I’m going to do the opposite of ‘virtue signaling’ (the cover-all insult du jour) here. I’m going to signal my own complicity, duplicity, hypocrisy and all-round cowardice.
Our story begins on Saturday, when I caught a train to a stadium in my own city to cover a rugby league game for the first time in two years.
With the regular reporter off sick, I was to write a match report for London Broncos versus Salford Red Devils at Ealing Trailfinders – and pick up any news that was kicking around – for the Monday magazine, League Weekly.
Normally, I am to be found in the bar at Trailfinders, not the press box.
But they say reporting is like riding a bike. Anyone who has ever covered a game with me will be able to tell you I’m the ultimate Mr Bean-style bumbler. It kind of goes with the anticipation of working at a rugby league game for me, to be running late, flustered, missing something or other.
Covering rugby league games was more like falling off a bike, repeatedly, than riding one for me.
Sure enough, I left an essential item at home – a phone-charge cable – and had to go back for it. Then I got on the wrong train – twice. I missed my stop, went back, then got back on the same train and overshot it again. Finally, rifling through my bag when I sat down in the modest press box at Trailfinders, I realised I didn’t have my computer cable.
“Ah,” I thought to myself as I pulled up my hood against the bitter London wind, “just like the old days.”
The media box at Trailfinders was sparsely populated – at first. It was also set aside for visiting directors but none were present. A couple of Salford fans – they seem Salford fans, they cheered for them – sat down in front of us. Knowledgable northerners, you know the type – know their second-man plays from their dual reg’.
Now I’m going to pause here. I am only recounting what I heard because of what one of them said, to nobody in particular. Where do we draw then line between ear-wigging and righteous policing of community standards? That’s one of the questions I want to address here.
Perhaps some of you think I have no right to be recounting this at all, even though the people around us must have known we were media representatives. In this way, I am reminded of the State of Origin where one of the overflow media boxes was next to a coach’s box and one reporter duly wrote, word for word, what a coach said throughout the game.
Anyway, these fellas were happy to engage us in conversation, asking those sort of open questions which you invite strangers in close proximity to answer.
“Why is Walker out?”
Then, about ten or 15 minutes in, the guy in front says – to no-one in particular and not loudly – “g’warn ya monkey.”
I scan the field for the guy who has the ball, kind of thinking it is probably just gangly white guy and that my initial reaction is baseless. Sure enough though, Salford winger Derrell Olpherts has the ball. He is black.
The guy in front of me, his friend’s head jolts up, looks at him and waves a finger at him. The body language is unmistakable: “You can’t say that.”
But he has a gentle smile on his face, like a disapproving parent.
I want to make this clear: although I believe the club received multiple complaints about racist chanting, this was not a chant. It was one comment, said loud enough for people in perhaps a four-metre radius to hear. The player was 100 metres away, it was not directed at him. There was no repeat of racism from this individual.
If someone at the ground was challenged for a racist chant and indicated he did not care one iota and refused to apologise, it was not this guy.
It was someone else.
Anyway, I’ve only read about this stuff. I’ve never heard it with my own ears, not as an adult anyway. When I was a kid I heard, and probably used myself, casually racist terms that are now anathema. But as an adult, I’d never heard someone say something that was so much an indication of their own belief that a bloke they were watching was further down the evolutionary ladder than them.
I spend the rest of the first half in a state of mild panic. Should I have said something – his friend had already admonished him, albeit gently. Should I write about this?
At the break, the offender tried to engage me in conversation. I just looked away.
I left the ground with no intention to write about it. But when I made some calls the next day, it was raised without prompting in a conversation about something else. It was ‘out there’, as we say in the trade, and therefore the decision had been made for me.
I say I’m complicit because I said nothing at the time. I say I’m duplicitous because I wrote about it only when I thought others were. I say I’m hypocritical because I would now help the club identify the man but at the time I intended to say and do nothing.
I say I’m a coward because of all of the above.
And finally, I ask you what you would have done in this situation? In an age where there just seems to be one right and one wrong way to deal with racism, I expect to read a wide range of responses.
