I won't tolerate intolerance!

2012-05-02 10:35 by Koos Kombuis Now what? Jack Parow got 'donnered' on stage? What for?

News stories of what exactly went down at that festival in Newcastle where one of the best rappers in Afrikaans had to end his show prematurely, vary.

According to the English press, Jack's microphone was politely removed and he was requested to stop singing. According to the Afrikaans press, an "omie" tried to moer him on stage, but narrowly missed.

This is really sad news.

Jack Parow is one of the best lyricists our taal has ever seen! It's true that he nogal likes to gooi in a few kragwoorde now and then, but, at least, in his case, most of the time those words complement the material, and they are more than just bland repetition such as some of Die Antwoord's songs, not to mention the scandalous first version of Die Fokkol Song by Koos Kombuis (I have since improved that song by removing most of the offensive language, for instance the word "Eskom").

Look, it's one thing to complain or to criticise, but it's another thing to stop  an ou from singing.

Complaining and criticising can, at best, stimulate a debate. Look how many people have complained about, and criticised, the e-tolling system, and look what a lovely debate we have all of a sudden!

I get really worried about our country when I notice the sharp rise in seemingly intolerant views, the intensely personal attacks launched against other public figures by public figures.

I mean, calling Ms Zille "unstable" is a bit rash, even if you don't agree with her. It's in bad taste and reflects badly, not just on tannie Zille, but even more so on the person who said that very insulting thing.

Unfortunately, the modern trend of intolerance is not limited to South Africans. It's happening all over the world. And I'm not just talking about 'random countries' (to quote Justin Bieber deliberately out of context) like Syria! It's even happening in America!

Recently, when Bishop Tutu was invited to visit a prominent university in the States, an almost 1000-name strong petition was signed by students and faculty members to prohibit him from receiving his honorary doctorate because of his pro-gay marriage views and his stand on abortion.

According to the people who circulated the petition, someone like Bishop Tutu should not be "honoured" because he is acting "in defiance of our fundamental moral principles".

Since when is intolerance a "moral principle"? How can a fruitful debate ever spring from such a blanket denial of Bishop Tutu's right and his freedom of expression? Land of the brave, nogal!

This shit must really come to an end now.