Quick question. When do you think the above photo was taken? If you answered 1994 you are correct. Granted, it’s not that hard to work out that the photo is old. The fact that there’s a young white man with a dated hairstyle and an ANC t-shirt kind of gives the game away. Everyone knows white people stopped supporting the ANC years ago. So the picture must be old. That, or he’s a hipster.
What you probably didn’t guess is that the young man is none other than Brett Murray. Yes. Brett Murray. The man whose painting of Jacob Zuma with his schlong out has got the ruling party in a tizz, to put it very, very mildly. So, what’s going on here, you must be asking yourself. Why is a man who has been called a racist, colonialist enemy of the state who must be stoned to death, wearing an ANC shirt? That can’t be right.
The thing is- Brett Murray is not a racist. Brett Murray is a satirical artist. He deals in satire. His job, if you will, is to point out the failings of the political establishment. He did this to the apartheid government, and he now does it to the ANC. There are no holy cows where he is concerned. His exhibition, Hail to the Thief II, is a brilliant exposé of the corruption and ineptude of the government. It is clever, thought-provoking and hard-hitting. And while the picture that has caused the furore that the country is now in- The Spear- is all of these things, it has another quality that perhaps Murray, and many white South Africans didn’t, and don’t, appreciate.
For three hundred years, blacks in South Africa were treated as sub-human. First they were sold into slavery, and then their lands were taken from them in bloody battles. Then the missionaries arrived to inflict, in my opinion, the greatest punishment of all. Native tribes were forced to give up the beliefs they had held for millennia. They had to give up their culture, their way of life, their family dynamic and were stripped of their souls. They were forced to accept Christianity. Those that didn’t, those that tried desperately to hold onto their culture, were ostracized and even murdered. And once the colonialists had stripped black people of all that they were, they left them with nothing in its place. The country moved on without them. They were treated as fourth class citizens, stereotyped as lazy, stupid and sex-obsessed. Basic human rights were denied to them, and they were forced to accept this or die.
Apartheid ended 20 years ago. Granted, in that time the ANC has done all they can to tarnish their image as the saviours of the country. But at the same time, white people must be very careful not to forget what they subjected black people to for the last 300 years. We must not be so arrogant and insensitive to think that in 20 years of democracy, the scars that we inflicted would have healed. The Truth and Reconciliation Committee may have been a start, but we cannot say that because a few people said sorry for what they did, everything is now ok. It’s not, and it won’t be for a long time.
So, where does The Spear fit into all of this? While Brett Murray is most definitely not a racist, and whilst The Spear is in reference to Zuma’s propensity to flaunt his sexuality, when black people say they are offended by this as it reminds them of past stereotypes, we cannot simply accuse them of “not getting it”. Murray did not set out to offend black people. He set out to emphasise the president’s lack of morality. Unfortunately, his painting has not had the effect that he intended. And we need to be sympathetic to the hurt it has caused, instead of merely brushing it off. We need to understand we people are coming from when they say how it has upset them. If not, we are just as guilty as any leader who dismisses an opinion because it is not his/her own.
The reaction to the painting has had a racially polarising effect on the country and tensions are currently very high. When the dust eventually settles we will look back at this event as a turning point in our country. It is the citizens of this country who will decide which course our country will take. Will this event be the catalyst for real change and reconciliation in this country? Or will it be the moment when we reached a point of no return and our country was plunged into another period of absolute racial hatred and mistrust?
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