ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu has defended Julius Malema’s lusty renditions of the infamous “kill the boers, they are rapists” song, arguing (according to this Sapa article) that the “the lyrics of the song had been quoted out of context”.
“This song was sung for many years even before Malema was born. Julius doesn’t even know who’s the writer of the song. He got it from us [the ANC]. You must blame the ANC, don’t blame Julius. But when you blame the ANC, then contextualise it,” Sapa quotes Mthembu as saying.
By Mthembu’s logic, it is completely acceptable inciting people to kill others, provided there is “context”. What does that mean? Well, so as long as “kill the blacks” was an old apartheid song, embittered racists can chant it from the rooftops. So long as “kill the women” was some sort of misogynist anthem, chauvinists can do the Macarena to it in male-only clubs. So long as “kill the gays” was a major hit for bigots as they set lesbians alight, they can scream it as they throw the gays off bridges and into manholes.
That’s the logic behind ANC’s defence of Julius Malema’s call to kill. But it is, most likely, an unintended logic. Because one gets the sense from Mthembu’s inelegant explanation behind Malema’s behaviour that singing “kill the boers” is acceptable simply because of the group it is targeting. In the ANC’s eyes, this, surely, is a way of putting a “vanquished” people in their place, reinforcing the ANC’s Africanist political hegemony, reminding white Afrikaners — yes, after all, that is what the word “boer” is a term for — that they are “guests” staying in this country at the almighty ANC’s behest, and that their livelihoods, and indeed lives, are at the mercy of the ANC.
The ANC equates the black majority with its own political majority. It equates the Afrikaans minority with a political minority, a minority that is supposedly stubborn, resistant to change and unwilling to accept the political majority’s power. This is a dangerous, unfortunate perspective because it negates the nuances of political thought and tramples on the concepts of individual freedom, liberty and expression. It forgoes any notion of equality and inclusiveness.
The Afrikaners are South Africans and Africans. They are equals and deserve to be treated as such. Provided our Constitution and laws are respected, they are as entitled to live in whichever way they want to, to say and do whatever they want — as any other South African, of any culture, race or creed, should be able to do.
By supporting Malema’s calls for the demise of the Afrikaners, as implied in “kill the boers”, the ANC shows contempt for this concept of equality and individual liberty — and for our Constitution which guarantees this. Why? Because the ANC believes that minorities (whether racial, political or intellectual) require subordination and domination. This impulse shares the very same roots as the heinous National Party’s urge to dominate and subordinate groupings it considered “other” and inferior. But that’s no surprise — whatever its claims to contrary, the ANC has shown again and again that it is cut of the same cloth as the National Party — like its predecessor in power it is racially nationalistic, adhering to the politics of domination and exclusion.
Malema’s recent pronouncements — and the ANC’s sprightly defence of them — are no exception.
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82 Responses to “If killing the boers is OK, how about blacks, women and gays?”
Okay - the fact that someone feels the need to actually condemn the ANC’s nonsensical outbursts any more is surely a cause for concern.
The people who support the ANC (and the ANC’s nonsensical utterances) are the ones we need to hear from. They need to explain their position. They need to (dare I say it!) put the ANC’s BULLSHIT into context.
In the meantime, my friend, you are doing nothing but preaching a tired old line to the choir. There is no longer any point in listing the ANC’s myriad of failures.
We know the ANC sucks. Now what are what we going to do about it?
As it turns out, unless you havn’t heard, Mthembu was arrested a short while after this interview for driving drunk. Apparently pulled over for driving in the bus lane in Cape Town.
So the moral of the story is dont give interviews when drunk. Goes for Winnie too I suppose.
Alex
“The Afrikaners are South Africans and Africans. They are equals and deserve to be treated as such. Provided our Constitution and laws are respected, they are as entitled to live in whichever way they want to, to say and do whatever they want”
Wow, how so eloquent !
And we would have expected Alex Matthews, the world renowned activist of “Race Equality” to have at least written or used the same energy & with the parallel vigor to rebuke the Afrikaners, in the form of Eugene Terreblance, when they insulted innocent black Africans—more particularly when they were blanket(ly) accused of being destructors. But, hell no, not the liberal Alex, he wouldn’t dare reprimand a person of his kind, it’s just not normal to do so. It would be inconvenient. Rather bash those who are your enemies first, then take it as if it’s spontaneous for blacks to suffer under the vitriol of ET 7 his
Poor Panyanza Lesufi, he was left alone to take that issue to the Human Rights Commission, and no one assisted him in attacking this case, by also going to the Gender & Race Equality Court , Public Protector & Other avenues….