Old Bill
Guest
I was once at a Raiders' game (circa 2013) in Canberra and had a bloke sitting a couple of rows behind me use similar language repeatedly to his girlfriend. Now, I am no fighter, but I am 6' 1", and this tool was of lesser physical stature. Despite being in no danger, I am ashamed to say that I too stayed silent and have remonstrated with myself ever since. I vowed that day I would act differently in future but have yet to be tested.
Dutski
Roar Guru
Steve I'd like to think I'd say something at the time, but I'd probably wouldn't. I don't know. Thanks for sharing.
numpty
Roar Rookie
Great piece, writing this more than makes up for your lack of reaction at the game. I also wish I had an answer, and the courage at times as well.
AJ
Guest
As a young person you made some stupid racist remarks, possibly because many of the adults in your life made even more? That would be the case with me. Same with other minorities. These weren’t evil people, quite the reverse. These were loving, gentle, community minded people who would never have dreamed of insulting anyone to their face or causing hurt. I don’t know why we say these stupid judgemental things but surely it’s getting better. I for one would never say a racist or mean things about other people around my kids and if someone else did I would have to object, ask them to refrain, call security whatever. I hopefully wouldn’t be judging them too harshly either.
Jonestown PA
Guest
Steve should have followed the guy home , perhaps he would have had his sprinklers on , on a no watering day.
Doc79
Guest
Little minds are of little consequence. People should just give up on thinking that everything in the world should be moulded to their own tastes or sensibilities. What's that saying?... Diversity is our strength or is it, sticks and stones...?
Paul
Roar Guru
Darwin was a pretty small town in those days and really put the M into multicultural Australia. Most people knew each other if they were involved in sport and me and most of my mates played at least 3 and often 4 or 5 sports, so we were used to mixing quite happily with people from different backgrounds. Sure there were blues, but 99% of the time it had nothing to do with race, just someone being a DH.
Jimbob
Guest
Wow... pretty extraordinary that there was such unanimous condemnation, in Darwin in the 80s
Birdy
Roar Rookie
Ok so you front a bloke who is using racist or insulting language. In today's society you ask yourself 2 questions 1) is he on drugs 2) if by confronting him it gets physical what are the chances you will be charged with assault?
Don
Roar Rookie
Great post GH. We were in our Company’s corporate box at Suncorp last year and a radio network has the box next to us. They had a guest giving the grog a nudge who loudly was referring to the non caucasian players as “coconuts” After hearing it the first time I spoke with the host next door, who we commonly chat with on game days, that his guest needs to stop the abuse. I don’t know if our own staff or guests were offended but I also didn’t want anyone going home with the racist comments as what they remembered more than the footy and hospitality. The second time the bloke let rip the host quietly told him he’s got to leave and had a rep put him in a taxi. I would not have done anything differently to Steve. Had it continued past the initial admonishment from his mate, I would have told a stadium attendant. A good mate is in management with AEG Ogden. It doesn’t matter if you are in a box or cheap seats, if there’s racist abuse being thrown around they want you to discreetly talk to an attendant and they will deal with it from there. They have pretty low tolerance for it. Not all their staff are in high vis and they’ll put someone who looks like an average punter nearby and if it continues they will turf them out.
BennO
Roar Rookie
I'm not talking about a full blown aggressive attack on someone either. I'm talking about the someone getting called out on it in public by a stranger that Gray-Hand said couldn't work. I disagree with that, it can work. When I talk about humiliation I'm talking about the inevitable sting of humiliation that comes from someone telling you in public that you've acted poorly. Unless someone is a sociopath or something like that, they will feel that when called out on their racism in public by strangers. Most will reflect on that later even if they are upset by it at the time.
Wal
Roar Guru
Great piece Steve, Its a really tough one, casual racism like the incident you describe is continually down played here in Aussie as the Larrikin nature. But not until you experience it everyday can you truly appreciate the effect it has on confidence and feeling of inferiority. My regretful experience was with a neighbor who referred to the new family moving in too the street as "Curry Munchers". To my shame I said nothing. A close mate I would have given a gobful, a more casual acquaintance I held my tongue. And I couldn't tell you why.
