No Blacks No Worldcup

I am amazed by the issues that the South African media devote time to. The issues which are somehow regarded as being news-worthy or worthy of national attention and debate. A regular columnist (that is how he is described) in the Sowetan newspaper took issue with the fact that South African are obsessed with race. Yes, the very South Africans who until 1994 were subjected to a government that legislated privilege on the basis of race. The very South Africans who until 1994 were something or nothing depending on their race. Yes, these South Africans must just stop their obsession with race and get on with life. The very South Africans who do not know how to be raceless - worse still who do not seem to understand that their greatness or otherwise has nothing to do with their race.

The columnist uses examples of South Africans who had recently achieved various "firsts" in the history of South Africa. One was the first Black South African to win the the Duzi canoe race; another was the first Black woman to be chair of a university council; and the third was the recently appointed national rugby team coach (for the record, the coach does not want being black being mentioned). The columnist argues that we should not bother with identifying these South Africans as being Black or whatever other classification for that matter, in these contexts as it somehow takes away from the fact that they are just South African achieving remarkable things. He argues further that carrying on like this perpetuates the stereotype that Black people are not good enough until compared with their white counterparts. The comparison, he argues, comes from the mere mention of the fact that someone is Black as we mention the fact of his or her achievement.

Black people as much as White people are a South African reality albeit not perculiarly so. The very Black people who have been told and continue to be told that they will not amount to and never have amounted to nothing.

I believe that there is cause to celebrate black achievement here; not just achievement in a general sense. Please let us not take away the trailblazer status from these fine Africans. They are the first to go do these things that we were raised to believe that no darkie can achieve. Mr Shuttleworth on the other hand, was pretty much raised for loftier stuff, for this guy, the sky was not the limit. Having said that, that is the type of stuff white people are known for, at least that is what we are raised to believe. So another white guy wins a tennis match, so what? Two Black women tennis players (oh by the way they are sisters) play in the final of the wimbledon tennis tournament - now you're talking!

The columnist must be having a rather tough time, this being Black history month and all. This for me is a pleasan move from "three Black men are on trial for the robbery of the local bottle store" to a Black man battles ecoli and the rapids to win the Duzi canoe marathon. Quite frankly, my son needs these representations of Black men more than he needs to get over being Black. Validation and celebration of self begets validation and celebration of the other.

And then there's Justice Malala, a bright writer and social commentator who these days writes for The Times, among other achievements. He recently wrote that South Africa should not host that biggest spectacle on earth, the Soccer World Cup tournament. Mr Malala believes that to have South Africa host this great and historical event, would be to reward the arrogance, incompetence and (whatever else descriptive negative label) of the current politicians. He does go to some length to show the incompetence and arrogance of these politicians. If Mr Malala had his way, the whole lot of them would be fired by now - in fact we would be much better off without a government. For all this Mr Malala is celebrated by others as a fearless and fiercely independent South African. One who is not afraid to take on the government. I am not about to square up to Mr Malala, the man is nothing less than a master of his craft and I hate losing. All things considered he, like a fair number of South Africans probably has a fair beef with our politicians.

What I cannot understand though is what on earth he seeks to achieve with calling for the Soccer World Cup to be given to the Australians. This competition generally takes place in spite of and not because of politicians (there is of course a qualified exception in Nelson Mandela). It is the decision of the international football authority that determines which country gets to have the privilege of hosting the competition and the world. A substantial number of South Africans (citizens and residents) are looking forward to this competition and I cannot for the life of me understand why they have to bear the brunt of Mr Malala's chagrin. Can we please not have the beef between Mr Malala and our politicians spoil the greatest spectacle on earth that the rest of us cannot wait to enjoy, to celebrate, to participate in; and all this in spite of our politicians.