No doubt, Julius Malema must be the most talked about politician in the country. In the northern suburbs, no dinner table chit-chat is ever complete without a blow-by-blow account of his latest exploits; his woodwork skills being the common butt of jokes and all. Adding fuel to water, President Zuma has issued by far his sternest rebuke — at least publicly — of the headline-grabbing youth leader. Damn, he even went as far as hinting that Malema might not even make the cut in the next elective conference of the ANC Youth League. This couldn’t come at a more inopportune time, what with the recent goings-on involving Malema’s memorable tussle with the Young Communist League. A death knell to the upstart’s political career, some say.
You may want to put the champagne on hold. Malema is not about to disappear from the radar screen. Not now, not ever!
As clichéd as this may sound, Malema is a voice for the voiceless. At the last count, the majority of young people in the villages and townships were twiddling their thumbs with no prospect of finding any gainful employment. In Malema they see one of their own, an autie who can say it like it is. Because of apartheid’s funny spatial realities, many in the suburbs haven’t the faintest idea of what goes on in the ghettoes.
Let’s face it, the Rainbow Nation is a monumental farce; I cringe every time the Arch swoons about it. It is clear here that wishful thinking (you see, the Arch is an eternal optimist) is at odds with practical reality. How many white South Africans support South African soccer teams? I guess soccer is unattractive until Manchester United or Liverpool jet into the country.
These are very uncomfortable questions to ask, hence Malema is the sacrificial lamb on the altar of political correctness. Since the halcyon Mandela years, we have excelled in papering over cracks to the fallacy that is the Rainbow Nation. We make the mistake of thinking that an interracial hug in celebration of a Springboks win (for that is the only time that South Africans rally behind a single cause) seals the non-racial pact of Mandela et al. And we get despondent once the rainbow mirage — excuse the pun — is exposed for what it is. Forget the argument that HIV does not cause Aids, that is the very height of denialism.
I suggest a solution. Take time to look beyond the rhetoric and reflect on what the young man says, particularly on thorny issues we conveniently put on the back burner of our national consciousness. Rather than dismiss his statements as kindergarten claptrap, this should be a cue to engaging on an honest discussion about race relations. Yes, about black dispossession and white privilege, and more. About fear that motivates the Brandon Huntleys — he of Canadian infamy — of this world!
If we don’t engage in meaningful dialogue, there will be many Malemas demanding change*.
*Tomorrow, this may not be a Nando’s joke but something more ominous.
Theo Mapheto is a lawyer, youth activist and legal commentator
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 11:47 am and is filed under Perspective.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
60 Responses to “Malema is not going to disappear, not now, not ever”
Theo, i’m sure Malema’s utterances should mean something. I’m just not interested. Screaming rubbish at the top of his lungs is a sure way of getting publicity. Inciting people is easy. You talk about discussions. Talk as much as you want but its time to start working by setting an example.Trying to intimidate me with hints of violence won’t work with me. I’m a South African that is not piss poor but on the other hand i don’t have the money to go to Canada. Not that i want to. I’m a South African and i’m here to stay. I also will fight for my families rights.I’m not going to go away either.
BTW i don’t like soccer and by the way SA plays it, i probably won’t in the future. But i will still audibly support SA when they play another country.
Theo the way I understand RAINBOW nation is- red will never meet violet but they are stuck together at differnt ends in the rainbow.They never attempt to mingle but respect each others places .with that definition in mind rainbow nation is a resounding success . Rainbow nation is not the same as a pot pouri .
If one read M&G in the last 4 years conclusions would have been
1)Zuma was obviously guilty- a trial was a formality
2)only insane peoiple could have elected Julius malema
3)only peole with degrees can possibly be voted into any position in politics. Not woodwork matric no.
4)malema does not deserve any privacy vis a vis his grades at school.everybody else does
Most whites in australia consider themselves australians then may qualify by sayin of greek origin . in SA I found a lot of whites except Africaans considered themselves europeans.