Paul
Roar Guru
"In an age where there just seems to be one right and one wrong way to deal with racism". Really? Just one way? There are probably thousands of ways to manage this type of issue but there is one abiding point - you have a split second to decide EXACTLY what action you are or are not going to take and very often don't even have the time to think about consequences. The longer you leave a reaction to the person making these comments, the more empowered they feel, so saying or doing something even 10 seconds later is way too late. Remember too, many who make this sort of comment do so to provoke a reaction, so they're well prepared for any sort of aggressive retaliation. A lot of years ago, I watched a Great Britain tour match in Darwin featuring Henderson Gill on the wing. He broke the game open in the second half with an 80 metre run that ended up in front of where I was standing. It was a stunning try and as he's running back, some DH in the crowd yelled out "Nice try you black b......d". The silence lasted maybe a second then a woman who was all of 5 foot tall absolutely lit into this guy and the rest of us joined in. Not one punch was thrown, the cops weren't called but this guy left the ground and as he did people kept giving it to him. Timing's everything, especially in this sort of situation. Don't second guess yourself and don't underestimate the importance of writing pieces like this, after the event. Your words on websites can be way more valuable than having a verbal stoush at a footy game.
Nat
Roar Guru
I think 99% of people don't want to get into that altercation in the first place and the perpetrator probably didn't either. A simple admonishment can have the same effect your referring too without publicly challenging and humiliating them that may result in a physical altercation.
BennO
Roar Rookie
Well said and all but I'm not convinced of the assumptions: " It never works when directed in a hostile way towards a particular target – in fact it is more likely to make the target feel persecuted and to entrench those views" and "No one has ever been cured of racism by being called out on it in public by a stranger." If a person has no innate capacity, interest and/or willingness to change, that may be true. But feelings of humiliation that can come from a sharp rebuke, while bringing an initial flush of anger, can induce self-reflection later that can lead to changes in behaviour and thinking. In the moment a person might defend themselves because it's human nature to do so but later, they may very well think about what happened and see the error in their ways. I'm sure we've all sat back after a heated argument and thought, I guess I did act inappropriately. I don't believe the same isn't possible here, particularly with casual racism like the one described as opposed to stuff like the Fraser Annings of the world believe. I'm not saying it will always be effective, just disagreeing that it will never be effective and that I think there's definitely value in calling people out in the moment.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Wonderfully written GH...sums up my thoughts and feelings on this far more eloquently than I could have done.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
I don’t think you have behaved inappropriately. A guy made an openly racist remark in public. You shunned him. That is as much as you are morally required to do. His friend, who probably knows how to deal with him, dealt with him by mildly rebuking him. That appears to have been immediately effective in preventing further racist outbursts and also probably more effective in the long term than if you had given him a public dressing down. No one has ever been cured of racism by being called out on it in public by a stranger. They just think that the stranger is a virtue signalling busy-body bully. Combating racism is indeed virtuous and public denunciation of such behaviour is important, so virtue signalling definitely has its place. Signalling approval of particular behaviour reinforces those values and strengthens them across the community. It never works when directed in a hostile way towards a particular target - in fact it is more likely to make the target feel persecuted and to entrench those views, but it the real benefit is with the wider audience. Israel Folau for instance is no doubt more committed than ever to his homophobia, but Australia as a whole is probably more gay friendly as a result of the recent dramas. In your case, given your platform as a writer, you are able to signal your disapproval of this guy’s racist behaviour far more widely and effectively by writing about it later than if you had called him up on it in front of only 10 or so people. Also - it’s only hypocrisy when the saying and the doing are concurrent. For example - calling for people to immediately publicly confront someone who makes a racist remark, while having no intention of ever doing so yourself. It isn’t hypocrisy when the saying and the doing are merely consecutive - a person can voice a belief about something, then later change their mind on an issue and act in accordance with their new outlook without being a hypocrite. So you can let yourself off the hook on that one.
Jonestown PA
Guest
You think too much. Get over it.
BennO
Roar Rookie
I'll match your honesty with my own. What I would have done depends on the physical difference between me and the racist bloke. If he is bigger and looks potentially threatening, I'd say nothing and sit there stewing on it for the rest of the game. Disgusted and angry at his attitude and also disgusted and angry at my own cowardice. If the guy is smaller than me or younger, I would say something about how that's not on. But I'd not be aggressive about it, probably a little more severe than his mate but as I generally try to avoid confrontation I'd try to be friendly about it. Then I'd sit there stewing about how I should have been more forthright about it.