If your lucky you belong to an identity that is perceived to be aloof from all this, and that just reports on the victims and oppressors ‘impartially’.

I was a teenager of about 17 or so and went to the movies, there were some arcade games and I saw a little guy of about 10 playing a car game, we were the only guys at the games.

The game had a single gear lever for hi/low and I noticed that he never shifted gears, so I mentioned that he could shift gears and demonstrated by pulling the lever.

Now I’m an Afrikaner and this kid was English. He responded with “Dutchman!!! I’d rather be a pebble than a rock!”

I laughed, but it does illustrate some of the prejudice and the notion that “Dutchman” is used in some English circles as a derogatory term, whether taken so or not.

I get the feeling that some of the history of this can to be found in the history of “class prejudice” as can be argued for some of the racism in South Africa as well. Often the lines are quite blurry.

That is certainly an interesting letter that you linked to Attie.

Reggie, its interesting that we read the situation so differently. You give Luke a lot of latitude and I don’t. I can see where your coming from. I think one of the key differences is the suspicion among many Afrikaners that the non racial positions of English South Africa, was often inspired by their battle with Afrikaners. I think I will make this a theme of a post.

What I also have been thinking about the last few days is this, that if something like this angers me so, how much much anger black South Africans must experience because of racial slights they suffer.

Our country really needs people that have sympathy and an understanding for people’s various backgrounds.

It also needs people that speak out at racist behaviour. How many times do you hear racist comments at social gatherings from other South Africans and don’t tackle them for doing that? If you don’t do that you can’t much complain about Luke Watson.

The other thing Jaco Strausse deals with in his letter to the business day is the statement made in the original bus day article: “The one way the Watsons can be sure to “fix” the rugby racists they hate is to work towards an all-black, winning, Springbok side. That’ll get higher up the racist nose than merely giving them something else to moan about.” This is a racist statement in a well respected main stream newspaper, imagine the outcry if it read: we should work towards an all white winning rugby team. The reporter would immediately be fired and possibly never work again.

Through the liberal media it is always acceptable to bash white people, Jaco Strausse might have written a letter in response, no one else complained, no outcry of racism! Jaco Strausse is a right wing commentator so he had to watch his tone otherwise the leftwing media would certainly ignore his letter. The liberal media reasons as follow, : All white people are racist. All racist should die, therefore all white people should die. Me and a few friends have stolen an idea from the African-American nation, we now greet each other as racist on the phone we also call each other racist.

The best read on the matter can be found here: http://www.news24.com/Rapport/Briewe/0,,752-805_2411906,00.html

Then lastly to Reggie, you missed Mhambi’s point Puke Watson already admitted to saying it, he’s defense was that he said it in private.

Boeregroete

Secondly, I don’t really deal with the Áfrikaners is voelvry verklaar’ perception or reality. That is a different debate.

The point is simple: did he say it or not, but more so, did he meant it as the ‘commentators’ splash it ?

Lastly, I would not call Clinton van den Bergh as part of the bastion of the Afrikaner press or maybe I dont know him that well.

First, he has not denied that he said what has been alleged he has said. He himself said it was given in a private conversation. That makes him a twee gat jakkels in my book.

Secondly, after all this came out he made the statement about the Van Rensburg in the closest.

I chose specifically to focus on the Dutchman comment and not the Springbok comment because so many commentators have gone at lengths to gloss over the first and focus on the second.

The only media that called him an Afrikaners basher as you state it was the Afrikaans press. Even at the heights of the Nationalist power English South Africa did not read the Afrikaans press and they certainly don’t do so now.

And there is a reason for this I assert. Prejudice against Afrikaners is one of the few allowed prejudices, not only in SA but in the English speaking world in general. Afrikaners is voelvry verklaar.

If Luke was genuinely interested in reconciliation and the team why not celebrate the historic victory of Pieter de Villiers at Dunedin with the team in which he played?

I watched Luke play in the very first match of De Villier’s reign against Wales. It was probably his best match so far. After an impressive move between them, Juan Smith runs over and high fives Watson and smiles. Hardly what you would call a hostile reception.

What I find interesting is the amount of latitude you give his opinions that the team is racist. Is this on account of his fathers reputation?

Brian Habana seems quit happy to play alongside Afrikaners in that team. Is he a fool? Is Ricky Januarie a fool?

If he denies what he said and their is no proof then I’ll apologise for this post. But its time all South Africans were ’skeered met dieselfde kam’.

As the Sunday Times said this week “It’s funny how you find bigotry in the strangest places. Or rather, not funny.”

I am asking these to show the selectiveness, to portray him in the media as another Afrikanerbasher, like the rest.

As for the vomit statement: My understanding is that he did not say, that he want to vomit on the Springbokjersey per se- he said (given the situation he found himself in last year, but moreso given the way people felt about the Springbok symbol in the past), he had to prevent himself from not vomiting on it because of himself realising the bigger picture of people dying for unified rugby, even though they also viewed the Springbok as such, a symbol of whites-only rugby. Here he felt safe to share his own struggles, given his background, but he also speaks of his own personal transformation and the role his father and his faith played.
Don’t we all sometimes share our own journeys and struggles in a safe space ?

Sorry that my comment is so long.