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| Blackface used in performance |
Thandi Bombi
Foot in the Mouth
Syndrome is an illness that may not actually exist but tends to get the
everyday individual cringing from time to time. This is when an individual says
or does something that they regret, something considered insulting, stupid or
hurtful. The reason why this illness is of great concern is because of the way things are received by the people who hear it. Initially this illness was
associated with double meaning blunders and silly mistakes but a binge of
ignorance has resulted in an increase of this usually harmless disease taking
more away from individuals than anything of the sort should.
Not sure where this is
going?
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| The latest way people enjoy the concept of Blackface |
Two white students
photographed in domestic worker outfits and smeared with black paint have been
on headlines all week and since been kicked out of their campus residence at
the University of Pretoria.
There is a country wide
uproar on whether or not this picture that is making its rounds is actually a
form of racism or blatant ignorance that has landed two students out of
residence and in the public eye.
In post-apartheid South
Africa one would assume that it is within the interest of everyone to respect
each other’s differences and practice a form of cultural sensitivity. The idea
of blackface is particularly offensive to people of colour because it is
associated with a form of theatrical make up used by 19th century
performers to represent a black person. This make up was used to contribute to
the stereotypes of the happy- go- lucky “darky” on the plantation. This form of
discrimination was ruled out in the United States by the Civil Rights Movement
in the 1960’s.
That is just one of the
many possible reasons why this image could be considered offensive. The main
problem about this whole saga is that we do not actually know the context of
this picture so we will never know its true intention.
The only thing that is
certain is whether or not these girls were portraying an ‘innocent’ joke or
projecting their racist beliefs, any person over the age of 18 who is South African
and aware of our political past should really know better.
The country is
desperately trying to move to a time where all races live among one another
equally. The first step was to abolish racial oppression. The effects of that
period of oppression however, have left huge gaps between upper, middle and
lower income homes. If someone ignores that this is still a sensitive issue
they are probably going to end up with a huge foot lodged in the back of their
throats.
To the girls with foot
in the mouth syndrome…
Get well soon.
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