Mega Thread Adam Goodes: Confirmed racial slur by fan, apology made and accepted

[Stax on the mill]

Last night's performance by Collingwood's fans was worse than their team's performance, and it wasn't just the racist incident either. The fact more than half the crowd had gone by 3/4 time, the bronx cheer when Jordan Russell hurt his ankle, and the boos when he came back on. It was shameful. In my opinion, this has happened way too much with Colingwood fans. Obviously, last night's inciddent, Yarran getting racially abused earlier this year, Joel Wilkinson last year.

I think it is time for the AFL to truly crack down on Collingwood, and make their next home game a Ghost Game meaning that only players, backroom staff, camera operators and commentators are allowed in. It was done with soccer team AC Milan a while back when racial vilification was getting too much, and I think it is time for them make it happen here.. Collingwood need to be punished for the abysmal showing of their fans last night.

BlindDeafRef the comments which I directed to CrashTestDummy as follows apply equally to you. "CrashTestDummy, there are many supporters of all clubs who say idiotic highly offensive things at the football. They should be roundly condemned. Equally, there are posters on this forum who make,stupid moronic, all encompassing and inaccurate comments. You fall into the latter category."

 

[Gough]

Agreed. There are highly effective ways to make a stand against and educate people about racism. This was NOT one of them. This is a classic case of a punishment far exceeding the crime.

I'm not so sure about that. If no action had been taken she would have continued to use the term and think it acceptable. She'll never do that again, and hopefully she'll understand why she is so wrong. With any luck Goodes will personally explain this to her.

 

[WhteOakdisciple]

put her in jail for a couple of nights

 

[OniAu]

Can you explain how that might be offensive to Nick?

Plenty of people have taken the time to explain why calling Goodes an ape is/was. Obviously you missed all of that.

Another hypothetical: is calling a moron a moron racist?

You've proved my point exactly.

Are you saying she knows why calling Goodes an ape is racist?

 

[Brown Bottle]

So you are assuming a 14 year old girl knows about all those incidents and purposely called him an ape because she knew it was racist?

It's not up to him to ascertain whether she's 14 or 40, or the intent of her comment in the heat of the moment. He is one generation removed from a time when Aboriginal people did not even have the vote in this great country because they were not considered "people". The use of the term "Ape" should be considered offensive by him. It implies that he is sub-human. Sure, he could have left it until after the match, but then we'd just be looking at the girl's face as newsreaders asked us to identify her. Same result, ultimately.

People can learn this stuff. Some posters on here could learn from her example, attempt to expand their limited horizons, and practise restraint before speaking (posting).

 

[4thebloods]

To anyone who thinks there's no difference between using the word ape to a white or black skinned man I suggest you head to the USA, find the largest African American man you can and call him boy. Come back and let us know how that goes, if you can still type....

Historical context does matter and should matter.

 

[Brown Bottle]

You've proved my point exactly.

Are you saying she knows why calling Goodes an ape is racist?

I'm saying she intended it as in insult. Do you agree?

If you're prepared to insult someone you must accept the consequences. Who bears responsibility for the insult, and how it is interpreted? The insulter or the insultee.

Use your brains people, ffs...

 

[domus]

I've never held a particular liking toward Adam Goodes. The man has an unfortunate habit of conducting football lessons against Hawthorn and I will be the first to admit to calling him every swear word under the sun after the Gibson incident. Yet, there is an immeasurable difference between the regular use of vulgar language at the football we have all heard or used at some point in our lives, and the use of vulgar language which carries with it severe racial connotations.

'White Australia', the "Stolen Generation', our horrendous treatment of 1968 200m Olympic silver medal winner Peter Norman for his support of American runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Such events are instant reminders of Australia's long and disgraceful history of racial vilification the majority of us would like to forget .

Have we come a long way since these times? Yes, that is undisputed.
In 2008, then PM Kevin Rudd spoke of the "unfinished business of the nation" when apologizing to the Aborigine 'stolen generation', and a hope of achieving reconciliation and equality between the Aborigine people and the rest of Australia. 5 years later how close our nation is to concluding the "unfinished business of the nation" is truly remarkable, but last night simply showed how much work there is to still be done.

