34 minutes ago, Cards13 said:

Maybe the AFL should ban twitter/platforms that take no accountability for all staff, players, clubs etc?

I know that is not ever going to happen but if they want to take a stand then truely do so.. people will find another way to communicate the game outside of one platform. 

The abhorrent comment appeared under content the AFL themselves posted. 

I'm not sure how long the comment was up there for but even if the AFL saw the comment there is nothing they could do about it on that platform (Twitter in this case) except report it and wait for Twitter to do something, if anything, about it. 

7 hours ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

The way Harley has handled himself at the MFC has been a credit to himself his family and the Noongar people.

No one should have to put up with this rubbish.

We Stand With Harley.

And, also  given his adversity in trying to get back and the Dees offering him a lifeline, It is fitting that we stand as one in support! That should be ALL AFL Not just Deees

Well done young man and Club in maintaining this obvious stance!?

Edited July 12, 20205 yr by picket fence

Since we're talking a bit about the wonderful world of mega-companies and online communication - anyone else remember back in the dawn of the internet, when AOL was found to knowingly not be closing child abuse video sharing networks because, hey, they were paying huge subscription fees for all that data.

Set the tone of the internet to this day, unfortunately, and the legacy lives on strong.

Twitter/instagram etc have created a popular platform whereby someone can abuse another human in a way that would be considered completely unacceptable in normal society, logic would surely dictate that they should be looking at options whereby people/sporting organisations can place restrictions on who can comment if they are unwilling to give away personal detail. 

I bet you if that tool had to provide their mobile number, or work details they wouldn’t have been so keen to say what they said. He/she is a coward. 

10 hours ago, binman said:

The sad reality is the social media companies profit from hate speech

Actually they profit from engagements (= clicks), and it turns out that there are lots of bigots out there. So yes, on that level, hate sells.

10 hours ago, Pates said:

Twitter/instagram etc have created a popular platform whereby someone can abuse another human in a way that would be considered completely unacceptable in normal society, logic would surely dictate that they should be looking at options whereby people/sporting organisations can place restrictions on who can comment if they are unwilling to give away personal detail. 

I bet you if that tool had to provide their mobile number, or work details they wouldn’t have been so keen to say what they said. He/she is a coward. 

Sadly in many cases this is untrue.

There have been many instances on Facebook where people using their real names with open profiles that provide names and photos of family, friends, work colleagues and places of business have brazenly racially vilify indigenous players.

Providing social media platforms 100 point checks might slow it down but it would also lower the amount of users using those platforms as there is already growing trust issues with what social media platforms do with our private information. The social media platforms don't want to cut their noses off to spite their faces and as has already been mentioned above hate sells.

11 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Sadly in many cases this is untrue.

There have been many instances on Facebook where people using their real names with open profiles that provide names and photos of family, friends, work colleagues and places of business have brazenly racially vilify indigenous players.

Providing social media platforms 100 point checks might slow it down but it would also lower the amount of users using those platforms as there is already growing trust issues with what social media platforms do with our private information. The social media platforms don't want to cut their noses off to spite their faces and as has already been mentioned above hate sells.

the internet has always been the home of anarchy......hard to see that changing other than marginally here and there

it's good is spectacularly good and it's bad is as bad as it gets

i'm all for internet reform but i think (sadly) i'll see a demon's premiership first

22 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

Do you have specifics here? Would be interested to hear where exactly you've experienced that.

  

Reckon you just defeated your own point here mate.

I can't give you specifics as there is a risk that my children would be persecuted for it. Not sure how I've defeated my own point....

Ever since I first saw it re-published by the MFC, I've wondered about whether doing so was was the correct approach. On the one hand, the club has made sure everyone now knows what was said and (if he's using a real name) by whom. On the other hand, it's given this idiot more publicity which is possibly what he craves.   

On balance, I think I would have preferred it if the club had not re-posted the original tweet, even though it would have been easy enough to find for anyone with enough interest. Yes, it means most people would not have known what was being complained about, but I'd rather that than see the specific, horrible and racist expression given currency.

Maybe I'm wrong. What do other people think?

One things for certain. We all know the coward wouldn’t say it straight to Harleys face.

On 7/12/2020 at 1:12 PM, whatwhatsaywhat said:

Wtf is wrong with people

Those concerned just do not like to be so obviously outshone by an articulate young athlete. 

22 hours ago, Nasher said:

What am saying is that nobody, of any skin colour, gender or heritage can fully understand life-long difficulties that they haven’t personally lived. Furthermore, claiming that they can actually diminishes the experience of those that have. I’m a compassionate person and I can validate the experiences of others and sympathise with it, but I can’t speak for it. 

If you think that’s racist and sexist then you’ve interpreted my post in a way I can’t really comprehend, so I am going to leave it there.

I think you're mistaken. We are all people, and as such we are capable of understanding each other. We could all be St Francis or Adolf Hitler given the right, or wrong, circumstances. The idea that we somehow can't speak for others is not accurate in my experience. To assume it is places people in boxes marked by their identity, and surely that is the opposite of what we are trying to achieve when confronting racism. 

5 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Ever since I first saw it re-published by the MFC, I've wondered about whether doing so was was the correct approach. On the one hand, the club has made sure everyone now knows what was said and (if he's using a real name) by whom. On the other hand, it's given this idiot more publicity which is possibly what he craves.   

On balance, I think I would have preferred it if the club had not re-posted the original tweet, even though it would have been easy enough to find for anyone with enough interest. Yes, it means most people would not have known what was being complained about, but I'd rather that than see the specific, horrible and racist expression given currency.