Even the liberal bloggers on this site show no knowledge of what the real south african voter really wants.
Voters dont care if Zuma had extramarital sex (to say it was rape is just nasty )Hell my neibhour had 4 wives and he loved them all. its normal.People of the northern surbubs go overseas and bring back values (fads if you like ) and want the rest of SA to latch on to them
Get to know what happens in SA in the villages townships befor you know what happens in the ozzie outback
Nice article sir
Motormouth Malema has more opinions on more topics than Tutu. So there’s certainly no shortage in quantity. But, pray tell, why should we heed what he has to say or even pretend that any syllable of his bountiful blatherings has any QUALITY worth heeding? Can YOU discern the diamonds from the absolute deluge of dross uttered by Malema? Help me out, I can’t.
You are bloddy spot on. Not when you say “not now, not ever” but when you say that beyond the rhetoric is the very discomforting trues about our whites and the many surburbian neo-colonists. And we like to hear it spoken nfowethu
Only a very small percentage of white people live in the northern suburbs, and herein lies the problem of your perception of us whities.
MOST of us are just average people trying to make ends meet, like most average middle class black families. But this is the brush which you use to tar us all.
This is why there is no point in debate, because your insistence on casting blame and playing the victim instead of seeking solutions to the seemingly endless list of problems now facing us.
In fact it it your attitude of blame that keeps us out of the soccer stadiums. Why should we go where we are not welcome? Would you?
Apartheid has been dead for 17 years, and you conveniently forget that the majority of white people voted for the change. Maybe you should be paying more attention to the stick in your own eye instead of the speck of sawdust in ours.
“These are very uncomfortable questions to ask, hence Malema is the sacrificial lamb on the altar of political correctness.”
And read, this interesting analysis by Thula Bophela,
“Julius Malema, through the assiduous efforts of the media, has come to be regarded as a bumbling, brainless and disrespectful young man at the helm of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). That he has not studied and passed a degree has been used against him to prove that he is not ‘the right person’ to lead the Youth. I have listened to his statements for some time, and I saw myself in this young leader of our movement when I was his age. He says what he thinks, that is his bottom line. I wish, therefore, to state that I write to-day as ‘Julius Malema, Senior…as the Americans would say.”
“There is a Nigerian proverb which says that when a cow eats grass the calf watches its mouth. In plain terms it means that young people watch what we older people do and they could imitate us. The corruption, the power-mongering, the sycophancy, the tribalism that has been seen in the ANC has not gone without being noticed by the Youth.”
The question is not if Julius is going away. He probably is not unless a tragic accident happens (ask Bob up North) or he is offered a lucrative post in government.
The question should be if his ramblings contribute to a healthy debate. The answer to that question seems to tilt to a resounding “NO, he is not”.
Making all socio-economic issues a race issue is not contributing to the solution.
Luckily there are many youngsters of all races who have a less populist take on these issues than our stand-up comedian.
Julius will go away eventually! I think that you under-estimate the combined intelligence of the SA population, in particular the youth.
I would like to give you another uncomfortable truth. Like Malema, there are white people who emotionally and unrationally speak their mind. They do not, for the most part, do it in front of the media and that is the difference. Like in your ghetto, there is massive discontent in the white populus as well. They are tired of corruption and crime.
Why not say it as you feel it? Because we are a fragile mix here and we are trying to get somewhere. We are trying to reconcile our differences and give the ANC its chance to create a more equitable society. Generation by generation the struggle and racial difference will recede.
What is gained during this phase by creating racial tensions? What is gained by being confrontational and aggressive to other groups and minorities? Publicity and a career. That is why the ANC leadership reign him in. Not because he talks bullshit (which he does), but because they know that there is a bigger picture here and mature people get it; he does not.
We all have our gripes in SA, from your viewpoint and from mine but we hope for progress. What neither of us need is a regression to open and hostile racial tension and that is what Malema is fomenting.
