Well said Mr Prez
http://m.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/if-...27-gilc0n.html
Well said Mr Prez
http://m.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/if-...27-gilc0n.html
Firstly, well done to Gerard Whateley and Jonothan Brown for stating the obvious, when so many others are either in denial or are studiously avoiding stating the obvious. And a qualified well done to Gillon MacLachlan for a step in the right direction, even if it was a bit wishy washy.
Secondly, I do think the claims of "we are doing it because he stages for free kicks" is an absolute crock. I hardly even know what people think they are seeing? Occasionally I've seen Goodesy throw his arms back when grabbed without the ball, but that is not staging, and also, that motion has probably been performed by at least 50% of the players in the competition. In regards to actual staging, I have yet to see Goodes throw himself on the ground without any contact, a la Matthew Lloyd. I have never seen him drop in the tackle and fling his head back, in the manner of Selwood, Puopolo, Christensen, et al. And I have never seen him back into the opposition and then throw himself forward, in imitation of the move that gets used every so often by Chapman and Harvey. So I do think that the staging excuse is really the sort of garbage that comes out of peoples' mouth, when their minds have been dumbed down by consuming too much crap media.
And speaking of crap media: it is my opinion that what has really kicked off the knuckle dragging actions of the booers, is that they have paid far too much attention to the small minded diatribes of the talkback ranters and the tabloid propagandists. To stress this point, here is a collection of articles from the worst offender (as far as I know), Andrew Bolt. All of which are highly are highly critical of Adam Goodes and all of which contain the flawed logic, selective use of alleged facts and dementedly skewed view of history, that is totally typical of the most bigoted members of our society.
28/5/2013. "I refuse to share Goodes' view on race."
4/3/2014. "My European ancestors did not steal or rape. No doubt Goodes can say the same of his own."
5/3/2014. "Adam Goodes lecture lets us all down."
6/4/2014. "Racist fight has its Goodes and bads."
31/5/2015. "Adam Goodes just crying wolf over war dance."
1/6/2015. "Adam Goodes cries for battle against 'you guys'."
And I doubt if this is a comprehensive list, as it just comes from the first page of a Google search. But if you want to wade through the miasma even further, to get a few psychological insights into the sort of person who goes to the football fired up to boo Goodesy, then read some of the thoughts posted by Andrew's acolytes in the Comments section at the bottom of each article.
Racists will always find a "good" reason to express their prejudice. Goodesy stages or got off at the tribunal, etc. Then why doesn't every player who ever did something wrong on or off a footy field cop it? Does Brian Lake get booed every week after nearly killing Drew Petrie with a choke hold? Will Sam Mitchell get booed every week for corking opponents who try to shepherd him? Did Judd get booed every week after the chicken wing incident? Course not. White guys might cop a bit of heat for a week or two but are then forgiven. There are no "good reasons" for booing Goodesy. It's racism, pure and simple.
"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."
Francis Leach's article is now in The Age online. It has gone gangbusters:
Adam Goodes: Footy has become a redneck wonderland
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)
Ta, dimelb, I did like these lines in the Francis Leach article:
And with your symphony of boos you've made it quite clear where you stand.
The fact that you fuel your own sense of outrage at Goodes and Lewis Jetta's "war dance" shows how feeble minded and self righteous you are.
Where's your sense of outrage at the appalling gap in life expectancy for indigenous people?
The massive over representation of indigenous people in jail?
The continuing scourge of deaths in custody?
Your silence is deafening on those issues. Your outrage reserved for a man who dances on the footy field.
West Coast fans boo everything- I recall them booing a clearly concussed LRT as he struggled off the ground (and I'm sure ended up having to go to hospital for tests) following a heavy collision because the umpire stopped play and they had the ball. At the time I saw fans pleading they were booing the ump, not LRT- but at least conceded it was not a good look. I see no reason why in these circumstances those booing who believe it is not racial at all can't at least concede that it's not a good look.
I find the whole thing both frustrating and upsetting.
I knew him as a gentle young man, I cannot say for sure the reasons for his decline
We watched him fade before our very eyes, and years before his time
Ta, Erica, it's good to see the Eagles management making some strong statements. And while the booing yesterday did seem a bit more hostile than other recent away matches, I suspect that it was still only a noisy, bigoted minority that was doing it, and that the majority of supporters are actually embarrassed by or against the actions of that minority.
The AFL should fine West Coast and any future club that boos Adam for bringing the game into disrepute. First offence $10,000, Second $50,000 Third $100,000 and Fourth play in an empty stadium would have the clubs becoming proactive in getting the message to their supporters.
Not that I think I made this happen but I emailed the Eagles yesterday - mid game - asking them to take a stand. Got a standard reply this morning, we don't tolerate racism, members and fans can report on game day, we will follow up, yada yada, went back at them again saying I hoped the management and the board wouldn't hide behind their fans. Huge coincidence, but I feel pretty good about what I did, regardless. Kudos to the Eagles.
Patterns emerge, but do they mean anything? No.
I have to disagree a bit.
You're right in saying the Weagles fans are as parochial and as one-eyed as you get.
But what happened yesterday was something else. That amount of noise doesn't come from a few buffoons. The volume, intensity and malice in the booing was at another level. It surpassed what we'd even seen at Hawks games, and got louder and more visceral as the match went on. There was an escalation in scale and anger with every touch Goodes had.
It's very telling - as he doesn't strike me as someone who is overtly comfortable in the spotlight, or someone naturally inclined to make 'statements' - that Jetts reacted the way he did.
'Delicious' is a fun word to say
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