Opinion
LitNet contributors voice their opinions about current affairs.
“Go hang!” or gang ho?
2007-04-26I am not one of those who think that bashing President Robert Mugabe is the way to show how "progressive" you are. Fortunately I am just old enough to remember the excitement and pride so many of us felt when the freedom fighter Robert ...
Why is crime in SA so violent?
2007-04-25 Crime is a global problem and is common to all societies, but South Africa stands out for all the wrong reasons. It is the violent nature of crime that makes the South African situation worse. There is a serious lack of regard for human life. The ...
Rehearsed postures of conviction
2007-04-06 I Now and again I come across an article that I read and reread, if only to understand why I am uneasy as I read it. Michael Titlestad's "The pitfalls of literary debut" (Sunday Times, 25 March 2007) reminds me of Fred ...
The rainbow blues of “De la Rey”
2007-03-30 The storm that has broken loose about Bok van Blerk’s rock song “De la Rey” might be an indication that the smoke is starting to come out of the South African volcano again, signifying that the transformation of society after the ...
“De la Rey”: a distracting side show …
2007-03-21It took me quiet a while to take the upheaval around the "De la Rey, De la Rey" song in the Afrikaner community, and eventually in broader South African society, seriously. In fact, long after many of my Afrikaner contemporaries were ...
From Voëlvry to De La Rey: Popular music, Afrikaner Nationalism and lost irony
2007-02-28"The scene is Stilbaai, a predominantly white and Afrikaans holiday town, in the year 2006. A crowd has congregated for a rock show. Zinkplaat, a band from Stellenbosch, plays before the main act, Bok van Blerk."
''De la Rey - no cause for alarm'' says Sandra Swart
2007-02-20 City Press asked Dr Sandra Swart and Prof Albert Grundling the following question: "Should therebe a cause for alarm by these kind of developments, ie could this kind of music prove to be the catalyst for the revitalisation of ...
Koos Bekker: Best SA Entrepreneur for 2006
2006-11-21 Koos Bekker, chief executive of Naspers, delivered this speech on acceptance of the South African Ernst & Young and Rand Merchant Bank Best Entrepreneur for 2006 award on November 15 at Summer Place in Johannesburg. Ladies and gentlemen, ...
Revisiting identities/positionalities in a changing South African socio- and geopolitical climate
2006-11-01 This paper was delivered atthe Race and Identity Seminar held at the University of Cape Town, African Studies Gallery 02 September 2006 Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. Before we start off with our programme I ...