And if your ghetto youths had any concept of the democracy that they live in, they would vote for someone else to speed up their delivery from poverty instead of listening to a thug like Malema.
@Theo - Malema should go because he fuels racial hatred. Calling it ’saying it like it is’ is a cop-out.
He gives frustrated people a channel for their frustrations - racism. Is that really what we want in South Africa???
Also, support for South African soccer teams is no metric for racial integration (every ‘whitey’ I know supports the South African national side when they play) - it is more a metric for the dire quality of the local leagues. Would you rather spend your Saturday watching some local hacks grind out a skilless 0-0 draw or watch Man U play Chelsea?
This sort of divisive drivel is given substance by Malema - it must stop.
@Haiwa: I agree that my moral values are not your moral values. The values that is not up for negotiation, at least not any time soon, is those entrenched in the Constitution. Example: Transparency, democracy, freedom, responsibility, tolerance and justice to name a few. Personally, I don’t care if Zuma sleeps with 365 women a year. Or Malema for that matter. Heck, I don’t care if he sleeps with 365 men. I do care, though, about his/their attitude towards those values, though. So should everybody else.
@ Dithabana: Please go ahead and write a blog entry on this site of those “very discomforting trues about our whites”. Here is further challenge: Don’t generalize. Specifically state what you think we whites believe is true and then specifically state why we are mistaken. That is the only way we will understand each other. That is debate. Not these sweeping comments that is being made every time the ANC is looking for a scape goat.
Malema is sexist and racist, who indulges in anti-white rhetoric on a regular basis, poked fun at the woman who accused Zuma of rape, and turned Caster Semenyas tragic circumstances into a political event, all to cover up the fact that he has nothing positive to give, and no real policies to act on.
He is a complete disgrace, an embarassment to our great country, and as far as I am concerned the fact that he has any supporters at all is pretty worrying. Zuma may be out of his depth, but at least he is trying.
I just luv the way Julius scares the bejesus out of those snooty folks of European extraction.
He makes them froth at the mouth in a derisory fashion. He has carved fro himself a public platform. He influences debates, whether they like it or not. Julius is no fool, matric or not. Just as they thought JZ was a Zulu mampara who’ll never ascend to the highest office in the country, they are making the same mistake with Malema. The media will continue covering anything Julius says because….he sells. And he’ll continue being influential because he does it his way, not the dignified European way.
Theo, I concur wholeheartedly with your comments. You are proving to be quite a perceptive commentator. I have seen two of your columns in a Sunday paper and was actually quite impressed. On Malema, we should remember that Peter Mokaba was highly controversial during his days as the ANC Youth League President. There were times when he would defy even uTata with regard to his stance on issues. No-one could ever dream of doing that. But the Youth league is a very vital cog in the ANC machinery.
Sello James Mooki on September 16th, 2009 at 10:31 am
If Malema is an indication of the type of leader produced by the ANCYL then I see a fate worse than Zimbabwe lurking in the not to distant future .But then again that is what the ANC is aiming for - the elite ANC members live in splendour , whites must pay the mayority of taxes and shut up or else and to hell with the rest .
S.P.van Niekerk on September 16th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Honestly, I can’t stand lawyers (no offence to you Theo Mapheto), they all excel in the art of sophistry. We should not be romanticising Malema’s outrageous statements. Instead, we should be throwing him into a classroom. We do him and his ilk a disservice by giving them the spotlight. Let them go to School!
It’s great to see a growing call for dialogue on tricky subjects. But dialogue is different from debate. In dialogue we try to understand and learn. In debate we try to win. There will be no winners in the debates around racism, classism, sexism and the future vision, because no single person or party or interest group has the monopoly on wisdom and understanding. The more we blame and stereotype, the more we display our own insecurities. It takes a great person to sit down and listen to your fiercest critic. We have too little dialogue and too much of a blame and shame type of rethoric. Sadly, South Africa has lost its safe spaces for dialogue. There the Malemas, the BMers, the workers, the victims and perpetrators are all our fellow learners. Thanks Theo for pushing us one step further.
