It strikes me as a stupid move. The South Gauteng High Court Acting Judge Leon Halgryn ruled last week that the use of the words “dubula ibhunu (shoot the boer)” was unconstitutional and unlawful. The judge gave no further elaboration as to why he believes so. This ruling was a result of an urgent application lodged by a member of an anti-crime organisation.
Apparently some members squabbled about whether they should put the words on a banner, it was then decided that they should approach the court to make a ruling.After the judge made a ruling that the song in unconstitutional and unlawful, political parties from the opposition quickly jumped for joy because finally there was a ruling against Julius Malema who brought this song back from the past.
I think the judge needs to elaborate further, without a detailed justification the public remains in the dark about his logic. The other worrying factor is whether banning struggle songs achieves anything? I do not support the song being sung in this new South Africa that we live in, it is offensive. However how do we begin to police the public if they do decide to sing this song? How do we link the killing of whites to the song i.e. is the public being incited and can we link factually the incidences of the killings to the song? Will this ruling also affect the usage of the phrase in other contexts?
I just think we are being lazy as South Africans. We are failing to engage each other and taking the easy route of suing each other. The ruling party also needs to start thinking hard about the project of reconciliation and nation building. Who benefits when certain sections of the community are so clearly offended by songs that hold historical significance to the movement? Is it still relevant for this songs to be sung when the goal has been reached or is there a belief that the system still needs to be fought?
If so, are the old songs still a way to fight the current challenges? As a private citizen i sincerely hope that sanity will reign, certain songs and slogans should be rested, they have reached their expiry date and they do not need to be revived simply to offend others. It is a tough approach but one that can only be reached through mature rational thinking.I see no point singing songs from the past, whose aim is of the past, whose significance is found in the past. Can we move on please comrades?
Enough about race, let’s talk about class
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If truth be told, black people are not interested in the confessions of
white people who suffer with guilt from the sins of colonialism and
apartheid. In t...
12 hours ago
2 comments:
I think in the end it all depends on context. Singing "shoot the boer", or "one farmer, one bullet", in a public rally or on a poster etc is inherently provocative; and I think very much unconstitutional and unlawful. However, singing it on a stage production about apartheid era rallies is not.
In the general case; freedom of speech comes with responsbility; and while I agree that a blanket ban is stupid; the concept itself isn't.
We are in agreement Alapan. I just see another protracted legal battle on a very silly matter that is going to pollute our news space. I guess others feel differently i.e. the songs should be banned by a court. I think it is bound to fail.
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