Defending the indefensible is the ANC’s raison d’ ètre these days but Julius isn’t making it easy. By upping the ante insanely he is pushing the outer limits of spin doctoring into the stratosphere.
Mthembu has swallowed both feet up to the ankles this time. What clowns they make of themselves in defense of the resident village idiot. Malema must have one helluva’ a file on all of the ANC bigwigs…
PeterH: I understand where you are coming from. I too have tired of criticising ANC idiocies and antics. Logic makes no impact whatsoever. The ANC leadership is only concerned with voting fodder responses. The voting fodder, in turn, is entirely uncritical of the leadership.
Lets see, surely Mr. Zuma has to comment yet? President Malema is being stalked by the media. It is he, above all, who sells newspapers. Their hunger for blood has brought about the fight or flight response that so characterizes both his and Zuma’s behavior. Always on the back foot and fighting for a shred of dignity, not a friend in sight. Its not a pleasant sight, its a very sad indictment of the ANC to see them humiliated this way. But they are currently their own worst enemies. Unfortunately populism attracts a large audience who can be relied upon to disregard their own self interests for partisanship politics. Ho hum.
Late last year l was distributing pamphlets on Marlboro drive, during the distribution two middle-aged white men called me a kaffir. They drove off just when l wanted to explain to tell them how united the country is now that if they do not want to see a “Kaffir” Australia has an open door policy. There must be a reason why Julius sang the bitter song. He thus needs to explain to stop these recurring racial cleavages.
How do the hate laws apply here? Should Malema not be charged with inciting hatred and violence? And at the very least the ANC should censure him - or preferably kick him out the party.
…the ANC has shown again and again that it is cut of the same cloth as the National Party…
I am sure Kortbroek would concur. The broeder[swart]bond? Now we just need to hold them all accountable. Justice must prevail. The culture of impunity must stop.
@ PeterH-agree whole heartedly. The shocking aspect of this is the silence from people in the street. Where is the public demonstration against this bs?? Instead we have endless media manipulation, and faux outrage. If people don’t do anything, this will continue
nice piece, alex. i have to disagree with peterh - there very much is a point in listing anc failures. it is the start of calling for accountability. and given that the anc seems so averse to accountability, listing their failures and explaining, logically, why they need to do better, is, unfortunately, all we have. as such, clear-thinking south africans need to keep pushing.
of course answering the practical question of what we do about it is important. no doubt. but its importance does not mean that journalists and the public should not also list failures, explain why they are failures, and suggest ways forward.
Mtembu should consider a career as a statitician. His concern seems to be with quantity (numbers) rather than quality. Very insulting to the majority of individuals, as only stats can be. Malema seems to share this believe except that he seems to interpret the numbers as: the less of you the more for me. It is all a matter of perspective.
Zuma can call for his machine gun and Juju Amin can call for students to ‘kill the boer’ with complete equanimity by claiming that what both songs say isn’t what they REALLY say… Yeah. Right.
Let’s see how long it would take anyone else to be hauled up on Human Rights charges for singing “Kill Zuma” or “Kill Malema”, never mind calling for a general bloodbath by singing “Kill the Zulu, the Khosa, the Pedi”, etc.
What defense would be offered on behalf of a white or coloured person singing such a song: “What? Can’t you blacks take a joke? We didn’t mean “kill” literally! It’s a metaphor for, for…”
Exactly. “Kill” is not a metaphor for anything; it’s a command.
The man was drunk when he was defending Malema. I’m sure half the time they all are in Luthuli house. Malema sure speaks like my uncle who is always drunk. At tea time they have their tea met Ys.
I don’t mean to be rude either directly or implicitly. Reconciliation from on-set it was an institutional responsibility as opposed to personal concern over whether a person forgives or not. Unfortunately for many white people and blacks alike there is still a material possibility of serious manslaughter after Mandela dies. What Julius said in concert with people in an institution of higher learning is surely a call for concern. Students who sang in absolute agreement the song was perhaps liberating to them, a chance to shift their struggles to some group finally. Boers are certainly the most hated by black people as opposed to white English speaking people. As a practising lawyer it still frustrates me to be receiving pleadings drafted in Afrikaans as opposed to in English whereas I do not speak English as my first language. To even begin to speak in English is an enormous favour to an Afrikaner by all means. If I were to retaliate through not killing and start drafting my pleading in Sepedi I will definitely meet some resistance. To reconcile means to learn to understand my anger and to not again arouse it on race plain. Malema surely in view is inciting hate speech have an enormous tragic consequences but the white population needs to respect people across and from where I am standing they are not even close to doing that hence Malema song.
