There is always one idiot in the press that will sell out for a headline, and quite often it is Andrew Bolt:
No Cookies | Herald Sun
Whilst there are people like him still in the press, there will still be people out there that think its 'ok' to say things like what was said on Friday night.
But then again, he has history in this area, so I shouldn't be suprised.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-2...on-act/3025918
"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."
Full time professional jackass.
What can one expect from Rupert's Rags?
He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)
Good old Bolty. Year in year out, when the Brownlow for 'Australia's Most Stupid' is handed out, he's in with a chance.
The man who laughs has not yet heard the terrible news
Serious question... if you saw or heard any instances of racial abuse at the footy, would you speak up? I've thought about it, and while normally I'm the low key type who wouldn't rock the boat, I think it's important that we set a boundary of what's right and wrong. Thoughts?
Last edited by Xie Shan; 28th May 2013 at 12:34 AM.
Personally, I don't like to see people hang over the fence and hurl any sort of abuse at players.Originally Posted by Xie Shan
This needs to be stopped.
As for racial abuse. I would like to think I would, but it all depends on the situation. You don't want to put yourself in a vulnerable situation.
Most venues have a Text line where you can SMS them about anti social behaviour.
I took my father-in-law to the VFL GF at Etihad a few years ago.
He said quite loudly to me that their were a lot of Indigenous people(replaced this with the 3 letter, 4 for plural, abbreviation commonly used to describe them) around. After quickly looking around to see if anyone had heard, I said you can't say that. "Why Not?" was the reply. sheesh.
He did a similar thing last year in Harrods, which is owned by Arabs, about the young girls wearing head scarves shopping there.
My wife and I casually stepped away. Some people will never learn.
I have turned around and given a few knife edged comments in the past which shocked most around me; no applause but the more racial abuse settled. Nowadays I could probably just say "What would Adam think of you?" if its our mob, and "not acceptable" if its their mob. And get the men in charge if it was truly awful.
I have also called Richo a sook, Lloyd Precious and James Hird a Precious Poppet. Not sure anymore what constitutes abuse. Can I keep calling Ballentyne a little twerp? or the umps maggotty bastards? Probably not. Probably do my blood pressure a favour anyway.
This whole thing keeps ticking over in my mind - where do I stand, where have I stood, what am I going to do in the future. Not a bad thing.
If you've never jumped from one couch to the other to save yourself from lava then you didn't have a childhood
Probably cant call them 'white maggots' now they wear fluoro anyway.
I consider myself to be fairly critical of adam on the field - i often feel that he tries to do the hardest thing when sometimes the easiest would work just as well. But ever since the first time I saw him in a reserves match against footscray in 1997/8 (?) at waverley park (a game which we lost in the firsts by less than a goal as i recollect) I have thought this guy looks pretty special. Over the years his ability has astounded me so much so that he has played some of the best individual games i have ever seen - often against collingwood in losing games mind you - but it has been what he has been prepared to offer to the indigenous players that has often caught my eye. Quite often he will do a sneaky fist bump with the indigenous players on the other teams before or during games which emphasised how much he saw himself as a leader and role model. That generally made me proud - football is a game when all is said and done and society has much bigger fish to fry. And i was so pleased to see that he was part of that.
I am proud of what he has done and that maybe people will actually recognise it.
I think andrew bolt is a right wing nutcase and most of those who comment on his blog likewise. History is against them. I think those who have been critical of adam are people whose minds are closed to things - but i still feel that education is what changes things and improves things. if anyone has read "Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby they will realise that there is still work to do - but that crowds are getting educated - He has a great section on the slow demise of racism in English football, at least insofar as the culture at Highbury and Arsenal is concerned.
On the other hand the whole event hasn't given me much to worry about though at a personal level. I almost never comment on the opposition. I almost always only direct comments towards our team like you've got to go mal, or oh goodesy or great spoil smithy. I don't even really notice the opposition, other than a who the hell is supposed to be playing on xx.
Umpires on the other hand I would regularly yell "umpire both sides" or the same rules apply to both sides.
I can't really see the point of abusing anyone - although i came pretty close to giving it to stevic at last years gf.
I too would like to think I could stand up to racial abusers. Particularly when with the family. I think this incident with Goodes will change a lot of attitudes (footy is a powerful tool for social change). I can imagine most of a crowd standing side-by-side (pardon the Pies association) to silence any minority voices sitting nearby.
I myself and Dad got into it with a family of carlton knobs that kept calling him a monkey at one game. He looks like one, it's not racist. I said fair enough, but know what you are saying won't be taken as what you meant (explained they were considered sub human etc). But we are italian, how can we be racist. At this stage i stopped wasting my breath. They were clearly wasting enough oxygen.....
Funny story from our League-watching days.
Older son was about 16 and, after a stellar career in the under-12s and 13s, had moved into refereeing. He had the grand final of the (I think) under 8s at Leichhardt Oval. By that stage we weren't going to watch the players, we were watching the ref. A couple of blokes sat behind us as the little kids came on and one said, "Oh no, we've got that bloke in the glasses!"
Mrs d turned around and said, "That's my son refereeing and we're very proud of him." I shrank inwardly but got ready to speak up if necessary. It became the funniest football match I ever attended. Every couple of minutes we would hear "Oh ... (splutter)" from behind, then silence. We had to attend to the game to suppress our laughing. After the game Mrs d turned around and said, "Thank you for not rubbishing him." Friendly nods all round. Older son started wearing contacts.
On a more serious note, I've already told here about our younger son and friend objecting to parents of kids yelling gay slurs and saying they'd call security if it didn't stop. It did.
He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)
The only issue I have had with anyone at the footy is with the good looking bloke looking back at me from the mirror. He can be an absolute ratbag and admits he needs to tone it down a bit. Usually the Umpires bear the brunt of his temper tantrums but sometime it might be a player that cops it. Or in the case of the Freo capitulation, the whole bloody team.
..And the Swans are the Premiers...The Ultimate Team...The Ultimate Warriors. They have overcome the highly fancied Hawks in brilliant style. Sydney the 2012 Premiers - Gerard Whately ABC
Here it is Again! - Huddo SEN
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks