Home

Julius Malema

Roger SanerApr 08,2010
Roger Saner's picture

Ignore Julius

Much of the fear Julius Malema has managed to inspire is not because of his vast intelligence or ability to provoke the masses into mindless violence; it's that he says the craziest things which would never be uttered by any responsible public figure of any depth in post-Apartheid South Africa. He contradicts himself, by the way, first by saying

"The reality is that the majority of white people, despite the practical assurances made by our democratic Constitution and government; continue to believe that black people are out to get them. They feel threatened, but there is no basis for their insecurity." Source: ANC Youth League website

and then by singing "Shoot the boer," which even if he doesn't mean it literally and is merely celebrating the history of the struggle movement (which I doubt), it gives insecure whities some basis for fear (which is why the ANC told him to stop singing it). You can't sing "Shoot the boer" and then say, "White people shouldn't believe that black people are out to get them."

One reason Malema seems to have power is the massive exposure our local media gives him. It's come to the point where they're not merely objectively reporting on Malema, they're actually encouraging the madness he encourages. And so we should ignore Julius, which is what the rest of this post is about, posted on many other South African blogs.

Julius Malema has exploded into political... prominence... by making himself hard to ignore. Inheriting a platform that drew attention to the accidental outrages he tripped into, he quickly learned to stoke outrage and roar back at any responses he provoked. For the media, trying to gauge the state of the nation's health from moment to moment, this makes him a much more attractive candidate than the business-as-usual official announcements of the ruling party proper. But Malema's sound and fury signify nothing, and his disproportionate voice in South Africa's public conversation is only hurting our ability to speak to one another, and to speak sense when we do. We think it's time to ignore Julius, and invite you to join us.

For the week of 7-14 April 2010, we undertake to talk about this country, its challenges, its promise, its news, and to ignore Julius while doing so. Join us in this initiative. If you blog, join the roll. If you Tweet, add the hashtag #ignoreJulius to your daily output. However you communicate, take a week off from Julius.

Here is the list of blogs that are participating in this initiative:

http://rwrant.co.za
http://zoem.co.za
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/mariusredelinghuys
http://memyselfandkarin.wordpress.com/
http://robsramblings.co.za
http://antithesis.blognation.co.za/
http://singe.za.net/
http://blog.empyrean.co.za
http://www.pinkhairgirl.co.za
http://www.macgeek.co.za
http://www.futurechurch.co.za
http://www.cptawesome.co.za/
http://www.indigogirl.co.za/

Technorati Tags:Technorati Tags:
Roger SanerMar 24,2010
Roger Saner's picture

Bloggers for a Free Press

This article is a call by Sipho Hlongwane for bloggers to join in the protest against the tactics the ANC Youth League are employing to try and destroy the freedom of the press. The Twitter hashtag for this is #SpeakZA

Last week, shocking revelations concerning the activities of the ANC Youth League spokesperson Nyiko Floyd Shivambu came to the fore. According to a letter published in various news outlets, a complaint was laid by 19 political journalists with the Secretary General of the ANC, against Shivambu. This complaint letter detailed attempts by Shivambu to leak a dossier to certain journalists, purporting to expose the money laundering practices of Dumisani Lubisi, a journalist at the City Press. The letter also detailed the intimidation that followed when these journalists refused to publish these revelations.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the reprisals against journalists by Shivambu. His actions constitute a blatant attack on media freedom and a grave infringement on Constitutional rights. It is a disturbing step towards dictatorial rule in South Africa. We call on the ANC and the ANC Youth League to distance themselves from the actions of Shivambu. The media have, time and again, been a vital democratic safeguard by exposing the actions of individuals who have abused their positions of power for personal and political gain.

The press have played a vital role in the liberation struggle, operating under difficult and often dangerous conditions to document some of the most crucial moments in the struggle against apartheid. It is therefore distressing to note that certain people within the ruling party are willing to maliciously target journalists by invading their privacy and threatening their colleagues in a bid to silence them in their legitimate work.

We also note the breathtaking hubris displayed by Shivambu and the ANC Youth League President Julius Malema in their response to the letter of complaint. Shivambu and Malema clearly have no respect for the media and the rights afforded to the media by the Constitution of South Africa. Such a response serves only to reinforce the position that the motive for leaking the so-called dossier was not a legitimate concern, but a insolent effort to intimidate and bully a journalist who had exposed embarrassing information about the Youth League President. We urge the ANC as a whole to reaffirm its commitment to media freedom and other Constitutional rights we enjoy as a country.

Technorati Tags:Technorati Tags: