Adam Goodes says the country of Australia is founded on Lies.....not happy with Capt James Cook either and wants to change the school curriculum.
Generally seems to be a unhappy Australian and not enjoying his life at the minute, I understand he sees himself as a campaigner for anti-racism and I dont have a problem with that but I thought he might adopt a more positive approach and use his position to promote the positives of the country to overcome racism.Some people will view his comments about Capt Cook as anti white racism...better the school curriculum tell the whole story about our indigenous history as well as Cooks landing....
Like to see Adam appreciate what he has and what this country offers and while not perfect its not a bad place to live.....
I guess if you are one of the best indigenous football players to ever play the game and yet are still confronted with being called racist names by fans whenever you run out on the field, and even by the boss of the largest sporting club in Australia on his radio show, you might think differently about it being a pretty good place.
I guess if you are one of the best indigenous football players to ever play the game and yet are still confronted with being called racist names by fans whenever you run out on the field, and even by the boss of the largest sporting club in Australia on his radio show, you might think differently about it being a pretty good place.
Point taken about the personal attacks he has endured but I would have thought his job as Australian of the year was to unite Australians...not divide them
I guess if you are one of the best indigenous football players to ever play the game and yet are still confronted with being called racist names by fans whenever you run out on the field, and even by the boss of the largest sporting club in Australia on his radio show, you might think differently about it being a pretty good place.
Point taken about the personal attacks he has endured but I would have thought his job as Australian of the year was to unite Australians...not divide them
Bang on, guilting young Australian's who had nothing to do with what happened in the 18th,19th, and earlier 20th centuries about all the bad crap that went down isn't going to help anyone.
All you can do is make sure that everyone treats one another equally and encourage friendliness and compassion.
While I think Captain Cook often gets bad press - his feats of navigation should be admired by all - school children being taught that he 'discovered' Australia is wrong and divisive.
Aboriginal Australians discovered Australia at least 60,000 years before Cook and they were followed by Melanesians, Macassans, Portuguese, Dutch and even William Dampier saw Australia before Cook.
It's a complicated issue but, for the original Australians, recognition of their long history in our land by those who came later is an essential element of a united Australia. Goodes, as an Aboriginal person in a position of influence, has no option but to promote a more balanced view of our continent's history.
No country is perfect, but I agree with Elwood. There are many countries that have their native people far worse than we do in Australia. Try to unite society and not set up barriers to divide and highlight racism. This country generally offers all race and sexes an opportunity to lead a happy life with success. All depending on work ethics and individual effort. I understand his opinion and feelings. I just hope he is aware he may divide many and create issues being too pedantic.
While I think Captain Cook often gets bad press - his feats of navigation should be admired by all - school children being taught that he 'discovered' Australia is wrong and divisive.
Aboriginal Australians discovered Australia at least 60,000 years before Cook and they were followed by Melanesians, Macassans, Portuguese, Dutch and even William Dampier saw Australia before Cook.
It's a complicated issue but, for the original Australians, recognition of their long history in our land by those who came later is an essential element of a united Australia. Goodes, as an Aboriginal person in a position of influence, has no option but to promote a more balanced view of our continent's history.
Like I said DJ I dont have a problem with that at all and the curriculum should tell the entire story and Cook is only a small part of that history all be it a large turning point and it should be a
balanced view in all Aus schools.. I just wish he said it like you did and it didnt come out as bitter and with a petty edge to it.
I think Adam Goodes can be the bigger/better man rather than the bitter man as Australlian of the year and forgive the name calling, even forgive Eddie McGuire(yeah I know thats hard) and he will come out a winner and the majority of the public would look up and admire him and listen to what he is saying and learn something.....
At the moment I think he is wasting that opportunity and he is better than that IMO...
There are many countries that have their native people far worse than we do in Australia.
True Mantis, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to be the best (or let the Kiwis show us up). It's not that hard to acknowledge that the First Australians have a long history that predates the arrival of Europeans.
I just wish he said it like you did and it didnt come out as bitter and with a petty edge to it.
I'm speaking as an informed yet dispassionate observer EB. Goodes is living it and probably finds it hard to speak about it without his feelings getting in the way.
Some of my Aboriginal colleagues could discuss these issues superbly, but they were educators/administrators/bureaucrats, not footballers. Put Noel Pearson, Marcia Langton, etc in that role and they would be able to express their views in a more inclusive way.
