5. Racial slurs
5.5 Apartheid and post-apartheid manifestations
In this section I contrast apartheid and post-apartheid experiences in the autobiographical encounters. I do so by looking at the residual values that are closest to each other in the apartheid and post-apartheid context as shown in Table 5.3 and Figure 5.1. In other words, the frequency of these incidents is similar in apartheid and post-apartheid narratives.
The following categories are discussed: racism omnipresence, racial slurs and discrimination, segregation and economic inequality.
Racism omnipresence in apartheid and post-apartheid contexts
The highest frequency in apartheid and post-apartheid stories is in the category of omnipresence.
The following are examples of stories of racism omnipresence in the apartheid and post- apartheid periods.
Extract 27 [apartheid context]
Bhompi: ngela xesha umntu omnyama wayengakwazi uku expresser I point yakhe (mhhm) ukuba umnyama uwrongo when you drive a car and ufunwe ilasenisi uthi awunayo ungumntu omnyama kwakubakho indlela ethile owucinezelwa ngayo wena kodwa abantu abamhlophe banemvume youkuqhuba bengenayo ilasenisi okanye bathi bayilibele bangabanjwa [at that time black people could not express their point through (mhhm) if you are black you are always found to be at fault if you are driving a car you are always suspected to be guilty (mmhm) the police stop you and ask for a driver‟s license (mhhm) and you tell them that you do not have the license because you are a black person there was a certain manner in which the police would suppress you but white people were allowed to drive without or make claims that they forgot to carry the licence and they would not be arrested].
140 Extract 28 [post-apartheid context]
Yonda: X town [name of place] is still a very much a racialist town but I feel like these little comments little back chatting and how we still have to bow down to the white man sometimes when especially it comes to the police here cause I drive and I feel like with the white police they do not even want to listen to you because automatically if you black they just do not want to hear your story (mhhm) if they believe you are wrong because you are black you remain wrong no matter what.
The above extracts show us that in the apartheid and post-apartheid context, racism has been pervasive and a way of life for black people. For example, both respondents show that racism is ingrained in blackness. What is revealed by these two extracts is that racism has always permeated black people‟s lives. In fact both Bhompi and Yonda make reference to how black people are always suspected of crime. From both respondents we learn that in the apartheid and post-apartheid period racism omnipresence, the experience of racism, is the backcloth of their lives as black people. What these respondents testify to is that as a black person one is always encountering racism, and that racism is the narrative of what is happening backstage. For example, Bhompi claims that if you are black and are found to be driving without a driver‟s licence you are arrested immediately, whereas whites are allowed to explain why they are not in possession of a licence.
Both respondents seem to suggest that racism omnipresence constructs ethnic differenced between black people and white people; at the same time there is an indisputable difference between the social, economic and historical dimensions. For example, Yonda uses “we” to refer to black people and contrasts that with “white man”. Bhompi says “as a black person”. This means that they are making a case for all black people; this is what Gilroy (1993) refers to as cultural insiderism. Cultural insiderism illuminates the importance of “otherness”, which is evident in the way a binary opposition is used as advocacy for blackness whilst it stereotypes black identity. For example, Yonda uses expressions such as “we bow down to the white man”
authoritatively as a cultural member of the oppressed, but at the same time she devalues blackness as inferior as opposed to whiteness. To bow down is a sign of reverence, which means Yonda constructs blackness in terms of slavery.
141 Racial slurs in the apartheid and post-apartheid contexts
The following are extracts depicting the experience of racial slurs. Extracts 29 and 30 are examples of apartheid stories and extracts 31 and 32 are examples of post-apartheid stories.
Extract 29 [apartheid context]
Sida: it was in the 90s where whites then they started to say the Kaffirs are making noise they need to be sent out and it started how can you call us kaffirs but anyway who are you can you imagine this is whites and this is a policeman.
Extract 30 [apartheid context]
Nono: I was scared that he [white police] was gonna hit me with the gun or something … so I was like retaliating towards that and he [white police officer] said you black kaffir and bla bla bla bla… but I never thought that they would actually kill me or anything but now the farm driver was petrified (ja) he was aware of the extent of the damage that these guys could cause you know I was not because I was a child.
Extract 31 [post-apartheid context]
Sana: for instance because I have this incident I was first year and I overheard these boers because X [name of university] is 70% white and I overheard them referring to black people as kaffirs like they feel very strong that we are amakafula [kaffirs].
Extract 32 [post-apartheid context]
Zifiki: the elections the SRC elections (ehe) they are ridiculous things when they [white students] are advertising their parties like I read something like how come there are so many smarties in the milky bar those were the posters that because we are smarties because we are the kind of people that are at the varsity (yes) so basically being here is very out of the racism I‟m aware of it very much.
