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.
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….
Spot-on, Alex. This “tired old line” as PeterH puts it, is only tired and old because it is true.
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.
@Peter: “Now what are what we going to do about it?”
The answer is “voter education”, “voter brainwashing”, “voter persuasion”.
Avoid negative messages about the ANC, praise them, praise them right into the grave!
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.
oh come on, free speech.
what about all those old racist jokes, what about making videos at Reitz residence?
Exactly
@ 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.
Chris
Dr. Chris Roux
Now abroad
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.
What does “killing of farmers have to do with so-called blacks, women and gays?
Compare oranges with oranges. You headline should read: “If killing the boers is OK, how about accountants, doctors and engineers?
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
Alex brother, after reading that Sapa article I now realize how drunk Mthembu could have been, especially after he even apparently sang the song.
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.
Right, of to Canada.
Show me a time in history where the ruling majority has had this type of public attitude towards a minority and it hasn’t ended in horror….
… that, PeterH, is why we should all jump on it and condemn it immediately
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…
How’s about a good old New South African compromise. Lets settle on a rewrite of the song. How do you feel about “Kill the Boere THAT are Rapists”?
“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.
ditto chris roux
blogroid
not abroad
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
Struggle songs are as equaly out of context with the new South Africa as brandishing the old flag.
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.