I just wish he said it like you did and it didnt come out as bitter and with a petty edge to it.
I'm speaking as an informed yet dispassionate observer EB. Goodes is living it and probably finds it hard to speak about it without his feelings getting in the way.
Some of my Aboriginal colleagues could discuss these issues superbly, but they were educators/administrators/bureaucrats, not footballers. Put Noel Pearson, Marcia Langton, etc in that role and they would be able to express their views in a more inclusive way.
Point taken DJ and I guess I will cut AG some slack on his delivery style......
There are many countries that have their native people far worse than we do in Australia.
True Mantis, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to be the best (or let the Kiwis show us up). It's not that hard to acknowledge that the First Australians have a long history that predates the arrival of Europeans.
That I agree with 100%. We can't forget that the arrival of all cultures of the entire world has forged this country to be what it is now. Imagine landing here today for the first time. Would we have roads, homes, buildings, roads, jobs etc, without a cultural an educational input from people of other nations ? I agree we should always try to be better, and acknowledge our native history. We also need to acknowledge how we have fabricated a new lifestyle due to imports of the last 200 years or so also.
Don't know if many of you tune in to "Ted Radio Hour" on RN Saturday nights but is great listening. Last Saturday I was amazed to discover that aborigines were here 5000 year before Europeans were settled.
http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/357837221/how-it-all-began?showDate=2014-10-24
I guess if you are one of the best indigenous football players to ever play the game and yet are still confronted with being called racist names by fans whenever you run out on the field, and even by the boss of the largest sporting club in Australia on his radio show, you might think differently about it being a pretty good place.
An now he gets booed on the footy field. Pure racism.
I guess if you are one of the best indigenous football players to ever play the game and yet are still confronted with being called racist names by fans whenever you run out on the field, and even by the boss of the largest sporting club in Australia on his radio show, you might think differently about it being a pretty good place.
An now he gets booed on the footy field. Pure racism.
Why do you think he gets booed?
Because of the stand he's made against racism....and then people think he stages for free kicks so they say hey if you're going to make such a stand against racism and stage for frees you should get booed when in reality the two are so far apart in importance it's just not funny. It's just an excuse to boo him and what he stands for, anyone with half a brain can see that. And the people booing will say they're not being racist and it just highlights the ignorance in society today and the typical VB culture at the footy. People will laugh and applaud Jake King for going into the crowd and skulling a beer but criticise Goodes for standing up for his people.
Problem with this discussion is that if you don't have an opinion that meshes with the politically correct one, you're labelled a rascist/misogynist etc. This stifles any meaningful debate and reduces the possibility of action that will make any meaningful difference.
I guess if you are one of the best indigenous football players to ever play the game and yet are still confronted with being called racist names by fans whenever you run out on the field, and even by the boss of the largest sporting club in Australia on his radio show, you might think differently about it being a pretty good place.
An now he gets booed on the footy field. Pure racism.
Why do you think he gets booed?
I suspect he is booed due to his 'diving/faking' and sliding into blokes with his knees. I admire what he is doing for indigenous Aussies and I also admire his amazing skills when playing our game. But his posing and crude tackling at times deserves a good booing.
Was he booed for this prior to speaking out against racism? I don't think so.
Was he booed for this prior to speaking out against racism? I don't think so.
Carrots,...there is something in what you say about him being booed more since becoming more vocal on racial issues but he has also become a more dirty
player with age as he looks to take some shortcuts to compensate for getting slower/older.
I didnt have a problem with him outing the young girl who abused him on the boundary line and I thought he handled himself ok but a lot of others did
have a problem due to the girls age and I think the lack of overall support including Eddies stupid comments later hurt him and made him into the cranky Aus of the year.
AG needs to win over his audience more to make the changes to society that he wants and I think he needs to sell his message in a smoother fashion...you have to win over the average punter
not whack them everytime you get whacked....
The average punter will never learn, once they've got a few VBs in them they simply don't care.
The average punter will never learn, once they've got a few VBs in them they simply don't care.
I think that's probably a little unfair PI2C. It seems to me that many footy fans won't tolerate racism now and will happily report racists.
I suspect that Goodes is booed for different reasons and perhaps some may be legitimate (staging, cheap hits, tribunal leniency, etc) but there probably is a racist element too.
I reckon it's fair enough to boo a player who does something unfair during a game but I don't agree with premeditated booing.
