James
Regarding the incident from last Monday, I think the final decision is satisfactory. It was good to bring players from all around the league together to state their opinion on the matter. I'm personally satisfied with the decision and agree with the new rule that was voted for on Friday night.
With racism in general, I think it is a big issue in football and something that should be punished accordingly. Football is a place where people come to forget about everything else going on in their lives and to have fun. A football pitch should never be a place where people can be racially abused. Whether a player is playing dirty or insulting other players, a racial slur or abuse is a completely unacceptable form of retaliation.
Personally, this is the first racism issue that I've come across while playing football. In Ireland, the worst I've seen and heard is Irish players calling foreign players "dirty foreigners", in which case they are banned. In Ireland, it's rare to see someone refer to someone's race or skin colour as a means of insult. And in Ireland in general there isn't a problem with racism. Irish people have a tremendous acceptance for people from other countries around the world. Having migrated ourselves generation after generation, and to have been discriminated against ourselves in the past, I believe Irish people never resort to racism because of our own history with migration/emmigration. For example, in the UK, pubs used to place signs on their windows which said "No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish". So I do believe in Ireland that people are more tolerant and racism isn't an issue like it is in other countries.
Having said that, as a white male, racism is never an issue that I will ever likely be the victim of. That's why it's important, going forward, to listen to players of colour in SIAFL on this issue and how racial abuse makes them feel if they were the victim. I can only imagine how a racial slur may make someone feel, so that's why listening to others and how it might make them feel is key.
George
Once, while riding public transport, I encountered an instance of racism: a young man of Asian descent attempted to take a seat, but he was rudely pushed away with the words, "We won't sit next to you, go find another place!" I couldn't understand how people could treat someone so cruelly solely based on their racial background.
Humiliating people because of their skin color or racial identity is always unacceptable and reprehensible. Not only does it harm individuals directly, but it also undermines the foundations of our society, which should be built on respect, tolerance, and equality. Every person deserves respect and equal opportunities, regardless of their origin or skin color.
Brooklyn
种族歧视问题在世界范围内的严重程度还是很深的，我们经常能在新闻里看到国外对于非裔人员的种族歧视问题；包括在国外，对于中国人，有一小部分外国人也会有区别对待中国人的情况，这个问题在香港尤为严重，作为中国大陆居民，很多香港原住民也会对中国大陆居民抱有鄙夷态度。