Fellow citizens,
There have been plenty of commentators who said the problems for Adam Goodes started when he "bullied" a thirteen-year-old girl for calling him an "Ape", and were compounded by his speech on receiving the 2014 Australian of the Year award.
Far from bullying the girl, this is what he tweeted:
And this is what he said in his press conference on May 25, 2013, following the incident, "The person who needs the most support now is that little girl."
As for his speech on January 25, 2014, at the Australian of the Year awards, this is an excerpt:
"We can keep our silos or educate ourselves and others about racism and minority populations."
"It is not just about taking responsibility for your own actions, but speaking to your mates when they take out their anger on their loved ones, minority groups or make racist remarks."
"It means treating people the way you want to be treated. Whether that's your manners, the way you talk to people, whether they are your loved ones, or the person serving you dinner."
"It's about how you choose to give back and make a difference to those around you, your community or your country. That goes outside of just yourself."
This is the full five minutes of the speech.
You be the judge.
Is there anything in that press conference or that speech that warrants starting what has happened to Adam Goodes?
Anything?
Anything at all?
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteYou are missing the point. He pointed her out and she was taken away.
what he says the day after is irrelevant besides the fact what she said wasn't racist anyway.
NT, I think you're missing Andrew's point. Goodes pointed at the girl but he didn't know or expect she would be taken away. It's unreasonable to blame Goodes for the overreaction of grounds Security. Abusing someone, whether racist or not, is not something to be encouraged or excused. As Goodes pointed out in his AOTY speech, the measure of our civil society is how we treat other people, be they family, friends, strangers or footy players. Andrew is right, nothing in what Goodes has said or done warrants any amount of abuse, racial or otherwise. Why so many are seeking to excuse such bad behaviour is confounding, at the least.
ReplyDeleteAlan, he pointed at the girl and expected nothing to occur?
ReplyDeletesure.
As I have said elsewhere the term monkey is usually used to describe hairy men not dark men.
People boo Goods because he is a prat.
Sporting crowds do not like prats and nor should they.