(Edited)
I don’t mean to be rude either directly or implicitly. Reconciliation from on-set it was an institutional responsibility as opposed to personal concern over whether a person forgives or not. Unfortunately for many white people and blacks alike there is still a material possibility of serious manslaughter after Mandela dies. What Julius said in concert with people in an institution of higher learning is surely a call for concern. Students who sang in absolute agreement the song was perhaps liberating to them, a chance to shift their struggles to some group finally. Boers are certainly the most hated by black people as opposed to white English speaking people. As a practising lawyer it still frustrates me to be receiving pleadings drafted in Afrikaans as opposed to in English whereas I do not even speak English as my first language. To even begin to speak in English is an enormous favour to an Afrikaner by all means. If I were to retaliate through not killing and start drafting my pleadings in Sepedi I will definitely meet some resistance. To reconcile means to learn to understand my anger and to not again arouse it on race plain. Malema surely in view is inciting hate speech which has an enormous tragic consequences but the white population needs to respect people across and from where I am standing they are not even close to doing that hence Malema song.
When the next farmer is murdered, Malema must stand trial with the murderers as he, Malema, has incited violence and murder.
In fact he should be locked up right now. Howe many farmers died because Mukaba used to incite this stupidity.
I t makes a lot of sense, kill all the farmers and starve to death in a black only country. This is the start of anarchy and turning a once breadbasket in another begging nation as is the case with Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and so on.
If this utterance is not hate speech then please tell me what it is?
The count that I have heard is that more than 7,000 farmers have already been disposed of by fools who want to die of hunger in a free manner.
We, the voters of South Africa put the ANC with its president, Jacob Zuma, and its youth league president, Julius Malema, into power. It is up to us, the voters of South Africa, to remove them from power. Roll on the next election and let us see how tired of the ANC we have collectively become. A vote for an opposition party, ANY opposition party, is a vote against the ANC.
For my money, no political party in South Africa has what it takes to govern least of all the ANC; the best possible solution to my mind is an election resulting in three or more parties with the majority of votes between them but no party with an outright majority, and then let the consensus politics begin with proper checks and balances against abuse of power, cronyism, tenderpreneurship etc.
I am black and like my Afrikaans friends a lot. Afrikaners are just as South African as every black person. I think more blacks need to speak up against this. If Malema was in the US, he would not get away with such comments.
@PeterH..exactly the thoughts that went through my mind,while reading through Alex Mathew’s article. To comment on Mtembu:How does one argue a reason with a “excuse for a person” and a political party that is clearly not representative of any decent ,clear thinking and “sober” South African? Your bottom line ,says it all..”We know the ANC sucks. Now, what are we going to do about it!!??”
Alex, do you not get the sense that any moral and constitutional argument against the autocratic and dogmatic ANC is an absolute waste of time!
I had Afrikander Nationalist rule through almost all of my adult life, and do you know what - nothing much is different now - no one at the ANC leadership level is in any way moved by your reasoning and logic. Firstly their “group think” mindset (as for the erstwhile Nats) and their political solidarity regardless of morality is an impenetrable conceptual barrier
I have wearily seen it all before.
Why do you think that Kill the Boer only implicates the demise of the Afrikaner? Do you honestly think that when the hooligans start to take this seriously they will stop and ask “can you say rrrrrrrr? If not, I won’t kill you”. And after they killed the boer, farmer, british colonialist etc etc, divide their property and discover that the minority’s goods weren’t enough for the majority, who’s next? The rich blacks? That means you, Malema.
The ANC simply represents the people. Most, if not all black people think like the ANC. The issue is that about 99% of the voters do not understand what a constitutionasl democracy is. (Hell most lawyers don’t understand the constitution). So when black people see whites talking, laughing, partying and criticizing their leaders they reach the conclusion (and are told by leaders) that whites are unrepentant. Add to that the service delivery failures in mostly black areas and you have fuel for the fire. This is an old Marxist tactic … when resources start drying up (due to ANC corruption) then a minority group is vilified and chosen as a target for the people’s anger. That anger is now deflected away from government and the people see white’s as the problem. Winnie’s attack on Nelson is no co-incidence. It sets the tone for the argument that blacks were given a raw deal (by whites !)when in fact they are being given a raw deal by the corrupt ANC.
