"As South Africans daily work to build a better society, they are surrounded in many forms and countless manifestations by a flag which recognises and celebrates the unity and diversity of the country's people.” - Cyril Ramaphosa
“It's not that I'm a racist or anything...” whispers the racist, as she immediately picks the unknown thief who stole her milk out of the residence fridge, accusing anybody who is not white. I did not say anything to her. I did not punch her repeatedly like my imagination played out. Instead, I will use her as a tragic example to show you how divided the races of South Africa actually are – even in the cosmopolitan world of Rhodes University.
The concept of the rainbow nation is immediately distorted by these apartheid vultures who clearly live in the past, reportedly judging people on the assumption played out in the media and postdemocracy mindset. The premise of thieves being black. Indians being corrupt business dealers. White people being completely discriminatory and condescending. So how can Mr. Ramaphosa pronounce 'unity' as being a part of South African society? We might all be equal before law, but some of us have not accepted the diversity that is painted in our very flag.
My yoghurt was stolen last week so I relayed the information to a girl in my residence, explaining my plan to introduce diarrhoea stimulants to catch out the thief. Without warning, she shared her take on the stealing issue, as her milk was stolen the night before. She brought the suspect into question by picking a pigment.
“Must be one of them...” she whispered, making sure no one else heard, “It's not that I'm a racist or anything.” But, she probably was at that moment. It was like staring at a Metallica fan wearing a bright pink tutu and humming to 'Oops, I did it again.' Like a Blue Bulls forward with a Shark tattoo: blatantly hypocritical and completely ridiculous.
The comment made me realise the impact apartheid still has on many today. We, as South Africans, still carry the manifestations of that period. The notion that if you are Afrikaans you're racist. I hail from Pretoria and people immediately assume that I'm a hardcore Afrikaner who seeks to mock any race who is not white. I'm white – and I'm not a racist. They are even more surprised when I can speak English – and properly.
Over the next few days, I noticed the division of races around campus. The Rat is jam-packed with white people. EQ is host to black people. This doesn't mean that we are racist but shows the division of races in university life. There are a few examples where this is not the case, but the majority rules. This may be an example of cultural barriers but it displays the division of our 'unified' country.
To talk about race in South Africa is like walking into an open minefield. Our past seems to be dwindling around us everywhere we go. At the end of the Barney Pityana lecture, audience
members were encouraged to ask questions. A young student stood up and asked his desired
question. Sniggers and comments were uttered while he was talking. The next morning, in the Journalism lecture, we were told that we were rude and ill-mannered to the young man. Supposedly we were mocking his African accent as white people. Sure, there were a few cases where white people snickered in their seats but I felt a little disheartened that white audience members were targeted and predominantly accused. It was as if apartheid was carried on our backs – due to the actions of the idiotic government of the past. There is no reason to defend anybody who did snigger.
Let's call to mind the way they are brought up instead of what colour they are. Why assume that a thief is not white? Anybody could have stolen my yoghurt or the girl's milk. Why assume that every single snigger in the Barney Pityana lecture was from white people?
Be colour-blind to incidents like this. We still have the past in our heads. If we don't stop, the flag will be bleached of beauty.
“It's not like I'm a racist or anything...” comes from the mouth of the washing cleaner, pouring bleach over every speckle of colour in the flag. Stop assuming. Stop judging.
“It's not that I'm a racist or anything...” whispers the racist, as she immediately picks the unknown thief who stole her milk out of the residence fridge, accusing anybody who is not white. I did not say anything to her. I did not punch her repeatedly like my imagination played out. Instead, I will use her as a tragic example to show you how divided the races of South Africa actually are – even in the cosmopolitan world of Rhodes University.
The concept of the rainbow nation is immediately distorted by these apartheid vultures who clearly live in the past, reportedly judging people on the assumption played out in the media and postdemocracy mindset. The premise of thieves being black. Indians being corrupt business dealers. White people being completely discriminatory and condescending. So how can Mr. Ramaphosa pronounce 'unity' as being a part of South African society? We might all be equal before law, but some of us have not accepted the diversity that is painted in our very flag.
My yoghurt was stolen last week so I relayed the information to a girl in my residence, explaining my plan to introduce diarrhoea stimulants to catch out the thief. Without warning, she shared her take on the stealing issue, as her milk was stolen the night before. She brought the suspect into question by picking a pigment.
“Must be one of them...” she whispered, making sure no one else heard, “It's not that I'm a racist or anything.” But, she probably was at that moment. It was like staring at a Metallica fan wearing a bright pink tutu and humming to 'Oops, I did it again.' Like a Blue Bulls forward with a Shark tattoo: blatantly hypocritical and completely ridiculous.
The comment made me realise the impact apartheid still has on many today. We, as South Africans, still carry the manifestations of that period. The notion that if you are Afrikaans you're racist. I hail from Pretoria and people immediately assume that I'm a hardcore Afrikaner who seeks to mock any race who is not white. I'm white – and I'm not a racist. They are even more surprised when I can speak English – and properly.
Over the next few days, I noticed the division of races around campus. The Rat is jam-packed with white people. EQ is host to black people. This doesn't mean that we are racist but shows the division of races in university life. There are a few examples where this is not the case, but the majority rules. This may be an example of cultural barriers but it displays the division of our 'unified' country.
To talk about race in South Africa is like walking into an open minefield. Our past seems to be dwindling around us everywhere we go. At the end of the Barney Pityana lecture, audience
members were encouraged to ask questions. A young student stood up and asked his desired
question. Sniggers and comments were uttered while he was talking. The next morning, in the Journalism lecture, we were told that we were rude and ill-mannered to the young man. Supposedly we were mocking his African accent as white people. Sure, there were a few cases where white people snickered in their seats but I felt a little disheartened that white audience members were targeted and predominantly accused. It was as if apartheid was carried on our backs – due to the actions of the idiotic government of the past. There is no reason to defend anybody who did snigger.
Let's call to mind the way they are brought up instead of what colour they are. Why assume that a thief is not white? Anybody could have stolen my yoghurt or the girl's milk. Why assume that every single snigger in the Barney Pityana lecture was from white people?
Be colour-blind to incidents like this. We still have the past in our heads. If we don't stop, the flag will be bleached of beauty.
“It's not like I'm a racist or anything...” comes from the mouth of the washing cleaner, pouring bleach over every speckle of colour in the flag. Stop assuming. Stop judging.
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