THURSDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2008

WITHOUT FURTHER COMMENTARY

In response to my interlocutor yesterday (see BE VERY AFRAID ... ), and in the interests of
fairness, without further comment herewith all of the anti-Zapiro, pro-Zuma comments
posted on the Thought Leader article, Why, Zapiro? Not comments by white people or by
black people, but comments either criticising the Zapiro cartoon or in favour of Jacob Zuma,
his actions and his leadership (all are verbatim).

I'm also including a few definitions of Stalinism to begin with (and, if you're interested, a
summary of my personal position at the end of it all, because I do believe we have to stand
up and be counted on issues such as these).

Judge the situation for yourselves - and I promise I'll get back to books with the next post!

Stalinism (Wikipedia.org):

Stalinism is the political regime named after Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from
1929–1953. It includes an extensive use of propaganda to establish a personality cult
around an absolute dictator, as well as extensive use of the secret police to maintain social
submission and silence political dissent.

The term "Stalinism" was coined by Lazar Kaganovich and was never used by Joseph Stalin
who described himself as a Marxist-Leninist.

Like many other "-isms" it can be used as a pejorative term when referring to nation-states,
political parties, or the ideological stance(s) of individuals, particularly "Anti-Revisionists". It
is also used as a pejorative to describe politicians and political groups, Communist or non-
Communist, who are perceived as particularly authoritarian or hard-line.

Stalinism (Princeton University):

(n) dictatorship, absolutism, authoritarianism, Caesarism, despotism, monocracy, one-man

rule, shogunate, Stalinism, totalitarianism, tyranny (a form of government in which the ruler
is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.))

Stalinism: (The Free Dictionary.org):

The bureaucratic, authoritarian exercise of state power and mechanistic application of

Marxist-Leninist principles associated with Stalin.
Stalinism (Stanford University):
Stalin added the following (to Marxist-Leninist theory):

1. As socialism goes from triumph to triumph, the class struggle intensifies as the
enemy becomes more and more desperate. This doctrine was used to explain why
Stalin's rivals for the leadership of the Communist Party needed to be killed.
2. National conflicts are to be solved by a federation organized in a way that is national
in form and socialist in content. In practice, this turned out to be a variant of Russian
imperialism, but a variant in which the Russian people turned out to have very little
stake.
 3. The Soviet Union is the Workers' Fatherland, and workers all over the world owe it
loyalty and must accept the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
led by Stalin.
4. Any movement that calls itself socialist but does not accept the leadership of the
Soviet Union and Comrade Stalin is objectively anti-socialist and even objectively
fascist. Such movements and their adherents may be treated as class enemies.

What is Stalinism? (Marxists.org):

First and foremost, Stalinism must be understood as the politics of a political stratum.
Specifically, Stalinism is the politics of the bureaucracy that hovers over a workers' state ...
From “socialism in one country” (one of Stalin's core concepts) flow the two other main
tenets of Stalinist politics. First is that the workers' movement – given the focus on building
socialism in one country – must adapt itself to whatever is in the best interests of that focus
at any given moment. Hence we find the Stalinists engaged in “a series of contradictory
zigzags” (Trotsky, The Revolution Betrayed), from confrontation with imperialism to détente
and from seeming support for the working-class struggle to outright betrayal of the workers
...

In terms of the organization of a state, Stalinist policies are quite clear: democratic rights
threaten the position of the bureaucracy, and hence democracy is incompatible with
Stalinism.

Thought Leader comments:

Sipho, 8 September, 2:58 pm:

Me thinks the cartoon was in bad taste and inhumane. It spoke volumes of Zapiro than it did
on the intended victims.

Percentage, 8 September, 4:29 pm:

Zapiro must be fired.

Silly, 8 September, 7:48 pm:

Ja Zapiro,are you testing our patience or what? you do not differentiate between toy and a
real thing.This was real irritating and infact you underestimate our anger! Zuma is our
leader and we will defend him as soldiers of our people’s liberation.

Mvikeni kaNxamala Zuma, 9 September, 8:46 am:

Hhay, I say Shapiro is racist. We don’t need insane people like him in this country. He is
persuading people to go back to the Xenophobic attack. Know one thing my friend, some
people would kill and die for ZUMA so please don’t stir SA up for World War 3. My friends we
are tired of wars, we really need peace in this country, it things like these that could lead to
bombing of shopping malls and casinos. Which is what’s not required.

