In his eloquently written and well distributed column on News24, Max du Preez headlines that reverse racism is a myth.
I would argue that it is racist to even write such drivel.
My opinion is that people of any skin colour could be racists as being a racist has nothing to do with the colour of the skin you are wearing.
Max du Preez starts out by saying that South Africans are supposedly world experts on racism.
In South Africa everything is about the colour of your skin. In some SA Government departments there are meetings upon meetings to ensure that the employees in whatever department as close as possible matches the percentages of whatever skin colour percentages there are in South Africa. (and failing miserably while spending millions of Rands trying)
Max du Preez writes about the definition of racism, he then proceeds to quote “non world experts” and generally accepted definitions of what racism is.
Let me try to help Max du Preez with his definitions: Racism is when my 11 year old son turns 18 and he cannot get a job as a fireman because he has a white skin.
Racism is when a black skinned dude cannot book a reservation at a holiday resort because he has a black skin.
Racism is when a columnist writes that ‘reverse racism is a myth’
The focus of Max du Preez’s opinion, is that for anything to be racism there has to be a belief that: “your own race is superior” – Which is of course KAK. (and which is why Max du Preez has now been awarded the Kak opinion of the month, award! )
The fatal flaw in Max du Preez’s opinion is that racism does not always have to do with superiority. (See my examples of perfectly acceptable racism, that does not necessarily involve any superiority)
Max du Preez also states that: “I have never witnessed a black person cursing white people because he/she believes being black is superior, even where the words used would sometimes suggest that.” – My comment on that is that he should maybe expand his social network to include black skinned athletes as well as some black skinned racist organisations – As I have witnessed black skinned people that are of the honest and sincere opinion that some black skinned people are more superior than white skinned people.
So, Max Du Preez, you are shouting from the rooftops that efforts against so called non existing “reverse racism” are doing more damage to racial relations and society in general and implying that the organisations oposing such non existent racism should cease their activities. You contradict yourself frequently in your own well written drivel and to such an extent that I am not sure what exactly you are saying or trying to say. Instead of simply sticking to your opinion, you seem to be arguing with yourself, publishing your internal struggle. Do you think that doing so is really beneficial to society?
To be fair to all people, it is easy to become entangled in the racialness of everything.
For myself, I think that if South Africa wants to grow as a single nation we should stop making everything about race. The colour of your skin simply does not matter.
At some point South Africa has to become one people, one country and one nation. We should at that point remove all racial legislation and as a single society we should accept, truly accept that we are one people.
There should be no need for max Du Preez to publish hints of his own internal struggles and there should be no need for laws pertaining to skin colour.
But, my opinion is that it will not happen in the next 100 years. South Africa will never be a non racial country and South Africa will never be a place where the colour of your skin does not matter.
I truly hope that I am also wrong, like Max Du Preez is wrong. Accepting my own opinion is a depressing venture.