Politics 101.
Good column. Like Peter, I’d like to know what can be done about it. Can Malema ever be held accountable in court for his outbursts or will it always be explained away as a misquote or something taken out of context. Surely between his income scandal, possible tax evasion and hate speech, there’s enough to ensure he spends tim in the tronk?
One other thing. You do realise you made a reference to throwing gays into manholes?
Nobody’s being incited to kill anybody. This is a parade of fools indulging in fantasies, singing a song which was actually not initiated by the ANC but by the PAC as part of their own fantasies. The fools are carollong in front of one of the feeblest figures (however many headlines he garners) in the ANC’s National Executive Committee.
So don’t panic, Alex. They are not coming to get you yet. They are, instead, counting on you paying attention to this drivel so you won’t look at anything important.
Who is this Jackson Mthembu and why is he making excuses for the petty rabble rouser and ignoranf little demagogue.. Can the media make them both go away ?
Well, it seems acceptable to sing about DeLarey and praise him. Keeping a statue of Verwoed is part of our history,ne. but the fredom songs are not. Thats why i like the truth through Julius
Being a black person I honestly feel Malema has gone too far, question is What does he have on the ANC that they let him run amok like this. They cant tell me that its freedom of expression, still working on the relations we trying to build as South Africans he is doing the exact opposite, we are almost there. Maybe somebody should sing Kill Malema, see how he likes it then… Its only fair after all what is good for the goose is good for the gander
I think you may have missed the more subtle point of Mthembu’s defence (not suprisingly, since said Mthembu was not at his most eloquent at the time, given the impressive alohol content in his blood).
The point is that Malema was repeating a Struggle song, which, even in the Bad Old Days, was understood not to refer to Afrikaners as a whole, but rather to that section of the Afrikaner community that supported the Apartheid regime.
Malema clearly believes that their still exists such a community, which is opposed to democracy and non-racialism, and it is that community to which he is referring.
So your comparison to a ‘kill the gays’ movement or a ‘kill the women’ movement only applies to a group of gays or women that support a bigoted, racist (or any other profoundly objectionable) regime.
This is not to say that Malema has nothing to answer for. Obviously his choice of song was questionable, and, as a cadre of many years standing, he should know better.
Our leaders only talk about democracy and reconciliation when it suits them, for the mere fact that they know the status of the farm killings in our country for me personally I think they are encouriging the perpetrators of this doings.Malema is vocal on the wrong things as a leader of the youth, he should be fighting for better job opportunities and not Project jobs, access to Higher Education and help the youth to form business coorperative instead he is focussed at the wrong things like removing Cmd Gwede, Nationalization of the Mines and chanting “kill the boer” as a leader you must set standards and not exploit the illiterate and disadvantaged youth by leading them as blind sheeps.The leaders keep saying the youth are the future leaders and with the shortage of scarce skills, why not invest in our sisters and brothers who are already studying in those fields nor matter their colour and stop this race card it is only taking our country backwards.
There is no point rationalising this issue. The plain fact is that the ANC (and not necessarily all blacks) is an open and declared enemy (in a very literal sense) of whites and the Afrikaner in general. I think we know this but unlike the ANC we know that we are not guests in this land and neither do we require their permission or goodwill to stay here. Whites have been forced to fend for themselves, and they have become good at it to the chagrin of the ANC. Whites are also begiining to realise that they a racially discriminated against and do not get any value from an increasingly incompetent state for the economic contribution they are making. I think they have accepted the gauntlett thrown down by the ANC; the ANC will not achieve it’s goal of black hegemony over whites in this country. The saddest of all is that whites have become disinterested in the plight of black compatriots, precisely because of the ANC.
Maybe one has to take a step back and look at what has transpired over since 1994 and even before in terms of transformation of the economic sector. And especially certain comments that were made by Winnie Mandela.
Prior to 1994 during the negotiations - CODESA - the democratic movements negotiated many of the economic rights away and one of these burning issues is that of land and agriculture, one that was pivitol to the struggle demands over the many years.
Issues relating to land and agricultural transformation were not discussed at CODESA. Questions are now being raised as to whether there were deals done in terms of the land issue that were outside of CODESA,and this has then filtered into and protected by the Mandela government.
There are frustrations growing in terms of land, and the economic sector as a whole which has not transformed.
