Matsuo Basho

That is NOT what I’ve argued at all. Ive repeatedly said that ANYONE can experience and suffer from racial bias. Black, white, brown, yellow, pink and otherwise. If you define racism as an exclusively black problem at all times, in all places and in all situations you effectively dehumanise segments of the population and give a green light now and into the future the kind of vitriolic, hatred tinged language that incubates further division among human beings in all their varieties of appearance. Do you really think racism will be eradicated in this world by advocating ‘an eye for an eye’ or at the very least turning a blind eye to it? Because that’s what your hysterical and twisted reaction to my post effectively does. Mahatma Gandhi has a very special quote about that. I encourage you to look it up. Bring people together. Unite them. Do not use language which is discriminatory, language which denies people their sovereign individuality, or language which ultimately is based on the lie that one group of people is inherently somehow constituted biologically, spiritually and emotionally differently from another. That is very germinal seed of conflict Sir no matter how hard you don’t want it to be, or with what force you want to throw your smartphone at the wall in frustration. Smearing me as ‘privileged’ and therefore somehow incapable of comprehending your warped logic does not alter this truth. Bias and prejudice in all of its insidious forms should be called out and held to account at every turn, for the evil Hydra that it is.

You’re completely wrong for reasons I’ve already outlined. My skin colour, nationality and socio-economic background has no bearing on the universality and accuracy of the truth I am speaking. And how would you know if I was ‘privileged’ anyway? I might live in a housing commission flat and get around in a wheelchair for all you know. Your comment is as full of preconceived judgments and prejudices as Demon16’s. I don’t dispute the history of Western imperialism nor the racially biased policies of previous Australian governments. Why would you think I would? To understand and appreciate what I’m saying you’re going to have to unglue yourself from that limiting paradigm and see racism for what it is across all spectrums of experience. Side note: “... as you appear to be a ...” is never a good way to start an argument on this topic.

It matters not to me whether someone is racist to white people, black people, Asian people or Middle Eastern people. I deplore racism and will call it out when I see, whether it's by you, Sam Newman or Anthony Mundine. All ignoramuses should have a spotlight shone on them. You're out of your depth.

Yes, I'm familiar with this line of reasoning EO. It brings back distant memories of third year pol-sci at Melbourne Uni, when indoctrinated Arts faculty heads would ram Marcuse, Chomsky, Foucalt and other radical post-Modernists of the New Left down our throats ad nauseum. It's a cute piece of intellectual sleight of hand, but that's all it is. Slippery slope when you start declaring that the ends justify the means when it comes to prejudice. History is replete with genocides and atrocities which began with just that notion as the seed.

Your point is invalid as I explained and therefore meaningless.

No-one can decide what cultural dances a footballer can perform at a crowd of people any more than that footballer can decide how those cultural dances should/shouldn't be perceived by that crowd. Racists may indeed have been incensed that this black so-and-so was "not behaving the way they wanted him to", no doubt about that. But others may have simply seen a man who they didn't particularly warm to running at them in an aggressive fashion, stoking up an argument with the nuffies, being divisive and acting like a dill. You do realise it is okay and not racist for a person who happens to have light coloured skin to dislike a man who has black toned skin? Just as it is okay for a man with black toned skin to like/dislike a man with white toned skin. There are other possible reasons why one person might not like another person, whether it be their politics, personality, attitude - whatever! To assert as you have that everyone with white toned skin at those games who boo'd Goodes' "War Dance" was somehow cursed by the ghost of Alan McAllister is a blanket judgment with no basis in reality. You absolutely cannot know that. Again, racism exists wherever a negative value judgment is placed on a human being or group of human beings based solely on their physical and cultural appearance. It matters not what hue the skin. It is amazing how simple this truth is yet so difficult for many to comprehend.

Then you should have said that. Even then it is problematic because you’re referencing a crowd of people who’s ethnicity and background you have no way of determining individually. It is therefore still a blanket statement and still racially charged with labels and preconceived judgments. Using the word “some” furthermore renders your comment meaningless given that “some” is an arbitrary marker with no clearly defined metric. It could mean many, it could mean a few or anywhere else in between. When it comes to commenting on a matter as sensitive as race, either be precise in your language or be prepared to have the holes in your Swiss cheese logic picked apart like the Demon defence in the first half of 2019.

With due respect, I am not in agreement with Fork’em on some key points but the sentence you wrote above demonstrates that you don’t understand racism either. Racism, as exampled the other day in Jeff Kennett’s comments regarding ‘new arrivals’, is present when any kind of blanket statement is made based on someone’s ethnicity or skin colour. You have no idea what a group of so-called “white people” deem unacceptable any more than I know what “Middle Eastern” people deem unacceptable. How do you know? Did you record interviews with everyone in the crowd at those games? Maybe some did, some didn’t and others couldn’t give a fig, ignored the whole thing and waited for the ridiculously amped up hysteria of it to disappear. Unless you’re fully psychic and possessed of supernatural powers of perception - how would you know? Anytime I hear a person say “white people”, “black people” or “Asian people” etc or repeatedly use the word “they” with a bent to cast that vaguely described group in some kind of shady, negative light it is absolutely no different than when someone begins a sentence with “I’m not racist but ...”. In short - try and see the sad irony playing the attack dog against racism while using obviously racist language yourself.