Maybe I'm wrong. What do other people think?

I think quietly deleting and releasing a statement has been the go to move for years and it hasn't worked. We are now at a stage where:

a) public shaming is considered a reasonable outcome (how many people write these things thinking they will remain anonymous?); and

b) showing the exact tweet or comment draw attention to how even something small is racism. It doesn't have to be a long offensive statement. I think this helps define what isn't acceptable better than ever before. 

4 minutes ago, Grr-owl said:

I think you're mistaken. We are all people, and as such we are capable of understanding each other. We could all be St Francis or Adolf Hitler given the right, or wrong, circumstances. The idea that we somehow can't speak for others is not accurate in my experience. To assume it is places people in boxes marked by their identity, and surely that is the opposite of what we are trying to achieve when confronting racism. 

No, we wouldn't. It's not about "circumstances". It's about character, irrespective of the circumstances.

On 7/12/2020 at 2:41 PM, Demonland said:

Don't your dare equate the unacceptable and abhorrent racial abuse leveled at indigenous people & people of colour to the names that you have been called. Many times you have baited posters on here and you have been given a lot more protection than others. 

I have discussed this with you privately and yet you continually take a swipes at me and the mods. 

Please don't let this thread get derailed by inserting yourself into a serious issue which has nothing to do with you. 

Demonland.com strongly condemns racism in all its forms. 

Comments like the one on the AFL's Twitter would have been dealt with promptly and the poster immediately banned. 

Insert this into my veins.

Great post.

22 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

James W. Ferguson needs a long massage with a Cheese grater. 
 

Australia is a most Racist Country. Almost apartheid, but we don’t like talking about it

I've been living overseas for 18 years and Australia is not racist. Even the fact we recognize what racism is and are confronting it distinguishes us positively. Of course, there are racist Australians, of all colors, but to say the country is racist is absurd when you take into account post-war immigration. I mean, just check out to see if immigration to China or the Middle East or other places outside the West is even possible...

3 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

No, we wouldn't. It's not about "circumstances". It's about character, irrespective of the circumstances.

Character is built through education. People around us guide us through experience. If a young human received the 'education' that Adolf Hitler did, becoming a tyrant is entirely possible, though not necessary. 

2 minutes ago, Grr-owl said:

I've been living overseas for 18 years and Australia is not racist. Even the fact we recognize what racism is and are confronting it distinguishes us positively. Of course, there are racist Australians, of all colors, but to say the country is racist is absurd when you take into account post-war immigration. I mean, just check out to see if immigration to China or the Middle East or other places outside the West is even possible...

We are racist to the indigenous Australians. 
We had a Prime Minister who REFUSED for years to apologize for anything to do with the past. 
I have spent time in the Kimberleys, most Australians have no idea of what its like up there

21 hours ago, Mazer Rackham said:

Sorry, this is not correct.

If you mean it's only an "issue" (meaning grappling with it) in Western societies, you may be on to something.

But "racism" is rampant around the world, including in Asia, Middle East, Baltic/Salvic countries ... plenty that wouldn't be considered "Western" ... the "not like us" impulse is powerful and universal, and if it's only Western societies that take issue with it, well, more power to them. It's a start.

 

NOTE: on re-reading your original post, I mis-characterised your take. I understand that you see that racism is rampant around the globe.

Yeah, you've read me the way I intended. The fact that we are grappling (good word) with it distinguishes us.  

1 minute ago, Sir Why You Little said:

We are racist to the indigenous Australians. 
We had a Prime Minister who REFUSED for years to apologize for anything to do with the past. 
I have spent time in the Kimberleys, most Australians have no idea of what its like up there

We are not. Some are. They are the [censored].

Thomas Sowell may be interesting regarding apologies, reparations and other such ideas, though in an American context. Sowell's conservatism irks me, but he makes a solid argument. Try it here: https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/thomas-sowell-on-the-legacy-of-slavery-vs-the-legacy-of-liberalism/ 

It's happening far too often, social media has become a cesspool of hate and racism. 

Has society always been this racist or has social media amplified these voices?

Overnight in England a 12 year old boy was arrested for racist comments to premier league player Wilfred Zaha (Crystal Palace).

Racism has no room in sport (OR ANYWHERE)

Racists should be named and shamed, education is paramount. 

 

 

Edited July 13, 20205 yr by roy11

5 minutes ago, roy11 said:

It's happening far too often, social media has become a cesspool of hate and racism. 

Has society always been this racist or has social media amplified these voices?

Overnight in England a 12 year old boy was arrested for racist comments to premier league player Wilfred Zaha (Crystal Palace).

Racism has no room in sport (OR ANYWHERE)

Racists should be named and shamed, education is paramount. 

 

 

It’s always been in the shadows

Yes

 

 

7 minutes ago, Grr-owl said:

We are not. Some are. They are the [censored].

Thomas Sowell may be interesting regarding apologies, reparations and other such ideas, though in an American context. Sowell's conservatism irks me, but he makes a solid argument. Try it here: https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/thomas-sowell-on-the-legacy-of-slavery-vs-the-legacy-of-liberalism/ 

Don’t really want to argue mate. Racism is alive and well in Australia, it’s been here since the first British Ships landed

We Whites are not even worthy to comment on such things to say it doesn’t exist. 

1 minute ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Don’t really want to argue mate. Racism is alive and well in Australia, it’s been here since the first British Ships landed

We Whites are not even worthy to comment on such things to say it doesn’t exist. 

I agree with you entirely.

I have a saying: scratch a Ukrainian, find a potato. Scratch many Australians, find a While Australia Policy.