Many footy fans and many Australians in general want their indigenous sports stars to be likable entertainers. They don't want them to be challenging their underlying belief systems. They don't want them questioning their prejudices. This is of course not helped by the encouragement they receive from radio shock jocks and some politicians.
Adam Goodes has been the highest profile athlete advocating indigenous causes and making racism a social issue. This is why he gets booed. It's a way for some Australians to express their agreement with the shock jocks that Aboriginal Australians are rorting the system and getting too many benefits that other Australians are excluded from, with the cover of booing a player from an opposing side.
I wouldn't worry too much about how Adam feels about the booing. It suits his purposes as well. It makes racism a headline issue, which is exactly what he's trying to do. Adam Goodes has taken every opportunity to advance his agenda, which is one that I support and agree with. Those Hawthorn fans booing Adam have been sucked into his program of elevating racism in the consciousness of the nation. Just look how well it's succeeded. It's been in all the papers and radio and tv shows. We are all talking about racism as a result of the booing.
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