Thoroughly enjoyed @Demonland thank you. In cockney I believe Neita is what they’d call a ‘diamond geezer’.

The stomp I agree is a serious offence. You can easily break delicate foot bones and sideline a bloke for weeks doing that. 3 for the stomp, 1 for pinching. 4 weeks sounds right.

#metoo

ProDee aka Hanabal?

The type of strength of conditioning required by elite soccer players is poles apart from that needed for a repeat collision contact sport like AFL football. I can only surmise he was very highly regarded at Port.

It’s too early to make a definitive call on Pert. I don’t have an agenda other than try to understand why the on field fortunes of the club have plummeted so drastically under his watch. He may ultimately prove to be a great CEO and I hope he does, but it’s an ignominious start to get off to as far as the visible scoreboard goes. I actually share some of your concerns regarding the “amateur hour” goings on we are seeing within the FD and hope Pert shows strong leadership in doing what needs to be done to rectify it. I’m on the MFC’s side, not Pert’s or Mahoney’s as individuals. Club > Employee.

I’m not sure what you’re getting at with that question. I’ve never suggested it. Mahoney is the GM of Football of a club that was touted a top four fancy but is now sitting at the foot end of the ladder and is swinging changes among its coaching staff. If there’s heat being placed on those blokes then it’s logical to conclude there’s incendiary heat on his position, too. It’s a results based business. There’s nothing surprising about what I’m saying. All AFL club footy department employees would know what they’re getting into in this industry. Guaranteed long term security of tenure simply does not exist.

Closing one’s eyes, covering one’s ears and yelling “na na na na na” unfortunately does not make problems go away. As a child I remember learning this.

Caroline Wilson penned articles about it last August. It was well documented. It’s up to the individual whether you believe her or not. I happen to. Like it or not, Caro knows her stuff and has well placed sources everywhere. Re Mahoney “not sticking around”, it’s not about that. I’m sure he’s okay to continue on in his role. GM of football jobs aren’t easy to come by at AFL level. However, I doubt he’s enjoying the same close mentor-protege relationship he had going with PJ and will be feeling the heat as much as anyone in the wake of this shake up. When the head honcho rattles one bloke’s cage you can bet it has reverberations all the way up the chain of command. As SirWhyYouLittle remarked on page one of this thread - “it’s put up or shut up time.” That goes for Mahoney, too.

Not a hands on role no but Jackson had earmarked and groomed Mahoney for the CEO position prior to the Pert appointment. We know that this event caused a bit of an earthquake at the club at the time. The shockwaves of something like that can be felt months after the fact, especially as the new big dog on the block looks to assert control. Pee on a few fire hydrants if you will.

McCartney just been pushed to the exit lounge. I expect he will be one of the first names gone in September followed by any number of the assistants and possibly some admin as well. Loyalists to Peter Jackson will be feeling the heat. This is Gary Pert's show now.

That has proved to be a terrible miscalculation. Season destroying really. Thinking that McDonald would back up his 2018 fair enough (although dicey given he’s not a natural forward) , but to rate Weideman so highly off the back of a single finals game performance was wildly optimistic at best, at worst reckless and dumb. It’s this type of comment by Mahoney that makes me question his abilities along with others in the FD charged with these decisions. That includes Goodwin. You live and die on the margins of error in elite sport and this season has seen some major blots in the copybook. Clearly they’re all on notice now, including Mahoney I would expect. My estimation of him took a hit when he coughed up two first rounders for Lever without a whimper and now this comment about “thinking they could cover it” (the loss of Hogan). No more mulligans left indeed, Josh.

He's a genius Paul Roos. Why go for the $1.5m/year and all those sleepless nights when you can take $500k to swing by for a latte and croissant and shoot the breeze every other week, attach your name to another sure fire rising success and keep the door open for an even bigger jackpot somewhere else later on. The Sundance Kid - playing the system like a vintage Stradivarius.

Good to see some proactivity but you get the feeling these moves are just portents to some more sweeping changes post-season. Pert and Bartlett are rattling cages. They had to.

… and May

How much brain power does it take to give your best non-footy mate a sly $50 to go put the bet on for you on the down low? Who would ever possibly find that out short of that bloke doing the unthinkable and lagging to the authorities? It must be going on all the time.

Unfortunately DJ if you have a look at the 2019 FA list and compare it to the 2020 batch the much more enticing group is next year’s. We need the injection of mature talent now. That said, a club with a 2020 FA might be willing to deal a year early if they think they can get better terms for their contracted player now.