Koby Abberton on Australian Story

[behhh02]

They took our Jobss! They took ur jerb!
Goobag's from the future!

Oh yeah and i found the koby abberton story extremely one sided.

[oldman]

as i see it, maroubra is not, nor ever has been a poor ghetto. i lived in the area in the 80's and my cousins were mates of the abbertons when they were teens and although it's no tamarama or bronte, maroubra was by no stretch a poor neighborhood. modest, but not claymore or cabramatta

The housing comm area covers a large slab of South Maroubra. You will not find the wealthy, or the middle class living there. Calling it a ghetto may be a little dramatic, but not outrageously so. Some people grow up there in loving families with food on the table. Others don't.

All in all kuba, your post just showed that you don't know the area.

As for the Goulburn Gaol piece, yeah, heavy hitters in there. Scary!

[kuba]

much of The Rocks in the city is housing commission and you can't necessarily call it poor and disenfranchised. true, there were (and still are) low- and no-income households in maroubra but a poor neighbourhood is one which is isolated from the rest of the community with no infastructure and pathways for escape. maroubra is relatively central to a cosmopolitan city, has public transport and shopping centres and schools and a local council which puts money into public "beautification" projects, etc. there aren't homeless people on the streets. there aren't riots. it's no bed-stuy in brooklyn (where i've also lived) and it's not even like south-west sydney (where my folks live). i'm not trying to say that maroubra is all yuppies, but pulling the "built tough by living life on the mean streets" line is a bit suss in this case. sure, their mother was a junkie and they had it tough, which does make for a hard life, but maroubra ain't no compton.
sorry for the rant.

[Hound]

With the risk of a rock being thrown through the Commodores windscreen and a turd left in the glove box, I have to say, after watching the program I was surprised to see none of the boys wearing their trademark bras! must be camera shy!

Kuba has it right on this one, I don't really subscribe to the mean streets/poor boy done good, Maroubra is no Palm Beach I'll give you that, but in comparison to a lot of this city it's certainly got things good. It's a shame the likes of tracks give the abbertons and the brs boys so much coverage, almost vilifying and immortalising their 'cheeky antics' (which includes them hanging out with their girlfriends carrying guns?) I for one don't think it's quite the role models for the new generation, but that may be me just getting to be an old fart... oh and that 50 cent chappie, what a thug!!!!!

[schnorky]

At the end, Caroline Jones offered us a vote on the 3 best Australian Stories of the year to be replayed over the summer. I doubt the story they offered last night will get the vote.

Koby has worked out one thing. All that court drama he can do without.

He is a cranky young bloke and a bit lacking in manners but he isnt a crim, looks after his younger bro as best as he knows how and all the dodgy little street groms around 14-16 who run rampart around the streets know he is not the bloke they want to run into when creating some urban havoc.

[breaks]

Just to follow up on the Kuba rant (and related posts), I doubt that the recently planted median strips, decorative rubbish bins nor the proximity to the city of lights makes much difference if you're growing up in a DoH enclave without much money. In fact I saw some of the saddest lives imaginable in DoH flats and high rises in suburbs such as Redfern, Surry Hills and Woolloomoloo - which are now well co-inhabited by yuppies. Driving past just aint the same - and having a drug addicted parent can't really be judged from the outside.

[robbieg]

- and having a drug addicted parent can't really be judged from the outside.

One of those things that everyone seems to think they can judge on, good call breaks, been there, still am there catually and it really does suck.

[dy_fo_life]

The housing comm area covers a large slab of South Maroubra. You will not find the wealthy, or the middle class living there. Calling it a ghetto may be a little dramatic, but not outrageously so. Some people grow up there in loving families with food on the table. Others don't

If it is soooo bad why are the "bra boys" so proud, to the point of inking up for their postcode.....extreme civic pride?? Obviuosly it has a little more going for it than Macquarie Fields or Blacktown, that said he sounds like he may have had it hard growin' up in "da hood", but then this whole situation occured once his career had kicked into overdrive and he had travelled the world and had (should have??) seen there was more to life than growing old in the same town you had "suffered" in.
Mick fanning grew up in Campbelltown till he was six or so, damn he kicked the gangsta life and now is a certified goldy pimp.
I recently overheard two guys talking about how Koby had been out at NN and started spouting about how he could kick anyones butt.....can't remeber specifics (because it fitted the profile I already have of the guy) ,so maybe someone could enlighten everyone.
There seems to have been so many high profile surfers whose lives take an alternative route to the expected,when at the pinnacle of their careers E.g Jeff Hackman, MP, Herring etc.
I hope Koby sticks to his comments re: never wanting to be in the same situation again, cause a life is a life, surfing or otherwise.

[chrisb]

For the record, Koby Abberton's verdict comes up later this month. It will be heard by a judge only, no jury.

Frankly for his sake, I hope that he gets no worse than a suspended sentence if he is convicted. Not sure if that would jeopardise his sponsorships.

It would be a tragedy to see all his achievements get blown away merely because he allegedly did what most people would do to help a brother in trouble.

Unfortunately, from what I saw, his only talent seems to be surfing.

[cords]

My opinion is that Koby Abberton should be in jail. He is a bully who uses violence to get his way. How many counts of assault would there be against this bloke?!?!?

I agree with the person who posted above who said that his actions of assault & disrespectfulness to others are glorified as "cheeky antics" by mags like Tracks. He is a disgrace & so are the mags & his sponsors for promoting how he lives his life. They know exactly what goes on.