In a round intended for a celebration of Indigenous superstars, one of the greatest to ever play our game was called an 'ape' by a 13 year old girl. He stopped, singled her out with no hesitation and ensured her removal from the ground. We should all well and truly in an age where anyone of any age or gender should be educated in regard to the significant offense connotations of such a term carries for those of colored descent.

But as a statement provided by Goodes himself rightly states, this is simply not the case

"She's 13, she's still so innocent. I don't put any blame on her. Unfortunately, it's what she hears, in the environment she's grown up in that has made her think that it's ok to call people names."

Youth represent the future of any nation, and the particular case of the 13 year old in question is just one example of how far we still have to go to achieve reconciliation and equality. An innocent and impressionable young girl who should have been raised by the moral guidelines of a nation that prides itself on championing equality has been taught to believe the use of such a derogatory racial slur is acceptable.

If Goodes did not choose to take a stand right then and there, perhaps she becomes just one of many representing Australia's future who have not been taught that such behavior can NEVER be ok, not even in the most heated or passionate of moments that many a sporting arena can represent.

This is not about the girl, and this is not about Adam Goodes. What this is about is not losing sight of how far we've come in the fight for racial equality in Australia, and most importantly it's about not losing sight of how far we still have to go in the moral education of our nation and it's future.

In this day and age, racial vilification cannot ever be allowed societal position, and for all those who claim Goodes has ruined the young woman in questions life,
I dare say his actions will be a defining moment in the improved woman she will grow up to become.

I've long held a particular dislike toward Goodes for reasons motivated by little more than the joyful prejudices of the opposition football fan, yet after last night I can't help thinking the man a hero.

Adam Goodes you are a champion in every sense of the word,
I hope one day I can grow up to be even half the man you've shown yourself to be

There is not a nation on this planet which does not have a history of racist behaviour/attitudes-most far more vicious than Australia's. That includes African and Asian countries which to this day persecute people based upon their race. The genocide in Rwanda was only a few years ago and entirely based on racism. We need some perspective. Too many write as if white anglo saxons are responsible for all racism on this planet. The indigenous people call others of a white and black parentage "coconuts". A derogatory term which says they may be brown on the outside but they are white on the inside- a slur many have had hurled at them.

As for Goodes being a hero-what patronising nonsense. There was nothing remotely heroic about what he did. He didn't risk anything. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain, he was in no danger-he knew he already had the support of almost every person in the stadium as well as the entire AFL community. Hero? Please. When he stands up at a KKK meeting in the deep south of the USA and condemns their attitudes I'll call him a hero.

 

[Forward Press]

*sigh*

People should cool down and think about what they post.

For the umpteenth time, this isn't a general discussion of racism or which Asian country is racist or whether ranga is a racist term or what have you.

I am leaving this locked for the time being for clean-up.

Play nice and stay on topic.

 

[.Shotties.]

So don't give me this shit, it's in the pass.

Good comment, great comment, very intelligent. It's in the past so any repercussions clearly don't reach forward to today.

 

[PAdman]

Anyone see the interview on Channel 7 news just now? Saying she doesn't understand how it was racist and her mother says he has no concept of what a racist comment is

 

[PP34]

Anyone see the interview on Channel 7 news just now? Saying she doesn't understand how it was racist and her mother says he has no concept of what a racist comment is

What? Link?

 

[OniAu]

After seeing Goodes on the TV. I respect the fact he acknowledged the girl wouldn't have known the word ape had a racist background to it. The girl now knows. He has pointed out the fact she had no intent for racism but has learnt a massive lesson about name calling and how it can effect someone and have another meaning of which she may never intended.

 

[raskolnikov]

I don't know but her body language made it appear that she knew what she had done. She didn't appear overly shocked and went with the security guys willingly. At that age I would have been scared and bewildered and been asking my mum why, not throwing my jacket over her head.

 

[PP34]

Anyone see the interview on Channel 7 news just now? Saying she doesn't understand how it was racist and her mother says he has no concept of what a racist comment is

Well educated obviously.

