Australian Flag banned at the BDO | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Australian Flag banned at the BDO

rosy23 said:
I think Mr West's comments about the Australian Flag, with no mention of other flags, is extremely discriminatory and could possibly flare up more angst than if he concentrated on addressing the problems.  IF, in fact, there were any.

Definately stirred up angst.  I reckon Westy is trying to run a music fesival where mums and dads can send their kids to have some fun without being punched up.  Last year their was a lot more punching-up of people than usual, predominantly brown people, and the vast majority of the punching was done by young bloke wearing Aussie flags.

I'm not necessarily saying he should ban the flag at the BDO, but I can see where he's coming from.  His no. 1 priority is to have a non-violent fun festival, not to fuel national outrage.  I've met him a couple of time, I have worked on a few BDOs, he's a very calm, normal, funny bloke.
 
feisty tige said:
It is not the flag but the person with it?

I think that's what many of us have been saying feisty.  Deal with the problem...a problem that doesn't happen to be our Australian flag, a symbol for many of the great country and freedom we have here, but rather small minority abuse it.

Interesting about Mr West ts. I wonder how selective the journos have been in regard to the context of his comments.  If they're accurate I'm not a fan.
 
I admire your left wing logic usually snake but you are up against on this one. Absurd decision that is indefensible.
 
struggletown3121 said:
We better ban the barmy army then.
Nationalists draped in Union Jacks and St George crosses hurling insults about convicts.......or just a cheeky harmless bunch of half pissed guys having fun??
I suppose its how thick skinned you are huh?

This decision is derisory....the arguements against it are pre-empting drunk agressive nationalists trouble making,why must it neccesarily be the case?
Its Australia day FFS a day of celebration of the freedoms we enjoy.....or should I say used to enjoy?? :thumbsdown

I'm very thick skinned.  I agree with the principle, but its exactly the same as being treated like criminals every time we enter a venue or a plane or whatever because of terrorism.  A few violent thugs spoil it for everyone.

I'd boil it down to this, rather than get pissed off with Ken West, I'm pissed off with thugs who wear the flag and degrade it.
 
tigersnake said:
I'd boil it down to this, rather than get pissed off with Ken West, I'm pissed off with thugs who wear the flag and degrade it.

Yeah but instead of spoiling it for everyone get the security to do their bloody job and kick the idiots out that abuse it.

What happens if on the day of the BDO people wear T-shirts with the Aussie Flag on it, or paint their faces, green & gold or Red, white and blue? Are they 'gang' colours?
Where does it end TS?

What happened to freedom of expression?
So ironic at an 'alternative' music festival. :blah

He might be a 'calm, funny bloke' but Ken West is a fool because he's created an atmosphere of anger and hostility which is anything but those things.
He's tarnished his precious BDO for good by making a mountain out of a molehill.
 
jb03 said:
I admire your left wing logic usually snake but you are up against on this one.  Absurd decision that is indefensible.
Yep,normally on the money snake but not with this one.
 
What we’ve gotta remember here is that there is infinitely more good about this country than bad, that we have come a long way as a nation in a relatively short period of time, and that we have achieved things that many other countries have only ever been able to dream about.

So, with all of that, I say that in no way whatsoever should any of us EVER be prevented from using our flag to celebrate or convey our feelings of just how proud we are of this nation and the aforementioned achievements simply because an infinitesimal minority of aholes choose to use it as a symbol for something else.

The flag is NOT the problem here.
 
Tigers of Old said:
tigersnake said:
I'd boil it down to this, rather than get pissed off with Ken West, I'm pissed off with thugs who wear the flag and degrade it.

Yeah but instead of spoiling it for everyone get the security to do their bloody job and kick the idiots out that abuse it.

What happens if on the day of the BDO people wear T-shirts with the Aussie Flag on it, or paint their faces, green & gold or Red, white and blue? Are they 'gang' colours?
Where does it end TS?

What happened to freedom of expression?
So ironic at an 'alternative' music festival. :blah

He might be a 'calm, funny bloke' but Ken West is a fool because he's created an atmosphere of anger and hostility which is anything but those things.
He's tarnished his precious BDO for good by making a mountain out of a molehill.

