Why is Adam Goodes being
booed? Despite the illusions of many, the truth is that nobody really knows.
The majority of
people (79% of Herald Sun readers and 41% of Age readers) believe the booing is
not racially motivated, while media commentators, journalists and public identities have offered
totally differing views on the issue. But I repeat- nobody really knows.
Everyone has different opinions on this. Opinions that when you analyse them
closely, are actually influenced by factors like: Our personal experiences,
various big but unprovable assumptions and/or generalisations that are
necessary in order to even have opinions about topics like this, our personal
political persuasions, what our friends and favourite media identities think
about the issue, etc.
So I’m making a call
for people to stop bashing those with opposing views, because nobody knows it
all. Part of what makes Australia such a great country is that we can disagree
and remain friends, so if you betray that ideal then you’re not only creating
divisions (which is, ironically, something Goodes stands against) but you’re
being unAustralian.
Lastly there is one
thing we can all agree on. It is time for the booing to stop, because it has
become a blight on the great game of AFL footy. I hope next week’s major news
pieces are about the great contests of this weekend, rather than frustrated
speculation about the cause of one man’s angst.
Update: Someone replied to my facebook status with the following. I'll post it in italics, with my response following. Interestingly three of my facebook friends liked this post, and they are intelligent people; not the types of people who form their opinions without thinking.
That's just as good as brushing the issue under the carpet, Travis. The point is that some - if not a majority - of those boos were racially motivated. Let's not pretend otherwise. I'll give you some excerpts of things people have had to say re: this matter.
"Steve Price doesn't think the booing is racial either. "People are booing him because he has decided... to parade his indigenous credentials strongly." "
"Alan Jones says people just don't like Goodes, and that's not racial. "They don't like the spear-throwing, the running in and doing a war dance...""
Alan Jones quote taken from this article:
http://www.theage.com.au/.../swans-star-adam-goodes...
Steve Price quote taken from this article:
http://www.9news.com.au/.../peter-helliar-lashes-cohost...
This is a man who - when he parades his pride in his ethnicity - is consistently put down and bullied. And we he stands up and points out that people are uncomfortable with him as a result and that it is racially motivated, he is subjected to further bullying and an ENTIRE NATION gangs up against him.
And if you need further evidence of what I am saying, just listen to this argument put forth by Waleed Aly.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xeBu735nFYw
People kill themselves over stuff like this. This is the moment to have an open discussion and try to gain some understanding of what it feels like to be "the other" instead of the privileged who doesn't have to endure this sort of thing. Let's listen to the minorities for once to gain some understanding of what life is like on the other side of the fence.
Yes- I've already seen the Waleed Aly interview, the I've read the comments from Alan Jones and many (most?) of the popular articles from both sides of the debate.
I'm familiar with all of the arguments. My point is that the time has come for the arguing to stop. I'm sick of ppl in my Facebook feed (from both sides) treating others with contempt or ridiculing because they see things differently.
Racism is absolutely an issue that should be confronted. I'm not sweeping it under the carpet- I'm saying that the way people are dialoguing on the issue is, all too often, anything but productive.
I also find it odd that non footy fans are getting involved. If people don't follow AFL or even sport, do they understand the mind set of AFL fans? Where did they get these superhuman powers of perception? It's time to get back to footy. And deal with racism in a more productive way than the speculation that is passing for media commentary (from both sides).
At the very least let's be humble enough to admit that we are all speculating when we offer our views on this issue. Instead of pretending like our views are the only reasonable ones.
/End of facebook response.
