Many white conservative writers would prefer to avoid writing about the topic of race relations. I’m one of them. One reason is that many white conservatives have or have had black friends, and there is often that underlying feeling that a discussion about race could put those friendships on uneasy ground. And of course, any time a conservative puts pen to paper or takes to a keyboard to tackle the issue, they are automatically accused of being racist. Then again, a conservative could write about a recipe for a tuna casserole and be accused of being racist. So I guess that point is moot.
On the other hand, the Left loves to write, talk, post, scream, vent, carp, hold forth, b*tch, moan, and whine about racism. Until recently, racism was the Holy Hand Grenade that would destroy all enemies. They didn’t even have to count to three.* At one point, it was a bit like watching a cat in heat — just spray a little racism on something and wait for the smell and panic.
“The Blaze” notes that over the weekend, South Africa’s Marxist-Leninist political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, held their 10th anniversary celebration. Along with singing the praises of Vladimir Putin, party leader Julius Malema led the crowd in a chant: “Dubul’ ibhunu” or, “Shoot to kill, kill the Boer, kill the farmer.” If you did not know, “Boer” refers to the white Dutch settlers who came to South Africa. Specifically, “Boer” means farmer in Afrikaans and Dutch. The reference is to white people. Here are some highlights of the event, courtesy of “Not the Bee”:
South Africa’s black party sings “kill the Boer (Whites), kill the White farmer”. pic.twitter.com/JdPg9Okgnj
— Truthseeker (@Xx17965797N) July 30, 2023
Unforgettable…Tear-jerking stuff!!
In many years to come…Generations will ask:
WHERE WERE YOU ON 29 JULY 2023 WHEN THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA DEMONSTRATED THAT POWER HAD SHIFTED IRREVERSIBLY AND REJECTED NEO-APARTHEID AND ITS RENT-SEEKING BLACK SECURITY GUARDS IN OFFICE??✊🏾✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/kWIZP2Rz1R— Dali Mpofu (@AdvDali_Mpofu) July 30, 2023
Elon Musk, who is South African, took notice and tweeted at South African President Cyril Ramaphosa:
They are openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa. @CyrilRamaphosa, why do you say nothing?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 31, 2023
From “The Blaze”:
Judge Colin Lamont of the South Gauteng High Court barred Malema from singing the song in 2011, noting it undermined Afrikaners’ dignity, reported the Mail and Guardian.
Although the Western press has largely downplayed the phenomenon, in recent years, Afrikaners appear to have been targeted in an escalating series of murders, rapes, and other attacks.
Originally, the African National Congress pledged to stop singing the song. Malema was kicked out of the ANC and continued using the song, allegedly changing the words to “Kiss the Boer.” He sang the original version sometime last year, and the Afrikaner advocacy group, AfriForum, went to the nation’s Equality Court. The court ruled that the song was not incitement or hate speech since “liberation songs should not be interpreted literally.” “The Blaze” notes that when Malema appeared on the BBC’s “Hardtalk” last year, he stated, “When the unled revolution comes … the first target is going to be white people.” In 2016 he commented, “White minorities be warned. We will take our land. It doesn’t matter how. It’s coming, unavoidable. The land will be taken by whatever means necessary.”
AfriForum official Ernst Roets commented that the ruling “proved how the political order in South Africa is becoming radicalised, especially against minorities. A political order where the incitement and romanticisation of violence against minorities is sanctioned by the judiciary is not a free, democratic order, but an oppressive order.” The matter is slated to be heard by the country’s Supreme Court.
The issue hits a little close to home for me.
Years ago, my wife and I went on a mission trip to Kimberly, South Africa. It was not one of those mission trips where twenty people get on a plane for another country to sing songs, do arts and crafts, act out a Bible skit, and hand out juice boxes and rice before going off to stack up some rocks and call it a school or a wall, or something. And then take a bunch of selfies to show everyone back home how selfless we were. This was a teaching trip at a Bible institute to train young men who were studying to be pastors. They would take what they learned and go back to their hometowns to minister to their people. Here I am with some of my students.
Yes, I was younger and thinner, then.
We consider it one of the few mission trips that was a success, mainly because we were there to serve others, as opposed to boosting our Christian street cred.
I also had the honor of preaching at a small church in one of the ghettos of Kimberly. It was tiny and maybe sat 40 people comfortably, tops. The walls and roof were made of corrugated metal and the floor was carpeting laid over tamped-down dirt. Outside was poverty on a scale unseen by most Western eyes. It was not as bad as the homeless encampments in the U.S., but it was devastating. The hard truth is that the damage done by apartheid continues to linger in that country. That may be an uncomfortable fact, but it is a fact nonetheless. I have seen it. You can “yeah but” all you want, but the wounds run very deep.
So when I hear of unrest or violence in South Africa, or the swiftly deteriorating socio-economic conditions, those are the people I think about. I think about the young college students who waited on us at the hamburger joint we would go to after class. My wife made friends with all of them. And when I hear of “war or rumors of war” in that country, I think of the friends we made, white and black, who are in the middle of it. And I pray for them. For they are at risk as are many people in many countries, including ours, who may get swept up in chaos by would-be dictators and demagogues, who are all too eager to co-opt and foster wounds and resentment for their own purposes. Would-be tyrants who would deny the lengthy and often difficult processes of reconciliation and healing in favor of violence and revenge. I pray for those people, as I pray for the people here. And I hope you will join me.
* Bonus points if you get that reference!
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