Adam Goodes racially vilified by 14 year old girl.

[MazDan]

So according to the news he was called an ape as he moved past her on the boundary fence and quickly turned around pointing at her and a security guard indicating he wanted her out.

I have numerous conflicting thoughts on this.

Firstly, the obvious that its just downright wrong but then another side of me asks really? An ape gets you upset? Should I react if someone calls me a cockatoo?

Then I ask myself how in this day and age anyone, irrelevant of there age, could be soo stupid.

And my circle of thought continues as to why race is even an issue unless it is obviously racial abuse.

Obvious racial abuse would be making some sort of suggestion that one persons race is better than anothers...........as opposed to simply calling me a white cunt.

Then I consider that if I can see a problem with someone suggesting there race is better than mine then whats the difference between that and saying there team is better than mine?

Thoughts?

 

[poledriver]

Thoughts?

I thought she was 13.

Julia Surowka, with her mother Joanne Looney, says she is sorry for ''being racist''. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

http://www.news.com.au/national-new...r-to-adam-goodes/story-fnii5sms-1226650580225

And my circle of thought continues as to why race is even an issue unless it is obviously racial abuse.

I wondered how being called an ape was racist as well. I mean if a white person is called a pig, is that racist? Was it because he is so hairy? (lots of facial hair on the guy).

I was kind of perplexed why he would make such an issue out if it and brake down and nearly cry, but everyone reacts differently I suppose. He claimed he felt like he was back in high school getting bullied or something and was shattered. Don't high level competitive athletes get used to some form of negative mouthing off in their careers? Look at Anthony Mundine for example, I'm pretty sure he would have been called some names at times along the way as well.

Anyway I think the girl got a bit of a rough deal, I mean I know she shouldn't have done it (so loudly so he heard anyway) but now she is probably going to be grilled and bullied herself over this. And she's 13, it could really shape her life with lose of friends, bullying, negative thoughts, even thoughts of suicide if it all became too much for her.

Would it be so bad if a 9 year old did it? Would it have been so bad if the 13 year old had of called a white guy a pander bear (or a cockatoo as mentioned above)? Would that still be racial abuse?

 

[One Thousand Words]

I wouldn't expect anything less from a Collingwood supporter but it is made worse that she is 13. She didn't call him an ape as a compliment because he was strong or liked to fling his own shit. The use of ape when directed to a black man is used to insult buy inferring he is a sub human or lacked intelligence. It doesn't compare to being called a pig. It is why god fearers can't get their simple brains around evolution and has been the corner stone of eugenics for 300yrs.

The main issue Goodes would have had was it came during a game in the Indigenous round where Aboriginal players role in the sport is celebrated. In fact Goodes was in every single paper around the country on Friday paying tribute to Nicky Windmare's famous stand 20yrs ago against similar racist taunts. If he can't take a stand during this particular game then all talk of racial tolerance and equality by white australians is simply paper thin lip service

It is incidents like this that make me proud not to be an Australian.

 

[laugh]

co-incidence or media beat-up? the whole charade smacks of publicity stunt. it is incidents like this that make me shake my head in disbelief at just how gullible people are.

 

[Stevenski]

Busty is spot on about why it was such a big deal. The match was the opening of the AFL indigenous round. The kid is from Moe so it does not surprise me in the slightest at what she said. Nothing wrong with a humerus or witty sledge but bringing race into it is a classless move.

 

[poledriver]

Family of daughter at centre of Adam Goodes scandal angry over her treatment by security

THE family of the 13-year-old girl at the centre of the Adam Goodes racism scandal are still distressed over her treatment by MCG security and Victoria Police.

The Collingwood fan called Goodes an "ape" with only minutes to go in Friday night's Indigenous Round game and was ejected from the MCG after a long grilling by police.

The teen has since apologised for "being racist".

The girl told the Sunday Herald Sun she will now "think twice", as she did not realise her denigrating comment was a racial slur.

This morning, her mother, Joanne, told 3AW radio that her daughter was doing OK, but she was still concerned about her treatment by security.

"She's not doing too bad considering everything that’s happened," Joanne said.

"I would like her to get on with her life basically."

MCG security told her family to remain seated as they ejected the girl - and police detained her for what she said was two hours.