10G, 9 September, 11:43 am:

The cartoon made me cold. It could be for it’s accuracy on the behaviour of Zuma and his
freinds. However I really wish that another theme other than rape was used, cause it also
meant that the not-guilty verdict in the rape trial was in fact not fair and that perhaps
Zappiro doubts our justice system. Also I was offended as a woman as that rape was used
again,to send a message, and more sadly by a man (Zapiro). I wish rape could be one of
those issues that can only mean direspect and violence and cannot be used to send
messages, educate, enlighten no matter how strongly we could feel about any issue. Zapiro
your cartoon always touch a nerve but this one, I actually find it insensitive to women. You
are now in my eyes an abusive man who rapes women and understands that rape could be
used to achieve other goals. In this case to show how our judiciary is undermined and not
respected.

Itumeleng, 9 September, 11:46 am:

I am not a zuma fan and frankly would like to say i have my reservations with regards to
him being the next president, i just dont think he is cut out for the job especially with all the
contoversies surrounding him. on the same breath i would say it makes me question the
integrities of those that are pointing fingers at him and makes me question their hollier than
thou judgement. in my opinion the judiciary in south africa is being abused by the politicians
but it seems lately we are not doing a 360 degree look at the whole issue we are just plainly
focusing on zuma as he is the easy target. i dont see myself voting for the ANC in the next
election but so far no one has proven to me that they should be the recipient of my vote,
probably i might get swayed by kgalema as he is the only politician so far i feel understands
the people….well we will see.

with regards to zapiro, he is good on what he does, and i am a big fan of him, from the past
years i have been enjoying his cartoons and like his style of hitting without prejudice
however he left a very bitter taste in my mouth but then again we live in a democratic
society and can always violate assasinate characters as we see fit they are after all public
figures….viva democracy and freedom of press!!!

MIZ, 9 September, 1:40pm:

Poeple must stop refering to the views of the privilaged few who have access to the media
as views of the majority. Anyone who understand SA’s make up will understand that there is
a real majority that could have come to a different interpretation of Zapiro’s catoon. They
have a different opionion on whether Zuma is raping the Judicial or not. So let us stop
stating the views of the privilaged few as the views of majoriy.

Mtungwa Mbulazi, 9 September, 2008, 2:05 pm:

This cartoon was done in bad taste, i get the point Zapiro is trying to put across but the
cartoon is insensetive and is an insult to black people as a whole.

Silly, 9 September, 2:19 pm:

Pinheads with buble size egos boosted by hatred for the ANC some with Zuma are saying a
lot stupid things in Newspaper known for its ownership and prejudice.Zuma was found not
guilty by a court.Now when it suits some of you justice must be observed and be seen. Now
a court said not guilty, just like the DA, when it suits you democracy and the Constitution
are the hype of the time.Zuma was declared not guilty, pinheads!!! Now this Zapiro will pay
the price alone and most of you false profets will not be there. The Masters of stupidity here
unfortunately who try to convince us that their education makes them wiser should look
North to see what it cannot do.
Whites will always hate us so no matter what they say I do not just accept without second
thoughts. In many instances they will advice us because there is something for them to
gain. We will not be moved. Zuma is our MAN!!!!!!!!!

Maurice, 9 September, 2:26 pm:

