It’s
strange to hear about a case like that of the Zuma painting in South Africa. From an American perspective,
such as painting is nothing to get worked up about. But in South Africa it’s enough to drive a
highly regarded lawyer to tears.
What is
this painting? Called “The Spear” it’s
an image of the President of South Africa in the style of a Lenin figure with
his genitals exposed.
On one
side are the protestors, the supporters of the African National Congress ruling
party, who believe that his painting is clearly wrong and that it is offensive
to portray the President or any black person in such a way. On the other side are those who argue in the
constitutional right of free expression.
The
leading lawyer, Gcina Malindi, argued for the removal of the painting based on
the indignity of it. But when the judges
retorted that there was no way to remove it from public circulation, given its
prevalence on the internet, he broke down crying.
Malindi
had been imprisoned and tortured on Robben Island during apartheid, and
bringing up the history of the struggle for democracy in the country brought
him back to those original emotions. He
requested a postponement of the trial, which was granted.
Will
this only fuel the fire of the protests or will it calm the beast? We shall have to wait and see.
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