Wrong to label Afrikaans, all white Afrikaners racist

After the incident of alleged racism at the Jan Viljoen High School, black nationalist pundits' knee-jerk reaction was to go on a tirade against the Afrikaans language, the Afrikaans people and even mother-tongue education in general.

Along with it are the insinuations of "diversifying" Afrikaans schools, which is just short hand for the Anglicisation of Afrikaans schools.

There are so many flaws in their line of thinking, that one can only deduce that they are propping up false arguments to hide a sinister agenda.

For instance, to say Afrikaans is a racist language is a racist stereotype of a language, like English, that is spoken by a diverse community. Going one step further, saying white Afrikaans people, including white Afrikaans children, are all racists by virtue of them being Afrikaans is in itself racist.

There is nothing illegal or suspect in having an Afrikaans medium school. I suggest that black nationalists read the South African constitution, and you will note in sections 31 and 18 the right to practice their own language and the right to association.

Our black nationalist government uses the language debate as a lightning rod to divert attention from their own failures to provide proper education for black children and thereby robbing them of a future.

Under the African nationalist rule, black children continue to receive bantu education and sit under trees because no new schools were built. Afrikaans is an easy scapegoat for their lack of service delivery.

Furthermore, the belief that due to apartheid, Afrikaans must now be destroyed, cannot hold water. Not only is it against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is also nonsensical.

Maybe the Afrikaans-haters should focus on the real problems in SA like poverty, crime and corruption, rather than targeting a minority group.

Johan M. Labuschagne
Wellingborough, UK