HALF ART
CHRIS THURMAN: Incidents may have fed EFF’s anti-Indian narrative, but reality tells a different story
Julius Malema must have taken delight in a couple of recent news items that might be twisted into a superficial vindication of his claims
The great strength of the EFF as a political force is that, while numerically stronger parties often give the impression of being overtaken by events, the EFF’s leaders possess an uncanny ability to set the news agenda. Have SA’s journalists been too valorising of the EFF, too willing to overlook its contradictions, too forgiving of its bigotry and demagogic tendencies? Probably. But the tide appears to be turning — and not just because Floyd Shivambu bullies reporters. Media coverage of Julius Malema’s comments about Indian South Africans and racism confirms that, post-Zuma, the EFF is being given less leeway. Nonetheless, Malema must have taken delight in a couple of recent news items that might be twisted into a superficial vindication of his claims. First there was Alochna Moodley, the unpleasant nobody who got herself kicked off a Kulula flight for using racist slurs. Then model and TV personality Shashi Naidoo waded idiotically into a "debate" about Gaza; given that Israel-Pal...
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