A Wits student, Zama Mthunzi, is due to appear before the South African Human Rights Commission this week for wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “Fuck White People†on campus. But as many have pointed out, the other side of the t-shirt, bearing the slogan “Being Black is Shit†has been ignored.
Only one side of this t-shirt caused an outrage. Can you guess which?
Pic via @2point8photo pic.twitter.com/JV0D91LOEL
— Helen’s troll unit (@TOMolefe) February 8, 2016
if a shirt saying “fuck white people” got u mad when the other side of the shirt said “being black is shit”, you can fuck right off.
— lord fuckwad (@PanicAtTheSisqo) February 9, 2016
In response, the Wits Fees Must Fall movement launched a three-day long “Fuck” campaign on Monday in solidarity with the student.
“Fuck Patriarchy, Fuck Racism, Fuck Neoliberalism, Fuck the System that continuously reminds us of our blackness and how we are inferior to the white man. When we use strong language, out of frustration, rage, or to make a heavy impact on observers. It is still not reverse racism,†the movement said.
Unsurprisingly, we are not interested in moderating their tone for a white audience hence we staying from on our FUCK Campaign,
— WitsFeesMustFall (@WitsFMF) February 7, 2016
Wits FMF asked supporters of the campaign to bring t-shirts for painting.
Happening right now at Wits. Students are fed up with whiteness! pic.twitter.com/6a6n3l4WtD
— Simamkele Dlakavu (@simamkeleD) February 8, 2016
Students were not reserved over the hearing.
If Wits doesn’t charge Zionists wearing IsraeliDefenseForce hoodies why are they charging a black kid wearing a “Fuck White People” t-shirt?
— Shaeera Kalla (@shaeera_k) February 7, 2016
In an interview with Micampus magazine, Mthunzi said his intention was to cause a stir, which he hoped would lead to a conversation around racism in SA to carry on beyond social media.
Wits management, however, claim Mthunzi has been up to no good. “The individual wearing the T-shirt has been associated with a number of illegal activities on Wits campuses in recent weeks, which we are investigating, in line with the University’s policies and procedures,†they said in a statement.
Wits also pays particular attention to the assertion of protesting students that black people cannot be racist.
We will not be allowed to be accused of reverse racism because according to our understanding, there is no such no such thing as
— WitsFeesMustFall (@WitsFMF) February 7, 2016
And then proceeds to launch into a lecture of the dynamics of power relations which makes us all feel like we’re back at school.
Speaking of the protesting group, Wits management says, “Their argument is based on the fact that the structure and distribution of power in our society and the world is decidedly in favour of white people. There is a serious methodological and intellectual problem with this argument. First, it makes the assumption that power is always homogenously constructed. In fact, power is always a relational concept displayed in any actions between individuals, even if both are of the same race. It is precisely because of this unequal power relationship that we cannot extrapolate from a structural relationship of power in society and the world, and use it unthinkingly to describe the interactions between any two individuals.â€
Do you believe Blacks are capable of being racist?
— WitsFeesMustFall (@WitsFMF) February 7, 2016