Yep fair enough I am generalising a little I guess. But to me it's clear that he gets booed for taking a stance against the racism and if that hadn't have happened there would be no booing. Look at Matty Lloyd biggest diver/sniper of all time but only we booed him and that was when he was lining up for goal!
It's a fine line to tread unfortunately between quite rightly exposing racist attitudes and actions and appearing too PC or precious.
We are living through a transitional time where new attitudes are being formed - it's difficult and takes time to get good attitudes entrenched as normal and accepted as such. Sometimes it seems like we are not progressing, so I can fully understand why Goodes gets frustrated and speaks out in strong terms on occasion.
Here is an interesting article I read.
The Goodes oil on racial politics
Posted by: Bernard Gaynor
Adam Goodes says he doesn’t want to just be remembered as a footballer.
I’d say he’s probably going to get his wish and a lot more. Given his latest outburst claiming that Australia is a racist nation based on lies, Goodes is well on the way to making sure that he’s not remembered as a footballer at all.
And that is a pity, because that is what Goodes is actually good at. He is athletic, has great skills and can play the game very well. He’s won two premierships and has twice been recognised as the best player in the league.
But Goodes won’t be remembered for any of that. He’ll be remembered as a sook and Australia’s least favourite Australian of the Year. Let’s hope that we never have another one who is so proud of bullying a little girl into a police interrogation cell.
As I have written previously, that entire incident was a disgrace. If footballers don’t want to be compared to big, hairy gorillas, they should get another job. After all, they are paid a small fortune to entertain the masses by thuggishly chasing a bit of pigskin around a modern coliseum. Just like a bunch of monkeys.
And if Goodes is doing everything possible to ensure he’s not remembered as a footballer, he’s also doing just as good a job making sure that he is remembered as a terrible historian.
That’s because he can’t even get his facts straight about what’s going on today.
Goodes claims that children are taught that Captain Cook ‘founded’ Australia. That’s not true and that’s why no one is able to produce any textbooks to back up his statement. Furthermore, children aren’t taught that this great explorer even ‘found’ Australia either. He is celebrated for being the first European to discover and chart our eastern coastline.
Anyone who knows anything about history will know that James Cook was not the first European explorer to reach Australia. And you don’t even need to be a historian to know this.
In 1985, as Australians were gearing up for the bicentennial celebrations, letters were whizzing around the country with stamps commemorating the other men who reached Australia before Cook and who were even shipwrecked here.
australia-1985-relics-from-early-shipwrecks-set-fine-mint-24682-p1985 Australian stamps depicting artefacts from shipwrecks in Australia between 1629 and 1727.
stamps navigators1985 Australian stamps commemorating explorers who discovered parts of Australia before James Cook.
And the year before these issues were released was the very first bicentennial stamp issue.
Guess what it featured? That’s right: Aboriginal art.
aboriginal stampsThe very first set of Australian stamps celebrating the 1988 Bicentenary.
So much for Goodes’ claims. Schoolkids have been cataloguing and collecting stamps depicting key moments in Australian history for a long time and they all know that the Australian of the Year is speaking rubbish.
If Goodes really wants to address the lies, he should start by putting a halt to the myth of invasion.
There was no invasion. There was no war. There was no genocide.
And if anyone did try genocide, then they could rightly be described as pretty lousy mass murderers.
There was, however, a settlement. And despite claims of 40,000 years of Aboriginal presence on this continent, it was not until 1788 that civilisation arrived.
It is true to say that the import of foreign diseases took a terrible toll on the indigenous populations.
But it is also true to say that there was hunger and hardship for those who did not know the land. And they faced the same diseases as well.
And there were sporadic atrocities. They were carried out not only by some settlers, but by some of the Aboriginals as well. Any historian who tries to portray these incidents as somehow being central to the story of Australia since 1788 is really missing the forest for the clump of grass way off in the distance.
The big story is that a vast and empty continent inhabited by a small population of nomads was transformed into a civilised and prosperous nation, with opportunity for all. And if that opportunity is not taken, the responsibility does not lie with Captain Cook, or with some hardworking farmer who cleared a block of land with his hands in the 1850s. It lies with the self-piteous individual who has a sense of entitlement that is only beaten in size by his victim mentality.
Adam Goodes should ponder that. And he should also reassess his view of ‘racist’ laws and programs in Australia.
If Goodes is really intent on removing these things, he should get up and can Abstudy.
