The death of culture, the life of Adam

Seriously StevenG? Do most of us love our Indigenous Heritage? Love isn't the term i would use. Do you know what happened to indigenous Australians? Or do i have the wrong dictionary meaning for the word heritage? In the words of Pauline Hanson "please explain?". And clearly your definition of Australians doesn't have room for indigenous people in it.

Gene, Of course he is absolutely one of the the right people to lead this debate. He is passionate, rationale, and has the attention of hundreds of thousands of people on a weekly basis due to his sporting prowess. Not all sportsmen are born leaders so when one does come along, why wouldn't all Aboriginal people want someone like Adam to lead the debate?? And what is so sacrosanct about the sporting arena? Fact is that the AFL is trying to set a leading example in society in all issues from drugs to homophobia and racism. Surely for this they should be applauded? Or should they turn a blind eye? Therefore I don't understand why you think he is an inappropriate person to lead the debate. Can you name me any actions or words that he has done or stated that were a poor representation of his culture or its plight? He can't have made too many blunders given that he was voted Australian of the year? Isn't that enough evidence to suggest that he is exactly the sort of person that should lead this debate? And I find it interesting that in your last sentence you choose to use the words "the kind of person we want to see leading it". Why do you get to say who should lead the debate for indigenous Australians? In answer to your last question, any debate about these issues is healthy. Surely it may cause some to become further fragmented. But the reality is that discussion should lead to education, and the sad fact is that a lack of education and understanding of the real issues by the majority of Australians is the fundamental problem in the first place.

Great idea Ads - if Goodes had led a war dance/Aboriginal version of the haka before the game started that would have been very cool and most would have appreciated it as a celebration of Indigenous pride. He could have really started something there too - we've always been a bit envious of the Kiwis and their haka - it could have given our kids something of their own! It would also have been entirely appropriate - as oppossed to using it to bore it up the Blues supporters. He did it more to rub the Blues supporters noses in it for the benefit of his own ego, rather less than his claim of a spur-of-the-moment celebration of his Aboriginal/Indigenous pride! Its a pity that his egotistical action will now forever be associated with the Indigenous war dance allegedly invented by the 16s he was mentoring, now ruining it for everyone.

Very good point WG - Winmar was facing some pretty disgusting abuse at the hands of the rabid Pies supporters and his response was magnificent. He has been rightly lauded for it ever since. Compare this to Goodes response to abuse from another Pies supporter a decade later and now his 'war dance' response to the hostile minority of Carleton supporters (amongst a sea of Swans fans) who's team was being absolutely belted. Goodes explanation of his actions was unconvincing - and as unconvincing as the claim that the booing he was getting was because of his Aboriginality (i.e. racial abuse). He was being booed because he acted like a flog, pure and simple. His actions can in no way be compared to Winmars. The claim he cops it because he's outspoken about racism is BS too - Michael Long is also outspoken about it too but remains deservedly admired (great footballer, great bloke). Could the real reason Goodes gets booed is be because of the way he goes about his footy and the way he acts?

So I point out someones hypocrisy and my comment gets moderated. So I guess my comment won't get publish again because the only way the Roar can can clicks is via lazy journalism using well worn click bait. But hey, I guess all the failed journalist need somewhere to write.

Good point Ads and I too have made that same point elsewhere, but unfortunately because you have targeted Adam Goodes for being self absorbed you are going to be called a racist.

What if perhaps instead of making a confrontational statement to the unsuspecting crowd, Goodes could have gotten the whole team involved before hand and performed the dance towards their opposition before the game and really made an inspiring moment. How much better would that have been to see the non-aboriginal aussies being involved in indigenous round more than just wearing a different shirt for the day. Or would that not have been the self absorbed grandstand moment he wanted.

Dont bother with perfectly sound logic like this. If you dont like someone and they happen the be black, your a racist. Here endeth the lesson.

Gecko nowhere have I said I have an issue with Goodes and his beliefs. I have an issue with people labeling me a racist because I might boo him or believe that his 'war dance' was inappropriate because it was directed at spectators. Why is it OK for me to occasionally boo Haydyn Ballantyne, Stephen Milne and other opposition players but because I might boo Adam Goodes I am a racist, and your link to Martin Luther King is totally inappropriate and quite frankly offensive. For the record I have Australian Indigenous friends as well as others from other parts of the world. I have supported and always will support racial equality. Just for the record Gecko have you bothered actually asking people why they boo Goodes or do you just go along with the PC brigade who say because you boo him then you are definitely a racist.