I agree with 10G above about the use of rape in the cartoon (and I am a man).I think
arguments about whether the cartoon is racist or not miss the point - the cartoon was about
alliance leaders and what they are reported to be saying about the justice system, and they
happen to be black. If, for example, Jeremy Cronin was head of the SACP and not deputy, he
would have been there instead of Blade.I also think the perceived link with Zuma’s rape trial
is not the issue.I have no problem with taking political figures on in the media, whether in
cartoons, satire or editorial. Politicians should always be reminded of their ordinariness and
their fallibility.I am also not commenting on the validity or otherwise of the message
regarding the perceived attacks on the judiciary by political figures.What shocked me was
the image. I was not as shocked by two other cartoons on the same theme - one which
showed ‘justice’ being hung from a tree, the other showing ‘justice’ being chased by a car
with a loud hailer on it. Both were projecting essentially the same message as the Zapiro
cartoon, but neither for me evoked the ‘coldness’ that I experienced when I saw the Zapiro
version.I was shocked by the use of rape in a cartoon only metaphorically about rape (’rape’
of justice) and also by the actual drawing - the complicit holding down of the arms, the
drawing up of the legs, the screaming mouth, the looks on the faces of some of the men. In
the end, this is one case in which I don’t believe the message justifies the medium. And I
find it astounding that Jan Duncan of the Freedom of Expression Institute could for a
moment believe that anyone could find it funny. Shocking yes, through-provoking, certainly,
but funny?I did a Google search for ‘rape cartoon’ and saw nothing remotely like this. I am
an ardent Zapiro and general lover of cartoons, especially challenging ones, but this one?
No.

Sipho, 9 September, 2:35 pm:

Seeing that the Zuma depicted in the cartoon is wearing his shower cap, does it mean the
justice system is infected with HIV? So, is it far fetched to criticise the health of our justice
system. Me thinks not!

Me also thinks freedom of speech should also be extended to Malema and Vavi. They also
have cheerleaders in the townships and villages of South Africa.

Silly, 9 September, 4:59 pm:

Hi Sindisiwe,you made your point and it was loud and clea. Do not worry about bafoons.Your
analysis was perfect and spot on.Zapiro is at ‘work’ like many of his like.The money is
pouring in from the ‘masters’.Obviuosly they share with the ‘likes’ in our own black skin.This
is the message: Sunday Times has got many ‘likes’ in store as the recruitment is from the
masters! 2010 negative promotion in Europe Media says a lot about the ‘masters’. They do
not believe that ‘their’ money should be spent here in the ‘Bundus’!! But they stole and are
still ’stealing’ our Minerals and Oil etc [pretending to be our friends.They know why they
attack Zuma.He is too politically aware.If you know what is being discovered in this
transition under the current ANC Leadership from Policies that were smoke-screened to favor
us, you will be shocked.We are gaining much ground in winning it back!! I am not regretting
from our choice of a leader from the information I have.Zapiro is a mouth piece of the
‘masters’.He will fall by the wayside like all the Nieuwoudts etc.We are matching on with the
Struggle!!

Sbotho, 9 September, 5:12 pm:

Mav, you can lie most of the time but will not convince us all the time!!! The people you refer
to with Zapiro are in the driving seat of our Revolution!! Che Guevara will explain to you
better here!! They being depicted in a criminal light as holding a woman for raping by
Zuma!!So that means more!! That woman might represent all your Capitalists being held
down by the Communists for Zuma to ‘pee’ on them!!These are real people yes that is what
angers us as Blacks.Media was never derogatory as this! No morals nothing.Bullard infact
desribed better in his Sunday Columns.His about about blacks as being stupid are well put
by Zapiro!!They all work for either Mail and Guardian or Sunday Times!! These newspaper
declared themselves to be enemies of our hard working people. I rest my case.So Mav, do
not sugar coat this.Maybe for the stooges who are editors of the master’s newspapers.They
tried it with Polokwane they failed!! Now another trick! Finally when we prevail, we have to
finally take the war to them!! Beat the ‘dog’ and you will know who is the master!!! We bit
Apartheid now it is Mafia behind the Media!!

Abe, 9 September, 6:53 pm:

It makes me wonder why the majority of people that preaches the protection of justice to be
the motive for this cartoon seem to be contradicting themselves by not accepting that Zuma
was not found guilty for rape by the same judiciary they are so viciously defending. Isn’t this
hypocrisy?

Whilst I’m not condoning what Zuma and his ANCYL and COSATU supporters are doing by
their irresponsible comments. I cannot seem to comprehend the reasoning of the people
opposing them. It seems more like a personal attack on Zuma rather than a means to
address the political issues in our country. This is not different to what Mbeki has tried to do
by dismissing Zuma before he was even tried in the court of law. This and many other issues
including scorpions and the judiciary caused him his place in the ANC at Polokwane.

