TOPIC:

Larry Bird wrote: Racism is alive and well in this country. You can't call people apes and tell them to head back to the zoo. The white man in this country doesn't like it when the black man has a voice or thinks he is an equal.

Pretty generalised comment there.

Very general, this is about the most complicated issue this country faces. You have to talk generally when your dealing with the attitudes of thousands of people. I agree Goodes is not everyone's cup of tea I'm not a huge fan myself. I grew up in a time when racism was overt nowadays it's more covert. But I will stand by the opinion that in this country racism is lurking around every corner.

Larry Bird wrote: Very general, this is about the most complicated issue this country faces. You have to talk generally when your dealing with the attitudes of thousands of people. I agree Goodes is not everyone's cup of tea I'm not a huge fan myself. I grew up in a time when racism was overt nowadays it's more covert. But I will stand by the opinion that in this country racism is lurking around every corner.

Again a generalised statement, so many things ( death) are around every corner too. My generalised statement would be MOST people want any race to succeed,irrespective of race, all people want is people to contribute, work hard and to give back to society in some way. There will always be a section of bigoted people who are racist. Personally i reckon Aussies are very tolerant, compared to say China, Japan, French etc. Some buffoon will come on tv and radio and say how racist we are, and of course the press/media love to run that sorta stuff, and many believe it

Have a look at the vision again and tell me that wasn't a F*** You gesture at the end of Jetta's little dance.
Goodes has incensed the majority of the fans.
And as someone has suggested this has happened to non indigenous players as well.
The awarding of the Aust of the year was an award made to a person less deserving than hordes of others who serve the community selflessly for lifetimes.
As for the war dance it in itself is racist by the nature of it.
It was intended to incite not share culture.

I do respect your opinions and agree with a lot of it. I just feel when talking about racism in this country it is very safe ground to give opinion from the white side of the tracks. Very different story to grow up as an aboriginal in this country. I'm quite happy to play devils advocate on this issue because it is likely to be very one sided on a football forum otherwise.

Was Chris Lewis booed and abused in Melbourne when he played there?
Of course he wasn't, the Melbournians respected him and applauded him regularly because racism is a Western Australian thing only. There has never ever been any wrong doing from the delightful Victorian football public. They have no history of such dastardly acts.

Listening to Garry Lyon, he would have to be the biggest hypocrite on the planet. He is a joke and another media-AFL puppet.

Larry Bird wrote: I do respect your opinions and agree with a lot of it. I just feel when talking about racism in this country it is very safe ground to give opinion from the white side of the tracks. Very different story to grow up as an aboriginal in this country. I'm quite happy to play devils advocate on this issue because it is likely to be very one sided on a football forum otherwise.

And also Larry this is an issue that goes well beyond football. Unfortunately while overt displays of Racism have reduced over the last 20 years or so, it now shows its ugly head in covert insidious ways. It is by denying its existance and sticking our collective head in the sand that it will continues to thrive

mikeh wrote:

Larry Bird wrote: I do respect your opinions and agree with a lot of it. I just feel when talking about racism in this country it is very safe ground to give opinion from the white side of the tracks. Very different story to grow up as an aboriginal in this country. I'm quite happy to play devils advocate on this issue because it is likely to be very one sided on a football forum otherwise.

And also Larry this is an issue that goes well beyond football. Unfortunately while overt displays of Racism have reduced over the last 20 years or so, it now shows its ugly head in covert insidious ways. It is by denying it exists and sticking our collective head in the sand that it will continues to thrive

So in "todays world", who do you think gets the most opportunities to advance them selves ( if they have the drive) these days with education and social security instances. A white kid from balga or an indigenous kid from balga??

but mike...i think we've gone from the sublime to the ridiculous...once upon a time I agree we were a pathologically racist community but now suggest we may have gone too far the other way whereby any act, spoken word or deed which doesn't sit comfortably with a minority group is deemed racist or intolerant...case in point this Goodes issue. Goodes is entitled to call it racism if he so chooses but I also think fans are entitled to boo, heckle, sledge as much they like as long as lines are not crossed. If it's good enough to boo Akermanis coz he's a dic*head, then the same goes for Goodes imo.

I agree Mike, Unka this is a topic I generally stay away from because it's only my opinion versus yours and I don't think either one is more valid. Opportunities for Aboriginal youth can be a little easier to come by, for example indigenous jobs in mining etc. Whilst there are loads of underprivileged white kids, the percentage of aboriginal
youth from homes of generational unemployment, substance abuse and violence horrifies me. Many of these kids have to fight just to survive. I really think it's the most shameful part of our countries history. Adam Goodes looks a broken man to me. Perhaps trying too hard to be a leader in his community, no doubt he has made some errors.