Boycott FIFA
Ever since the first “2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Special Measures Act”, no. 11 of 2006 was passed, and FIFA began calling for volunteers for the Confederations Cup rather than employing people like civilised companies do, the whole World Cup thing has left a sour taste in my mouth. It’s annoying to watch your government hijacked, and your country and its people exploited, by people who think they’re too good for the rules by which the rest of us play.
So here’s an idea: Boycott FIFA.
It’s not surprising, large-scale sporting events have been used as government vanity projects for eons. It’s just that, in this day in age, the interests of self-serving bureaucrats and their corporatist pals merge together effortlessly in the name of patriotism and other bunk.
Not related to your post, Ivo, but…
Can you still contribute to the ThoughtLeader.co.za blog or does your writing for Maverick and others preclude this? Does ThoughtLeader expect your work to be original and provided for free?
Second, I’d gladly comment on the Maverick site but I note that it is beta and I’m having some trouble with the layout and registering to comment seems a bit silly. Also, comments aren’t available on all their posts. There’s one in particular about gun control in SA that I’d love to give my 2 cents on…
@Hard Rain: I couldn’t post my columns to the M&G’s Thought Leader, no. Not only is it a competing publication, but since The Daily Maverick pays for my columns, and M&G doesn’t, my loyalty is clear.
I wasn’t aware that any articles on The Daily Maverick are published without the ability to comment. If true, I suspect it’s a bug, in fact.
Registering is a choice on the part of the publishers, in order to encourage proper debate and real names, in stead of the anonymous noise which some other publishers permit. There’s no editorial approval involved. Once registered, the login procedure is quick and painless, involving just a little pop-up window (although I wish they’d remember you…).
I’d really prefer comments to happen on The Daily Maverick’s site, since they deserve to profit from copy they pay for.
Okay, I’ve checked back there and I guess it was a bug. Comments appear on the article I mentioned and I’ve been able to register. Crisis averted!
My comment name is Jerry Abrams. I’ll try send some international traffic Maverick’s way via Mises.org ;)
Two things:
Just wanted to let you know about www.boycott-2010-world-cup.co.nr; if you weren’t aware of it.
Secondly, names on Maverick. I ain’t got a problem with that, but I do have a problem with hypocrits. Frequent articles on Maverick are written in the No Name Brand… as if they dropped out of the sky, and nobody wishes to take responsibility for the words expressed; and then in the same breadth they want those commenting to reveal their names. So, for that reason I have never even registered to comment there. Why bother, hypocrites don’t really give a shit about honest people’s comments anyway, they just want arsekissing versions of ‘debate’; i.e. the pretension of debate. Not seriously interested in an impartial exploration of the facts. Maybe different at Maverick, but ain’t found that the case yet; so above is my working hypothesis, till they prove themselves otherwise.
@White Refugee: I wasn’t aware of that site in particular, no. I have nothing to do, and do not wish to be associated with such a campaign, however. My call for a FIFA boycott has nothing to do with race or crime. I am not a “white refugee”, and wouldn’t live in South Africa if I wasn’t optimistic about the future for all its citizens.
As for The Daily Maverick, its opinion pieces are all bylined, as are the news and analysis articles I have seen. If there are exceptions, it may be an oversight, and if not, I’d simply read them as being written by the publication’s staff, for which the editor takes personal responsibility.
It is my experience that anonymous comment facilities on South African websites routinely degenerate into off-topic mud-slinging matches between impolite ranters who can’t even be bothered to pay attention to grammar and spelling, let alone to calm reason. The quality of the debate on such sites is usually execrable, and often outright bigoted. This was also the concern of Maverick’s editors when they instituted their policy. Your presumption of hypocrisy until proven otherwise is unfortunate and unjustified, but you’re welcome to your opinion.
Ivo,
I totally understand your perspective. I also was very optimistic about SA’s future. I was so optimistic about SA’s future, I committed to donate my entire future inheritance to the TRC.
It was one of the reasons for me giving up living in America and returning to SA; only to wake up to a very rude awakening. In fact when I was in the US, my non-violent activism was considered something SA’s were proud of. Then I returned to SA, non-violent activism is not apparently appreciated in SA. Gandhian activists in SA, don’t fit in with SA media editors love for ‘What bleads, leads’.
So, may I suggest that have you walked in my shoes, considering yourself a ‘white refugee’ would be a massive, and I mean massive understatement.
How many times have you been arrested without an arrest warrant? Detained without a bail hearing in Pollsmoor, in violation of the 24 hour rule? The NPA refused to place your appeal on the roll of the high court, even though such appeal was approved by magistrate? Every politician and editor you turned to for support whehter they support the rule of law for everyone, not just murderers and corrupt politicians, says ‘no thanks’… the story is a very very long one.
I tell it to my African American husband back in America, and he is repulsed and disgusted, by the ‘New South Africa’. Cause he knows the extent to which his wife wouldn’t lie.
So, I understand your perspective, considering your personal experience. What would your perspective be, if you had experienced my experience?
As for Mavericks commenting hypocrisy. As I said, I have no problem with their comment policy, of asking for full names, because they prefer a different kind of debate. I said I had a problem with wanting that from their commentators and not delivering it in some of thier articles, which go with the no-name brand. No person/s taking responsibility for the views and opinions in the articles. So, when they practice what they preach, I’ll happily sign up. Till then; I ain’t got a problem with them asserting their rights to be hypocrits.
Ivo,
Here’s an example, another article written by ‘nobody’, who has not interest in taking responsibility for his competence or bigotry, and who — worse — rants about morality.
For example, they say:
In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to prove that farm attacks are motivated by racial motives, rather than what almost all other crimes are about - money.
Really, now? What about?
“The Committee also interviewed 15 prosecutors — all of them state advocates — in Bloemfontein, Capetown, Kimberley, Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg. They were unanimously of the view that …. the degree of violence and cruelty during farm attacks was exceedingly high. Most state advocates attributed this extreme violence to racial hatred.” — Report: Committee of Enquiry into Farm Attacks, July 2003
State Prosecutors who deal with the rape and murder of farmers day in and day out, say the violence in farm murders is a result of racial hatred; but Daily Maverick Nobody says: No, its money! If its money, you steal the cellphone and leave dipshit; ask criminals why they commit violence! Ask them! How about this one, of dozens I asked: ‘I like blood and hurting people… I like fucking up my life. Its nice in prison. I can smoke pils, smoke marijuana, and fuck up people’s lives. Everything that is outside, is here. I like it in prison.
How many of SA’s journalists have spent any period of time in a SA prison, in brutal honest conversations with SA’s criminals?