Rehana Rossouw
CROSSFIRE
In a radio interview last week the African National Congress’s Smuts Ngonyama spoke gravely on SAfm about a “threat to the stability of the country”. He was not discussing allegations of impropriety in the government’s arms deal, but a CD of racist songs with limited distribution. How the music threatens the stability of the country remains to be seen.
This week the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) announced that it is asking the national director of public prosecutions to prosecute comedian Shane McCallaghan, who claims he wrote and recorded the songs at a drunken party in Bapsfontein three years ago.
The songs label Nelson Mandela and President Thabo Mbeki “kaffirs”. They question their intelligence, suggest they are running the country into the ground and that Mandela had an improper relationship with his mother: “Hy spyker sy ma.” Exactly what one would expect at a drunken party in Bapsfontein.
The HRC says McCallaghan’s songs “clearly constitute a violation of the right to dignity of millions of South Africans, and constitute hate speech as described in the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.
“It remains a matter of deep concern to the commission that six years after the establishment of a democratic order there remain people who continue to engage in the business of race hate in the most vile and repugnant form as some of the material on the CD demonstrates.
“That the CD was reproduced and sold for gain, played at clubs and social events, not only exacerbates the situation but is indicative of a willing and receptive market in some quarters of our society for such views.”
Fair enough. The HRC was established as a watchdog organisation to protect the constitutional rights of all South Africans. It should be vigilant, take steps to protect society from the dissemination of racial hatred and educate those who have little respect for the dignity of others. It remains to be seen whether prosecuting people for producing and distributing material that incites racial hatred will stop some sectors of society believing that because of the colour of his skin, Mbeki is inferior or stupid.
Where does the HRC draw the line? Rap and kwaito CDs are far bigger sellers in South Africa than anything McCallaghan or his ilk could ever produce, and these genres incite racial and gender hatred on almost every track.
For instance, young black South Africans are buying thousands of CDs produced by their angry black brothers in the United States. The lyrics of some tracks “dissing” the authorities might give our young blacks some nasty ideas.
Take Nastradamus for instance, on his hit CD i am: “I want to talk to the mayor or the governor/To the muthafuckin president/I want to talk to the FBI and CIA/And the muthafuckin congressmen./ Mr America, young black niggas want you/I want to talk to the man, understand?/Understand this muthafuckin g-pack in my hand? Niggas play with Playstations/They building space stations on Mars.”
Here’s a line from DMX, another big seller in South African music stores: “Black hate white/white hate black/it’s right back to the same fight.”
Shouldn’t the HRC monitor what black South Africans listen to? Perhaps after listening to Nas, angry black South Africans might want to walk up to the Union Buildings with guns in their hands to get our “muthafuckin” president who promises jobs but spends money on arms (not Mars).
And isn’t the word “nigger” as offensive to African Americans as the word “kaffir” is to black South Africans? Shouldn’t the HRC prosecute the companies distributing and selling CDs which label African Americans “niggers”?
Rap lovers defend the artists by explaining that they have appropriated the word “nigga” and that it’s okay for blacks to use it. White rapper Eminem has apparently been given special dispensation from black rap artists to use the word as well.
Rap lovers defend the profanity in the lyrics by explaining that the music gives a platform for them to express their alienation from society, that the word “president” has to be prefaced by “muthafucker” to best express their anger.
Aren’t some white South Africans feeling alienated as well? Should we deny them a platform to express their anger?
What informs the HRC’s levels of anger and disgust? In an interview on SAfm two weeks ago, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Penuell Maduna explained that he had not met Judge Willem Heath and would probably not be meeting him soon because he did not “associate with white people”. Maduna did not give any reasons for this statement, he did not explain why he does not like associating with whites. Perhaps he believes they have improper relations with their mothers. Perhaps he thinks that they are inferior to him and he does not want to sully his reputation by associating with them.
The HRC has not asked him for an explanation of why he does not associate with people who form a substantial minority among his senior colleagues and who contribute to the tax base that pays his salary every month.
SABC1 had a warning on screen on January 23 before they aired the local documentary Across the Line. The warning read: “contains extreme prejudice”. The documentary examined cross-cultural adoptions, and gave The Star’s deputy editor Mathatha Tsedu ample opportunity to slam the concept of white families adopting black children. His view was that these children were better off in institutions where they are cared for by people of their own race and culture, rather than being loved and cared for in white peoples’ homes where they would be exposed to “European culture”.
The South African government promulgated the Child Care Amendment Act, legalising cross-cultural adoptions. Tsedu prefers the way things were under apartheid, where black children lived only with black families and white children with whites. He is entitled to his opinion, and should not be prosecuted by the HRC for ignoring the fact that apartheid has been legislated to death and for calling for its reinstatement where it affects adoption of abandoned children.
And neither should McCallaghan be prosecuted. He is a comedian in a country which used to have a sense of humour.