On the vuvuzela and tolerance

So, word on the street is that the Europeans want the vuvuzelas to be banned from the Fifa Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup. So what? Even the “Europeans” in Cape Province have previously alluded to the fear of black people blowing the horn in Greenpoint.

Ok. Maybe there is distortion abound. For the record, we do not blow the vuvuzela because we are Africans. We blow the vuvuzela because we get an adrenalin rush from the creative noise it makes. Also, we get an adrenalin rush because we are human. Not because we are Africans!

Now that we have moved away from the racial stereotype, it becomes easier to clear the noise. Subsequently, we could agree in unison that this is a matter of like, dislike and intolerance. Now, like and dislike is somewhat of an “acceptable” natural dichotomy. It is mainly the latter, which seems to dominate the vuvuzela uproar. And this intolerance has manifested itself in different angles over time.

Simply speaking, there was once intolerance about the possibility of an African country being afforded the opportunity to host the World Cup. And now there is intolerance about Africans enjoying the vuvuzela sound.

Did I mention that this is a general manifestation of intolerance? No. I’m not just generalising!

Over the past two weeks of the Fifa Confederations Cup I’ve overheard two white brothers being told to “take a chill pill”. And that is putting it nicely. The alternative would be that I overheard two black guys remind two white guys that the apartheid-cum-colonial honeymoon came to an end (15) years ago. And these were two separate incidents.

Just so we clear the confusion, I’m still not talking about racial/cultural stereotypes. I’m talking about the problem with intolerance. Reality on the ground suggests that the natives have gone restless and are angry. And they are blowing vuvuzelas!

As the hosts for the two big Fifa events, I do not think South Africans can afford to be rude and arrogant, but our guests must still observe a code of conduct. And the core principle is tolerance!