Agree, good post and well said.
 
tigersnake said:
Redford said:
The banning of the Australian flag at certain events, on Australia Day and in the damn country itself smacks of a beaurocracy that doesnt have the answers to what the real problem/s are.    

Thats a good point.  Although I don't think its the bureaucracy, its our society.  Its a bit like banning booze in black communities rthaer than looking at the issues that have caused the alcohol dependency problems.

I'm with feisty tige.  Its all got ugly and over the top as far as I'm concerned.  I don't like any nationalism in any form, Aussie, Croat, yank, whatever, its excluding, alienating and causes wars.  Nationalism is putting your country before everything else no matter what, before family, justice, freedom, tolerance.  Look at every historical regime that was predominantly nationalist and it is not pretty.  Its about forcing everyone to fit a certain questionable mold of what our country is and represents.  Patriotism and pride in your country is different.  The reality is, in my humble experience, the vast majority of people I see draped in the flag are young males aged 15-25, and usually hanging around in groups drinking.
I don't think I've ever seen so many exclamation marks on a thread on PRE.

I've just been thinking about this some more, sorry I tend to do that sometime.  As I've said, in my experience the young blokes I see wearing the auusie flag as a cape seem to be young yobbos, often spoiing for a fight.  Now I don't necessarily have a problem with young yobbos, I was one myself and on their behaviour is harmless more often than not.  But it seems that when the dons the flag cape they suddenly have this wierd forcefield on that validates them in a wierd way, when they are actually just yobbos.  Dunno what my point is there.  All this flag-cape wearing seems to have come out of nowhere.  And I for one don't like it. (sorry forgot the exclamation marks) !!

Apparently you haven't been to the cricket at the MCG lately then? There are many young girls/women with Aussie flags draped around them too.. and I'm sure they're not there to pick a fight with anyone.... just having some fun, and showing their patriotism. Nothing wrong with that, is there?
 
thanks JB and MB, i do my best.  You've gotta have a go.

I agree Ken West could have handled it better.

I'll try and put it another way.  Middle Eastern people get targetted more than white people when they are going into airports or whatever, its unforunate and I feel for the non-extremeist middle eastern people, but thats the way its gotta be.  The alternative of targetting everyone is impossible.  People might disagree with me, but its a simple logistic necessity.

I reckon if its pissed, chrystal-methed young thugs wearing aussie flag capes causing trouble at the BDO, and last year it was, its fair enough that they're targetted for extra security.  Again, simple logisical necessity.   And it wasn't a molehill last year TOO, there was a fair bit of violence, you wouldn't think it was a molehill if your 14 year old son was beaten up, well I wouldn't anyway.  Ken West has said to himself 'flag wearing young blokes spoiled last years festival, how can I best stop it happening again?'

We all know its a great country.  West reaction to the problem may not have been good, but the problem is there.  I'm not saying the whole country's gone to sh!t, becuase a few *smile*s think they have a mortage on the flag.

!
 
tigersnake said:
thanks JB and MB, i do my best.  You've gotta have a go.

I agree Ken West could have handled it better.

I'll try and put it another way.  Middle Eastern people get targetted more than white people when they are going into airports or whatever, its unforunate and I feel for the non-extremeist middle eastern people, but thats the way its gotta be.  The alternative of targetting everyone is impossible.  People might disagree with me, but its a simple logistic necessity.

I reckon if its pissed, chrystal-methed young thugs wearing aussie flag capes causing trouble at the BDO, and last year it was, its fair enough that they're targetted for extra security.  Again, simple logisical necessity.   And it wasn't a molehill last year TOO, there was a fair bit of violence, you wouldn't think it was a molehill if your 14 year old son was beaten up, well I wouldn't anyway.  Ken West has said to himself 'flag wearing young blokes spoiled last years festival, how can I best stop it happening again?'

We all know its a great country.  West reaction to the problem may not have been good, but the problem is there.  I'm not saying the whole country's gone to sh!t, becuase a few *smile*s think they have a mortage on the flag.