This issue is worth exploring further. At the time, I wanted to focus my response on the issue I was actually trying to raise in my initial post; that is, people are taking their speculations as certainty, and refusing to see the inherent logic in the positions that others hold. The fact that the 9 member AFL commission was reportedly split into 3 camps in their analysis of this issue should be enough on it's own (if we didn't realise it already!) to tell us something: This is a complex issue. It's one thing for the media to take sides in the name of selling newspapers and to keep their word counts down by substituting rhetoric for nuance, but it was disappointing seeing my facebook feed full of those blindly doing the same, and refusing to accept that others might you know, have a point every now and then. My brother neatly summarised just one element of this complexity by simply saying "Everyone boos for different reasons". Yet, plenty of the media and public seem to love generalising, as if those booing Goodes were united in one voice of racism. That's plainly ridiculous. This whole debacle was part of what motivated my next facebook status:
So allow me to carry on and explore this further. My facebook interlocutor quoted Alan Jones' views on the war dance as direct evidence of racism. But exactly why is it that criticism of Goodes' war dance should be seen as inherently racist? Can people honestly not see that football fans may dislike Goodes' imaginary spear throwing for legitimate reasons that have nothing to do with him being Indigenous? I've yet to see any coherent, reasonable response to this question. There is one response that has been popularised, and it's along the lines of "We have no issue with the Haka, but we do have an issue with Goodes. Therefore it's racism". But this response misses a crucial difference between the Haka and Goodes: The Haka is directed towards the opposition team, not towards spectators. There are other differences too: The Haka is a team dance completed by all members of the New Zealand Rugby team rather than by one individual, and the Haka happens before the bounce, rather than in the heat of the contest. These three factors all have a bearing on the comparison. I'd guess that if the Haka was done by one player, within a few metres of opposing fans straight after scoring a try, that this player would be on the receiving end of some serious jeering and booing.
AFL great Wayne Carey was commentating on the night that Goodes did his spear dance against Carlton. Carey made an observation during the half time break:
"I guess now, all supporters from other teams are going to think that they can, I guess in a way suck Adam Goodes in".
Goodes is a soft target for the hardcore fans who will do anything to put the opposition off their game. And it has nothing to do with him being Aboriginal. He gave a reaction; he has on multiple occasions showed how easily he can be provoked. (Goodes has said the war dance was pre planned, but he nonetheless directed the dance straight at a small contingent of fans who were already booing him, and he also admitted that he would have done a different dance had he kicked a goal when surrounded by Swans fans. It's hard not to think there was some level of reactionary element in Goodes' action). Why is it that Carey saw this instantaneously, but so many people can't
This is why I'm not convinced of the explanations given by those who jump to "RACISM!!" Without adequately considering Goodes' actions or the mind set of fanatical sports followers. However I'm speculating, as are those who generalise and claim that a huge number of fans are "uncomfortable" with Goodes' success. It's just a shame that so many people aren't willing to be equally honest and admit that they, too, are speculating about the motivations of those booing Goodes. We're entering an age where dissenting opinions are treated with contempt and disgust, instead of debate. That should concern any thoughtful person.
We can all agree, however, that the booing should now stop. Let the champion get on with his game, because the game is bigger than him and bigger than any of us and our opinions. Our speculations, that is.
Update: Someone replied to my facebook status with the following. I'll post it in italics, with my response following. Interestingly three of my facebook friends liked this post, and they are intelligent people; not the types of people who form their opinions without thinking.
That's just as good as brushing the issue under the carpet, Travis. The point is that some - if not a majority - of those boos were racially motivated. Let's not pretend otherwise. I'll give you some excerpts of things people have had to say re: this matter.
"Steve Price doesn't think the booing is racial either. "People are booing him because he has decided... to parade his indigenous credentials strongly." "
"Alan Jones says people just don't like Goodes, and that's not racial. "They don't like the spear-throwing, the running in and doing a war dance...""
Alan Jones quote taken from this article:
http://www.theage.com.au/.../swans-star-adam-goodes...
Steve Price quote taken from this article:
http://www.9news.com.au/.../peter-helliar-lashes-cohost...
This is a man who - when he parades his pride in his ethnicity - is consistently put down and bullied. And we he stands up and points out that people are uncomfortable with him as a result and that it is racially motivated, he is subjected to further bullying and an ENTIRE NATION gangs up against him.
And if you need further evidence of what I am saying, just listen to this argument put forth by Waleed Aly.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xeBu735nFYw
People kill themselves over stuff like this. This is the moment to have an open discussion and try to gain some understanding of what it feels like to be "the other" instead of the privileged who doesn't have to endure this sort of thing. Let's listen to the minorities for once to gain some understanding of what life is like on the other side of the fence.
Yes- I've already seen the Waleed Aly interview, the I've read the comments from Alan Jones and many (most?) of the popular articles from both sides of the debate.
