Don’t stand for the anthem!’

I've asked the question many times over the years, 'when can we all as one nation sit down and have an honest debate about the 26th of January, and work to a more suitable date to celebrate how far we have come as a nation'.

While I truly believe we need to re-think Australia Day, I do not condone the sentiment of disrespecting our nations anthem or flag.

If we need to also discuss the anthem or flag as a nation, lets do so. But do not disrespect it because you want the publicity or have a grip, while bathing in the benefits this flag/anthem offers us all.

By publicly stating to boycott the anthem, Williams is placing undue pressure on indigenous players who achieve the chance to play in this years grand final for his own debate.

This is a very selfish act Joe!
 
It is not selfish at all. Joe just looks at the bigger picture. If players make a protest after their careers are over it is not so forceful as when at their top. Of course there is still racism out there, it was vivid on here a here ago but since deleted. When the protest is at GF level then all the Indigenous children watching will learn that they can attempt to have their destiny in their own hands.

People in 21st century Oz still say very hurtful things, just ask the homosexual community why they do not want a plebiscite on homosexual marriage. The same reason why the Christian lobby has requested the Fed govt loosen the vilification laws so they can have a good homophobic whack at the homosexual community.

You cannot order people who feel hurt in their everyday lives caused by others how to re-act. I could understand if the Indigenous community even did not want to call themselves Australian. Is it Australian to steal people's land by force and keep it for hundred of years? Seem so.
 
The only thing worse than trying to guilt a current player into not standing for the anthem is the people who are "outraged" by it.
 
In America, patriotism is a way of life, they die for their flag. They hold their hand over their hearts during the anthem, some even have tears in their eyes. Not saying Australia isn't the same, but American's take it to another level. During our anthem, players stand stone faced. They notice a protest in America because the anthem is treated so seriously. You watch an NFL game and they roll out a US flag that covers the entire field. It's an event. I doubt anyone would notice here. Like no one noticed Williams protest of standing by himself, he had to point it out. No one pays attention that closely, they're just waiting for kick off.
 
@Byron Bay Fan said:
It is not selfish at all. Joe just looks at the bigger picture. If players make a protest after their careers are over it is not so forceful as when at their top. Of course there is still racism out there, it was vivid on here a here ago but since deleted. When the protest is at GF level then all the Indigenous children watching will learn that they can attempt to have their destiny in their own hands.

People in 21st century Oz still say very hurtful things, just ask the homosexual community why they do not want a plebiscite on homosexual marriage. The same reason why the Christian lobby has requested the Fed govt loosen the vilification laws so they can have a good homophobic whack at the homosexual community.
**You cannot order people who feel hurt in their everyday lives caused by others how to re-act**. I could understand if the Indigenous community even did not want to call themselves Australian. Is it Australian to steal people's land by force and keep it for hundred of years? Seem so.

That's ironic…. It seems to be just what Joe is doing
Maybe JT and other indigenous players aren't bothered by this... Particularly on GF day... Joe assumes this as do you
 
They are entitled to their views and good on them for it.

People who think this is racism in reverse are wrong IMO. Racism is the product of prejudice + power, which indigenous people and people of colour all over the world are deprived of. They are powerless to discriminate against white Australia the way they are discriminated against today and were discriminated against historically, so the two things can't be equal. If you feel dscriminated against in Australia because you're white you are taking the mickey, and if you don't feel discriminated against why on earth do you feel you have a God given right to comment on something you've never experienced and don't understand? Oh… That's the inherent privilege that prevails in most colonised countries, and if you can't even accept that please don't waste my time and your own with a response.

Unfortunately the views of some Australians are heading towards a more extreme "anti-everyone who doesn't agree with us". All driven by fear of the other, nothing new here, just the internet's version of imperialism.

As for Morgan, I have a lot of respect for him, but ignoring the fact that people are white and black is fine for him with his status, wealth and standing. Not so lovey dovey for people getting shot because of their skin colour.
 
I've sat down during the anthem many times…not in protest or anything but I don't like the anthem and don't understand what the song means at all. It does not resonate with me at all.

The anthem needs to be changed.
 
Its a free country … if Joe wants to disrespect the Anthem then he can.

