Distracted by politics of noise

On the week of 4 July — the fabled American Independence Day — Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie delivered the keynote address at the US embassy's celebrations.

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In a typically beguiling sermon, he urged the hosts not to judge South Africans based on the worst among us. Namely, those who would sing Kill the Boer, as was broadcast from the Oval Office itself.

A month later and it is he who has to account for hateful language. Following his challenge to racism against coloureds on a podcast, the amorphous antagonism of the internet responded by digging up old posts of McKenzie using the K-word — one of the most vile terms in the South African English lexicon. The South African Human Rights Commission is investigating the case and gave McKenzie until Wednesday to apologise. He has been clear that he will not, because he says he is not a racist.