I'm familiar with all of the arguments. My point is that the time has come for the arguing to stop. I'm sick of ppl in my Facebook feed (from both sides) treating others with contempt or ridiculing because they see things differently.
Racism is absolutely an issue that should be confronted. I'm not sweeping it under the carpet- I'm saying that the way people are dialoguing on the issue is, all too often, anything but productive.
I also find it odd that non footy fans are getting involved. If people don't follow AFL or even sport, do they understand the mind set of AFL fans? Where did they get these superhuman powers of perception? It's time to get back to footy. And deal with racism in a more productive way than the speculation that is passing for media commentary (from both sides).
At the very least let's be humble enough to admit that we are all speculating when we offer our views on this issue. Instead of pretending like our views are the only reasonable ones.
/End of facebook response.
This issue is worth exploring further. At the time, I wanted to focus my response on the issue I was actually trying to raise in my initial post; that is, people are taking their speculations as certainty, and refusing to see the inherent logic in the positions that others hold. The fact that the 9 member AFL commission was reportedly split into 3 camps in their analysis of this issue should be enough on it's own (if we didn't realise it already!) to tell us something: This is a complex issue. It's one thing for the media to take sides in the name of selling newspapers and to keep their word counts down by substituting rhetoric for nuance, but it was disappointing seeing my facebook feed full of those blindly doing the same, and refusing to accept that others might you know, have a point every now and then. My brother neatly summarised just one element of this complexity by simply saying "Everyone boos for different reasons". Yet, plenty of the media and public seem to love generalising, as if those booing Goodes were united in one voice of racism. That's plainly ridiculous. This whole debacle was part of what motivated my next facebook status:
"Nuance is the currency of sensible debate that sees genuine outcomes, dogmatism is the thing of fundamentalists".
- Chris Rowney, Pastor, Torquay Christian Fellowship.
So allow me to carry on and explore this further. My facebook interlocutor quoted Alan Jones' views on the war dance as direct evidence of racism. But exactly why is it that criticism of Goodes' war dance should be seen as inherently racist? Can people honestly not see that football fans may dislike Goodes' imaginary spear throwing for legitimate reasons that have nothing to do with him being Indigenous? I've yet to see any coherent, reasonable response to this question. There is one response that has been popularised, and it's along the lines of "We have no issue with the Haka, but we do have an issue with Goodes. Therefore it's racism". But this response misses a crucial difference between the Haka and Goodes: The Haka is directed towards the opposition team, not towards spectators. There are other differences too: The Haka is a team dance completed by all members of the New Zealand Rugby team rather than by one individual, and the Haka happens before the bounce, rather than in the heat of the contest. These three factors all have a bearing on the comparison. I'd guess that if the Haka was done by one player, within a few metres of opposing fans straight after scoring a try, that this player would be on the receiving end of some serious jeering and booing.
AFL great Wayne Carey was commentating on the night that Goodes did his spear dance against Carlton. Carey made an observation during the half time break:
"I guess now, all supporters from other teams are going to think that they can, I guess in a way suck Adam Goodes in".
Goodes is a soft target for the hardcore fans who will do anything to put the opposition off their game. And it has nothing to do with him being Aboriginal. He gave a reaction; he has on multiple occasions showed how easily he can be provoked. (Goodes has said the war dance was pre planned, but he nonetheless directed the dance straight at a small contingent of fans who were already booing him, and he also admitted that he would have done a different dance had he kicked a goal when surrounded by Swans fans. It's hard not to think there was some level of reactionary element in Goodes' action). Why is it that Carey saw this instantaneously, but so many people can't
This is why I'm not convinced of the explanations given by those who jump to "RACISM!!" Without adequately considering Goodes' actions or the mind set of fanatical sports followers. However I'm speculating, as are those who generalise and claim that a huge number of fans are "uncomfortable" with Goodes' success. It's just a shame that so many people aren't willing to be equally honest and admit that they, too, are speculating about the motivations of those booing Goodes. We're entering an age where dissenting opinions are treated with contempt and disgust, instead of debate. That should concern any thoughtful person.
We can all agree, however, that the booing should now stop. Let the champion get on with his game, because the game is bigger than him and bigger than any of us and our opinions. Our speculations, that is.