The teenager was initially questioned by police without an adult present. When police found out she was only 13, they went and got her grandmother, Lucy.

Joanne said today that she believed her daughter was "very scared" when she was taken away by security.

"It was ridiculous that she was in there for so long. For two hours they interviewed her over her saying, 'You're an ape'," her mother told the Sunday Herald Sun.

"I hope it's done and dusted. I think it was blown out, for a 13-year-old, it was blown out of proportion.

I think she would take it back if she could. I'd just like to apologise to Adam for it being said and apologise to the Collingwood Football Club."

Lucy said her granddaughter, who has only just turned 13, was crying in the police room.

The police officer told me she had been "very honest with us", Lucy told 3AW.

"So to me that means that they had already questioned her without a guardian."

Lucy said she initially didn't go with her granddaughter because she had two other granddaughters, aged 14 and 15, to look after.

"They shouldn’t have questioned her in the first place without me and security shouldn't have taken her away on her own, they should have taken us all," Lucy said.

Joanne agreed that people should forgive and forget, and that her daughter "had no intention of hurting Adam".

"It's not as if she swore at him," Joanne told 3AW.

"She had no idea that that was what he was called at high school, so that’s a big part of it I think as well. I think Adam still has a few problems about what’s happened in his childhood."

The visibly upset Swans star stormed off the ground after the slur, leaving the rest of his team to celebrate a 47-point win.

In an open letter to Goodes given to the Sunday Herald Sun, the girl apologised for "being racist".

"Dear Adam, it was good to talk to you on the phone. I'm sorry for being racist.

"I didn't mean any harm and now I'll think twice before I speak."

Goodes said earlier he was shattered but did not blame the teen.

'Racism had a face ... and it was a 13-year-old girl - but it's not her fault," Goodes said.

The teen girl spoke to Goodes and Magpie president Eddie McGuire on the phone to apologise for her actions.

Goodes explained to the teen why the use of the word "ape" was insulting to indigenous people and she had to learn from her mistake.


The family says a gracious McGuire told the teen she was still part of the Collingwood family.

McGuire says she will be welcomed back to Collingwood matches.

The Magpies president was angered and saddened at Friday night's events, but that "evolution, not revolution" was vital in alleviating future racism.

"We've organised counselling services ... for her, her friends and family and we won't be abandoning her," McGuire said.

"We want her to know it's side by side we stick together. You made a blue, but we all do. We're a forgiving club, and we want to make sure that she feels she can come to the football and help her get through this situation.

"I'm sure Adam Goodes will help us in our pursuits.

"It's really important, though, that we remember she's a young girl and not to walk away from education rather than humiliation."

Adam Goodes

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou described the incident as "extremely disappointing".

Witnesses say angry footy fans booed the girl as she was led from her front-row seat by MCG security.

Nearby spectator James Molony, 23, said the crowd lost interest in the football after the taunt, focusing their energy instead on an "extremely vocal" reaction with lots of swearing.

"It was extremely abusive and on both sides; not just the Sydney supporters, but the Collingwood supporters as well," he said.

"You could see she couldn't get out of the stadium fast enough."

Collingwood ruckman Darren Jolly reportedly comforted Goodes, telling him: "Please don't let one person ruin your leadership this week."

Salvation Army Major Brendan Nottle, who acts as Collingwood's chaplain, said he had offered to talk to the girl and her family to help them cope with social media backlash.

"There absolutely has to be zero tolerance towards that sort of behaviour, but at the same time the girl is 13," he said.


Read more: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/breakin...es/story-e6frfkp9-1226650580225#ixzz2USXQiJco

 

[poledriver]

Joanne agreed that people should forgive and forget, and that her daughter "had no intention of hurting Adam".

"It's not as if she swore at him," Joanne told 3AW.

"She had no idea that that was what he was called at high school, so that’s a big part of it I think as well. I think Adam still has a few problems about what’s happened in his childhood."

The girl told the Sunday Herald Sun she will now "think twice", as she did not realise her denigrating comment was a racial slur.

^ Exactly why it wasn't such a big deal, and it is not 'even worse' that it was a 13 yr old. Hell she didn't even know what it meant, she didn't know Goodes had been bullied with the phrase in high school. It would have been worse if it was an adult in my books. Media beat up and an over reacting player, officials and the media and police.