Why does one 22 year old student get paid $515.60 and another student studying exactly the same course and living in exactly the same conditions get paid $272.80?
I’ll tell you why. Our government says that one ‘race’ is worthy of more money than any other. That would be the Aboriginal race. Hence the name ‘Abstudy’.
It is an inherently racist program.
Now I readily admit that some Aboriginals live in difficult conditions. But their Aboriginality is not central to that. Family dysfunction and a cultural malaise are the primary factors for this situation.
And, sadly, there are non-Aboriginal people also living in the same circumstances.
If the government really wants to address these issues, it should not take a racist approach, but a rational approach that provides support based on circumstances instead of skin colour. And that support should not entrench the problems, but should encourage people to take their own initiative to rise above them.
Let’s hear the Australian of the Year back that.
I think Bernard Gaynor has taken the issue to where we dont want it taken and thats people taking sides and its an example of how AG's delivery of his message has polarised the community rather than uniting one and all in a bid to educate them..
We have Gaynor accusing Goodes of bullying the young girl and being a sook.......that is how 50% of the population would see Goodes IMO and thats not how he should be thought of or remembered.
There is a fine line in Australia between making your point and being seen as a whinger and both Gaynor and Neil Mitchell are pushing Goodes image as the latter...
You look at Michael Long and seems to have the public onside when he supports or endorses a cause and i think Adam Goodes needs to take a look at how Long projects himself to the public and he would find people like Gaynor and Mitchell more sympathetic and less critical...
Yeah, I agree EB, I don't think Goodes has done himself any favors.
He is certainly not deserved of the criticism he's copping. Warne has a crack and all the yobbos follow.
He is certainly not deserved of the criticism he's copping. Warne has a crack and all the yobbos follow.
Problem is Warnie is a likable airheaded knob(yobbo) who would tell you Captain Cooks first name was Alistair and he was a left handed opener if asked
but who has the personality to sell himself and his ideas for better or worse..
AG doesnt have that same media/public friendly image/personality even though he is probably way more intelligent and educated on a variety of subjects
that SK Warne.
Bernard Gaynor is an ignorant racist butthole!
The Aboriginal population of what is now Victoria was somewhere between 25,000 and 50,000 in the early 1800s. Fifty years after European settlement, Victoria's Aboriginal population had been reduced to less than 1,000 people. That may not be genocide but it's bloody close.
Schoolchildren aren't taught anything about that side of our colonial history.
Bernard Gaynor is an ignorant racist butthole!
The Aboriginal population of what is now Victoria was somewhere between 25,000 and 50,000 in the early 1800s. Fifty years after European settlement, Victoria's Aboriginal population had been reduced to less than 1,000 people. That may not be genocide but it's bloody close.
Schoolchildren aren't taught anything about that side of our colonial history.
I was, I was taught that it was disease that killed them.
Bernard Gaynor is an ignorant racist butthole!
The Aboriginal population of what is now Victoria was somewhere between 25,000 and 50,000 in the early 1800s. Fifty years after European settlement, Victoria's Aboriginal population had been reduced to less than 1,000 people. That may not be genocide but it's bloody close.
Schoolchildren aren't taught anything about that side of our colonial history.
I was, I was taught that it was disease that killed them.
Yes LR, disease played a part but it was also the excuse used by squatters to explain the sudden disappearance of Aboriginal people from their runs. Victoria's first European settlers came from Tasmania and were experienced participants in the Black War.
Did you learn about the Coniston Massacre in the NT? It was the last known massacre and between 60 and 100 Aboriginal men, women and children were slaughtered. It happened in 1928!
If you set yourself up as a critic of past practices and attitudes you find that there will be a certain group you will alienate very quickly. That's not saying it's wrong, or that you shouldn't do it but it's just what happens.
Indigenous history is very complicated
Written records are scarce on the native side of things.
History was passed down through word of mouth and as we must accept, in some retelling, things may be forgotten or are influenced by the teller.
Just as the written "Eurpoean" viewpoint is slanted and biased by the tellers of those tales.
Discussion and investigation is important, it should be encouraged...but there are a couple of barriers that seem to exist in this respect.
The more obvious one is the indigenous side of things where for a long time they've struggled for recognition of key elements in the European/ Indigenous relationship/history. Many folk are still un-accepting or lacking knowledge of the injustices wrought on Aboriginal Australians.
