The end of apartheid brought about a new order and a new lexicon, in which some commonplace words have become swear words. People no longer say things, they "indicate" or "allude to" them. They do not talk about things or concepts; rather they discuss "the whole question of …" I personally mourn the death of words such as "intellectual", "ambitious" and "elite". Alas, such passing is a sign of the times.
Let us, for the purposes of the debate, accept that Ronald Suresh Roberts is an insufferable demagogue who sings for his supper at the edge of President Thabo Mbeki’s table. That said, the reason Roberts is currently occupying column space is not because he is in the running for the Mr Congeniality award. He wrote a book, fashioned as a scholarly piece of work, writes Fikile-NtsikeleloMoya.
A few weeks ago a tele-vision reviewer for one of the national dailies filed his opinions on the hit drama, The Sopranos. He was appalled to learn that the show was nothing but an orgy of violence, betrayal and sexual infidelity. Of course it is. What is surprising is that he was surprised.
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/ 27 December 2003
They have been described as ephemeral and the loony left; they have been demonised as superficial; and they have been chastised by the government for making <i>droom-politiek</i> economic demands. But the momentum of the country’s 13 social movements as a simmering political force can no longer be scoffed at.