Comments on: Old South African flag must be banned

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 15:37:26 +0000

Someone made an interesting video about the South African flags, old and new.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huU5cJvbzjM

I think that people who still like to fly the old flag, should wake up and be flying it upside down as a sign of distress, like the video says.

By: John Marin

John Marin — Tue, 11 May 2010 07:46:58 +0000

deem it neccessary,that’s why. Then the old part of the national anthem(DIE STEM) should’ve also been banned.We can go on and on.

What concerns me,is that you have a big voice with the Mail & Guardian and I encourage you with your next article to paint both sides of the political spectrum and not just the one side.

Never ever can any law or so called political correctness force a person’s heart and mind in a certain direction.The National Party tried it for 46yrs and could not succeed. The ANC will not succeed either.

SMART is also trying through court action to get the flag banned.If I was a betting man,I would bet that they won’t succeed. It’s about freedom of expression within the context of the law and as it stands for now,it’s not illegal.Once it’s banned,what’s next?

You journalists know about the freedom of expression threat towards you guys,so please see it in that context. It’s things like this that prohibited SA from becoming a nation in unity after 16yrs.

The SACP is still using that much hated symbols of communism,which were responsible for millions of people dying throughout the last century. How about a discussion on communist symbols to be banned. Maybe something new to think about.

By: John Marin

John Marin — Tue, 11 May 2010 07:45:24 +0000

Khaya,maybe I would’ve felt the same as you if I were a black person,so I’m sort of trying to think me into your position.

Look, we can all get emotional about the old flag,black or white. We can also get emotional about the new flag too,good or bad.

I was raised under the old flag,I did’nt asked to be raised under that flag,it just happened to be. The old flag is all I knew. Ye right,bad things happened in SA while that flag was flying,but we have to get over it.Just as Afrikaners had to get over British domination, and we did, you must carry on too.We even had the union jack inside the old flag.

Remember,is just a piece of material man with a design on it. Personally I don’t accept the new flag,nobody asked my opinion or held a referendum on it. If you dislike the old one,don’t try and force it down the throats of people on the other side of the spectrum.

You do’nt see us carrying on about the new flag.Remember we lost our freedom because black people are in the majority,so you can’t just force the new one to be accepted just like that. We have a history as well,good or bad.

If the old flag was so bad why was’nt it banned at the CODESA negotiations,because they did’nt

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:39:32 +0000

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This post was mentioned on Twitter by khayadlanga: @aegjung It should be on Thought Leader http://tinyurl.com/n7mo6q or my blog: http://tinyurl.com/n7c8ey...

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:24:24 +0000

@frigmage: People died under that flag? Indeed they did. Protesters, strikers, people who suffered under the stress of forced removals, people who were prevented from access to medical care, people in unsafe working conditions in the mines. People beaten to death in jail. etc etc Yep. Loads of people died under that flag.

I don’t think we could ban it the way our freedom of speech works.

By: Frogmage

Frogmage — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:22:17 +0000

I know I’m late, but I thought I’d throw this out there anyway.
People *died* under that flag. For that flag. Truly believing in their nation. And it paid off, didn’t it? We wouldn’t be where we are now if it weren’t for them.
So, go ahead, hate the flag if you must, but please remember the blood, sweat and tears spent by the people who died for us, before it got its negative connotations.

By: Nosipho

Nosipho — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:33:17 +0000

Truly speaking,constutution aside and apatheid out the window, we need to focus on more important issues in our society than mundane things as banning of flags! Whoever that idiot was, am sure he flippin’ got the message now and hopefully he won’t display his stupidity in PUBLIC again. Fellow South Africans, be you black, white, indian, coloured, red, green…whatever colour you are, those days are over…get used to it. We will not tolerate your intolerance of the new South Africa. I may have not been around and I may have not studied history but what I do know is that we REALLY need to move on with the times….Blacks had it bad, so what? Get over it…People died in the process, hello??? they are not going to be resurrected from the dead (as yet), we are thankful for all they did, we respect their memory and we are truly greatful…we are moving on…all the whites, boers or british who think they are having it tough…GROW UP… “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” Call me a “kaffir”, words don’t hurt me….let’s pull our acts together and live harmoniously, that is really not asking for much…or is it? It’s your choice….just remember though…THOSE DAYS ARE GONE!!!

By: Thabo

Thabo — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:38:42 +0000

A few days ago I was driving and decided to stop a second or two before the traffic light went red. I heard crazy hooting behind me, when I looked in my rear view, a white man a car behind me going furious, and saying he knows why I’m stupid – it’s because of the colour of my skin. I wanted to insult him too, but it was about 7.45am and I was not about to let someone ruin my mood for the whole day – instead I looked at him and laughed and he became more furious and I continued with my day.
My point – If someone doesn’t like you or hates you for whatever reason, it’s thier problem. There’s no point in wasting time trying to change thier mind. Let them live thier lives and continue with yours

By: Prometheus Unbound

Prometheus Unbound — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:31:12 +0000

don’t ban the flag. We cannot give our government that right. The issue I have is if that flag is outlawed today, what will be banned tomorow. Seeing how the ANC ignores the contributions of other Freedom fighter(Sobukwe, Biko), who knows what they will do with movements that will one day oppose them. I hate that flag, but i believe that it gives us an opportunity to deal with issues such as racism. Banning only gives the Racists more power. We may create an opening for froups like the Nazis and KKK. Waving their flags in secret meetings, planning crazy terrorist schemes. As long as its out in the open, I feel safer cause I will know when its coming.

By: Bigger Issues

Bigger Issues — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:02:42 +0000

Khaya,

Although I agree with your sentiment, don’t you think it’s time to write about the real issues in South Africa, rather than one idiot at a televised game?

My wife and kids were involved in an armed robbery at our house a year ago. My wife was beaten, raped and told that all white people must die. My kids were beaten and tied up for a few hours.

Now please tell me you’ve got the mentality to write about more worrying issues in our beautiful country than an idiot at a rugby match? Or are you gonna turn around and look the other way while this continues on a daily basis to our citizens? Tell me you are bigger than this?

It left a bad taste in my mouth seeing the old flag, but what is more worrying is the fact that this incident got the attention of the world, but daily incidents like robbing, raping and killing are overlooked.

Instead you find solace in overlooking one of the best Super rugby finals you’ll ever see, and complaining about an idiot with a flag. If that dampened your mood, then please look the other way in future when another idiot holds up an old flag at a rugby match, you know, like looking away at the real issues in our country!

As Scarface said: Grow Up!