Why I wrote my “bad to the bone racist scum” white South African article
Posted on October 25th, 2007 by Richard Catto 2,518 views
I linked to my friend, Guy McLaren’s web site yesterday, calling him "bad to the bone racist scum" and got called a politically correct bonehead in return, which I guess is pretty mild compared to what I called him. So, to clarify, I was being over the top for effect. McLaren hardly qualifies as racist scum, he’s more of a closet, weekend warrior type of racist, and only if he remembered to dry clean his AWB khakis during the week.
One thing, though, is that I was right about white people expecting me to side with the interests of white people.
I don’t think it does white people any good to be seen to be favoured over other races. That’s why when Spur has a competition and all the winners are white, that fuels dissatisfaction amongst black people.
Same applies to sports’ teams. It’s now apparent that many black people are unhappy that so many Springbok rugby players are white.
"If you haven’t been called a kaffir you haven’t been playing in South Africa."
"Most rugby players in South Africa are black – as are around 80 per cent of the population – but the Springbok team photo is unmistakably pale, with only two coloured players in tonight’s starting XV."
So I happen to think that they have a good point. I’m not going to side with whites just because I am white. Transformation in South African sport MUST happen. It is not optional.
You know, so far, white people in SA have been lucky. We’ve had ANC governments which have not outrightly persecuted whites. That might change, though, especially if frustration boils over. That’s basically what happened in Zimbabwe with the land grab.
Black Zimbabweans lost patience with white Zimbabweans, because they felt they were enjoying less success than the whites.
I don’t think black people are impressed with whites who say that they had nothing to do with Apartheid, especially those whites who served in the Apartheid security forces.
Really, I think the best approach is to just admit that we played our part and apologise for that. I think white South Africans need to make an apology to black South Africans for being responsible in whole or in part for Apartheid.
I also think that white South Africans need to stand against favouritism and racial inequities wherever they may encounter them. That is the reason why I have zoned in on Spur’s racially biased competition, and also on the Springbok rugby team. It’s good that South Africa won the Rugby World Cup, but it would have been better still if the racial demographics of the players were not so skewed in favour of white players.
White South Africans need to realise that it’s not okay for us to racially dominate anything anywhere anymore. It’s just not okay.
Tags: Apartheid, kaffir, racial bias, Rugby World Cup, Springbok Rugby team, white favouritism
Filed under Apartheid, Racism, White South Africans | 13 Comments »
