'We're very proud of it': Matildas' special anti-racism statement before beating NZ

MIck, I am not saying anything ever prevented non-anglos from succeeding, but there was a bit of tension in 1960s and 1970s with southern Europeans. I am more talking about attitudes towards non-Europeans.

The problem we have in Australia is that some people are determined to find fault in what is one of the most wonderful societies the world has ever seen. Utopia will never be achieved but the west has gone very close to achieving, which is why everyone wants to come to the west.

100% correct, ABRP. Well said.

Ever noticed that those pesky Germans have ripped off the Aboriginal flag.

Man Larry Cowora i used to love that guy and I'm a Parramatta supporter.There was nothing better seeing him running down the sideline for Balmain.I remember him in the NSWRL T.V ad The Greatest Game of All.

"attitudes towards race have improved dramatically in the last 50 years" I guess you had to be there to understand those awful dark days - featuring Sir Nicholas Shehadie (Wallaby captain, Randwick's own, Sydney Lord Mayor, SBS Chairman), Dr Marie Bashir (violinist, surgeon, psychiatrist, State Governor); Tony Mundine, Max Krilich, Rocky Gattellari, Lionel Rose (we loved him, you'd be fair dinkum flat out finding a sports fan who didn't), Evonne Goolagong, Ben Elias, the mighty Arthur Beetson, Eric Simms and Kevin Longbottom of my beloved Souths, Bruce Olive, Larry Corowa, Spiro Zavos, Dr George Peponis (became a doctor under a play and study program created by a classic shameful, horrid Aussie bigoted white fella, Peter Moore; also became Canterbury captain and later chairman) – Greeks and Lebanese and Croatians and Aborigines there, all so obviously marginalised and cruelly prevented from succeeding.

It's all just about making the people who are doing the "protest" feel better about themselves. They're predominantly young and they've predominantly been brought up in an Australian education system that has taught them that everything white people has done is bad. This their way of staving off the self-loathing. The reality is that these gestures achieve nothing and are helping to divide western culture into groups. As far as race relations goes we have gone backwards in the past 10 years. People don't want to be as one and judge each other by the content of their character, which was the previous goal, they now want to use race as a tool to gain control. The people pushing these agendas are actually promoting and seeding racism. The loser in this will be white people, which the main outcome.

I hate this terminology. "Team USA", "Team GB". Nope, it's USA and Great Britain, just as everyone else is called by the country they represent.

Roberto, don’t be nieve it is all political. The social issues awareness you talk about is never meant to end. It takes away the focus from actual outcomes. We spend tens of billions each year on indigenous programmes to achieve some kind of social or income equity. You would think with that amount of money spent we would of achieved now. Instead of cheap stunts like this, maybe we should treat ‘indigenous ‘ persons like individuals instead of as a homogeneous group. Let them make their own decisions that is true equality.

Hello, it is Russia and China that spends most to secure the OG these days.

That is your opinion. If the complaining about our society goes on, and I suspect it will because the so-called virtuous believe they must reform us and rip every remnant of the past down, then I suspect Australia will also implode.

Kind of my point as Nick as articulated far better than I could have above. Beckham and Southgate weren't abused on the basis of skin colour because the perpetrators knew that wouldn't hurt or offend, telling Beckham they hoped his kids died of cancer was hurled to hurt and offend. Racism is the behaviour but imo not necessarily the problem, the problem is the intent to cause hurt and offence, racism may be vehicle.

There's no such things as "first nations" people in Australia. It's an Americanism that some people adopted. Aboriginal people lived in tribes, not nations. If anything it was closer to a provincial system than a national system. I don't get the current determination to paint Aboriginal culture as something that it's not. They were hunter-gatherers, that's beyond dispute. Be proud of that, there's nothing wrong with their way of life.

......we have 'thrown away' heaps of our relevant history since this 'history' was written by and for the status quo Chris. Much of our history has been conveniently omitted or expediently ignored and continues to be, whether that be indigenous or other. That we are attempting to redress at all is a positive to be sure. I would expect that we acknowledge all those past marginalised, conveniently omitted, treated with contempt, as a symbolic token of reconciliation on the one flag. I would lobby to have the Irish well and truly acknowledged in this fashion for example but the reality is that is not practicable. We are unlikely to realise significant change of any sort throughout what is our disparate and broken Federation of conservatism in my opinion. We can't even take the first step to self determination and that is to back ourselves as a 'sophisticated liberal democracy' as you like to say ( which I would argue is being savagely compromised such that we do not stack up against similar developed nations anymore) to fully embrace being a Republic. Australia has devolved more self ingratiating than ever before and reminds me very much of an inward looking USA, displaying little self reflection and a heap of jingoistic bravado that inhibits any progressive change.

It is very important that liberal democracies do not abandon their social gains. But, as the US situation demonstrates, progress can be stalled by rival groups of supporters. The cleavages in US society are enormous, much greater than here. , In 100 years the world will be a vastly different place, and I hope the strengths of liberalism prevail, but nothing is guaranteed.

The Bear The Olympics are already verging on irrelevancy, having become nothing more than a place where wealthy nations can show off how wealthy they are. That being the case, why not start using the Olympics to raise social awareness, and get us back a tiny bit closer to the original intent of the Olympics? Also, why do some view concern about social issues as being political? I don't get that. Concern for your fellow human is not a political issue.

Chris.....as an interesting observation, the 'dark past' was considered 'acceptable' to that predominant society. Same could readily be said of historic events in Russia, China and so on. The take away is that we Judge the past based on community understanding in 2021, how will society judge our norms in 100 years time.....what would be accepted by society. If we say hopefully better, again that could be relevant to our thoughts in 2021. For all we know, the freedoms to express an opinion we currently have may not exist.

Go woke, go broke. When the ratings hit the toilet and advertisers pay less the virtue signalling will suddenly stop. I can see the woke Olympics going down the gurgler like the woke Oscars.

Same for the Kiwis? Have there been any recent moved in either country to pick a new flag?

I dont think we should throw away any of our history. We should be proud of the contribution of all our backgrounds. Although a child of southern Europeans, I am extremely proud of our political roots that come from the ideas of liberalism that has allowed us to develop a sophisticated liberal democracy that sanctions and defends freedom of expression and association. Australia has a dark past, but it has evolved into one of the great societies imo.