He appears to think he is superior to bodyboarders because he is a standup. Not just in a "I'll drop in on you" slightly arrogant manner, but to the extent that he would tell a lone bodyboarder that they don't belong at a certain break (not in the Maroubra precinct) and threaten them (and follow through) with violence if they don't go in (with 6 or 7 of his mates looking on as insurance - oh-so-brave, koby!)

Arrogant, ignorant, selfish, violent, unrepentant & inexcusable.

Its sad that his mother was a junkie and he has been through lots of bad times growing up but that does not excuse his actions now. There are plenty of people who have grown up in terrible situations who choose not to repeat the cycle and live their life that way.

He is a fully paid professional surfer and to me his actions show that he takes that for granted. He has been given an opportunity in life that many who grew up in a similar position to his will never get. I hope that the bloke wakes up to himself one day & sees how lucky he really is. He has no right to treat other human beings that way.

End rant.

Cords

[scroopulis]

For the record, Koby Abberton's verdict comes up later this month. It will be heard by a judge only, no jury.

Frankly for his sake, I hope that he gets no worse than a suspended sentence if he is convicted. Not sure if that would jeopardise his sponsorships.

It would be a tragedy to see all his achievements get blown away merely because he allegedly did what most people would do to help a brother in trouble.

Unfortunately, from what I saw, his only talent seems to be surfing.

From what i've seen he does play the pokies pretty well. I was sittin' next to him and was a little nervous when he started to double or nothing...

[One Mile Point]

See the fuckers severed hand at cyclops?

[willie]

i feel sorry for the bloke that all his sponsorship deals n income will be in the hands of one judge, but hey, thats life ey?
funny story bout the bra boys,
my old mans mate moved over here a while ago, this woulda been in the late 90's, this guy was about 40, bogan bloke, beer gut, stubbies, flanno shirt, moustache, truck driver, u know the kind... He went to a pub out in coogee n was sittin at a bar n these 2 guys come over to him givin him a hard time, n my dads mate is a no nonsense kinda guy n just goes to the blokes Wtf u guys want?? tellin em off n givin em a bit back, and one of the blokes pulled up his shirt revealin his tats goin "im a bra boy"
so my old mans mate replies "well i have no ffn idea wat that is" and punches the bloke square in the face knockin him out...
best story of the bra boys ive heard

[streetdaddy]

i'm too far detached from the whole situation to make a decision either way. But i generally assume that anyone who is surrounded by ppl who worship the ground they walk on is probably going to be an arrogant wanker as a result. So far I haven't been proven wrong by what I've seen first hand and heard from other ppl...

Given his background I'm not surprised that his initial reaction was to say he hadn't seen Jai. A very stupid and unfortunate split-second decision on his part, but not something I would feel warrants having his whole life pulled out from underneath him, regardless of how much of a cock-smoker some ppl say he is. Hopefully the judge will feel the same.. gl mate

[incontrol]

The guy is a joke who cant even string together a proper sentence, as was that show. You people should realise this is all just about publicity.

[mm]

Well actually, that is the job of a jury. They are supposed to be impartial before they hear any evidence, and then they are requested to be partial by the judge.

What does that mean exactly? That once they have considered the evidence impartially, they should just let their biases decide their verdict? Funny, I though that juries were supposed make their decision based on what the law says, not what their gut does.

It's called a verdict. It's pretty clear from the reaction of the jury that they thought JA had done society a favour. The jury's reaction is not that uncommon. The fact that they congratulated him after the trial is neither here nor there.

It's not a jury's job to think about whether a killer did society a favour or not. It's their job to consider what the law says. The reason why Jai Abberton was found innocent (and I can see why he was) should have been that he was in fear for his life from Hines and killed him in self-defense. That Hines might have been a worthless piece of filth is absolutely irrelevant. I understand that no matter what, emotions will come into play in situations like this, but even if they can't be eliminated altogether they should at least be kept to a minimum. If the jury felt that Jai Abberton was the reincarnation of Mother Theresa, fine, but the least they could do would be to try and keep it to themselves.

Doesn't seem to be any point in the case against him seeing his brother was acquitted.

Sure there is. He's being charged with lying to the police and hindering their investigation, which has nothing to do with his brother guilt, or lack of it.

[Lucky Al]

clearly, the reason koby abberton's story so moves us and fascinates our imaginations is that it is not just the story of a man but also the story of man, of humanity at this point in history.

when koby says that he saw his mum with a needle in her arm and that her boyfriend pulled a baseball bat on him when he wouldn't stop watching them, we recognize our own awareness and loathing of the decadence and destructiveness of our leaders, and the dangerousness of questioning and rebelling against them.

when koby says that he can be anywhere in the world, any time, and that he wants to surf waves that aren't supposed to be surfed, he speaks for humanity, which has conquered nature and bent the world to its will, by turning and poisoning long rivers, draining deep lakes, uprooting centuries-old forests, tunneling through and digging out the hearts of towering mountains, paving and concreting endless vast plains, comically shortening great distances by building fast trains and jet planes, enslaving and slaughtering once wild animals of the land, sea and air, melting the icecaps and burning holes in the sky.

when koby says that he wants to ride a 168-foot wave and mentions madness he gives voice to our own irrationality and madness, and reminds us that this life full of luxury and thrills that we have created for ourselves is also excruciatingly uncomfortable for some of us and insanely dangerous for us all.

and when koby seems to express a sort of death wish he reminds us that in conquering nature we have transformed it into a force far more terrible than any we have yet encountered, a force that will soon destroy us.

by 2025 koby will have ridden his 168-foot wave and perhaps have had his death wish granted, and by 2100 all that will remain of global civilization as it exists today are windswept, wave-washed ruins.