 

[dmc333]

Anyone see the interview on Channel 7 news just now? Saying she doesn't understand how it was racist and her mother says he has no concept of what a racist comment is

Yeah.

Maybe that's the case, maybe it's not. Seven really shouldn't be around there putting them on camera to begin with. You're not going to get anything nuanced out of someone from the 'burbs without media training who has had a camera shoved in their face. But that's probably the point, it only inflames it further.

 

[CF]

I hope the girl is educated from this. Goodes is in fact a Hominoidea and while her reference to him as an Ape was crude, it wasn't far off the mark. I would suggest that next time she refers to his evolutionary background she'll get more sympathy if she calls him a Hominoid, which indicates the human branch of the Ape Family Tree. I hope you all understand what I'm saying from one Hominoid to another.

 

[Max zero]

The young girl has and is being called worse names then Goodes was.

I guess some forms of humiliation are okay.

 

[Vapor]

To everyone who claims Goodes over-reacted, I'm not sure what else he could have done? With all of the emotions that would have gone through his head at that very instant (and you can see how genuinely offended, upset and deeply shocked he was by watching his speech this morning) I thought he handled the situation commendably. Simply identified the culprit and asked security to take her out. What would you have rather him done? Turn around, confront and yell at a 13 year old girl on live TV? Hurl abuse back at her? Yeah I'm sure that would look classy all over the national media.

Or should he have done nothing? I see this as the only alternative you suggest if you feel he over-reacted by identifying the culprit. This is Indigenous round, a round in which we celebrate the indigenous players in our game, as well as the heritage of Indigenous Australians. This was supposed to be a celebration of the path that many felt our game had taken, 20 years after the Nicky Winmar incident. A celebration of how society was supposed to have, and to a large extent has moved on. How would people feel if Goodes had not reacted on the spot, but came out after the game and made it public that he had been racially vilified? What kind of message would that give the other indigenous players in the game? What about all of the young indigenous players in local leagues, all of the youngsters who look up to players like Goodes as role models? Should Goodes be telling them to just take it and not make a stand? How would we have progressed if Goodes came out and said "you know, i was racially abused by a young supporter, but there's nothing I could do about it, thats life"? That would make a mockery of what Indigenous round stands for, as well as the anti-racism campaign that is currently in place.

I want to know what else he could have done at the time. As a dual brownlow medallist and dual premiership player, Adam Goodes is undeniably one of the most succesful indigenous players to have ever played our game, and is a role model to many. I'm glad he made a stand, and I think he handled the situation well. It really could have been alot uglier and handled alot worse than what he did. He has given strength and support to everyone that looks up to him, and it gives the message to everyone else to stand up for themselves, and it's not OK to accept racism as the norm and play on. Zero tolerance.

 

[Monkey King]

Anyone see the interview on Channel 7 news just now? Saying she doesn't understand how it was racist and her mother says he has no concept of what a racist comment is

Yep. I suspected as much. Race probably didn't even enter her mind when she made the comment.

Well educated obviously.

Or well brought up not to make such racist associations.

What is 13yo these days? Year 7?

 

[grizzlym]

Goodes is a class act. His acceptance of her apology and subsequent comments were top notch.

Let's hope she learns from it and the whole episode has a positive effect out there.

 

[eaglespremiers]

It matters not the intent of your words but how those words are received.

This is a disturbing proposition.

 

[Monkey King]

How would people feel if Goodes had not reacted on the spot, but came out after the game and made it public that he had been racially vilified?

And yet I don't believe he was racially vilified. He took offense on the basis of race. Completely different.

 

[grizzlym]

Overreacted? Whether she understood the cultural implications of what she said or not, it doesn't matter. It's an incredibly offensive term, tantamount with calling him the unthinkable n-word.

 

[Donners]

The young girl has and is being called worse names then Goodes was.

I guess some forms of humiliation are okay.

Calling a 13-year-old things like "fat slag" and some of the other terms I've seen in this thread is pretty pathetic and not "okay" in my view, but nor do they carry the weight of history or denegrate an entire community in the way that a racist term does.