Rugby World Cup

Originally posted by Crowley
Jesus, did you lose your sense of humour when you landed on a rain-soaked Heathrow?

Originally posted by Palynka
It's a joke about poverty, not race.

Originally posted by saffa73
You might want to watch what you say.

Racial generalizations are not really appropriate.

Some 13 black players have been selected for South Africa in the decade since 1992, compared with 121 white. It is estimated there are 120,000 black rugby players and 180,000 white.

The inclusion of Chester Williams, a black winger, in the 1995 competition was hailed as a triumph of reconciliation for a sport regarded by black people as a symbol of white oppression. Yet he has finally confirmed widespread suspicions of racism in the game. He revealed how James Small, a white South African winger, had called him 'a f***ing k*ffir' and demanded to know why 'you want to play our game'.

Geo Cronje, a 20-stone white Afrikaner, refused to sleep in the same room as Quinton Davids, a black player, when both were selected for the squad and ordered to report to the team's pre-tournament camp.

From Sky News October 19, 2007

Thirteen years after the end of Apartheid, the Springboks are still a mainly white team.

Soweto has several amateur rugby sides, a sign of the grass roots transformation of this once white-dominated sport in South Africa.

But at the national level, change has been slow. In recent matches just two non-white players have been included in the first team.

But South Africa's Rugby Union talent spotters rarely venture to Soweto.

The grand private schools which have groomed generations of Springboks players are still the prime hunting ground, and those schools are still largely white.

There is still a long way to go before rugby is a truly multi-racial sport in South Africa.

Originally posted by saffa73
If we are saying that Zimbabwean people in general are slimmer than those in SA, that might be seen as being related to poverty.

Originally posted by Palynka
Yes, that was the deflection and the point of his joke, in my opinion.

Originally posted by Red Night
I think in a sport that has long been segragated in a country where the sport has been a standing symbol of oppression, that jokes of this nature are inappropriate for an educated person to make regardless of the intent.

Originally posted by Palynka
I'd agree, but the joke was not about race. If it had been, I'd be one of the first to denounce it.

Originally posted by Red Night
That was your take and you may be right and I do not want to argue the point.

My take was different and my argument was that it was too close for comfort under the circumstances.

The statistics say that Black SA's don't get to play for the national team. The statistics are alarming. An argument that they are ill-equipped for reasons other than race seems intentionally disingenuous to me.

Originally posted by Palynka
I think that the issue was being discussed, side comment aside.

I, like you, believe that racism is a very serious thing. But that's also why I don't think accusations of racism are trivial.

Sorry for the interruption, but Crowley (with all his MANY defects 😉) has always been vocal in these forums against racism, so to accuse him now over that comment sounded extremely unfair, considering it was about poverty.

Originally posted by Red Night
Good point. I never intended to accuse him of racism.

I merely agreed with another user who found the comment inappropriate. And I still think it was inappropriate under the circumstances.

Originally posted by Ragnorak
As the person who originally introduced a joke about Zim blacks, I'd like you to please explain yourself. Was your joke based on a poverty basis or other.

I don't truly believe that you are a racist, but, nevertheless, given the seriousness of the issue in hand, I look forward to your explanation.

I hope you'll agree that racially motivated jokes lik ...[text shortened]... Remember you aren't amongst your friends in your local bar here.

Thanks in advance,

D

Originally posted by Red Night
The one US player who was black was from Zimbabwe.

I guess the blacks in Zimbabwe are different then those in SA...🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