This whole justice issue is not even different from the scorpions’ debacle. In fact they are
siblings, the whole drama is nothing but personal. Zapiro is a great cartoonist; he shouldn’t
drag himself in this type of political games. This will tarnish his professional stature. There’s
a lot people who just sit around and voice their personal emotions without regard for moral,
anything that will make them feel good, that they have won against Zuma, come what may.

With this cartoon, Zapiro might not have intended to offend anyone including Zuma himself,
but he may have gone a little too far. The picture itself could be meaning what he did not
intend to put forward. It has too many connotations; yes he was trying to say that Zuma
and his supporters (ANCYL, SACP and COSATU) are raping the justice system, or is it that
Zuma is a rapist? If the latter is the point he is trying to make, then this seems to be
contradictory to supporting the justice system course because the court itself found Zuma to
be innocent of rape. Is Zapiro against this ruling? What on earth is all this?

Siphiwo Qangani with kangaroos, 9 September, 7:10 pm:

Silly

[…]”Zapiro is a mouth piece of the ‘masters’.He will fall by the wayside like all the
Nieuwoudts etc.We are matching on with the Struggle!!”
Couldn’t be said better…

By the way, another erstwhile knick-knack Sunday Times columnist admitted (somewhere in
this platform) that he was used as a ‘magnet for advertising’. His ‘masters’ were only
concerned about the bottom line…they watched him trouncing on people’s civil
liberties.Mondli, Malalas, and Zapiros too, are still pleasing their ‘big Bas’.

The message is obvious:‘Dent ANC leaders’ images, if things go awful don’t worry we’ll back
you (financially).If you still not come up to scratch, just issue an apology…the masters are
amusingly poking these poor guys, and it’s just a pity that they’ll only recognize ’such’ when
they, too are fired…

The knick-knack columnist (I earlier talked about) is spilling the beans…

We’re patiently watching while this sh*t unfolds…the sun will finally set.

Sbotho, 9 September, 7:24 pm:

Hi N, You are jealous of her achievement.You failed to even write any sense 2 cents worth
paragraph.You will always be against Zuma and Africans anyway.She exposed both side’s
weaknesses. You have one view: Blacks should not be in power. Shame, rest in pieces.

Pro Zuma!!, 9 September, 7:30 pm:

Poor amused, you missed the point. That is how you see it.The ‘truth/s’ is / are as many as
are the views on this blog.What about the biased and non-independent Justice System, a
Prosecution and Executive that protected others with the President’s intervention that led to
Pikoli being suspended! How about that? Try again?

Sandisiwe Vilakazi , 10 September, 10:16 am:

Alastair Sellick, thank you for your comment.

I concede that I did not address [and I quote you here] “the true meaning of the cartoon-
how our justice system and constitution are now being unravelled and our judges being
attacked, due to the expedience and naked political ambitions of all the individuals pictured”.
That is a valid observation, I have left that one for the political analysts. What you have said
is without a doubt, the real issue here and it is the reason Zapiro drew the cartoon in the
first place.

The point I was making from a journalistic perspective is that it’s a crude depiction. I
acknowledge the argument that it depicts a ‘crude situation’ therefore the the crudeness is
warranted.

My thinking is: if it’s about the end not the means, which is what most people are saying,
then can we also justify suicide bombings? Their issues may be valid but they can’t just ’set
it off’ as they please.This is a drastic comparison and I am IN NO WAY saying Zapiro is or
even like a terrorist. Again I see that by making this comparison, it can be argued that it
was exactlty this employment of drastic metaphors which made Zapiro depict Zuma as a
rapist.

My feeling is that we as South African are feeling frustrated at some of the events unfolding
that we seemingly have no control or influence over. Is tabloid journalism the way to go?

Pro Zuma!!, 10 September, 11:46 pm:

Mandela! Andrek!! If you know you will understand that we lost the whole thing under him
you will not quote the name in this discussion. He made blacks loose their rights by pushing
whites up the ladder and we remained where we have been! Under Mbeki, the world and his
friends got it all and we are still poor.We are still where we are in 4 Bedroomed houses as in
Apartheid, getting a stipend that makes this country go deeper in to red as the year goes
by.Let me tell you, the more you hate Zuma,the more we stick to him as it gives us an
understanding that he is the real man!Mandela all of you whites liked and Mbeki the same!
They did not do us any better.The opposite will always be true.From where we are,he is not
raping anyone!Whites and their political parties can say whatever.Media and all! Zuma is our
man.The lady presented the view from the masses.You have not learned from Polokwane?