Funny, I don't recall any issue of 'flag wearing young blokes' spoiling last year's BDO at all.
 
jb03 said:
tigersnake said:
thanks JB and MB, i do my best.  You've gotta have a go.

I agree Ken West could have handled it better.

I'll try and put it another way.  Middle Eastern people get targetted more than white people when they are going into airports or whatever, its unforunate and I feel for the non-extremeist middle eastern people, but thats the way its gotta be.  The alternative of targetting everyone is impossible.  People might disagree with me, but its a simple logistic necessity.

I reckon if its pissed, chrystal-methed young thugs wearing aussie flag capes causing trouble at the BDO, and last year it was, its fair enough that they're targetted for extra security.  Again, simple logisical necessity.   And it wasn't a molehill last year TOO, there was a fair bit of violence, you wouldn't think it was a molehill if your 14 year old son was beaten up, well I wouldn't anyway.  Ken West has said to himself 'flag wearing young blokes spoiled last years festival, how can I best stop it happening again?'

We all know its a great country.  West reaction to the problem may not have been good, but the problem is there.  I'm not saying the whole country's gone to sh!t, becuase a few *smile*s think they have a mortage on the flag.

Funny, I don't recall any issue of 'flag wearing young blokes' spoiling last year's BDO at all.

well, they did, you don't have to take my word for it though of course. Sydney was particularly bad. There was a bit of press about it. I reckon its very interesting the Ken West saying 'I don't want flags at the BDO' attract massive outrage, media, controvery etc. While gangs of young blokes wearing flags and punching people at random doesn't get cause much outrage and controvery.

Aside from the press, which you can verify, I'll give you some anecdotal evidence, which you can't verify because this is an anonymous forum, A few very good friends of mine, 2 in particlular, work on the BDO every year. Also have quite a lot of aquaintances. Some of these people are not wimpy bloke, some a big ugly roadies who have been around. The general impression of the BDO tour last year was that there was much more violence, heaps of people wearing flags which they'd never seen before, and that Sydney in particular, was pretty scary.
 
tigersnake said:
I reckon if its pissed, chrystal-methed young thugs wearing aussie flag capes causing trouble at the BDO, and last year it was, its fair enough that they're targetted for extra security.

Well there's your problem.

As Red keeps harping the flag is not the issue here.

If the BDO wants to get fair dinkum then it's got far bigger social problems to handle than a bit of fabric.
 
Tigers of Old said:
tigersnake said:
I reckon if its pissed, chrystal-methed young thugs wearing aussie flag capes causing trouble at the BDO, and last year it was, its fair enough that they're targetted for extra security. 

Well there's your problem.

As Red keeps harping the flag is not the issue here.

If the BDO wants to get fair dinkum then it's got far bigger social problems to handle than a bit of fabric.

yeah, and I agreed with that, its just a rectangle bit of material after all. But the BDO has to process punters quickly otherwise the thing can't happen. They can't ban every young male, they can't ban people who've had a drink, they can't test everyone for amphetamine use.
 
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoudrel-Samuel Johnson.


:hula
 
I thought i lived in Australia.

There should never ever ever ever be a time when our national flag should not be allowed to fly nor its people wave it with pride.

This country is overgoverned by left wing, panderers who just offended me and probably most proud Aussies by once again submitting to the bleats of minorities.

THIS IS AUSTRALIA FFS!!!!!
 
evo said:
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoudrel-Samuel Johnson.


:hula

What does such a bad actor starring on such bad show as the Secret Life of Us have to do with anything ?
 
craig said:
I thought i lived in Australia.

We don't know where you live, this is the internet.

There should never ever ever ever be a time when our national flag should not be allowed to fly nor its people wave it with pride.

Flying it isn't the problem, weraing it is causing a bit of a kefuffle though. So you reckon anyone should be allowed to wave with pride in the name of any cause?

This country is overgoverned by left wing, panderers who just offended me and probably most proud Aussies by once again submitting to the bleats of minorities.

Who is currently in the chair Craig 'ol son?

THIS IS AUSTRALIA FFS!!!!!

5 exclamation marks, you should get your own radio show, you're a talent.