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borderbarry wrote:It is the way that aboriginal people were treated in the past by the white majority, that we have an indigenous round, to recognise that we now treat them equally.
But by having a dedicated round we are not treating them equally! We are doing the opposite.
Indegenous players are as important to this game as any other category of players.
The best way I've found to show respect to someone is to treat them the same way you treat everyone else. Don't highlight the fact that they're different by embarrassing them with their own round.
Actions like the racial vilification act would do far more to rectify the wrongs than a special round and a game between Richmond and Essendon.
borderbarry wrote:It is the way that aboriginal people were treated in the past by the white majority, that we have an indigenous round, to recognise that we now treat them equally.
But by having a dedicated round we are not treating them equally! We are doing the opposite.
Indegenous players are as important to this game as any other category of players.
The best way I've found to show respect to someone is to treat them the same way you treat everyone else. Don't highlight the fact that they're different by embarrassing them with their own round.
Actions like the racial vilification act would do far more to rectify the wrongs than a special round and a game between Richmond and Essendon.
Id agree with that if the players didnt want this to happen but from what you hear, they think this round is fantastic.
borderbarry wrote:Was it Glenn James, the aboriginal umpire? You can imagine the struggle in the minds of racist supporters who were going to call him a white maggot.
...and a pretty good ump he was too, from faint memory. Unlike some of the more recent 'superstars' we've been supplied by the AFL.
one of the best actually
.everybody still loves lenny....and we always will
"Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of a free society,"
However, freedom of expression is not encouraged in certain forums.
borderbarry wrote:Dont forget there was a time in the not so distant past when an aboriginal player could not be played simply because he was aboriginal. Probably in the days when the White Australia policy reigned supreme.
im with you bb. aboriginal people were part of the flora and funa act until 1967. So its very well to say - "oh why single them out" but thats not really good enough given the history.
i think the afl has done a pretty good job on this issue and helped lead community attitudes so the round is still a worthwhile thing. maybe one day in the future we can scrap it because there will be no difefrences. but i dont think we are there yet.
borderbarry wrote:Dont forget there was a time in the not so distant past when an aboriginal player could not be played simply because he was aboriginal. Probably in the days when the White Australia policy reigned supreme.
im with you bb. aboriginal people were part of the flora and funa act until 1967. So its very well to say - "oh why single them out" but thats not really good enough given the history.
i think the afl has done a pretty good job on this issue and helped lead community attitudes so the round is still a worthwhile thing. maybe one day in the future we can scrap it because there will be no difefrences. but i dont think we are there yet.
I am pretty sure aborigines were playing in the AFL prior to that (Polly Farmer, for example). Football has always tended to lead society in the treatment of people based on the person and not the colour of their skin, the length of their surname or the god they pray to.
Life Long Saint wrote:There is certainly no place for racism in any form at the footy or in society in general.
But I am not convinced that highlighting a minority group is actually helping the cause. The unintended consequence of this is to show that they are different. We should be working toward a scenario where we don't even see that they are indegenous.
They are footballers. There should be no difference in how we view Nick Riewoldt compared to Liam Jurrah. They should be compared on football talent and conduct not skin colour or heritage.
The other question is, if we must have these theme rounds then, why do we limit it to indigenous players? Why not a general non-Australian round. The AFL CEO was one of the early greek (or Cypriot) players along with Robert Dipierdomenico, Spiro Kourkamleilis, Alex Marcou, Peter Daicos...to name a few. Where is the acknowlegement for their contributions to our game?
Good idea, but not for just greek heritage players (Dipper?), but for all players whose heritage is non-english speaking. A Migration Round, for want of a better name. A Round that acknowledges the input of NESB players, who have achieved despite similar racial taunts in their youth to Indigenous players.
peter daicos might be a tad upset being called greek.
"Peter Daicos is commonly known as the Macedonian Marvel"
I doubt that,
He put himself down for the AFL Greek team of the century.
anyways there is probably some good out of it and cant see a hell of a lot downside. we can definitely debate the upside but im struggling to see a downside. the afl does love a themed round. goes well in the media etc.
borderbarry wrote:Was it Glenn James, the aboriginal umpire? You can imagine the struggle in the minds of racist supporters who were going to call him a white maggot.
...and a pretty good ump he was too, from faint memory. Unlike some of the more recent 'superstars' we've been supplied by the AFL.
borderbarry wrote:It is the way that aboriginal people were treated in the past by the white majority, that we have an indigenous round, to recognise that we now treat them equally.
But by having a dedicated round we are not treating them equally! We are doing the opposite.
Indegenous players are as important to this game as any other category of players.
The best way I've found to show respect to someone is to treat them the same way you treat everyone else. Don't highlight the fact that they're different by embarrassing them with their own round.
Actions like the racial vilification act would do far more to rectify the wrongs than a special round and a game between Richmond and Essendon.
Id agree with that if the players didnt want this to happen but from what you hear, they think this round is fantastic.
Really?
Which players? The indigenous players? Reading the article by Adam Goodes a few years ago indicates to me that he would prefer it didn't happen. Wrote that he hates that ppl refer to aboriginals as having a special kind of magic or that they play the game differently - reckons it's well meaning racism. I know he doesn't speak for all aboriginal footballers, but he is very articulate and you would think he would never have written that article if he thought the groundswell of opinion amongst his fellow indigenous players was completely different to that.
If players do think it was fantastic, I would love to hear why. Not politically correct platitudes but genuine reasons why. As someone said earlier - I doubt anyone would have the courage to say that it means nothing to them. The media would have them in a white sheet and labelled before he left the presser.
borderbarry wrote:Dont forget there was a time in the not so distant past when an aboriginal player could not be played simply because he was aboriginal. Probably in the days when the White Australia policy reigned supreme.
im with you bb. aboriginal people were part of the flora and funa act until 1967. So its very well to say - "oh why single them out" but thats not really good enough given the history.
i think the afl has done a pretty good job on this issue and helped lead community attitudes so the round is still a worthwhile thing. maybe one day in the future we can scrap it because there will be no difefrences. but i dont think we are there yet.
I am pretty sure aborigines were playing in the AFL prior to that (Polly Farmer, for example). Football has always tended to lead society in the treatment of people based on the person and not the colour of their skin, the length of their surname or the god they pray to.
Doug Nicolls was a prominant player with Fitzroy in the 1930s.
He went on to become a Priest and eventually Governor of SA.
But, to support the view of another poster, he originally tried out for Caaaaaaaarlton in the 1920s.
The club was keen for him to play.
But the broad minded players at Caaaaaarlton told him to piss off.
They refused to play or train with him.
The trainers even refused to give him a rub down.
Fortunately the Royboys were a bit more enlightened.
During his time there he played a game (or two?) in the Big V so he was no slouch.
The rest of Australia can wander mask-free, socialise, eat out, no curfews, no zoning, no police rings of steel, no illogical inconsistent rules.
They can even WATCH LIVE FOOTY!