And if people want to call him an a_--hole or a moron, then they are free to do that also.

That's what makes Australia great.
 
@Byron Bay Fan said:
I am all for whatever action Indigenous players choose to take. It is their life and their decision. No one asked or invited the first settlors to migrate here, this migration has effected every generation of Indigenous people whose life is influenced and determined by this take over of the island.

I was born here. I didnt choose. I didnt slaughter the indigenous peeps back in 1788\. I didnt steal anyones children. I dont treat anyone differently because of their skin colour or culture.
The first settlers affect my generation and my family too.

But what i would like is some unity and respect from others who throw me into the same pile as those in the past. The PM said sorry on behalf of all of us who are living today.

Its 2016\. Everyone cops some sh#t from time to time. But i get around it by respecting myself and others of this land who love our country and want to stand up together. If you handle yourself with dignity, you will be heard. If you disrespect everyone else who is in the same boat as you, dont get upset if youre treated like a dick.
 
@Byron Bay Fan said:
No one asked or invited the first settlors to migrate here, this migration has effected every generation of Indigenous people whose life is influenced and determined by this take over of the island.

I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

Are you saying that you're going to leave Australia, as your family has exacerbated the problems caused by the invasion, and you have no right living on somebody else's land? That would be the honorable thing to do, given your feelings on the matter.

Or do you just like talking for the sake of talking?
 
@Black'n'White said:
I know this clip isnt directly related to the topic on hand, though has enough similarities to be worth posting in here.

I have a good friend who is Indigenous, his father works withing Indigenous communities out bush, and they both follow a similar train of thought to the tone of this video as it could be turned to suit indigenous Australians.

I know the title of the video sounds like its going to be the rhetoric you have heard many times before, though its honestly an empowering view, put forward intelligently and respectfully. Well worth the 5 mins of your life.

https://youtu.be/faolY5_hnIc

Thanks BnW, very interesting.
 
Are ancestors of the first European settlers more Australian than first or second generation Australians?
 
What a sad, pathetic, desperate cry for relevance from a man who could hardly be more irrelevant or forgotton about. Joe who?
I wonder if part of Joe's "anti-whites" stance means that he never uses a car, refuses to live in a house, refuses to spend or receive money etc etc etc? That would be the honourable thing to do for someone with his supposed outrage at what non-indigenous people have "forced upon his people".
What a goose. How did Joe hear about Colin Kaepernick's protest in the US anyhow?, via carrier-pidgeon or smoke signals? Or via the pesky mobile phone, television or any other piece of modern technology that has selfishly been forced upon this country?
Racism is not good, neither is using it as a vessel to get your name in the headlines.
Head out to the Simpson Desert Joe, build a hut and live totally self-sufficient, free of all the oppression of today's modern world. That would be the honourable thing to do.
 
@Black'n'White said:
I know this clip isnt directly related to the topic on hand, though has enough similarities to be worth posting in here.

I have a good friend who is Indigenous, his father works withing Indigenous communities out bush, and they both follow a similar train of thought to the tone of this video as it could be turned to suit indigenous Australians.

I know the title of the video sounds like its going to be the rhetoric you have heard many times before, though its honestly an empowering view, put forward intelligently and respectfully. Well worth the 5 mins of your life.

https://youtu.be/faolY5_hnIc

That was pretty good and would apply to a few other groups that have this "victim mentality".
 
I'm a whitefella. I have worked for most of my life with indigenous people. Many are my friends. Very few of the people I know are racist. A few don't like me and will take me on, but its one to one and race doesn't come into it. In the communities I lived in you could pretty much rely on the Warumpi Band's, Black Fella-White Fella lyrics, "long as you're a true fella" you'd get along just fine. Common respect is the key.

The indigenous people I know that are openly racist, perceive that they have something (monetarily or politically) to gain by being so. Many call themselves Aboriginal but are not active in, and generally avoid, the broader indigenous community. Almost all of these people are despised by and shunned by the broader indigenous community.

Some of them are openly racist against whitefellas but also bush blacks. One bloke I know turns on or off the pidgin to suit the audience. He's pretty much hated by the broader community. Everybody knows he's not a "true fella".

my 2 cents
 

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