FOLLOWING the controversial Red October march in Pretoria last week, there is now an online petition to boycott the music of one of its leaders, Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr.
Last week, groups around the country gathered to protest against the “oppression and violence against white South Africans” and Hofmeyr, with fellow musician Sunette Bridges, led a march on Union Buildings attended by fewer than 500 people.
In reports, Hofmeyr has been quoted as saying: “Immaterial of the statistics, we are not used to this mortality rate. We are not used to being raped at this rate. Most importantly we aren’t used to being raped by other cultures, tribes or ethnicities.”
According to a post on avaaz.org –
http://bit.ly/1ekPUjx which is hosting the online petition, Hofmeyr “should be held accountable for the damage he is causing” with his comments.“We invite all concerned South Africans to sign this petition, so we can get our message across to the music industry and corporate world.
“There are various allegations of racism against Hofmeyr which have already been reported to the Human Rights Commission of South Africa,” part of the post reads.
“Through various means, Steve Hofmeyr has actively spread false crime statistics which are solely intended to create fear among the white population, demonising black people in the process.
“According to Hofmeyr black men disproportionately commit violent crime against white people,” it reads.
Avaaz is an international website that allows average people from across the world to “take action on pressing global, regional and national issues”.
The post calls for music stores to stop stocking Hofmeyr’s music, for members of the public to boycott his shows and for musicians to stay away from shows where he is expected to perform.
Hofmeyr is a three-time winner of the South African Music Awards.
Daily Dispatch sent Hofmeyr questions, but no response had been received at the time of going to print.
South African courts have shown little tolerance for hate speech – former ANC Youth League president and now Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema was taken to court by AfriForum and farmers’ union the Transvaal Agricultural Union of SA (TAU SA) for singing Dubul’ibhunu, a struggle song.
Judge Colin Lamont said the song, which means “shoot the boer”, is hate speech, and ordered Malema and others to stop singing the song.
Hofmeyr has shows scheduled around the Eastern Cape from tomorrow. — siyab@dispatch.co.za