ok I read the rest of the post now...

I also read this...

"The women's movement has been makin similar assessments and worse of footballers and men generally in national media for years. "

Too true. But, just like sexism (what's now called misogyny) it only works one way, and the feminists would take it as read that the black men would not be included in their 'neanderthal' references.

It's really hard being a leftie, as there are so many contradictions. There is a heirarchy in there somewhere about who is the most repressed, and then they have to work out what minorities a person belongs to and all sorts of permutations have to take place to determine the top victim. The king victim in any situation takes a lot of analysis.

So we have a black man against a young woman. Now race is trumping gender at the moment, but what if it turns out she's gay, or has some disability, or been raped. It's a minefield.

But in the end the rules seem to be that if you are a historically repressed group people may not use references that may evoke symbolic acceptance of past wrongs.

Even, as Belly said, those wrongs and even the symbols are from a totally different country and culture. Fried chicken has no relevance here, but we somehow must be sensitive to portraying West Indian cricketers eating KFC.

Would it have been as offensive if she'd bought a white dog called it Jigga Boo?

No.Is it bad that I like this new word, it has a ring too it. Brings a smile to my face for some reason. I must be racist.

o sung wu,

Nothing sinister.

It's all very simple.

This is the 21 st century. We have indigenous people participating and excelling on the field.

Ane we have people sitting on the sidelines bellowing that they are apes, etc.

And to top it off, we appear to host a coterie of "Australians" who regard that as just fine and dandy - and that anyone who who chooses to single out a perpetrator is a sook and a bully.

I'll ask you all again.

Would you recommend this type of belligerent and racist name-calling at the junior level?

I'm assuming your answers would be "NO".

I wonder why your answers would be in the negative if you think it's fine to have kids at AFL and other senior matches exposed to and indoctrinated into this sort of behaviour by the example of their elders either practicing it or excusing it.

Does anyone else think this Eddie Maguire thing is like Basil Fawlty and the Germans.

Oh Poirot,

Why is Ape a derogatory comment? Why are Apes considered lesser?

Feminists have long bemoaned men saying to each other 'you throw like a girl' as terribly offensive to women.

It's the apes that really should be offended.

Similarly how many times have feminists referred to men as neanderthals. Say if Goodes said something sexist, would critiquing sexism in such racist terms be ok?

Oh why cant we all get along!

Oh sorry for that ...Houellie.

Amazingly, I've just seen the error of my ways.

Of course it's fair and correct to refer to individual indigenous sportsmen as "Apes".

Whaaaaaaaat must I have been thinking?

Let's hope the young indigenous tykes are up for a bit of "harmless" racial insult....we'd better teach em young that this is what they should expect - and if they do experience it, they should shut up and keep it to themselves.

I reckon you could easily make the case that people from certain races DO look a lot more like apes than others.

Those more hirsute with more solid builds and defined muscles do look more ape-like, and the darker skin-tones, larger lips and other facial features, man I think objectively it's undeniable.

Like Asian people looking more alike. Why is that racist? Anglos have much more variation in height, facial features, hair colour, eye colour, hairiness, hair texture. You just cant deny there is less variation in appearance in asian people.

Just because something was used in the past to opine a lesser intelligence or some such thing doesn't take away the objective reality.

I think it is indisputable that Goodes, with his hairy beard and stature does look a little bit monkey like.

Is it actually racist to make an objective, undeniable aesthetic comparison? It may be insensitive, or ignorant of history, but it's not racist per se.

I'm probably aboriginal enough to get some government benefits, but I actually have fair hair and green eyes. If I was called an ape, that would be something else. I suppose I am quite long and lanky.

My brother used to call me Benelong when we were kids, and I didn't really care. He had white skin and got sunburn.

Maybe I should have educated myself more about my ancestor's plight so I could be offended.

I've always been proud to tell anyone who will listen about my aboriginal ancestry, I reckon it's cool.