Linguistic violence part of broader racist attack on black dignity

Johannesburg – This past week, DA politician and Cape Town mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, found himself deservedly in hot water after he made fun of journalist Abongile Nzelenzele’s surname.

Smith said: “I’m not even going to try that surname, dude. It’s too many vowels, too awkwardly placed.

“You need to have a short compact name, like me, Smith. It also ensures anonymity, nobody can find you in the old phone books. I will go out and look for you on social media. I’ll add myself to your followers. That will be a 4% increase in your fan base.”

When he was rightly roasted on social media, Smith’s sheepish non-defence was: “I have called and spoken with Abongile. He confirms that he took no offense at my remark, nor did he think there was any ill-intent.”

Smith didn’t get why he was being skewered.

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