Australia is the country that invented the saying 'I'm not racist but', this is prevalent in the people making comments defending the behaviour of racist football followers. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and looks like a duck, it's a duck! Racism is in our community and through out our history we as a society have always found a way, to put the proud strong black man, in his 'place. This is just another example. Articles like this one open the debate, if that's not healthy for the problem, nothing is. Well done.

Mr Goodall you are a racist and people like you and like Mr Goodes are the ones that are splitting Australia and you will never ever bring us together as a nation of Australians. There are allot of cultures and people that come from different nations to Australia and they are mostly good and loyal Australians but most certainly there are a few that are far off being Australians and take other avenues to split us apart. These people continually go back to the very exact politics and countries of birth and fight and join political groups that are contrary to ours and they even fight wars. Mr Goodall don't tell us that the majority of us are 'racists' because the only racists that are amongst us are the very people that you defend in this article, and comments like 'Meanwhile, Adam Goodes gets stronger every week. Go get them, Adam', is a ridiculous and very inflammatory comment to make. Accusing fans of being xenophobic, is both ridiculous and downright untrue. Mr Goodes and people like him are the ones that are 'xenophobic' and splitting this nation, and are not bring us together be it on the sporting field and/or in our everyday lives. Mr Goodes is very good at doing this as he is hiding behind his status of being an AFL star to push his indifferences and his indigenous agendas, which was very apparent when he was named Australian of the year, which to most indigenous people, Australia day means nothing and as a matter of a fact they consider Australia day as 'commemorating Australia Day on January 26 was a celebration of the massacre and displacement of indigenous people'. This is no way of bringing Australians together its the very means of splitting us apart more and more. Most Australians love the multicultural diversity that we have in this country and they love our indigenous heritage, but its a shame that we have articles like you have written (and many others that are written in the press) that is splitting and making us grow further and further apart Mr Goodall.

Col your comparison with Judd shows you're missing the point. If Goodes fakes for a free, he's fair game to get booed, but if he gets booed for doing an aboriginal dance or pointing out a racist spectator, it means the spectators disapprove of him making an issue out of race. If you disapprove of Goodes making an issue out of race, you would probably have been lining up against Martin Luther King in the 1960s too.

Cameron, I believe it is perfectly reasonable for crowds to boo ANY player for ANY reason they choose, regardless of the skin color, parentage or ancestry of the player. If you believe it is fair for Anglo Saxon players to cope with booing then you must also believe it is fair for Aboriginals to cope with it, otherwise you're actually discriminating against them. Some people would have us believe that there is such a thing as "negative racism" which is distinct from "positive racism", or that racism doesn't exist when applied to someone in a fashion perceived to be for their benefit, but in actuality ALL discrimination on racial grounds counts as racism regardless of intentions or outcome. Which means either you ignore racial differences between humans and treat them equally, or you favor or disfavor them based on their ancestry in which case you are engaging in racist behavior. Many of the participants in this debate are too stupid to realize that by feigning outrage towards crowds that dare boo Goodes because he happens to be Aboriginal (which is not why he's being booed in the first place, but i digress) they are in fact condoning racism by practicing it themselves. It could be argued they are even more staunchly racist than the imagined racists doing the booing, since not only do they offer irrefutable evidence of their ironically racist opinion with each keystroke, but in many cases its impossible to change their minds about it - many are utterly unwilling to engage in debate and insist that anyone who disagrees with their sanctimonious assertions must without doubt be a racist themselves. As for the matter of Goodes' "me against the world attitude", no I do not like it. Does that make me a racist? Does that automatically mean my mind is a dull as many of his apologists who would mindlessly latch onto this admission and assume it represents a hidden desire on my part to see "ol' whitey keep the black man under his thumb"? Of course not. However I firmly believe there is a time and a place for everything and the sporting field is NOT the place for politics. Whilst I admire Goodes' passion, though doubt the selflessness of his motivations, I am utterly against the way he has gone about manifesting his views. He was already a highly-influential figure among Australian Aboriginals before his first Indigenous Round incident, and I've no doubt would've had the ear of many influential persons among the nation's elite on Aboriginal matters. The choice was there to work within the existing political framework as all other Aboriginal Activists do, instead he chose a pair of highly inappropriate gestures which fractured opinion, divided the community and wrenched the spotlight directly onto himself. They may have made headlines and won Goodes AOTY, but does that mean they've achieved more to improve Aboriginal living standards than behind-the-scenes lobbying that goes largely unnoticed & upraised? Expressing his confronting, aggressive views on Aboriginal/Non-Aboriginal relations (not the Bill Clinton relations) in such an extreme manner in turn invites extreme justifications of those actions from his supporters, and from what I've seen generates little if any meaningful debate on the issue of how we can best help Aboriginals. Indeed it can be argued by acting the way he has Goodes has effectively stifled debate, and made it easier for reluctant decision makers to skirt the issue by talking about Adam Goodes, rather than tackling the infinitely more challenging problem itself. I ask you if that's really the kind of discussion we want to have on Aboriginal affairs, and if Adam Goodes is really the kind of person we want to see leading it.