Loads of things get said and called out at games, im sure much worse has been yelled before, her problem was he heard it is all, she hardly meant it as a racial slur it sounds like.

As laugh said a big media beat up and publicity stunt no doubt.

It is incidents like this that make me proud not to be an Australian.

It's incidents like this and many other things including certain races rioting (including Aussies), certain areas with drive by's, certain people who are bikies or drug dealers, Aussies getting way too drunk on Australia day and fighting and being idiots and all sorts of other shit that is just part of Australia. You take the good with the bad or bad luck for you I guess.

I'm proud to be Aussie and love it here, issues like those mentioned (especially a 13 yr old girl yelling you are an ape) (all of which are done by very small minorities in comparison to the over all population) could never make feel like i'm not proud to be aussie. Not many other places in the world I'd want to live or call home personally.

 

[poledriver]

Goodes abuse: teen didn't know 'ape' was racist, says McGuire

A 13-year-old girl who was ejected from the MCG for racially abusing Adam Goodes had no idea "ape" was a racist slur when she yelled it at the Sydney Swans star during their demolition of Collingwood, according to Eddie McGuire.

The Collingwood president said he had spoken to the teenage girl, from country Victoria, who did not know it was the AFL's Indigenous Round and had no idea her comments would cause such offence when she yelled at Goodes from her seat on the sideline during Friday night's game.

Goodes, a two-time Brownlow Medallist and one of the sport's most decorated indigenous players, stopped play to point out the Collingwood fan to security staff following the offensive comment, and she was later escorted from the ground by security staff.

Goodes, who played a starring role in Sydney's 15.12.102 - 8.7.55 defeat of Collingwood, said the girl's offensive remarks had shocked him.
"I'm pretty gutted to be honest," he said.

"To come to the boundary line and hear a 13-year-old girl call me an 'ape', and it's not the first time on a footy field that I've been referred to as a 'monkey' or an 'ape', it was shattering."

But McGuire told ABC radio on Monday that he had spoken to the girl, who "didn't even know that it was racist".

"I think, you know, she might have lit a fuse that she didn't even understand was involved," McGuire said.

"She didn't even know it was the Indigenous Round. She was a 13-year-old girl from ... country Victoria, she had no idea what she was doing, what she was saying, or anything else."


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/...ays-mcguire-20130527-2n64f.html#ixzz2USvKG4ZH

 

[MazDan]

I get that it was indigenous round and all but I dont get that calling someone an ape especially when with all that fluff on his face that he actually looks like one, can in any way be called racist.

OK so the girl got unlucky in that Goodes claimed to have been called that at school...........she wasnt to know.

Sorry about saying she was 14, in the two accounts I read, that was the age given mostly however 13 was also used.

I just wonder if dark coloured people create a lot of the problem by being upset with shit from the start.............like I said the last thing on my mind would be considering someone racist if they called me a white honky or cockatoo or whatever.............I would just think they were silly and if anything says more about them than it does about me.

But I am aware I tend to look at the world rather differently to most.

 

[One Thousand Words]

The point is an ape or monkey is considered lower on the evolutionary tree and as a result it implies that black people are subhuman or worst yet do not deserve full status that the white folk have. It is historically been a reason to degrade black people throughout history and justify treating them as not human. Blacks aren't smart enough or cultured enough to vote, or govern or be trusted around your white women or play white people's sport ( can you name 5 aboriginal cricketers?). If you seriously think that it is in the same historical realm as being called a cracker or honky then I weep for my children's future.

Mind you the white Australia policy was hardly subtle so what more should I expect from this country?

 

[MazDan]

I dont see it as any different because I really dont see how it is any different.

However I can see how an individual can choose to interpret anything in any fashion they choose to............but thats not my problem now is it.

As for history...........sorry but I dont cop that. History shows that Japan attempted to invade our country but nobody I am aware of holds any grudges...........whats done is done.

Sometimes you have to grow up and realise the world has also grown up............well to some extent.

Im not saying there is no such thing as racism today, Im sure there is............but to get carried away when someone calls you an ape in the context it happenned is pretty silly really.

In regards to your cricketers comment..........if a player is good enough then they will get to the top in Australia irrelevant of race colour or creed. The reason you dont see many indigenous peoples playing cricket at a high level is most likely due to the fact they dont have access to play the game at any level while young.

