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17 Comments
Tell the AOC to stick it Brother!
Since when is being proud of your colours a political statement? I wear the same shirt, not to be political, but because I’m proud of the colours and my mob. If white people see it as political, its their own paranoia and dare I say, guilt! Also, is our flag not internationally recognised as an official flag?
And BTW Damien, Good on ya bra! Hoping you wear the shirt for every fight:)
@CLARKY
Yeah I totally agree with you there. In the Olympic rules and reghulations, there has no rule saying that you can wear anything cultural, but all it says is religious, racial, Advertising and Political, not Cultural. And another thing I strongly agree with you is, since when is it political and racial to wear someing that is cultural, and something that those Englishman tried to breed out of us all the years ago. Proud to be black and proud to be the first ones in Australia, not the second!!
Time for a separate Aboriginal team to compete at the Olympics, just as the Palestians do.
Every athlete is proud of their culture and is thinking about their family – who may have come from any of 100′s of countries that make up the Australian population and every other athlete manges to proudly wear the Australian uniform. Every athlete in the Australian team is there representing Australia, not promoting some personal agenda. Your family and your country will be proud of you for doing your best for your country – it IS the Olympics. So Damien, get over it.
Spoken like a true assimilationist.
Our Indigenous athletes wear two ‘uniforms’.. One is our skin, it’s who we are- it’s our identity. The other is the Australian uniform. We represent two countries- all Aboriginal people/nations and the Australian nation. For Aboriginal people being proud of your people and culture is something more profound and deep then the rest of Australia can understand.
You can’t deny his Aboriginality and his pride in showing that on a world stage, his pride is not part of any ‘personal agenda’, it’s who he is!
The Aboriginal flag is an internationally recognised flag and is recognised by the Commonwealth Government. Therefore the flag should be incorporated on the Australian uniform, so further ‘controversial acts’ can be avoided. You just have to have a look at what Cathy Freeman endured for expressing her pride.
That’s the whole point Jenny – there is nothing to ‘get over.’ The Aboriginal flag is an official Australian flag, so why is it ‘damaging’ (as the AOC have put it), to support the red, black and yellow? It’s exactly the same as flying the Australian flag with its ugly Union Jack. Yes, he broke the ridiculous rules, but he’d be breaking them if he did before, during or after the fight(s) anyway. He’s done what he believes is right, and kudos to him for not backing away from it either.
I hope Tracker Magazine can get a repsonse from the AOC as to where they get off telling Aboriginal athletes not to fly thier flag but have no problem on their website flogging off Cathy Freeman with the Aboriginal flag wrapped around her. True hypocrites. Also Nick Green has no understanding whatsoever about Aboriginal issues from his recent statements regarding racism.
Forcibly assimilating Aboriginal people into the newer nation of Australia and suppressing their Aboriginal identity is a political position that should not be tolerated by the International Olympic committee.
A-lot of Aboriginal people like myself do not and have never identified with the Australian flag to be our flag, as it represents obviously for historical reason the colonisation of Australia and the effects of this on our people, if anyone else wants to, that’s fine, their choice, we use the Aboriginal flag as we are sovereign people !! fly it proud brother Damien !! [ o ]
Oh Jennywho, you are partly correct in what you say; but Aboriginal people are the first Australians, we didn’t come here from other countries, this has been our country from time immemorial hence the recognition of our flag. We are Aboriginal first and Australian second.
“BLACK AND PROUD”
Well done Damien!
I have seen many comments on various online news sites that have to talk about wether Hooper did was right or wrong. A lot of people are saying, “Get rid of the Union Jack and change the flag because we are an independent country from England,” and I even heard some nuscance say “There are more white people in Australia so the Australian flag should be put first.” Well if you were to look at the rules in regards to what we are to wear in the Olympic villiage and in competition and what flags we cant put up on their balconies at the residential areas, the rules state, No Politicial, Advertising, and Slanderous images are to be worn or hung up near resident areas, but I dont see anything to do with Cultural reasons. I know that wearing anything on and off the venure while the games are on that dont have to do with the uniform is not tolerant but having to apologise for wearing the flag before competition!!! They might as well of told him to apologise for being aborigine!!! I dont see anything to do with just uniform regulations in this, I see a little racial comments being thrown in by audience and readers who dont even know what they are talking about. If I were to make the next olympics in Rio, I will wear my Torres Straight Islander Flag and I WILL NOT APOLOGISE. I will say to the AOC and the IOC that the best they can get me to say is that Im sorry im indigenous and Im sorry the England invaded Australia and caused the stolen Generations and same goes for New Zealand. England could not beat my ancestors in warfare so they tried a diplomatic solution in the slyest of ways like stealing our land and claiming things that is not theirs. What Im summing this big ass comment to is, there is something more deeper the AOC and some white supremisits are getting at than telling Hooper to apologise for not wearing Australian uniform!!
But I will say one more thing, my father who is also indigenous has been assistant coach for the Australian squad and Australian indigenous sqaud; said to me that Damien has to wear what is given to them and signed forms agreeing to the terms and conditions for what uniform is to be worrn at all times and should have shown his indigenous culture, or should I say, OUR indigenous culture in Actions and show it to all of us after his victory
time for old colonies to get own flags. the distance between our independence and our symbols are far from acceptable. that’s why – among others – we all want to be represented by some other sign of authority. keep going bro and make sure you kick some asses!