Cameron, I used Chris Judd as one example but there are others from all teams who opposition supporters will boo just because they are playing against their team. If the booing of Adam Goodes is racially motivated please give me the name of any of the many indigenous players that are also booed as I can't think of any. Possibly the booing of Goodes stems from a perception that he has seemed to have gotten preferential treatment from the umpires or that he tries to obtain that preferential treatment by over acting for free kicks. There were also instances where he would slide into contests feet first which had the potential to injure other players. I cannot for certain tell you the reason that people boo him but I object to people saying that they know for sure that it is purely racially motivated.

Gene, Your argument appears to be based on the rationale that you believe it is a reasonable action to boo Adam Goodes due to his behaviours. I guess you mean both on and off the field? Col brings up the example of Chris Judd. Like many others before him he was booed primarily when he returned to play the team he departed. But this is a cry from crowds for disloyalty. Until of course he was reported for eye-gouging and other unsavoury on fields incidents. Can you please inform me what Adam Goodes has done on the field to deserve the boos, apart from the odd dive (which lets face it is quite minor)? This brings it down to off the field issues then. Does he really deserve to be bood? Certainly not the preferred behaviour I try to teach my children. You argue he has a me against the world attitude. You are clearly an intelligent and articulate writer, so why not put yourself in his shoes for a moment? He is a proud and passionate man. Like all intelligent and strong leaders he takes the opportunity presented by his skills and abilities to promote his cause. Nothing more nothing less. He wants to improve the lot of his people. Good on him. You taunt the author with an inability to debate the issues due to a polarised view of the events. I'm afraid you come across at the opposite end of that polarised view. Do yourself a favour and read the response of John Longmire to this whole saga. In essence he says "what drama"? "Take time to listen and be educated." As a learned person I'm sure you'll agree, we never stop learning. The fact this is even being debated speaks volumes about how far we have to go as a society.

Cheers Col. Players like Ablett Snr, Brereton, Rhys-Jones, Pickett, Lockett, Grinter,Hall & Baker were booed constantly because they played the man and played for free kicks. Aussie crowds hate those kinds of blokes, unless they happen to be playing for *your* club and then by some twist of psychology we often love them more than the average player! Goodes is no different. Its a laughably stupid cop-op to suggest that he is booed solely for his skin color or because he dares speak out on indigenous issues when many Aboriginal players have done likewise without copping flak. Was Nicky Winmar regularly booed for the rest of his career after lifting his shirt to the crowd at Victoria Park? Of course not. Australians aren't mindless racists who hate Aboriginal players, they're perfectly capable of judging a person's character without being blinded by their ancestry.

Well said Gene. Boo Adam Goodes and you are a racist, boo someone like Chris Judd (who is constantly booed by opposition supporters) and you are just a little bit naughty.

The writer is a full blown racist nutcase. But looking at Carlton fans behind the Goodes war dance you can see the majority were amused. It's only the weak that feel the need to carry on like this wasted so called writer. He is typical of the toxic Hawthorn drunken fan club.