Might also be a cultural thing where they prefer a more active sport. Just throwing that out as a viable possibility without a great deal of knowledge of there cultural concepts.

 

[poledriver]

can you name 5 aboriginal cricketers?

Jason “Dizzy’’ Gillespie
Josh Lalor
Dan Christian
Eddie Gilbert 1930s Queensland cricketer
Jack Marsh
John McGuire, captain of an Aboriginal XI that toured England in 1988
Johnny Mullagh 1860s cricketer, one of the first eleven
Bullocky - traditional name: Bullchanach. A wicketkeeper, Bullocky was referred to as "at once the black Bannerman and Blackham of his team".
Sundown - traditional name: Ballrin
Dick-a-Dick - traditional name: Jungunjinanuke
Johnny Cuzens - traditional name: Zellanach
King Cole - traditional name: Bripumyarrimin
Red Cap - traditional name: Brimbunyah
Twopenny - traditional name: Murrumgunarriman
Charley Dumas - traditional name: Pripumuarraman
Jimmy Mosquito - traditional name: Grougarrong, who "could walk upright under a bar and then jump it in a stander".
Tiger - traditional name: Boninbarngeet
Jim Crow
Faith Thomas (née Coulthard)

This is a good article on that subject tho (lack of aboriginal cricketers) -

http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/the-aboriginal-innings/520/

The Australian Aboriginal cricket team that toured England in 1868.

And yeah alot of those names are not current by along shot, and yeah I couldn't have named any of them without google.

 

[One Thousand Words]

Sorry i meant Test cricketers. I can see perhaps one or two in the list above and the rest a touring oddity akin to a circus that they sent to England 100 yrs ago to entertain the ruling class but who were not permitted to play against any serious teams of the time

Eddie Gilbert is a perfect example of a world class player who Brahman himself called the fastest bowler he played against, yet was never considered any possibility of playing for Australia.

 

[One Thousand Words]

The team arrived in London in May 1868[2] and were met with a degree of fascination - that being the period of the evolutionary controversies following publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species in 1859. Reaction was mixed. The Times described the tourists as, "a travestie upon cricketing at Lord's", and, "the conquered natives of a convict colony." The Daily Telegraph said of Australia that, "nothing of interest comes from there except gold nuggets and black cricketers."
The first match was played at The Oval in London and attracted 20,000 spectators. Presumably many of these spectators attended out of curiosity to see members of a strange-looking race perform athletically rather than merely to savour a cricket contest. The Times reported:
"Their hair and beards are long and wiry, their skins vary in shades of blackness, and most of them have broadly expanded nostrils. Having been brought up in the bush to agricultural pursuits under European settlers, they are perfectly civilised and are quite familiar with the English language."

I would argue that very little has change in white people's attitude to aborigines in 150 yrs. for all the talk of equality, even in this thread there is talk of how they are different to us. Surely if there is to be change men should be judged by who they are not the colour of their skin?

 

[MazDan]

Surely if there is to be change men should be judged by who they are not the colour of their skin?

That is beautifully put and I could not agree more.

There was an interesting discussion about this topic on ABC late night radio last night and some very interesting points were raised.

One in particular caught my attention which was the subject of why when we are trying so hard to educate people to look past skin colour do groups such as Rugby League and I believe AFL, then go out and select teams based on there skin colour ............ie the All Stars games?

 

[One Thousand Words]

Because one of the biggest things aboriginal people lack are role models. You don't see them looking up to many fellow aborigine sports stars like they do African American culture. 200 yrs of being down trodden makes many guys ashamed of their heritage. Adam Goodes himself last week said that he had no appreciation of who he was until he left SA and made the big time in Sydney. I have worked in Aborigine communities and seen first hand how broken they are as a people. Simple things like red, yellow, black mouthguards and taking a genuine interest in their traditional hunting methods and stories have a noticible effect on the kids. Unless you have been there it is a little hard to explain I guess. You can understand why guys like Adam Goodes or Greg Inglis are mobbed when their only other male figure heads are unemployed drunks who bash their mum. I think the All Star game doesn't go far enough in celebrating this countries culture and history.

