Pride and prejudice
30.09.2000
ACCORDING to a poll published on Wednesday, more than eight million Australians watched Cathy Freeman win Olympic gold in the women's 400 metre event on television.
It was the most watched sporting event of the Games and almost rivalled the astounding appeal of the opening ceremony. Freeman was also the star at that event.
The popularity of this young Aboriginal woman was attested to by the crowd reaction when she won -- possibly the most exciting reception any sportsman or woman has received in Australia.
Which makes it all the more surprising to hear of the opposition of some to Freeman's selection to light the Olympic flame, and then their resentment at daring to carry the Aboriginal and Australian flags intertwined after winning gold.
Although greatly in the minority, some letter writers to The Courier-Mail were dreadfully bitter. Take for example a Mt Gravatt reader: ``Not everyone thought Cathy was an inspired choice for lighting the cauldron. As Cathy ran the flame up those stairs, I, along with those who were watching the brilliant ceremony with me, hoped she would pass the flame to someone else. Her lighting the flame turned the Olympics into a political sideshow in front of the entire world.''
He then turned to her athletic success: ``Twenty-four hours ago, in Olympic terms, Cathy Freeman was next to nobody. She had won one silver medal . . . Last night Cathy shamed us by once again carrying the Aboriginal flag. She is not Aboriginal Australian, nor is she Italo-Australian, Greek-Australian . . . She is an Aussie like you or me. Good on ya Cathy. Last night you did Australia proud -- right before you carried that flag.''
It is bilious-making to dignify such mean-spirited sentiments by reprinting them. Certainly the letter writer is no household name in Australia for his sporting achievements, or anything else for that matter. I wonder if he has the slightest appreciation of the years of effort Freeman put into reaching the pinnacle of her athletic career?
I wonder if he has ever been under anything like the pressure she has -- because she is an Aborigine, not for any other reason. That she had the courage to previously display the Aboriginal flag when she won Commonwealth gold was a public declaration that she is in fact an Aboriginal Australian -- and damn proud of it!
BUT perhaps the most worrying anecdote to come from the minor controversy surrounding her selection to light the cauldron was the report of a Courier-Mail journalist who happened to be listening to the police radio to see whether there were any incidents worth reporting.
Instead, once Freeman lit the Olympic flame, the airwaves over the police radio were thick with racist criticism of her selection. It says something of how far the Queensland Police Service has progressed that they would be so brazen as to publicly voice their prejudice.
The most poignant moment of all was after she breasted the tape and collapsed on the track at the end of the 400 metres. The blank, almost frightened look on Freeman's face was alarming. She had the look of a person who has just been pulled from a car crash: shocked, hearing and seeing nothing, totally immersed in a private world.
Volumes already have been written claiming Freeman's performances have resulted in great strides being made along the path to reconciliation between black and white Australia. That might well be drawing a long bow, but nobody could dispute that this young woman performed for Australia -- and for herself -- in a most dignified and gracious manner.
The media has been criticised by a few malcontents for having ``too much'' Cathy Freeman, but the fact is that people seem to have an insatiable appetite for information about this remarkable athlete.
It is unfortunate that other Olympic Games achievers have not received an equal amount of publicity even though their success was the equal of Freeman's. But it comes down to providing what people want.
For more than a decade, golfers the world over have resented the attention paid to Greg Norman -- but he's the player people want to watch or listen to being interviewed.
And that's how it is with Cathy Freeman -- her youthful innocence and straightforward response to questions is endearing.
Knockers should pretend they are colour-blind. They would then see a little girl who grew up in deprived circumstances, realised she had a talent for running, and put her heart and soul into becoming the best.
When her sister died, she tried to put into her coffin the Commonwealth Games gold medal she won in Auckland, but her mother would not let her do it. Instead, Freeman made a promise to her sister that she would one day win Olympic gold. She achieved that last week and a nation rejoiced.
She is a remarkable Aborigine, a remarkable athlete and a remarkable Australian.
It is humbling just to appreciate what she has achieved.
