Anthony 'The Man' Mundine has gone on the offensive following the predictable public backlash against his decision to protest the Australian anthem during this Friday's rematch with Danny Green.Mundine took time out of a sparring session in Adelaide's Rundle Mall today to address the public furore. Far from being apologetic, Mundine let fly with another barrage of truth bombs."I'm about uniting people together, uniting the country together. Do your research on the anthem, do your research on (the lyrics)…'we're young, we're free.' We're far from young and a lot of us ain't free," he told Fox Sports, referring to scientific studies that prove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is among the oldest known to man at between 37 000 and 50 000 years old; as well as the damning statistic that Indigenous Australians are 15 times more likely to end up incarcerated than non-indigenous Australians, and 24 times amongst juveniles.Mundine wasn't finished sledging the anthem: "That was the theme for the White Australia policy from 1901 to the early 1970s when Aboriginal people wasn't even considered citizens. Are we coming together? Are we coming together? Are we coming together?" he challenged the reporter, "I would like to see a change for the better," he said.Today, Indigenous Australians suffer from an infant mortality rate more than twice that of non-Indigenous children and a death rate five times that of non-Indigenous Australians. That is without mentioning the inter-generational trauma suffered during the Stolen Generation, in which Aboriginal children were stolen from their parents and placed in white Christian boarding schools (Mundine's grandparents were part of the Stolen Generation).Just yesterday came news of a historical documentary by Australian filmmaker, Phillip Rang, revealing how Indigenous Australians were stolen from their families and forced to tour the world as part of a "human zoo."Mundine also made sure to throw a verbal flurry his opponent's way during the impromptu interview."I don't think (Green's) got the qualities I have as far as humblenesss…I'm cocky when I need to be, when I get into the ring to entertain, I believe in myself in that sense. But as far as a human being and a gentleman I am very pious and very humble," he said.
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