You only have to look at the Maori to see how having pride in your people and role models to look up to makes a huge differece. They still have their social problems but you would never hear someone ashamed of their tribe. This was never more apparent than when South Africa banned maori rugby players from touring up until the late 80's. The NZ Maori may be an exclusive club but it is one the only produces postives for NZ as a whole. It isn't based on the colour of your skin but where you were born and to who. Not disimilar to State of Origin or being selected to play for your country, it may be exclusive but it isn't discriminatory.

 

[quiet roar]

You only have to look at the Maori to see how having pride in your people and role models to look up to makes a huge differece. They still have their social problems but you would never hear someone ashamed of their tribe.

Maybe a more honest view of their tribe would facilitate a lessening of their social problems.


And here you are decrying one form of prejudice whilst your first sentence in this thread is in itself extremely prejudiced.

 

[One Thousand Words]

If have lived with both people and think I have an understanding of their issues, at least at a basic level. The Maori have their own television channel, political party, have highly regarded schools that also maintain their language and even atm's where you can select Maori as an option. They have their problems with alcohol and domestic violence without a doubt, but they also have a voice (some might say too much) in how their country is run. Compare that with Australia and it's a big deal if an Aborigine wins an Olympic medal, let alone gets voted into parliment.

 

[tripnotyzm]

So I get that this Adam Goodes bloke is an inspirational Aboriginal sporting figure, and I think that he is doing a good thing by bringing awareness to society in regards to the importance of eradicating racist behavior at sporting events & in general communities..



But, when I saw the news reports on this whole incident, I couldn't help but feel like this Adam Goodes guy was overreacting.
I have been to games & have countless times witnessed fans hurling verbal abuse at the players.
And when you add heavily/intoxicated fans in to the equation, it is not all that surprising to hear the occasional racial slur get slung..
Im not saying its acceptable by any means, but in reality this is the kind of shallow behavior that you may simply have to face if you desire attending Aussie footy matches... :-/

Oh, and for the record, out of all the racial insults that get thrown around, i think "Ape" sits somewhere at the bottom of the offensive list..
I have definitely called people ape's in the past...
Doesn't mean im being racist.. It's more like, I would call my brother or friend or ANYBODY an ape if they did something stupid.
Heck, they have even directed the word ape towards people on tv shows and movies, with no racist intent whatsoever!! (i think i remember cartoons like the simpsons using that word a fair bit).

So why did this guy click it so hard at the girl??
Seems like a bit much to go and make a humiliating example of a 13 year old girl like that, when you could easily make a better example of some drunk dick heads who yell way more explicit insults at footy games.

 

[poledriver]

Eddie McGuire makes on-air gaffe about Adam Goodes and King Kong

EDDIE McGuire has said on radio it would be a good idea to get Adam Goodes in town to promote the new King Kong musical.

The gaffe comes just five days after McGuire was the first man to apologise to Goodes after a 13-year-old fan called the star Sydney Swans AFL player an ape at Friday's night's Swans and Collingwood match.

McGuire, the Collingwood Football Club president, was roundly applauded for the manner in which he swiftly handled the scandal.

Today he appears to have undone all that good work – mentioning Goodes and the giant ape in the same conversation.

The controversial comment came while McGuire was speaking with co-host Luke Darcy on Triple M's Hot Breakfast show this morning.

Darcy was talking about the new musical. "What a great promo that is, for King Kong," he said.

To which McGuire replied: "Get Adam Goodes down for it, d'you reckon?"

"No, I wouldn't have thought so," was the response from Darcy.

McGuire went on, stumbling over his words: "You can see them doing that, can't you? Goodesy. You know, the big, not the ape thing the whole thing, I'm just saying the pumping him up and mucking around and that sort of stuff."

He then said: "Just to clear up, when we were talking about King Kong there and I was mumbling my way through about Goodesy, I was trying to say 'Imagine the old days of trying to get people in for publicity' and I've mumbled my way through that so

anyone who thought that I was having a go or being a smart alec I take that back."

Darcy: "Yeah. Not sure where you were going there."

McGuire: "Nah, neither did I halfway there I was that exhausted this morning, so apologies to that."

"But I was thinking you know in the old days in these situations the publicity and that type of thing. I was off on a tangent somewhere.

"Just in case people are thinking 'What the hell's he on about', I have no idea either."


Read more: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/nationa...ng/story-fncynjr2-1226652776987#ixzz2UdbW51uo