As I celebrated the emphatic victory of the Blue Bulls over the Chiefs on Saturday, a bad taste was left in my mouth when I saw an old South African flag waving in stadium. That flag is right up there with the use of the word Kaffir as far as I'm concerned. If you wave that flag in front of me that's what you are calling me. Having said that, I also know that not everyone who was there was glad that happened.
Did I enjoy the victory still? Yes. Did I celebrate? Yes. Was I proud of a South African team? Yes. But that does not take away from the fact that the flag dampened the mood over the occasion. In one second, it took us to the past. It has no future in the new South Africa.
The only place that flag must be in is a museum. I know that it still flies over the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town, that is understandable, it is history. We cannot pretend that flag never existed, but we cannot hide the waving of the flag behind Freedom of Expression. Like any freedom we enjoy, Freedom of Expression has limits. A freedom with no limits leads to anarchy.
Chapter 2, section 16 on our Bill of Rights says the following about the Freedom of Expression:
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes
1. freedom of the press and other media;