XPost: za.politics, za.misc, alt.politics
XPost: talk.politics.misc

According to a recent tweet on Twitter, ActionSA, one of South
Africa's newer political parties, wants to change the definition of
"comrade" and ban it.

'ActionSA @Action4SA
"The term 'comrades' is banned in ActionSA.
'Comrades' are thugs and thieves. We are not communists.
In ActionSA, we are 'Actioners'." -
@HermanMashaba'

Such behaviour is typical in totalitarian political parties and
movements, and ActionSA ought to think twice about going down that
path.

They would do well to read the conversation between Alice and Humpty
Dumpty in Lewis Caroll's book "Through the Looking Glass", to see what
kind of image they are projecting.

"Comrade" was adopted by some political groups to indicate that they
believed in fundamental human equality -- there were to be no
divisions between Masters and underlings, between Bosses and workers.

Humpty Dumpty, on the other hand said that words meant just what he
said they meant, and the question was who was to be master, that's
all.

Another word for Master in South Africa is "Baas", and a previous
oppressive government described its policy as "baasskap" -- bossship.

Does ActionSA want to return to the discredited policy of baasskap?

If not, they should avoid trying to create that impression.










--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

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