So pigs do fly. Julius Malema, you rock. Spot-on comment. “Where are the white South Africans to welcome [Caster Semenya]?” Julius asked at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday. “If it is rugby, they are here. The only white people who are here, are journalists. Why are we still divided? We should all celebrate.”
It’s true that many white South Africans prefer their sports idols to be a little paler, a little more upper-middle class, and a little more feminine. Victor Matfield and Graeme Smith spring to mind. So I’m totally in agreement with Malema here. Come on, white sport fans, make an effort. Like Malema did when he was at OR Tambo to welcome home the Springboks from the Rugby World Cup. (He was there, right?)
Of course, the ghastly unspoken truth about pigs flying is that they’re entirely unsuited to the bit that comes afterwards, which is landing. So Malema’s comments were followed by a messy crash-landing: the acerbic warnings of the Mo of the Nation (to use her hip-hop moniker), Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
Our gracious divorcee displayed the same fine regard for science as she has previously shown for small boys. “They can write what they like, but nothing is going to dampen the spirit of this little girl. To those out there who performed those tests … they can stuff their tests.”
Fighting words indeed! Although “little girl” is stretching it a bit. But in general, I agree with her. Up yours, international sporting community. We won, so sucks to you. It’s that great South African “screw-you” attitude that made this country what it is, and makes us such desirable immigrants for the Australian government and Cricket Australia.
Unfortunately, when you start applauding mindless defiance, you let the cockroach of anarchy slip under your door (sorry, had to use that metaphor, I’m thinking of applying for the job of Kaizer Chiefs praise singer). So showing the middle finger to the world is great fun and all, but not when you see that attitude applied in other areas of engagement. Such as freedom of the press.
So you have to worry when Winnie tells the media, “We know your responsibility is to inform us, but do so patriotically without insulting one of our own. Use the freedom of press we gave you properly, because we can take it from you.”
A blindingly stupid statement on so many levels. The only positive thing I can take from it is that it out-Malemas Malema, with Winnie demonstrating that the old guard are as good as the “young” upstarts at punching way below their intellectual weight.
But in all this, we’ve possibly forgotten Caster Semenya herself, of whom Bob Dylan sang, “She runs just like a woman/But she breaks just like a little girl.”
It does seem a pity to have your moment of triumph marred by this sort of scandal. On the other hand, she’s getting way more adulation than whatsisname, the guy who won the men’s 800m. She’s even getting more money from Malema’s generous ANCYL-biters (R60Â 000, as opposed to Mbulaeni Mulaudzi’s R40Â 000). As Paris Hilton has demonstrated about publicity, there’s really no such thing as a bad crotch shot.