Racial slurs continue to be part of black people‟s experiences of racism across the apartheid and post-apartheid eras in South Africa. In extracts 29 to 32, “kaffir” is the derogatory term used
142 consistently across apartheid and post-apartheid contexts. In extract 35, we see the introduction of the term “smarties”, which according to the respondents is also derogatory when to refer to black people. This shows the standing of racial terms in post-apartheid times. However, in the post-apartheid period racial slurs tend to be indirect. For example, Sana claims that she overheard white people referring to black people as kaffirs. Similarly, Zifiki testifies hearing people refer to black people as smarties in a milky bar. Symbolically “smarties”, which positions blackness as people of colour, is contrasted to the milky bar “whiteness” The question posed here problematises black encounter with whiteness, and questions the presence of black students in a university that some regard as supposed to be white. These incidents were perceived by the respondents as being an indirect means of continuing racial slurs in post-apartheid times.
In contrast to these indirect means is the direct use of racial slurs in the experiences of apartheid racism. This is evident from extracts 32 and 33 in which Sida and Nono recall being called kaffirs to their faces. During the apartheid period the word “kaffir” was used as a general nomenclature for blacks, in addition to being a racial slur. We witness, for example, Sida recalling being called a kaffir by white police, which suggests that kaffir is a collective name for black people. In contrast, Nono as an individual was referred to as a “black affirm”, which suggests that she was directly insulted by the police. However, this distinction in the use of kaffir does not signify that kaffir has ever been used without applying the discourse of blackness in reversal in order to position whiteness as the “other” who is enlightened.
Discrimination in apartheid and post apartheid contexts
The following extracts illustrate apartheid and post-apartheid experiences of discrimination:
Extracts 33 [apartheid context]
Siyo: in the old South Africa you sort of knew your place you were made to know and having grown up in a rural area the excitement of going to the City (mhm) but you know in the city you could get saturated because whatever you wanted to buy it was brought to you (yes) for instance in Bloemfontein if you wanted whatever they would decide for you (yes) they would hand it to you and decide which colour suits you would never be
143 allowed to shop freely (mhm) you never given an opportunity of looking through what is available and trying them on because you are black.
Extract 34 [post-apartheid context]
Nontaba: there is only one in a counter when I was at school we were on like a camp so to say and we have gone somewhere and we walked into this shops to buy some things we walked in as a group mixed group (yes) they looked at us in weird way like how can they hang around with white girls they were just very very confused (mhm) and they treated us with less respect than they did to the white people and that made me feel bad that there are still people like that around (mhmm) why should I be treated less why should I be made to feel less because of the colour of my skin
I: please explain how you were treated
Nontaba: we were there first but they decided to help the white people before us and even when they were helping the customer service was very bad it was like they are doing because they have to do it.
Extract 35 [post-apartheid context]
Kasong: Last year I applied for a job I was doing my internship last year and I applied to do my interim at the Gauteng boardroom X Club [name of rugby club ] and because I was a woman and I was black (yes) I was judged because they said that black people do not have that kind of knowledge yet and they also said that I still have to learn about the job (mmhm) and because of that I could not do my internship and I think at that point I felt angry because it was sexist and discriminatory.
Extract 36 [post-apartheid context]
Sifiso: the University itself you find that when you get to the University there are still these courses and degrees which were previously eeh not opened to the black guys like the Civil Engineering Electrical Engineering and I recognised that the University especially the previously predominantly white and Afrikaans institution (yes) after 1994
144 to enter Engineering Degree you will need say 75% and considering where we come from eeh as black students eeh you will find that eeh it is difficult for you to achieve that 75%
which means these were reserved for white people so in my view that was also eeh racism in a special type which was eeh carefully and cautiously eeh constructed by the university (yes) itself.
In extract 33 above, Siyo reports her story of apartheid discrimination racism. This experience of discrimination is similar to Nontaba‟s direct post-apartheid experience of discrimination in extract 34. Siyo also shares discrimination experiences that occurred in shops which were directed at black people: an exclusion from social activities, such as shopping, accompanied by ill treatment by white people. Siyo constructs black identity from the perspective of whiteness as she justifies discrimination against blackness when she says “because you are black”. To a very larger extent it shows that if you were black discrimination came as no surprise; it was natural for black people to be discriminated against. In fact Siyo sees blackness through colonial eyes, as she says “you knew your place”. In a post-apartheid context the situations are new and the relations are more complex because of desegregation. Classical examples are to be found in extracts 34 and 35. For example in extract 35, Kasong‟s story tells of being discriminated against in an interview for a rugby internship position. In apartheid times this could have never happened – a black woman applying for a rugby post. In extract 34, Nontaba also reports her experience of being treated differently from white people, even though they walked into shops as black and white friends. This shows that discrimination in post-apartheid times requires desegregation because in the past you would not find black and white people in the same school, camping together, being friends, or walking together to the shop. Clearly this contact between black people and white people is a post-apartheid experience which is contrary to segregation experiences of apartheid (cf. Extracts 10–13 of this chapter).
In an example of discrimination in an apartheid context, Siyo claims that as a black person you knew your place. This is because discrimination under apartheid was a public affair and it did not come as a surprise. In contrast, under post-apartheid discrimination, respondents show signs of being alarmed when they find themselves being discriminated against. For example, Nontaba claims that she felt that people were questioning why as black girls they were walking together
145 with white girls. She interprets this as discrimination because, according to her, the eyes were not questioning the white girls but rather questioning why they were hanging out with white girls.
