Learn the language of inhlonipho, and become born-free
Respect for the other’s mother tongue goes a long way towards establishing dignified relationships
Miss Born-free and I struck up an intriguing conversation as we strolled from a gruelling court battle. She had recently graduated from university and was disappointed with the unfulfilled promises of the post-1994 “new” SA. From her perspective, the racist apartheid regime had been replaced by a diluted form of “reverse apartheid” characterised by poisonous identity politics, where colonialism and white privilege are religiously blamed for contemporary ills. As a black person she felt vilified on campus amid the pernicious momentum of the mob, for criticising the narrative or sitting on the fence. Our conversation was apposite amid the hubris of post May 8 electioneering; her views struck a chord because I don’t experience the day-to-day racial tension that politicians propagandise.
There is an element of factual truth to the political racial blame game. Politicians capitalise on public sentiment and have no trouble imposing on their supporters the views of a tiny minority. S...
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