One may hate Winnie and Malema but you cannot discount everything that they say. Economic transformation has not happened and therefore the devide between rich and poor is growing and so is the frustration of the people.
I agree with the blogger. Sure I find Afrikaner music mundane, uninspiring and insensate. Sure Afrikaner poetry and literature is in the main tedious, unpolished, simplistic and amateurish. Sure the Afrikaner language is colorless, boorish and clumsily. Sure the best you can about Afrikaner nationalism is that it is closed-minded, narrow, antagonistic and endowed with a deep inferiority complex. Sure there is a lot to dislike about Afrikaners but you can’t openly preach their death. As the esteem Dr. Malan once said: “Dat is net nie krieket!” Yes I think the blogger makes a very good point.
Reuben, as an educated man surely you would have some understanding of the frustrations faced by the ‘Boer’ group and any other european group for that matter over several centuries in this geograhpical region.
These frustrations being of the kind generated by the stark differences in commercial, industrial, and lifestyle capabilities between the ‘indigenous’ peoples and the ‘invaders’. I concede that this has probably been a two-way street and will continue as such until:
There is respect for what has been brought to Africa by the ‘invaders’;
There is widescale willingness to become equiped to compete in a global sense;
There is a governernment in place which will openly market and practice the virtues of ‘fairness’, ‘reward’- for hard work’, ‘gratitude’- for blessings already received,’tolerance’.
It is blatantly obvious that the present government is focused on an everlasting hold on power and self-enrichment. They pander to ‘voter fodder’, a term put forward by others already.
Realistically, the only chance SA has of survival in a competitive world is to channel the energy displayed by the growing list of ’service delivery’ dissenters into positive political activity against the ANC.
When the ANC start throwing favours at the army and police force, thgat is the end of the dream…
“The ANC equates the black majority with its own political majority. It equates the Afrikaans minority with a political minority, a minority that is supposedly stubborn, resistant to change and unwilling to accept the political majority’s power” - I could not have agreed with you more, Yes, it is a fact ANC represent black majority interests against stubborn, conservative, unreconciling white afrikaners who continue to undermine black people at any given little opportunity - this is a fact
“The Afrikaners are South Africans and Africans. They are equals and deserve to be treated as such”- Its easy to call for equality from comfortable zones, equality is what we blacks fought for, still fighting for across all socio-economic lines wich is still dominated by white south african minority - the concept of equality is not narrow as you seem to be day-dreaming, it is a very rich-broad concept
Alex,
I always thought you more progressive, i’m dissapointed. While i get that you’re trying to draw us to the absurdity of Jackson Mthembu’s reasoning, why must the ANC=black people? i.e,’(…)Well, so as long as “kill the blacks” was an old apartheid song, embittered racists can chant it from the rooftops.’
No. You ignore, there are some blacks (as) offended by Malema’s hateful diatribe-maybe the same black people who stood alongside other progressive SAns condemning this nonsense when it was spewed by Mokaba. These people seem collateral damage to you now making your point to/about Jackson.
Lest we be accused of supporting right-wing mind set,Malema does not represent all people of the land,indegenous Africans must debate ways and means of making their lives better and work with non-indegenous Africans than being subjected to malema,there are real challenges that need real debate.This Cosas graduate must be ignored and see what pleasure he will derive from his ignorrance
Very interesting piece Alex. Yours may be a ‘tired old line’, but the more a thing is uttered, the more likely it is to enter popular discourse and by that process become the political variable that some have argued is not up for discussion by the ANC hierarchy. I am most encouraged by Reuben Maphutha’s contribution though. Professional courtesy aside, it is an exemplary act of grassroots reconciliation to find a common language between two Africans. In truth, though, such acts happen every day. Though I don’t have the stats, I would suggest that in this sense, the direction of conciliatory travel remains balanced just as it was before 1994. Put simply, I grew up under apartheid; my knowledge of Zulu and Sotho is rudimentary at best, Xhosa non-existent. I am probably not alone here.
The saddest reality is that the murders of white farmers are not politically motivated, it is just criminal activity that should not be dignified by attributing it to politics. The song indeed comes a long way ago and farmers were not killed when the song was still politically relevant. It is true that we should call for the song to be faced out. The song does not call for people to be killed, hence my argument that it is criminals who kill farmers when they are robbing them, there was no call from any where that criminals should go and kill farmers.Otherwise the particular song was not even directed at farmers as it has been defined, the song is saying shoot the boers (refering to afrikaans speaking people not necessarily farmers). Blacks are not oblivious of were we are politically to and they are not stupid to be confused that a song can be interpreted to mean a call that they should attack whites. Law respecting South Africans will always know that it was lust a song. Our media should also take responsibility for they are the ones who say the song is calling for whites to be killed, which is a fact, because if it was not for them the song would have ended in Johannesburg were it was sung. Media is the one the incites the attacks on farmers not Malema. The song is often refered to as Malema’s comments as if it was in his speech.
