Australian.
I can't post a link to the article (as I read it old school-style - paper and stuff), but if you google "Twist of hate: Why Goodes' war cry stirs the easily offended", you won't be sorry.

(The Australian don't let you read their articles online without paying, but if you google the headline, you can read the article.)


"This is what Adam Goodes does. Provokes you. He confronts you."

He's hit the nail right on the head.
Kudos.

Found it and no paywall. The article was good but the comments are vomitous. Can they be representative of readers of the Oz?

[Ludwig]

This article hits most of the salient points: Watch Waleed Aly Absolutely Nail The Adam Goodes Debate - Pedestrian TV

A few of the sentences from the article:

The Fox Footy panel on Friday night included four white men with no experience of cultural oppression suggesting that the dance in and of itself was "violent," "threatening," "an act of war," and had no place on a football field. Eddie McGuire in particular was highly critical of the incident during half time. Though by the end of the game his views had softened. And by Saturday afternoon he was outright denying that he'd been critical of it all in the first place. Always deny, never atone.

This shocker from Andrew Bolt:

"Yet Goodes was rewarded for his disproportionate reaction [to calling out a 13-year old fan who called him an "ape"] by being named Australian of the Year, a position he used to trash the country that had awarded him this great honour."

And a good summation here:

Adam Goodes provokes a deep rooted discomfort within our cultural comfort zones. This horrendous backlash that's ensued follows a long held national preference to maintain a broken status quo, rather than rise to any challenge of our own shortcomings.

[i'm-uninformed2]

Contrast the quality of these two contributions, from Eddie & Magic . . .

Eddie McGuire: Adam Goodes should have warned crowd about war dance

Michael O'Loughlin: "If it's not Adam Goodes talking about it, who is?"

[Ludwig]

Contrast the quality of these two contributions, from Eddie & Magic . . .

Eddie McGuire: Adam Goodes should have warned crowd about war dance

It's only fair that there should likewise be a warning before Eddie speaks:

"WARNING. This person is likely to say something they will be offensive or at the very least completely idiotic."

th-EDDIE_MCGUIRE.jpg

[ScottH]

Not sure if this one has been posted yet.

Watch Waleed Aly Absolutely Nail The Adam Goodes Debate - Pedestrian TV

[Hotpotato]

Yep , Waleed does nail it .

Poor Eddie , swallows the hook , line and sinker ...ha ha !!

[Go Swannies]

This is probably the strongest defence of Adam so far (I only got halfway through it before I had to write to Adam to lend my tiny element of support):
The Not-So-Level Playing Field: Why We Love Cathy Freeman And Hate Adam Goodes | newmatilda.com

[rojo]

It must be Adam who is in a state of shock right now! Whether anyone likes it or not, the debate on the appropriateness of 'the war dance' has moved from the footy commentators and footy social media to those outside of footy and does seem to be being a bit 'over-analysed' at the moment. But who knows, maybe the issues at play do transcend footy.

The Andrew Webster article in the Age entitled 'Michael O'Loughlin: If it's not Adam Goodes talking about it, who is?' (the link posted by 'i'm-uninformed2', above) gives a perspective that seems to fit the action, for me.

[dimelb]

This is probably the strongest defence of Adam so far (I only got halfway through it before I had to write to Adam to lend my tiny element of support):
The Not-So-Level Playing Field: Why We Love Cathy Freeman And Hate Adam Goodes | newmatilda.com

An excellent response that lines up with the Shelby Steele approach described by Jake Niall. Well worth the read.

[RogueSwan]

I really wish we had a chance to see the media's reaction if it was Jetstar that scored (sliding doors moment) before Goodesy and could then compare the results.
This is such a tragic situation that an Australian can't celebrate his heritage without fear of being misunderstood and having a torrent of abuse sent your way. At least Adam is strong enough to overcome this fear.
Hopefully, in time, Adam's actions will be viewed in the same light as Nicky Winmar and Michael Long's.

[Meg]

I really wish we had a chance to see the media's reaction if it was Jetstar that scored (sliding doors moment) before Goodesy and could then compare the results.

+1

[Wardy]

The abuse that I've copped on Facebook by the "I'm not racist but..." Crowd is staggering and concerning. I have been called everything under the sun- the best way to react is yo say "knock yourself out - hope you and your fragile little pea sized brains feel better" I think Waleed Ali said it best that Australians embrace their indigenous folk just as long as they say what they want to hear, not be controversial , know their place and then be put back in their box. - the thing is racism is racism - there are not varying degrees of it. Still I reckon Titus O'reilly put the whole situation into perspective - I mean the Carlton fans were frightened by an imaginary spear which was about 30 away over a fence!!! the SCG Trust really should spring for some more imaginary security guards though - just in case more imaginary weapons are brought onto the premises.

[Meg]

And in one of the photos I could clearly see several Carlton fans laughing, with one taking a photo on his phone looking as if he was enjoying it. As well as one hanging over the fence appearing to be shouting abuse. I suspect he would have done that during the match anyway if he finds such behaviour acceptable.