Mthe, 10 September, 12:17 pm:

In my understanding, Mr Zuma has always been following propper channels and due
processes in challenging the NPA where he thinks his rights mith have been infringed by the
NPA, and this is tantamount to excercising his rights, so I don’t know why would Jonathan
Shapiro liken it with raping the Justice System.

Let’s face it! Jonathan Shapiro just hates Mr Zuma, I’m saying this because all his cartoons
about Mr Zuma amount to personal attack on Mr Zuma’s person and individual Character
and quite insulting so to say. I don’t know if Shapiro is being used by or part of those who
are trying to destroy Mr Zuma.

Coming to the comment made that the Majority supports Shapiro, that’s absolutely incorrect
and misleading the public, no proper research has been done on this, and it cannot be
judged by comments made here because it’s only a certain class of the society that has
access to internet, furthermore people who have commented here cannot even make 5% of
those who have access to internet.

To you Mr Shapiro and your supporters, whether you like it or not, the Honorable J. G. Zuma
will become the President of the Republic of South Africa in 2009, so if you don’t like that,
you can cry, pack your bags and go to hell, or just admit it and contribute towards building
this beautiful country through open debates and dialogue, not this hatred cartoon which
drives us backwards, surely our young democracy doesn’t need this kind of a thing.

My personal thoughts on this contentious and important issue?

I unequivocally support Zapiro's right to depict the political situation in the country as he
sees it, and the right of the Sunday Times to have published the cartoon. The role of the
political cartoon is an important one in any democracy, and perhaps more so in ours than in
many others. It is meant, after all, to go where angels fear to tread, and to reveal insights
that are not necessarily self-evident.

The subject matter of this particular cartoon (rape) is, without doubt, disturbing, but I think
that was the point. It was intended to communicate in graphic detail exactly what the calls
for a "political solution" to the Zuma crisis mean, and to shock us into a national debate on
the issues.

I don't believe the cartoon is in any way racist, as it depicts the actual people involved. The
fact that they're black is, in my opinion, co-incidental, and reflects the demographic make-
up of our country. Nor do I think the cartoon is an incitement to xenophobia, as all of the
people depicted are South African nationals.

Further, to look at all of this through the lens of race, in my view, detracts from the real
issues. What needs to be asked is this: Does the tripartite alliance support democracy and
the structures on which our democracy is based (which, of course, it was instrumental in
putting into place)? And is the constitution and the rule of law inviolable; do we all stand
equal before them or not?

What has made me profoundly fearful in recent weeks - and in reading some of the
responses to the debate on the cartoon - are the threats of violence and intimidation should
the charges against Zuma not be dropped unconditionally.

My feeling is that this was bad enough when made by loosely-aligned populists, but the
difference now is that the tripartite alliance (and big business) has also officially come out in
favour of a euphemistically-termed "political solution" to Zuma's current legal position. And
COSATU, the ANC Youth League and the Young Communist League have all intimated that
there will be civil unrest and/or violence should a "solution" of this nature not be adopted.
This means - and let's make no mistake here - that it is the official policy of the ruling
alliance to apply the provisions of the constitution and the rule of law selectively, and to use
intimidatory tactics to ensure certain outcomes.
The question that then bears asking is, if that is the alliance's position, where does that
leave us and where are we heading?

For me, I see the early signs of a profoundly disturbing neo-Stalinism developing in the cult
of the infallible leader, the increasing malleability of the law, the threats of violent
suppression of any dissent, the aggressive intolerance of contrary opinion or positions, and
the division of the political debate along racial lines.

Only yesterday, by way of example, Julius Malema said that the ANC Youth League would
"crush" any opposition to Zuma becoming the president of South Africa.

And, significantly, while debate rages about the Zapiro cartoon, there has been no similar
outrage at such official pronouncements as Malema's statement that the members of the
ANCYL would "die for Zuma" and "take up arms and kill for Zuma", or at the many
statements denigrating the judiciary that alliance leaders have made in recent weeks.

This is the thin edge of the wedge, for it could take us anywhere. And it is this I believe we
need to be genuinely afraid of - all of us.