@Siphiwo Siphiwo
Eugene Terre’blanche and his ilk are the lunatic fringe whose racist bigoted views are roundly condemned by all right minded decent people, and I sincerely believe that includes the vast majority of whites - including Afrikaners.
The lasting image I have of the man was of him falling off his horse onto his fat butt - kind of says it all.
Two wrongs never make a right - your standard response when an ANC person’s behaviour or speech is criticised is to try and make an odious comparison with a white political figure’s behavior or speech - ad hominen attacks and straw man arguments.
Reuben Maphuta- I like what you said because you put it clearly and without any insults hurled. We as South Africans, of all races and ethnic backrounds, need to learn from each other’s cultures. None of us is better than the other. We just see things differently. To thrive and move one, we have to take a step back and understand our differences and learn to live with them and not fight each other on them. Like Lerato-we need people like this. All races want the same basic thing- singing racist, hateful songs (De La Rey included) harms us more than it should. We should before singing them, think of how it will affect others. This is an ideal yes, but I am so sick of racial tension and insults. I would love us to move on and create a great country where we can stand together and be proud.
‘Boer’ is used as an epithet for ‘white’. Sadly, the hatred goes far further.
We have three foreign student lodgers, all black Africans. All of them say that SA black people and particularly the Durban Zulus, are quite the rudest, uncouth people in Africa. If you ask even directions in English, they say, no one will answer you. They simply stare you down.
Which is quite ironic when an author featured on SAFM today said that the welcome he received in all African countries always displayed the true spirit of ubunthu.
For shame! What does it take for our people to behave decently to each other? How can they build a life on hatred?
I cannot speak for my fellow Afrikaners, but why don’t you submit pleas in Sepedi? I’m asking quite seriously - are there court rules against it, is it simply historical inertia, or do you not wish to? I’d actually prefer such a plea in e.g. Sepedi - that way, less pressure on Afrikaans as having an ‘exceptional status’ and the like. You might also find that quite a few Afrikaners do understand e.g. Sepedi.
John Everyman
You are plainly ignorant & should therefore refrain from passing judgment on Afrikaners, the salt of the earth on this continent. It is the culture espoused by Malema and his ilk that is truly backward and out of pace with the global dynamic.
Firstly, songs “freedom” glorifying violence belong in the past and has no place in the open, free society we enjoy today.
Secondly, Alex’s argument is infantile and a dishonest comparison.
Thirdly, we should really ask WHY this simmering undercurrent of violence is so pervasive in our society. There is a tension between blacks and whites, the elephant in the room that we all choose to ignore to our peril.
There are extremists in every culture. The problem however is when such a person become a leader there is a problem. Malema is in my eyes a next Hitler. He must be stoped, asap. I understand there are frustrations under the blacks, but there are also frustrations under the whites, colourds and indians. In this year, no leader can sing a song about killing anyone. Since 1994, 3000 boere were murdered. Not just murdered but some where hanged, burnt with irons,etc. I’ve seen pictures and believe me, it is brutal. This is a emotional thing for all whites. Now the leader of the ANCYL sing this song. Zuma defends malema. The whites see this as a war declaration. Malema dont have respect for anyone,not even his own people. I believe the most blacks are good people. The most whites are good people. For our childrens sake,lets not support the bad guys in the different cultures. THEY CANT BE LEADERS. There is hope if and only if the good people stand up against the Malema’s in this country. Black and white. PEACE
So many ANC members on these fora sound like spoiled little teenagers. You slam their clearly heinous conduct and they resort to the oft heard lines: “Buuuutttt you didn’t say anything when so and so did this! It’s like, so totally not fair! I hate you!!” or something tantamount to “All the cool kids are doing it, daaaaad! Why can’t I?”. It’s really shameful that they wish to conduct political discourse in this manner.
