Hofmeyr shrugs off calls for boycott

STEVE Hofmeyr has landed in hot water again after comments about the old South African flag being flown at Black Monday protests went viral‚ leading to calls for a boycott against the singer.

The row started when Hofmeyr got into a heated argument with TV personality Maps Maponyane over the flying of the flag and the singing of Die Stem‚ which Maponyane said had caused a lot of hatred.

Hofmeyr hit back, saying that calling for bans on peoples’ cultural symbol was the hate they were marching against.

The Afrikaans singer said that the outrage over the anthem and flag had distracted from the real reasons for the protest.

“Using flags and symbols is secondary,” he said.

“Consider the murder rate under our new flag.

“Unity is a myth, but tolerance is everything.

“Flags and anthems are not unconstitutional. Develop a stomach for constitutional things that offend you.

“Welcome to the new South Africa, which is not for sissies.”

Hofmeyr was subsequently slammed by social media users for his comments‚ with the hashtag #BlockSteveHofmeyr topping the trends list.

But Hofmeyr said yesterday that he stood by his comments and shrugged off the outrage.

“Black Monday was about farm murders‚ not flags,” he said.

“To avoid actions of genocide, I will never rip from a culture whatever it deifies as symbols and collective habits.

“The end of tolerance is the beginning of war. It’s a general wisdom and is valid anywhere.” – TshisaLIVE