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Are Australians racist?
by Stephen Hagan Cartoons by Julie Dowling
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I’m not racist,” says Collingwood president and media personality, Eddie McGuire after a “slip of the tongue” King Kong gaffe about Adam Goodes on live radio yesterday morning. Sydney Swan’s chairman Richard Colless and coach John Longmire told a media conference mid afternoon they were disappointed and bewildered at McGuire’s outburst against their captain and duel Brownlow medalist. McGuire’s inexplicably bigoted remarks follows soon after he was praised for apologising to Adam Goodes in person after the Collingwood v Sydney Swan’s game last Friday night when a 13-year-old Collingwood supporter was evicted from the MCG for calling Goodes an “ape” minutes from the end of the game. The on-air gaffe by McGuire suggesting Adam Goodes be used to promote the King Kong musical: “You can see them doing that, can’t you? Goodsey. You know, the big, not the ape thing, the whole thing...” paints him as a hypocrit and gives credence to a long held belief of many First Nations’ leaders of inherent racism permeating our society. Excusing a 13-year-old for calling the Aboriginal AFL superstar an “ape” may give room for some social commentators for calls of “she’s innocent” and “didn’t know what she was saying” but a seasoned media and sporting personality sanctimonious “I was tired at the time” defence would leave even the most ardent McGuire supporters scratching their heads to concur. McGuire’s remarks may well answer the title of my opinion
piece: Are Australians racist? I’ll preface my response to the question by saying that I believe a gradual growing number of Australians - around 20% - do genuinely ‘get it’ on the race issue and are informed enough to know that any form of racism directed at people of colour, especially First Nations people, is totally unacceptable. I’m on the public record as saying Australians - or at least 80% of them - are racist. Not a little bit racist, or racist sometime under duress, but racist period.
Is Eddie McGuire racist? Perhaps. I believe he could be despite his protestation to the contrary. I believe he showed signs of that inherently racist outlook that 80% of the nation suffer from that can be traced back to their upbringing, from his radio gaffe. McGuire’s no different , I suspect, from the 13-year-old “ape” caller who supports his club, as he too may have grown up hearing his parents and their relatives and associates engage in racist discourse as a norm around the dining room table and backyard Page 1
barbecue. Eddie McGuire need not look any further than those who nurtured him in the good old fashion racially intolerant ways that personify exemplar Anglo Celtic conduct of that era. My 2006 publication Australia’s Blackest Sporting Moments: The Top 100 painted a dire picture of racism at the player, fan and management levels of all codes of sport. Players: Carlton Brownlow medalist Greg Williams said to West Coast Chris Lewis in August 1995: “Get this black c*** off me.” Brisbane Lions Brownlow medalist Jason Akermanis said in
April 2005 of the management at Aboriginal radio 98.9FM in Brisbane who hired him to do AFL commentary: “Keep the mail coming in so these monkeys will give us a one-and-a-half show”. Fans: At Victoria Park in April 1983 a white spectator yelled at Michael McClean, playing for Footscray: “You coon, go back to where you came from. This is not your ****ing country, nigger boy.” Collingwood fans at Victoria Park, Melbourne in April 1993 called Nicky Winmar “You black bastard” that resulted in his famous raising of his shirt and saying he was “black and proud”. Management:
In April 1993 Allan McAlister, President, Collingwood Football Club told Channel 9’s ‘Sports Sunday’ program that he opposed racism in sport. However, he said of Aborigines: “As long as they conduct themselves like white people, well, off the field, everyone will admire and respect them.” When pressed on the issue, McAlister said: “As long as they conduct themselves like human beings, they will be all right. That’s the key.” In March 1999 John Elliott, President, Carlton Football Club said: “He (John Howard) should not worry about saying sorry to a forgotten race. The poor old farmer out there; he’s had to work with them (Aborigines) for years and knows they wander off and never come to work.” When asked to explain himself on 3AW Elliott said: “I am not a racist at all; the only concern I have about Aborigines I think they are getting preferential treatment.” I know a little bit about racism having spent a decade in court from late 1990s fighting players, fans and management, as well as governments of all persuasions all the way to the United Nations to remove the offending word ‘nigger’ from the E. S “Nigger” Brown Stand public sign in my home town of Toowoomba. I know the sound and look of racism. I also know that we’ll still be having this debate for many decades to come. Yes Australians are inherently racist - except for about 20% of them who ‘get it’. That number will continue to grow slowly and one can only live in hope that it grows exponentially to an extent where the Eddie McGuire’s of the world will be in the minority.