I have just read a report where the ANCWL have stated SA society need to fight patriarchy...I agree but ironically, the same ANCWL condemned the Murray painting as racist thus shoring up our hapless presidents' obviously patriarchal stance...the painting is a statement against the very patriarchy the ANCWL would like to fight against yet they and the president condemn Murray as a racist. Somehow an artist is not allowed to make a statement like that; the subject of his painting somehow magically transported by culture and custom to a place where he is untouchable and an artists' comments on his many foibles will get that artist into deep trouble. This is how all fascists think, they cannot abide a criticism and want to smash it out of existence, particularly when there is a thread of truth in the work.
I regard Mr. Zuma's utterances of the past few days as utterly wreckless and they are in fact, deeply racist...to call a person a racist when they are so clearly not and then to push that agenda to a gullible proletariat making out that the artist has not only humiliated Zuma but has also insulted the nation, is far more deeply divisive and harmful than any painting depicting the presidents' frightened genitalia...it's a pathetic display of so-called 'manly' pride disguised as cultural protection and a chilling reminder that dictatorial behaviour is just under the surface of this government and they are not skaam to encourage people to think along the same lines...and of-course it fits well with their last-man-standing Mangaung machinations.
I yearn for a president in SA who can take it on the chin, who actually WANTS to help people, who works night and day for the betterment of all South Africans and has the guts and enough self-worth to be blind to skin colour and to leave artists to their art...
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
