Thursday, May 20, 2010

Aker's not homophobic but...

"Some footballers think there's something wrong with people, they have some kind of disease."

Some people think there's something wrong with footballers, they have some kind of retardation.

We know there are dumb bigots, racists, and people who can't understand what's wrong with s3xual assault in footy. Sometime in the past decade or so most people who haven't fallen on their small heads coming out of a particularly high mark came to the realisation that this isn't a good thing...

11 comments:

Guy said...

Footballers commenting on social and political issues. Rarely a good thing.

Ann ODyne said...

Guy (above) said it for me.
Ability to think clearly, rarely resides in the head of person with superior ball-handling ability.

Leia Organa said...

Can we not call out one type of bigotry without being guilty of another? "Dumb" and "retard[ation]" are extremely ableist terms. :o/

Mindy said...

What are they worried that in all the grabbing and wrestling going on that someone is going to try to cop a feel or something? If it's part of the game to play it with that much physical contact then you just have to play the game or retire. And maybe realise that not everybody thinks you are god's gift.

Armagny said...

Anji that's a fair response. I wrote a hand-wringing explanation to the effect that I would never use 'retard' in respect of someone struggling with a cognitive impairment, recognised the potential irony, etc.

But I think that term is virtually never used now for what was its original meaning. I'd say 'dumb' is actually a perfect example of where I think it's going, because in that case I certainly didn't think it might still be conflated with its old meaning. It is pretty much only ever used to mean able people doing silly things in usage I encounter.

So I deleted the explanation, and I guess asked to be picked up on it, so fair comment.

From a point of view of internal consistency, I had rather more issue with the deeper substance of Aker's call- telling people to keep in the closet, than if he'd say called an opponent 'poofy' or the like.

Ann ODyne said...

Anji, I am sure nobody reading here, who knows M. Armagnac, would think for a second he was ridiculing anybody with a 'learning difficulty'.
Re 'poofy', as above - just reminding us all that Tony Abbott has raised a daughter who uses 'gay' as an epithet (and presumably 'retard' also), as in "dad's a lame, gay, (whatever)" as published recently.

Today a NSW politician has resigned, apparently because he went to a 'gay club' and in a government car.
I am sure if he had been Out And Proud prior to misusing the car, his position would not have been lost.
Saved a taxi fare, lost an income.

blue milk said...

I like Guy's comment especially.

JahTeh said...

I was disappointed with Aker's remark because I've listened to an interview with him and decided at the time, that he actually had a brain behind the football.

Ann ODyne said...

2 days later on my news homepage:

Outed MP David Campbell not alone - one in five men gay
Herald Sun - Janet Fife-Yeomans - ‎4 hours ago‎
DAVID Campbell is not alone. One in five of Australia's politicians, businessmen, union leaders, labourers, farmers - men in general are either openly gay or leading secret double lives, Sydney anthropologist Stephen Juan claims ...
Jeez Akermanis, that would be, say, 10% of members of your football club, or the crowd on Grand Final Day, who are distinctly unimpressed with you, you hirsutical horror-groove.

Armagny said...

Ay, it's pretty dumb, if they really don't like the idea that guys might be checking him out, then face the stats- some will be- and stop the whole nude locker room thing (which I've always found a bit boarding school, and odd, frankly).

Ann ODyne said...

JA thinks like a muslim male ie 'if it is visible, it will be attacked',
so maybe Niquabs For Nuts while showering?