Chris Assegaai on September 16th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Whites don’t support SA soccer and soccer is the majority sport of blacks…that’s a fact…most whites don’t speak any indigenous languages (Afrikaans aint originally indigenous), yet they are free to take language classes in school, uni or elsewhere but they don’t… most SAfricans do speak at least 1 indigenous language – that’s a fact..Most well off whites (who are the majority of whites) live in (predominantly) white suburbs and go to schools where the predominant culture is that to which they are accustomed to…Now these are facts…
What my point? I don’t vote ANC or support malema (he is a sexist pig) but his statements regarding whites are usually TRUE and kind off obvious and whites act in such a way as to allow us blacks to always point that out! You give us the ammunition, so please don’t complain when we put 2 and 2 together…furthermore I get even more annoyed when whites and those few elite and upper class blacks shout things like “its been 17 years already” or ”its reverse racism now”. I know why I can count on these statements always being uttered, because its helps to maintain their undeserved-privilege and wealth …if a white had to put on a ajax, chiefs,or pirates t-shirt and walk thru a township here in C.t. they would be greeted with a warm-awkward shyness and probably be questioned on their teams latest performance, not shot!
I find it strange how people are relating things here to what happened in Zim, the only thing is Im sure that people making these comments are not exactly concerned with the well being of the greater population…instead it sounds like a few whites talking about their worst fears..what happened in Zim was bad for the mass of the population, not jsut for white farmers
one thing I know is that as human beings we hate when someone tells us the truth about ourselves. the truth is White South Africans are only patriotic when it comes to Rugby and cricket and you will see the in the teams regalia and when an European soccer team plays againts any South African team you will see them in the european team regalia and thats a fact.
the Next truth is that Julius Malema is one of the most honest politicians you can find in our land. he is not deplomatic when he raises issues. you cant misquote him or wrongly interpret him, because he is always clear when he talks.
he raises issues that ordinary people want to be addressed which the so called academics or the know it all will sweep under the carpet.
I say keep him, there is always space for one more idiot in African politics… and if you look at Zimbabwe, you can go quite far! Luckely we now have a president who seems to care more about the country than himself, so I’m sure he is going to sort him out at some point.
Truly fascinating stuff and of which history is, or could be, made. From Theo, Vusi, Sello et al you can see the attraction, even for educated people in blaming (and scaring) whites and fanning the flames of racism. Not only for the present position SA finds itself in but to detract from the true cause of the problem - corruption, incompetence, nepotism etc etc.
As other comments say I’m sure you could find similarity or even exactness between Theo’s “Thought” and those who supported Hitler, Saddam, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Mugabe and other temporary “heroes” of their particular country’s struggles against largely fictitious enemies.
I am seeing this trend of SA whites pulling up the Zimbabwe or Mugabe card when ever talking about ANC politicians. I have lived the under Mugabe’s misrule all my life, but his misdeeds will not stop me from speaking about the social and economic injustices facing the Africans. In fact the likes of Mugabe are an impediment to African empowerment…and under the leadership of the Malemas and others to come, we will win!!
@GRANT thinks he/she is not ” confrontational and aggressive to other groups “…of course he/she can
still call another citizen a “thug”…without a blink..really?
Congratulations on a well balanced view on Malema. I always said that Malema says what some of us are thinking and he says it straight up.People really do not look at what he is saying as they see these issues of race and equality things of the past.
Why do people really don’t like the young man and why is Jimmy Manye also a thorn in the new rooms and boardroom , oh the Compela’s of this world.
Lets engage on the issues people and as for me Mr Malema, Mr Manye and Mr Kompela are the people to put my issues in the national debate. no suger coating but straight up.
