Stop divisive theories
UNIVERSITIES are supposed to be centres of intellectual enquiry, places where ideas are birthed and nurtured. It is, therefore, the role of the academics to guide the national or global discussion, applying objectivity at all times.
University of Cape Town (UCT) political science senior lecturer Dr Lwazi Lushaba was caught in a controversy recently after his apparent claim that Adolf Hitler “committed no crime”. He made the shocking remark during his prerecorded online lecture, shortly before Holocaust Memorial Day.
“All Hitler did was to do to white people what white people had normally reserved for black people,” Lushaba said.
There are those who are calling for Lushaba’s head while others are defending his position, hailing him a hero. The second largest party, the DA, has lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission while UCT has announced that it is investigating the matter.
As a student of political science, I find the content of Dr Lushaba’s lecture to be offensive and factually misleading. He creates the impression that victims of Nazism were only European Jews, which is an insult to homosexuals, gypsies, Afro-Germans, Blacks and others. In all, 11 million innocent people died at the hands of the German Nazis during World War II.
The concern raised by Lushaba’s sympathisers could be partly true since, to some extent, he did not literally mean what he said about Hitler having “done nothing wrong”. He was making a sarcastic observation, before continuing to portray black people as the sole victim of any world historical event.
Rightly or wrongly, Lushaba blames white people for not telling or disseminating awareness about black history as they do to their own. Since it is the ANC-led government that controls the education system, surely the ruling party should teach the younger generation about the struggle instead of blaming white people for everything that has gone wrong? It is also the ANC-led government that controls the SABC. Why not use that as well to influence and educate the public?
While it may be too extreme to call for Lushaba’s removal as a member of the UCT staff, he should be reprimanded for his many, shocking words. Section 16 of the Constitution makes provision for academic freedom and freedom of scientific research. However, such freedom does not extend to advocacy of hatred, based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion.
Apartheid, the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide and all other conflicts classified as crimes against humanity and whose victims experience ongoing pain and trauma should never be approached casually.
Lushaba’s controversial comments do not appear to emanate from intellectual colloquy backed by pragmatic evidence. Its aim is to provoke, enrage and agitate angry black people who believe that all their problems begin and end with white people. Lushaba would be well-advised to adopt a more non-racist mode of thinking and stop spreading dangerous theories with a view to purposely dividing people.
As Nelson Mandela once said: “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, they can be taught to love. For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”