About two months ago I wrote a light-hearted post (on my blog) about the South African language I considered to be the sexiest. The post was written for a limited audience and was not intended as social commentary. I rated Afrikaans fourth and said — in jest of course — that “unfortunately, Afrikaans is burdened […]
shoot the boer
Posted inNews/Politics
The politics of political hate speech
By David Smith Freedom of expression is an absolute. Unless, of course, the politics of South African president Jacob Zuma‘s re-election are in play. On Wednesday the governing African National Congress (ANC) promised to stop singing the anti-apartheid ditty Dubula iBhunu (Shoot the Boer) to avoid hurting the feelings of white farmers and inflaming racial […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Dear ‘K-word’ and ‘K-the-boer song’
I know not everybody likes a letter, and when I think about it, you two surely don’t spend a lot of time reading either — but I love a letter, so here goes: Nobody can say that you two haven’t had your fun. You’ve shown your faces at some of the greatest and lowest moments […]
Posted inNews/Politics
‘Shoot the boer’ our history
By Beth Vale A week ago, the equality court announced its verdict that the lyrics of struggle song “Dubul’ ibhunu” or “shoot the boer’ should be considered hate speech. The trial has evoked months of public debate and has not been short of media commentary. Despite this, it is only in the last few days […]