Malema is terribly sexist. What he said about the woman who was (allegedly?) raped by Zuma is unacceptable and his treatment of Thabo Mbeki was absolutely disgusting.
He doesn’t know how to debate issues in a way that is not inflammatory, acuusatory and, well, idiotic.
But Theo, you present a good case here, only you compromise your argument by putting MAlema at the centre of it. There needs to be a debate about race in this country. SA has not completely freed itself of Apartheid. Just go to Cape Town- people are unbelievably racist there. Blacks are the poorest, whites are obscenely wealthy and they feel entitled to having black setvants clean after them ect, so much that they are resisting transformation; because this would mean that they would have to compete with blacks on equal terms and not acc. to the master-servant relationship that characterised black-white interactions. Phew!
I should have said this earlier. My gripe is, Theo, you sound like a well-educated African and you support this mampara? Where are we headed? Clearly, Malema has your support because he rubs most of the whites the wrong way. Is that how we do things in the new South Africa? I am dissapointed in you. This is truly African chauvinism.
Somehow we people in Botswana don’t seem to suffer from the angst surrounding the race issue that you South Africans do. I have never in my fifty years here been called any of the hurtful names that you people ascribe to one another. I don’t feel threatened economically, socially or criminally by my countrymen and I don’t feel antagonism towards any particular racial grouping. It is very hard therefore for me to understand what we have that separates so radically from you. Gaborone is a three hour drive from Joburg, but in racial terms it is on a different planet altogether. I wish I could somehow advise you how to heal your wounds and start the process of recovery from your past, but I lack any identifiable starting point. There is such animosity and jealousy that it seems impossible to imagine the extremists ever getting together to resolve the issues that so obviously need urgent attention. If Julius Malema helps to bring the problems out into the open, then perhaps he should be credited for getting the ball rolling. The problem for some white people will be to accept that his tactlessness does not necessarily represent hate speech. He is definitely not a dipolmat, but perhaps he deserves some credit for bringing your unhealed wounds into the open. White people cannot claim to be ignorant about the plight of black people in SA and Julius Malema is partly responsible for that. Now he must talk about service delivery.
Alan in Botswana on September 16th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
@Quite Frankly
I am white, but I don’t agree with you. Why do you assume that the writer supports Malema? Why assume that he is an African chauvinist? Is it borne out by the facts? The problem is that we are quick at labelling one another. We should listen more. I welcome the fact that Theo has suggested a solution- a dialogue is always welcomed. A dialogue about our fears and aspirations as South Afrians. We are so similar yet so different. We have to acknowlege that we have differences, problems and issues. We should talk instead of painting every one with the same racist brush.
I have never been to a squatter camp and I imagine it must be like hell. I live in relative comfort largely because of past and present priviledges. I admit that. But does that make me any less South African. Theo, I would like you to write more on how we can get over this one. Speaking for myself, I think you are the bomb!
It may very well be true that white South Africans behave this way or that way, but I’m not entirely sure why they shouldn’t. Isn’t South Africa a free country? Isn’t being different allowed?
South Africa would effectively cease to be tolerant and diverse if it became proscriptive and homogenous.
Although, jusdging by the comments on this site maybe tolerance and diversity are decadent colonial ideas.
@Phillipa- Malema was right about the woman who had a one night stand followed by breakfast and “bus fare”- I have better words to describe this woman- with Zuma .Even the courts agreed with Zuma and Malema- she was a lying conniving woman why rape is stillbeing mentioned i dont know.
@Quite frankly-go on patronise Theo a bit more Tell him how his education is wasted if he supports malema-hey you know better. maybe Theo is an uneducated lawyer. In short Malema should only be supported by uneducated africans.
I am almost thrilled the uneducated african and those others who vote for malema despite their education will frustrate you to kingdom come.
Black youths out there listen to malema like what they hear and vote him in.call them uneducated mate but they will vote him in.