The less obvious one is the aspect mentioned earlier by Professor E
Problem with this discussion is that if you don't have an opinion that meshes with the politically correct one, you're labelled a rascist/misogynist etc. This stifles any meaningful debate and reduces the possibility of action that will make any meaningful difference.
People often don't feel comfortable about discussing issues because they feel they will be labelled and looked at a certain way.
I'll give you an example, It's one I don't talk much about for the very reason mentioned above.
In the 1970's I worked for the NSW Department of Community services. I worked in a receiving/ remand centre for potential State Wards. We accepted kids who, for various reasons, mostly abuse and neglect were taken from their families. We were a stop off point while families were either worked with for the return of their children or the children were committed to State care and "institutionalised". Aboriginal children were disproportinately represented but we also catered for a good number of anglo and other ethnic groups. In effect I was a part of the ''system'' at the tail end of what has become known as the Stolen Generation..... but it was a "generation" that included not just Aboriginal children.
There is no doubt in my mind that there were many children who were taken from family situations that shouldn't have been.There were other situations that could have been better managed. In a lot of cases these kids would have been better staying with their families if support could have been provided....but resources were thin and the required level of support was not possible. That lack of resources for community child welfare remains a problem even to this day. Sadly in some cases these children fell victim to institutional abuse from the very people delegated with the responsibility for caring for them. That's something we should all be "Sorry" about
But...and here's the point I find difficult to state for fear of retribution and condemnation......I firmly believe there are kids who are alive today because they were removed from a family situation so terrible that you couldn't imagine.
So ask me about the Stolen Generation and you'll get a pretty mixed (up) message.
Good post Lods.
I firmly believe there are kids who are alive today because they were removed from a family situation so terrible that you couldn't imagine..
I know quite a few Stolen Gens folk who would agree with you.
Because of the stand he's made against racism....and then people think he stages for free kicks so they say hey if you're going to make such a stand against racism and stage for frees you should get booed when in reality the two are so far apart in importance it's just not funny. It's just an excuse to boo him and what he stands for, anyone with half a brain can see that. And the people booing will say they're not being racist and it just highlights the ignorance in society today and the typical VB culture at the footy. People will laugh and applaud Jake King for going into the crowd and skulling a beer but criticise Goodes for standing up for his people.
The only fans I've heard boo him are Hawthorn fans and that's because of a couple of kicking and sliding incidents from a couple of years ago. We've certainly never booed him. (except for maybe the standard shot at goal boo.)
Pretty sure Pies fans were booing him.
Pretty sure Pies fans were booing him.
They haven't played Collingwood in Melbourne since the King Kong controversy. Don't get me wrong there are racist fans out there but Goodes wasn't booed in the GF because he is black like some media and Sydney fans tried to insinuate. Ironic the same Sydney fans crying racism for the booing of Goodes used to boo Buddy.
Pretty sure I remember him being booed in games other than Hawks games.
Re the Hawks have they been booing him for a while or since Warnie had a crack on twitter?
Pretty sure I remember him being booed in games other than Hawks games.
Re the Hawks have they been booing him for a while or since Warnie had a crack on twitter?
Since this incident which was a year after beings suspended for tripping Guerrera.
[flash=600,400]http://www.youtube.com/v/KyD_0gN1kC0[/flash]
I can't remember the Guerra incident, was that the time Goodes was lying on the ground and stuck his boot out at the passing player, or was it a sliding in tackle incident?
Caroline Wilson has written quite long editorial piece on the Goodes situation, it's all about racism apparently and I'm sure the BBC socialists making the mentioned documentary will take that angle very strongly.
I wonder if Caro is a shareholder in the production!
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/adam-goodes-controversy-a-sorry-affair-for-football-20180420-p4zapq.html
Staging and events like those above are hardly mentioned!
I still remember the day they showed video highlights of Goodes staging for free kicks, and he flatly denied staging despite one of the clips clearly showing that he threw himself on the ground after an air-swing at him by an opponent!
It was a very sad end to a champions career, but that is what money does in the end, too many of past champions cling on hoping for one more pay packet!
You know I'm not a fan of JTurd, so this one sticks with me because I hate CheatsFC so much!
(https://proxy.bigfooty.com/forum/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.makeagif.com%2Fmedia%2F6-29-2015%2FWDGaFg.gif&hash=0d575ea9c16c7227a28cadf9d510a01f)
A Dawks supporting mate sent me this image as well.
(http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/4287486-3x2-940x627.jpg)
No wonder the Dawks hated him!