Democracy and Delusion: old problems, new solutions
The Nkandla debacle, the Marikana massacre, Fees Must Fall, GuptaGate, Zuma Must Fall and daily service delivery protests – South African politics is a roller-coaster ride. Politicians spew the same...
View ArticleDon’t put my heritage over the coals
On the 24th of September, South Africans celebrate Heritage Day, when people across all racial and cultural groups are encouraged to celebrate their cultural diversity within the wider context of a...
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Another Heritage Day, another racial incident we’re expected to ‘laugh off’
Considering how the complexity of South African heritage has been reduced to a national “Braai Day”, Shabashni Moodley argues that we shouldn’t be surprised at the Highveld Stereo “madar chod”...
View ArticleUCT DVC and the accusations of fake qualifications: “It’s the story of many...
Over the weekend, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, the social media savvy Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) for Research and Internationalisation at the University of Cape Town (UCT), posted on Facebook that...
View Article“I feel like every time I’m in white spaces, I have a problem with breathing”
Navigating a world that is very much still white – as a black person – takes its toll on black people. Navigating between black and white spaces in a country that is still racialised is jarring. There...
View ArticleAs the Phakeng incident shows, UCT views black excellence with suspicion and...
Reading about the attacks on Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, the deputy vice chancellor (DVC) for Research and Internationalisation at the University of Cape Town (UCT) opened some old wounds for Keval...
View ArticleSisonke Msimang on Always Another Country, rape culture and #MeToo
Conversations about the prevalence of sexual violence have been at the forefront of conversation in recent weeks with the #MeToo movement. This month, writer Sisonke Msimang launched her memoir Always...
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WTF is the apartheid flag doing at #BlackMonday protests?
Protesters donned black and carried white crosses – and some the old apartheid-era flag – in the #BlackMonday protests. The protest raised questions about Afrikaner nationalism and white supremacy. On...
View Article#BlackMonday and nostalgia for “those days”
For many people, the brandishing of the apartheid flag at the #BlackMonday protests was unsurprising: it was part of the violence enacted daily on black South Africans. Itumeleng Molefi reflects on a...
View ArticleThe President’s Keepers and state capture: black intellectualism needs to...
It is astonishing that a book revealing deep-rooted and widespread corruption and state capture in government should instead prompt a pointless debate about Jacques Pauw and his supposed audience....
View ArticleWhat to do when you are faced with hate speech
We all have those friends on Facebook who claim they have an absolute right to their opinion. “Well, that’s my opinion and I am entitled to it. It’s a free country.” Fair enough, the “free country”...
View ArticleI wanted to be more white
[Editor’s note]: On 5 November 2017, the Weekend Argus published a column by Kfm presenter Sherlin Barends, in which she commented on the athlete Wayde van Niekerk’s marriage to Chesney Campbell, a...
View Article#BlackMonday: We must centre farmworkers in the ‘farm killings’ debate
Though writers have opined on the apartheid nostalgia exhibited by #BlackMonday protesters, there has been silence in terms of placing land and non-white bodies residing or working on farms at the...
View ArticleThere is no freedom of speech on Facebook, activists say
Facebook has been making headlines globally for temporarily banning users who comment variations of “Men Are Trash” on the site. This is in line with its community guidelines which are not geared...
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Trashing of H&M stores in South Africa endorsed by EFF top command
Earlier on Saturday, EFF members were seen entering a series of H&M stores – including Sandton in Johannesburg and Century City in Cape Town – where they collapsed clothing racks and dismounted...
View ArticleWhy do Africans give a shit about Trump calling us “shithole countries”?
On Thursday, Trump was exposed for calling Haiti, El Salvador and African states “shithole countries” during an official meeting discussing immigrant protection. The whole world was outraged. Ordinary...
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Justice for Siam Lee: We must defend her from victim-blaming
There are bodies deemed valuable and bodies deemed disposable, with the factors of race, gender, sexuality and ability playing a role in deciding between the former and the latter. Bodies which do not...
View ArticleH&M deserves no sympathy – the fashion industry is built on brutal, racist...
In 2013, a multi-storey commercial building in the Bangladeshi capital city of Dhaka collapsed, killing 1135 people and injuring thousands more. The disaster was notable not just for being the worst...
View ArticleThe Monkey Business of H&M and The Hokey-Pokey of the EFF!
It is fruitless to have debates about whether the H&M advert with a black kid wearing a hoodie saying “coolest monkey in the jungle” is deliberately and intentionally racist or not, writes EBRAHIM...
View ArticleIn defense of trashing H&M
The Economic Freedom Fighter protest against H&M stores in South Africa has caused controversy both locally and overseas. People are calling their actions “unnecessary hooliganism”, “mindless...
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