Special mention for the infantile Siphiwo Sipihwo. Eugene Terblanche commands the attention of a tiny fraction of the population. When he speaks, most sensible white people laugh; he is a joke and I’m totally offended that you bring him out as being indicative of Afrikaner opinion when it suits you. He actually did go to jail for his crimes against black people, so if anything “JuJu” should be treated the same as him; and be locked up for his hate filled tirades. Julius is a force in SA politics! Thousands of youth look up to him and follow his example. When last did you see a bunch of “boere” running around on national TV in AWB uniforms shooting off rifles and shouting “one hi-ace, one grenade”? My God, man, open your eyes before you open your mouth.
As a parting shot, the so-called ‘Youth League’ over which King Julius reigns allows membership up to the age of 35… so I guess they really never do grow up.
Eventually the excuse of white people being responsible for their failures will be removed, one way or another. Then the ANC-led people of SA will have to make do on their own. Seems to be working well in Zimbabwe, huh?
I couldn’t but laugh at John Everyman’s statement of Afrikaners feeling inferior. If there are massive feelings of inferiority, it sits with the black people of this country. I see it every time a black man drives around in a black BMW with a personalised number plate. I see it when black women wear wigs. It screams, ‘See me, I’m important, I’m beautiful!’ Get over that and things might improve.
The song also appears to perpetrate a bald LIE - where is the evidence that the Boers or Boere EVER committed rape against black people, or any other people for that matter?
I have never read any credible accounts of this having occurred.
Instead of the media reporting every outburst made by JM, they should concentrate on the ANC’S failure to deliver the promises made to their voting masses.
Like it or not Malema hates the whites, but lives their life style. Concetrate on lack of service to the majority of black people would have more political impact than keeping, this foolish young man in the spotlight.
Racism in any form destroys the very fabric of society. It does not matter for what apparent reason it is being practised. It should be wholly condemned.
@Siphiwo Siphiwo, are you, by your attack on Alex, condoning the singing of this song?
Frank, I think you missed Alex’s point. Alex is merely drawing a parallel to show the absurdity and outright wrongness of it all. I don’t think he is putting all black people into a box. I think its great that you openly condemn Malema’s hate gobbledygook.
Cry the beloved country, for it is going down the tube. Only a concerted outrage from people prepared to debate fairly can put SA back on track.
I am impressed by the talent the country has, undoubtedly. Your comments remain engraved in my mind.
It must be noted that Malema proved one thing: that people are still angry and they postponed their anger to sometime in the future. Given how things are in the country we will see much more than what Malema is made of. Explain to me like a two year old how do you remove a personal experience from a person to forgiving and hand it over to Desmond Tutu through the reconciliation commission to forgive on his/her behalf the criminal s who shot my son in front of me? Explain to me how four young white males (waterkloof four) who attacked a man in the middle of the night and their legal justification was that they mistook him for a robber and explain to me justice in that. The question is: could they have mistaken him for a robber if he was white? These are post 1994 events, which explain how artificial our reconciliatory process is/was. We are simply learning to live with each other but deep down we seek justice.
The truth and reconciliation commission was more like finding a thief in my house with my TV set in his hands and all I could say was: keep it, I forgive you. That is not justice. People need justice and everyday images of their soul battering poverty convince them that the struggle is not over, which is the struggle to survive.
Of course it is OK to kill blacks, women and gays, if they are Boereboeties and betray the revolution. By the way, this context is sarcasm.
I believe in absolute freedom of speech. Malema should be allowed to say whatever he likes because when you give a fool enough rope, he would hang himself. The fact that we are discussing Malema instead of Shady Shaik’s parole or Zuma’s implicit guilt of the bilateral crimes is evidence that Malema is doing a great job for the ANC.
Well, these very capable Afrikaans farmers are gradually leaving for more welcoming places like the Congo - so soon S.A will be rid of them. Then those who hate the “boere” will starve to death, and it would serve them right.
@PeterL Evidence of rapes is presented e.g. in chapter 5 of this dissertation. Citations are given. That’s colonialism for you. Although I do suspect she has one or two dates wrong (but which dissertation committee ever reads the thesis that is about to be defended?)
Several other studies have been done, and she does give some standard references, but I’m not aware of any review articles that I could refer you to.
Ahem, Alex you speak about the “logic” of the ANC. There is no logic. I attended convent schools and was taught by nuns. One, when she caught us chattering in class, said “empty barrels make the most sound”. I always remember that when I hear the ANC and their inane comments. Unfortunately we can’t just roll them down a hill like many of us would and could do with barrels. The people voted them into power, so we are stuck with them. We, the people who did not vote them into power, can criticise them, dance on their ribs, thunder away it won’t make an iota of difference. Come election time? Put your X where you like, they will be back like the bad pennies they are. The people have been so brainwashed they will vote them back into power. This is Africa, baby. We are very quickly becoming another African basket case. Look north, history doesn’t lie. There is Democracy and then there is African democracy. Go figure!