Because of this thing called democracy black youths will never come to your way of thinking- you might have to go to theirs. Mayb you would like a qualified franchise so only those with a “proper” education might vote
Hey! That’s not fair, how can you accuse us Capetonians of being racist? I am hoping you’re joking because that’s a terrible generalisation. Almost as bad as ‘Jo’ who oversimplifies everything so that she can make sense of the world and carry on hating white people. Truth is we all discriminate against anyone we perceive as different. Whether it be their race, culture, class or education. We even hate on people we see as not being black enough or South African enough. I promise you though there are some of us who do listen and learn. Let’s rather focus on the things we have in common. And we are trying to teach our children better values. Philip, the black woman I hired to clean up after me and look after my child has sent three out of five sons to university and she is by far the most intelligent woman I’ve ever met, irrespective of race or economic position. I have never been happier to pay someone their wages and thank God for the day that she rang my doorbell. Who knows, we might even start a business together. And Patience thinks Malema is an idiot.
Spot on Theo. Viva Julius “Vuvuzela” Malema Viva! Amandla. Malema is here to stay nomakanjani. You Malema haters out there, there is nothing you can do to stop Malema. Like Zuma, he is a Tsunami and is unstoppable. Continue dreaming in your lavish houses and cars but Malema is no joke as you claim and he understand the suffering and needs of the majority of South Africans in povert-stricken rural areas. Make no mistake, Malema is a fearless leader and may he continue to speak his mind without fear or intimidation by cowards.
Moodiela
Julius is die “bad cop” van die regering. Hy is ‘n “kind met ‘n fopspeen” wat die aanvalswerk van sy meesters uitvoer. As die reaksie te erg is, sal ‘n grootkop verskyn wat die rol van “good cop” vertolk.
@ Craig. Yes boet, we are tired of being told how to behave and all that. For centuries there has been a civilising mission of the darkie. We are tired of being told how lazy we are, how unskilled we are, how criminal we are. How we are always accused of playing the race card etc etc. Let Julius put the fear in the rest of you. We are tired of being told of the (white) skills thats leaving the country as if those who remain are just pecanins/boys/girls. How we need whites to grow the economy. What about our needs? We don’t have Australia/New Zeland/UK/Canada to run to and but in the townships, he’s not even a subject for discussion, people are too busy trying to make ends meet.
By the way, this great country will never go the way of Zimbabwe, despite what your folks have been predicting for the last ten years. We will get it right. We are getting it right…it was never going to be an overnight job to correct apartheid. mistakes are being made but we will get there, with or without their skills. It’s a better country now, much better than under apartheid. Julius is a scarecrow of the whites, they point to him to show how this country is failing but to some of us he is just er…Julius.
@ sid: corruption, incompetence, nepotism existed long before the ANC government. The Nats perfected it. Corruption exists in your glorified West…America, Europe, Australasia…you name it. Zuma has said countless times he will deal with corruption and if you have been reading the newspapers…DGs and other senior government officials have been suspended or fired. Something is beginning to happen. You just have no idea how infested with maladies your apartheid government was. All you see in the current system is corruption because how can it be that the blacks now drive the same (or even better) cars than you…they stay in the same (Or even better ) houses than you.
It’s painful I know, buit has it occured to you that there are hardworking black people out there whop have taken opportunities offered by this country to get ahead just as snart whites continue to make a succesful living here without moaning about affirmative action endlessly?
Kalahari Doringboom on September 16th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
@Emmanuel T. I think you are progressive. We need more pple like you. We need pple like u to make SA a racist free country. Thank you, you have made my day.
After reading the comments so far i changed my mind.Let Malema stay. He is always good for a laugh. And since he speaks out loud for the guy in the squatter camp it would be cruel to remove their big hope for future hate.I guess the one guy’s leader is the other’s mamparra.
Whites, in Cape Town or elsewhere in SA, are NOT “obscenely wealthy”. They maintain standards of living enjoyed by ordinary average white people everywhere — from Lisbon to LA to Latvia. And there’s nothing wrong with this. In fact, such ambition and the refusal to lower one’s standards to a level beneath ones global peers is really most praiseworthy.
