tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36284819.post7172542024094604593..comments2024-03-09T10:58:56.668+02:00Comments on constitutionally speaking: Declaring "coloured/kleurling" unconstitutional?Pierre de Voshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17861888910368295788noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36284819.post-81857321375659998132007-06-20T10:11:00.000+02:002007-06-20T10:11:00.000+02:00I think the issue of "coloured" is a complex one g...I think the issue of "coloured" is a complex one going beyond race. It is about the group identity of a certain segment of South African society, with some people embracing the "coloured" identity in the face of perceived hostility from "Africans" and others arguing that "coloured" is an apartheid invention and by embracing it one is embracing the oppressors view of oneself. In any case, there is no consensus about the word and to what degree it is offensive.Pierre de Voshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17861888910368295788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36284819.post-90136783957248640342007-06-19T16:11:00.000+02:002007-06-19T16:11:00.000+02:00Prof, one cannot but agree with everything you say...Prof, one cannot but agree with everything you say in this blog. A few questions perhaps? Why would a brown (couloured/kleurling) in South Africa be hurt/unhappy with the term used to decribe him/her according to his/her race in all cirumstances, while a 'Baster' (to my mind, an even more hurtful term) in Namibia would have no problem being called that? Even though the 'K'-word in South Africa (given its hurtful and racial intentions in which it is mostly used and the appalling inheritances from the past), can be extremely hurtful, how must a former Muslim converted to Christiandom feel if he/she is called a 'K' in Arabic (meaning 'Someone who does not believe in Allah or who has deserted Islam') by the Imam? When a witness on the quesion of identity has to identify an assailant to the police or in court, is it appropriate to use predominantly racial terms to describe him/her? I suppose much has to do with context and circumstances (and politics) in and under which such terms are used, and the intention with which they are used. Perhaps one should bear in mind: "It [law] is not what a lawer tells me I may do [or may not do], but what [the prevaling concepts of] humanity, reason and justice tell me I ought to do [in the circumstances, that I should or should not do]" - borrowed from Edmund Burke and modified a little; and, "Do unto others as you would want others to do unto you".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com