She uses the term “weird” to describe the curiosity in people‟s eyes with regard to the girls‟
relationship. In addition, the service rendered to them as black girls was poor. Unlike Siyo, Nontaba is surprised that they were discriminated against and she also questions why she should be treated as inferior to white people. Clearly Nontaba interprets the racist treatment that she received from white people as being situating her as inferior and white people as superior.
Kasong‟s experience is also an example of desegregation because in the past a black woman would not even attempt to apply for job in the rugby world. The fact that she is discriminated against because of her black identity as well as being a woman seems to be an unexpected racist act. Kasong claims that she was given the excuse that she did not have the knowledge to do the job. She uses terms like “judge” to help herself understand and interpret the why she could not be appointed by the interview panel.
The discrimination that Kasong experienced was done privately by white panel members and an excuse is offered, unlike Nontaba in extract 22, whose experience occurred in a public place, and was directed at all other black people in that space, in addition no excuse was given as to why black people are treated as such. From black people‟s experiences it seems that the element of knowledge as a basis for discriminating against black people is very common in post-apartheid stories. For example in extract 36, Sifiso reports having to work harder in order to resist discrimination and prove that he is worthy and able to compete and match white standards. Sifiso reports on discrimination against black people at predominantly white institutions. He claims that the requirements for access to certain degrees and courses are high in order to limit black people‟s access to them. This differs from the direct discrimination; it is kept silent by the university itself and one only finds out about it when one wants access to the university. In addition, the fact that no one says directly that black people are not allowed in that university, or that there is no public announcement that only a certain number of black people is allowed in that particular university, makes it an indirect means of discrimination. As Sifiso explains, the denial of access to black students is directed at the entry requirements for the degree or course.
146 From these stories this kind of discrimination is seen as surreptitious and alarming, as it appears to happen even though black people do not expect racism in the new South Africa.
Segregation in apartheid and post-apartheid contexts.
Stories reported about apartheid segregation have already been discussed under the apartheid racism experiences section above (cf. extract 9–13). Here I compare the inside stories of segregation in the apartheid context and segregation in post-apartheid times. I provide examples of post-apartheid racism and compare them with the above-mentioned examples of apartheid experiences.
Extract 37 [post-apartheid context]
Mon: I have said that we still find pockets of racism (yes) yes ja now I will tell you something let‟s go to churches (ja) you know in my church in Methodist you still find in the morning it is divided into periods the morning period well it is declared for everybody to attend (ja) but you will find out most people who are there are white people (mhh) then at 11 o‟clock (mhhm) when the black service starts there is not even a single white only the black people you know (mhh) this is the trend alright.
Extract 38 [post-apartheid context]
Zifiki: so its very hard for us to mingle at the end of the day as much as we try be friends with white people and Afrikaans people but at the end of the day put us all in one room you will see black people sitting together and white people sitting together (yeah) like in the context of the school.
Extract 39 [post-apartheid context]
Mon: if we have a Christmas party ja just small things as they are you know but they mean a lot you will find some of the whites staying away saying we are not used to mix or to big parties you know like the one that is going to occur (mhh) or else now as we know we blacks what we used to do in fact what we normally do (mhh) in our place of
147 work we collect money and we buy all the requirements its either for the Christmas party or birthday party but it‟s different with white you bring your own you bring your own drinks and you bring your own meat ja we find that lots of whites could not come into grips with this kind of practice the togetherness (yes) be together all of us.
Extract 40 [post-apartheid context]
Sifiso: within the university of X personally I was staying in a hostel (yes) you understand in the environment of hostel and you will find that eeh there the majority are Afrikaans-speaking students (yes).when you get to the hostel you will find out that the equation is 75/25 and eeeh in that regard they [whites] will want to retain their culture and most of this people come from the farms (mhm) and their mind set they have been thought to treat eeh black person as a black person (mhhm) you will see such kind of tendencies in the dining hall that is where we eat they are categories of tables even if eeh is not a rule of the University (yes) or the hostel but is an written rule which says that table is for a certain block called B-3 and when you check that B-3 which is eeh black a B-3 belongs only to certain group of Afrikaans speaking people who are from the farms (mhm) so my view on that one was that eeh you will find out that there is segregation which is carefully eeh constructed.
Segregation in the apartheid context was characterised by structural racial differentiation. In the post-apartheid context, there are respondents who suggest that segregation continues in South Africa today. However, the stories of segregation in post-apartheid times seem to suggest that segregation has taken on a new form. The following are examples of stories that demonstrate the new forms in segregation racism in post-apartheid times.
These experiences can be categorised into three forms. Firstly, although segregation is no longer a policy white people and black people choose to self-segregate by associating racially with other white people or black people only. This differs from the experiences of apartheid racism where respondents constructed segregation as a public affair. Nowadays places are no longer racialised or segregated, as indicated in extracts 9 to 13. According to Mon in extract 39, segregation racism continues, as he says “we still find pockets of racism”. By pockets of racism Mon sees