Even though i dont agree with da lyrics of the song, i stil fail to see why this calls for a national debate and this uproar… I mean he sang da song at a university rally, with a few hundred student who should know better than go on a killing spree bcos they joind in when Malema sang da ‘kill da boer’ song… But no it made da headlines and turnd it in 2 a call 4 civil war and a genocide… You r just giving Malema 2 much power, that he doesnt have…
The media in SA are largely responsible for creating a presence for the fat fool Malema. Give him no coverage and he will return to his natural state of irrelevance. But of course this would be asking of the SA media - dominantly trash journalism including the M&G sadly - too much.
Malema, Zuma and their acolytes are on a different planet to civilised democratic society and debate. They don’t read anything resembling a newspaper that reflects world standards of democracy.
In fact they are so intellectually and morally bankrupt that they have no concept of responsibility, civilisation or commitment other than to their own tasteless self- enrichment and vote catching of the ignorant masses.
@Ismail Motala - agreed with you 100% perhaps if the ANC stops their spending spree, they can allocate more money to give farms to previously disadvantaged.
So that then 90% of the disadvantaged can unproductively manage the farms. In turn you can then pay higher prices for your food.
I’m all for re-distubtion of wealth, but 90% of those farms prove they are not getting it right due to ANC corruption.
[…] Matthews at Thought Leader asks, “If killing the boers is OK, how about blacks, women and gays?” : ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu has defended Julius Malema’s lusty renditions of the infamous […]
You may find that quite a few Afrikaners speak Sepedi. Drafting your pleas in Sepedi would lead to some extent to the advancement of Sepedi as a language, and would reduce the pressure on Afrikaans as having a special status. I encourage you, try it.
I’m singing the song right now and many others worse than the one everyone is complaining about but I don’t feel incited to kill boers. Struggle songs are part of history and heritage. I grew up in a home with no radio or tv and i have less than 5 photos of my childhood. I cannot say this or that song reminds me of my childhooh nor have an album full of photos,only sruggle songs reminisce that.
Stop debating Malema, look at the real issues that make people sing those songs. It is interesting to not that most of the university students who sang heavenly the struggle song were less than 5 years in 1994 (and must have learned the song(s) at home during a free SA). This show that people are rejecting the raibow nation myth, the CODESA compromise and have realised that voting stations are not the holy grail. They want more, economic freedom. If they do not attain than more and more songs will vabrate across SA evoking what Bhambatha, Cris Hani and many heroes and heroeins fought for, total emancipation.
@Mondavo H.
If you examine the farmers deaths in the country you will find there are various reasons such as a thrown man in a lions den (regardless whether alive or dead) or salaried on a sack of potatoes, kicked in the bud in front of your son, called a kaffir and one day he (farm worker) decide to take law into his own hands, understandable but not legal.
You have European descendants who shot my grandfather for resisting arbitrary expropriation of his land in 1922 and was told a kaffir cannot own fertile land before being shot in front of his wife and we decided not to approach reconciliation commision as pointless as it was. How do you give a personal duty to forgive to a man in christiaan tone and ethic. we needed justice and not christian ethic of forgiveness. measure for measure. Rest in peace Phaahla wa Mologadi.
Do you still want to speak about dying famers Mondavo H?
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Alex blogs about politics and other animals at AFRODISSIDENT which was a runner-up for Best SA Blog About Politics and Best Original Writing on an SA Blog in both the 2008 and 2009 SA Blog Awards.
On April 27 2009, Alex launched The Soapbox, an online platform where young South Africans can speak out about things they feel strongly about. The Soapbox aims to fight political and cultural apathy and to foster tolerance and a culture of intelligent debate among young South Africans. Join its Facebook group.
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Okay - the fact that someone feels the need to actually condemn the ANC’s nonsensical outbursts any more is surely a cause for concern.
The people who support the ANC (and the ANC’s nonsensical utterances) are the ones we need to hear from. They need to explain their position. They need to (dare I say it!) put the ANC’s BULLSHIT into context.
In the meantime, my friend, you are doing nothing but preaching a tired old line to the choir. There is no longer any point in listing the ANC’s myriad of failures.
We know the ANC sucks. Now what are what we going to do about it?
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