All of the above proves that blacks support malema regardless of what he says oer does, because whites abhor him. So who is right?
How will blacks and whites ever agree on anything? How will this unsolvable racial puzzle ever be solved? I understand nevertheless that whites (called “suburbian neo-colonialists” in a pseudo-intellectual manner by one of the contributors)
who do not regard malema as their erstwhile leader will go someplace else where the whole problem does not exist.
I am eager to understand what is the real problem with us South African debating the issue of race and race relations including the economic deprivation of the majority black people. We need this debate, whether we making much progress or just putting cast paper on it. Race is what is dividing our country, that there is a young white child taught to dislike a black child and black taught to envy a white child is what is sick in our society, the ANC can do this much, the rest is about us, half of the White population in South Africa cant even sing the first two lines of the national anthem but the majority of our people can sing the anthem in full, what does that say to all of you, when a motion was discussed to have a pledge 80% of the white population refused whilst pitifully the majority of our people did not understand what the hell is Naledi talking about but were ready to accept that she was right, this is what needs fixing and the place to start is a discussion on race and all other issues with racial imperatives, racial discrimination is and will always be part of our history and political discourse until we decide to talk about it for the sake of our children who are not suppose to learn this malaise
The article, and the responses, are truly, truly scary.
I weep for my country and the dumb ignorance of its people.
Hey - here’s an idea: lets STOP talking and debating and start DOING! Lets take ACTION and then responsibility for our actions and hey, presto - problem solved! but as long as we are yammering at eachother and calling it “constructive dialogue” guess what - sweet FA will happen.
But alas, its hopeless, and Churchill was right: in a democracy, people get the government they deserve. We deserve Malema et al due to the sheer idiocy of our thoughts.
@Moodiela
Thank you commander. We cant let others dictate what kind of leaders we should have. Our white compatriots cant stand Malema because he is not a sheepish, obsequious black man. We need more Malema and John Hlophes. Amandla!
If a ‘white’ Malerma shouted his radical views out loud would we be having this ‘genteel’ debate, i think not. If this is true why then encourage him to stir up racial hate.
The leader of the ANCYL has always been radical but they pointed their radicalism and anger at the ruling party (the Nats) so this present leader should do likewise, attack the ruling party who are messing up.
Haiwa Tigere and Moodiela, name me one poor disadvantaged ‘Black’ that Malerma has helped get out of their poverty and then we can support his rantings.
Words are cheap but it is deeds that get things moving.
With few exceptions support for this blog comes from blacks and criticism from whites. SA blacks, even the so-called educated ones think Malema is great because he gets thinking (white) people upset by the rubbish he speaks. The Semenya saga showed him and Winnie up for what they are, for all to see: opportunistic racists. Comedians/political cabaret artists need just repeat what was said by those two jokers about that ‘little girl’, it will keep people laughing for years to come. Not their voters though.
Yes, Malema is an intelligent person. And yes, he speaks for the poor and disenfranchised black South Africans more than (almost) anyone else I can think of.
I heard an interview with him on Radio 2000 last year and I was impressed with the thought and intelligence that went into his replies. Anyone who thinks he is a fool is themselves ignorant of the facts.
What concerns this whitey is that the rhetoric of race and aggression will not take us where we want to go as a nation. And it seems that the Malema-lovers and the Malema-haters both suffer from the same disease: being unable to describe the man accurately.
The haters want to demonise him and characterise him as a fool, an uneducated bumpkin, a rabble-rouser and so on. The lovers want to deify him as their saviour, the only one who understands the plight of the poor, a future leader, and so on.
The truth is that he is somewhere in the middle. He has the potential to be a great leader, but I don’t see it happening if he continues in his current path, playing to the crowds, stirring up debate by being provocative and playing to the prejudices of both sides.
