Richard Spoor’s e-mail about being spanked by MTN’s Jacques Sellschop (as published in Krisjan Lemmer, December 1 to 7) brought back a flood of memories. Though I was fortunate enough not to have been on the receiving end of his cane, I can recall vividly the day he “flapped” three boys in front of our class (circa 1971) so severely that they wept openly.
A schoolfriend of mine who did experience a beating from Sellschop says it was one of the most traumatic experiences of his life (and this from someone who subsequently enjoyed several months of solitary confinement and assorted brutalities in John Vorster Square!). I don’t think it an exaggeration to say that Sellschop scared the shit out of most of us, but on the whole we kind of liked his style: an enigmatic blend of passionate teaching with a savage stroke.
My father, who went to Marist Brothers in the 1940s, recalls a similar mix of merciless beating and brilliant teaching from the brothers. So effective was their reign of terror that he, at 5’6”, became along-jump champion. Bruce Cohen, Johannesburg
Tacky headline Few newspapers have the sensitivity of the Mail & Guardian, so I was appalled to see on the cover: “Randy woman rapes male student” (December 1 to 7). Whose lousy idea was that headline? Perhaps after I was raped the headline should have been “Randy builder rapes journalist”? How tacky can you get?
Men who are raped, and very many men are raped, in particular adolescent boys, go through profound trauma, which is heightened by the sort of stupid reactions from society that the M&G headline demonstrates. I love the M&G and I expect better. Charlene Smith
Old racist myths The article “Black men can run faster” by Jon Arlidge (December 1 to 7) repeats old racist myths about African athletic ability being a “natural” outcome of genetic predisposition and environmental circumstances.
Simply put, the Danish sport institute’s research cited by Arlidge is tabloid science. This work is a contemporary expression of the scientific racism linked to social Darwinism and eugenics. These pernicious intellectual currents are based on anecdotal (which genes are the scientists talking about?) and grossly antiquated conceptions of race.
Arlidge (and others) should consult the award-winning book Kenyan Running (1996) by John Bale and Joe Sang. The authors demonstrate incontrovertibly that Kenyan elite runners’ performances are not the result of environmental and biologi-cal determinism, but rather of the athletes’ motivation, training, coaching, the government support (from both the colonial and independent state) and the country’s long and rich sport history.
Misinformed, uncritical reporting of racial myths about black athletic skills must stop. Let us heed the warning issued by John Hoberman in his insightful study Darwin’s Athletes (1997): “Tabloid science is dangerous because it can function as a potent carrier of psuedo-scientific ideas about racial difference, feeding the appetite for such revelations, which is a major legacy of our racist past.” Peter Alegi, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Cut through the fear
Well done, Denise Ford, on her wake-up article on circumcision (“Circumcision: The kindest cut”, December 1 to 7). There is a movement in the United States of self-righteous types who say that babies should make their own choices, and the opposite is cruel, etcetera. It is routine in the US, with some 80% of the male population circumcised at birth.
If there is any evidence that circumcision can contribute in any way to the prevention of HIV/Aids, then the Department of Health/the government should institute routine circumcision in all hospitals of all male infants as a matter of urgency. Let not fear stand in the way. Decisions should be made and acted on by the politicians and health workers concerned immediately. W Bailey, Hermanus
Our electoral flaw Jessica Piombo (Crossfire, November 24 to 30) has indeed managed to find what is a major flaw in our electoral system.
By relying entirely on a proportional representation system, we have done away with the accountability that the Westminster system provides. This system ensures that we, as voters, not only know who represents us in Parliament, but have someone to approach if we have any problems, no matter who we voted for. The person elected is directly responsible to us and must be more devoted to the needs of our area, as well as his conscience, rather than party politics. Furthermore, it provides scope for independent candidates and the “broad-based social movements” referred to.
The main question, however, is how to implement this system in a country where minority representation is such an important issue. The new Constitution created is seen as something sacred and adjustments to the Lower House would probably be fiercely opposed. The answer lies in the National Council of Provinces, which has, time and again, shown itself to be a total waste of time and money. It should be replaced by a Senate elected via the Westminster system. This house would not only serve as a rubber-stamp for parliamentary bills, but could deal with issues that directly affect us as individuals. Problems regarding the local government, education and basic needs would arise here, leaving macro-economic and foreign affairs to the lower house.
In this way we could preserve the best of both worlds, ensuring minority protection as well as direct accountability and a face to go to if we need to. James Dray, Durban
Rediscovering values I agree wholeheartedly that the mere appearance of the report on values in education is important (Minister of Education Kader Asmal’s letter “Provoking new practices”, October 20 to 26). There are many welcome signs that numbers of people have accepted the opportunity to participate in this discussion. It is my view that we all, educationists and philosophers included, need to rediscover how to talk and think about values as we work towards the kind of education system and society we really want.
That need to rediscover a discourse about values is not because education in the past was value-free. Our search now is for appropriate values, understood in their context and history, that can be tested, experienced and lived by learners as individuals and as members of society.
I most certainly did not advocate in my article “Values in education” (Beyond Matric, September 29 to October 5) that the values of the market are more important than human and personal values! Quite the contrary. I sought to challenge the report’s emphasis upon individualism because it is so vulnerable to exploitation by the market.
That there is to be a national conference on values in education in February 2001 is good news, as is the part that University of Cape Town Vice-chancellor Njabulo Ndebele is playing in the revisioning of history teaching in schools. This signals to me that we are grappling with issues that will reshape our educational practice in necessary ways. Michael Gardiner, Observatory, Johannesburg
ENDS