The Roar
The Roar

AFL
Advertisement

For everyone's sake, let's hit mute on the Adam Goodes conversation

Roar Guru
30th July, 2015
16

At its best, social media is a great tool for giving a voice to the average person, who may not ordinarily have a say. At its worst it can bring out the ugly in all of us. This week has been the latter.

Every media outlet these days wants you to join ‘the conversation’ and have your say via its social media channels. It’s the way of the world.

Unfortunately, more often than not the real issue gets lost in the noise.

When you open the door for comment you can’t expect the lowest common denominator not to emerge. This is ugly Australia at its worst. The punter who thinks he’s entitled to have his say because he’s been given a voice and can shout the loudest.

Sometimes I wish we could push the mute button, because topics like the booing of Adam Goodes become overwhelming.

The booing has been happening all season but the subject has really gathered momentum since Sunday night. Given Goodes’ decision to take the weekend off playing it doesn’t look like abating anytime soon.

I don’t know about you, but I’m over it. Imagine having the same conversation with someone for an entire week? I’d rather dig my toenails out with a spoon.

The only people happy about the widespread coverage are the Fifita brothers, but that’s a story for another day.

Advertisement

It’s a divisive issue which has been argued up hill and down dale all week – whether booing Goodes is purely, partially or not racially motivated, whether he brought it upon himself when he called out the 13-year-old girl last year, whether he used his role as Australian of the Year properly, or whether fans who boo him should be hung, drawn and quartered in the town square.

Politicians, former athletes, social commentators have all lined up for a say on the issue.

Radio commentator Alan Jones blamed Goodes for always playing the victim. Newspaper columnist Rebecca Wilson and former AFL star Dermott Brereton went toe-to-toe on Melbourne radio in a ‘he said, she said’ exchange, and Channel Nine’s finance reporter Ross Greenwood thinks Goodes gets booed because he’s a stager.

Ross Greenwood? He gets a say? That’s it for me. Stick a fork in me Jerry, I’m done. From all reports Ross is a lovely chap, but when we have the finance guy entering the fray on an issue such as this, the conversation has officially reached hyperbole.

Please make it stop. The noise. Please stop the noise.

It’s not that I want to ignore the issue in the hope it goes away. If this gets us all talking about Indigenous welfare and racism in a more constructive manner then I’m all for it. But I can’t see that happening while we continue to talk over the top of one another.

Sometimes silence is golden.

Advertisement
close