Adam Goodes’ actions provide impetus for change to occur

Yet the reaction to the incident by Goodes, the Collingwood Football Club, the AFL and the majority of fans says otherwise.

In another era, Goodes would not have so publicly shown his frustration or fronted the media the next morning. On another day, a football club would have dismissed the abuse as inconsequential or an isolated incident which hurt no one. 

Ten, or even five years ago, the media would have buried the story well inside the back page.

The abuse levelled at Adam Goodes on Friday was hurtful in as much as who it came from, as what was said. A 13-year-old girl, uneducated about the impact a word such as “ape” can have on an indigenous person, shows much work is needed to impact cultural changes in regard to racism.

This was not an over-reaction or a media beat-up. 

This was an opportunity to turn a terrible situation into one where one person’s stance, supported by all the related parties, could aid understanding.

The impetus provided by Adam Goodes should create momentum for a broader discussion at schools and at home. Leadership from parents and teachers, and from our business and sporting role models, must continue if we are to truly stamp out these thoughtless attacks.

What we can’t rely upon is there ever being total eradication of the values that challenge our society. There will be some who maintain a distrust and a lack of acceptance of those who are different, whether it be their gender, age, weight, appearance or religion.

The only way to tackle such attitudes are bit by bit, person by person, by education.

The lynch mob mentality does not work either way. What Adam Goodes, by his actions on Friday and across the weekend, proved was that by starting with one person, change is possible. That words are more powerful being used for good than they are for the opposite reasons.