I agree that he is here to stay. I just think that people’s reactions to him say more about us as a polarised nation than they do about the man himself. We are projecting instead of introspecting.
I personally find that Malema is providing SA with an invaluable service. His supporters can be publically identified as those most likely to have been prejudiced in the common sense department during their conception. As such these people are of little practical consequence in a civilized society.
Frans De Reiger on September 17th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
@Paul. You make quite a compelling point and I have to agree with you. This says more about us than about Malema. How else would our support/criticsm be divided along racial lines? Because of that, I have to agree with you Theo, we should get talking. Not only that, we should start doing.
A top South African journalist and author believes that ANC Youth League President Julius Malema has his sights set on becoming the country’s next president.
The World According to Julius Malema - which documents his meteoric rise to power into “the most influential politician” in the ANC - written by veteran journalist Max du Preez and co-authored by journalist Mandy Rossouw, was launched yesterday.
President Jacob Zuma has reportedly said the African National Congress youth leader does sometimes go “overboard”.
Zuma was quoted as saying: “We’ve got to talk to Julius, we’ve got to grow him [and] make him to become a leader that we want to know.”
Haven’t read any of the 55 comments(!) but want to say I agree with you. LISTEN to Julius - MANY many young voters are. He strikes a chord that the fatcat kleptocracy does not (especially when they’re trying to be PC or trying to “reassure investors”).
Ah Vusi, a couple of notes. Sure there was all sorts of terrible “things” during apartheid but should we compare ourselves to-day to them? Thank goodness it’s over. Other countries have the terrible “things” too, but statistics show them to be at way lower levels than SA. As for action, absolutely fantastic but it’s often nothing or very little (Mr Shaik - good lad that). As for black people doing well that is also fantastic to fight through a poor education system, rise above AA and BEE and provide a backbone to SA. I never in a million years believe whites can do it - the best they can do is contribute.
But in all these things, do we really need a leader like Julius Malema, busy ranting and inciting racism, scaring whites into leaving. Or one who can actually cement the population and deliver things other than words. Things like houses, water, toilets, education, safety etc.
Theo my this is great,a phenomenal approach to what has ripped this country in a while and i salute you for such a remarkable,thought provoking correct artcle.Julius,not only is he the most talked about politician but the most negetively talked about politicia but not a single negetive comment from such urtterances make a dent on his life.The brother is definetely not about to dissarpear anytime soon and those that cannot live with that may as well join the Hundleys and ship to Canada.And as for this Rainbow Nation thing,it is an absolute farce,in need of a re-dress because so far the impact it has made has resulted in more deaths,threads,racial abuse and intollerence among the very same nation it was suppose to unite.It is high time we south africans begin a firce dialogue that would address this desppicable farnace it has ripped our country-change that we be-moan almost every single sunrise and sunset.Youths,like Malemas demand change,untill the is change,they will not dissarpear not now not anytime soon.
All comments must be approved by our editors, click here to read the editorial guidelines for comments. Please allow some time for our editors to approve your comment after posting.
profile
On our Reader Blog, we invite Thought Leader readers to submit one-off contributions to share their opinions on politics, news, sport, business, technology, the arts or any other field of interest.
Never had I imagined having to break in and out of work. To understand the nature of this strike, you need to realise that a hospital has both clinica...
Loading ...
Theo, i’m sure Malema’s utterances should mean something. I’m just not interested. Screaming rubbish at the top of his lungs is a sure way of getting publicity. Inciting people is easy. You talk about discussions. Talk as much as you want but its time to start working by setting an example.Trying to intimidate me with hints of violence won’t work with me. I’m a South African that is not piss poor but on the other hand i don’t have the money to go to Canada. Not that i want to. I’m a South African and i’m here to stay. I also will fight for my families rights.I’m not going to go away either.
BTW i don’t like soccer and by the way SA plays it, i probably won’t in the future. But i will still audibly support SA when they play another country.
(Report abuse)