XOLELA MANGCU,
CHUMANI MANGCU AND ‘FALLISTS’, AND NOT UNVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN RACISTS, HAVE
BEEN UNMASKED
This is a commentary
on Mr Chumani Maxwele’s expurgated letter published in the Sunday Independent (SI)
on 21 August 2016 in which he announced that he would “identify” racists at the
University of Cape Town (UCT) and “document” their acts. This is potentially great news since, as he
maintains, it could contribute to “the spirit of fighting racism at UCT”. I have
called for such exposées time-and-again.
http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/let-us-face-this-white-racism-once-and-for-all-1999930
Unfortunately,
this letter did neither.
However, in a
much longer, unexpurgated Facebook post on the same day, Maxwele did reveal
names of people accused of racism by UCT Sociology Prof. Xolela Mangcu.
Mangcu’s
allegations stem from a “war of words” around a dispute that began in January
2016 about lecturing duties. Mangcu
chronicles this publicly in two of his weekly commentaries published by
SI.
In his
‘fictional’ commentary “Different
times, same old Rhodes”, the primary racist is “Mary Rhodes”. The dispute degenerated into a
department-wide disagreement outlined in part in widely circulated e-mails to
which Maxwele refers.
This culminated in one of
Mangcu’s ‘racists’ filing a formal grievance against Mangcu, soon followed by
counter-grievances by Mangcu against Nattrass and two other UCT academics.
On 4 September
2016, SI published a subsequent letter from Elijah Moholola (officially representing
UCT) that reveals one of those branded as racist by Mangcu: Prof. Nicoli
Nattrass (also in UCT’s Department of Sociology).
UCT’s letter
ends as follows:
“Fighting racism
is a noble act. Accusing individuals blindly
and publicly without evidence is not.”
UCT’s letter
also summarizes the conclusions of a mutually agreed upon (by Mangcu and
Nattrass) “stage 3” UCT grievance procedure relating to Mangcu’s grievances
against Nattrass and two other UCT academics. The adjudicator nominated by UCT Vice
Chancellor, Dr Max Price, was Deputy Vice-Chancellor Danie Visser, an eminent
professor of law and a “leading internationally researcher” (“A” –rated by
South Africa’s National Research Foundation) in that discipline.
In short, Visser
ruled that all of Mangcu’s racism-related allegations were groundless, “defamatory
and unsubstantiated” and Mangcu should “publicly retract” them.
Inter
alia, Mr Maxwele’s letter
makes other defamatory statements that I respond to one-by-one.
I am a
“racist denialist”.
I am a
Ph.D.-qualified taxonomist who has published extensively of the appropriate biological
use of ‘race’ (= subspecies), http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/74638#/summary I unequivocally reject (supported by my
scientific publications) the reality or use the concept of ‘race’ as it has
been applied to humans.
I have never denied
the reality of racism as a heinous behaviour in general or at UCT in particular. Indeed, as mentioned above, I very strongly support
the exposure and punishment of racist acts everywhere. http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/lets-ask-the-hard-questions-and-rebuild-uct-together-2054311
I am
“arrogant or ignorant”.
I may be the
former. To put me into ‘context’, please
consult a brief profile. http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/news/prof-tim-crowe-retires-31-december-2013-after-40-years-fitzpatrick-institute
With regard to
my “ignorance”, like Mangcu, I’ve published extensively on relevant matters as
a public intellectual in: The Conversation, Politicsweb, BizNews, GroundUp, UCT In the News, Politicsweb, The
Cape Times, The Natal Mercury
and the Sunday Independent.
Since I am
“retired”, I am “no longer aware of what is happening at UCT”.
Mr Maxwele is
correct on the first score. He is not on
the second, which is blatant ageism. If
he had kept up with his reading of the Cape
Times (a newspaper in which he features prominently), he might have read my
piece “Proposals for quality university education” published on 28 October
2015. Otherwise, he should page back
through the above-mentioned media sources or just read the “Discussions and Debates” section of UCT In the News. Indeed, the editors of the latter have
refused to publish some of my pieces because I submit too many.
“Professor Crowe must know several cases
of racism documented at UCT”.
No, I don’t.
What are they? How were they
adjudicated? Why won’t Mr Maxwele, Prof.
Mangcu or anyone else for that matter identify racists or racist structures by
name and provide actionable evidence for ”documented acts of racism”,
especially evidence that might have been suppressed or has “disappeared” at
“this deeply racist institution”?
Why is it ‘wrong’ that “two [actually three] white
professors [cited in Mangcu’s grievances]” might not support the Rhodes Must
Fall Movement? Is there no room at UCT
for dissent? Hasn’t Mr Maxwele been ejected from the Rhodes Must Fall movement (for
allegedly assaulting women) as stated by well-known member Mohammed
Abdulla? http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/rmf-movement-dumps-activist-maxwele-2006149
“One of the [three] professors is facing a
disciplinary hearing after a complaint lodged by Professor Mangcu.”
If Maxwele is referring to any of the three staff
members mentioned in Mangcu’s grievances, that is simply untrue. If not, who is the miscreant?
“Can a white [UCT] administration judge
against a white professor?”
My assessment of the current administration (which
includes ‘blacks’), given the UCT Executive’s repeated lenient treatment of
Maxwele and other ‘fallists’, is most definitely: “No”. I
would have not been surprised if the DVC who adjudicated the “Mangcu Grievance Affair”
had ruled in his favour. My guess is
that Prof. Visser, being the law-abiding man he is (and about to enter
retirement), acted objectively on evidence instead of political correctness or
what Dr Price calls “contextualization”.
Just wonder might have happened to Maxwele et al. if Dr Mamphele Ramphele were still VC, given her well-known views
on student discipline and mistreatment of women?
“Professor Sakela Buhlungu [Dean of
Humanities] has been subject to racism too.”
This refers to events at a meeting of the UCT Board of the
Faculty of Humanities held in September 2015. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-07-13-fanon-meets-biko-meets-jm-coetzee-as-uct-academic-row-over-food-highlights-racial-fault-lines/#.V8x8w2fr3IU
They relate to a proposal by Professor David Benatar, head of the
Department of Philosophy suggesting that, on ethical grounds, no meat or animal
products be served at any Faculty event or meeting.
Mangcu and Adam Haupt
(Associate Professor Media Studies) condemned this proposal as “an ad hominem
attack on the Dean, on his authority as chair of the Board and the authority of
his office as Dean.” Those in favour of
the proposal were thereafter prevented from replying and, in protest, left the
room. So much for this racist incident.
“The [RMF] movement is a political project
that seeks to confront white power using radical political approaches.”
At last, Maxwele “unmasks” something! If the various “movements” are “political
projects”, please identify their party affiliations and political positions. Their modus
operandi is indeed “confrontation”.
Maxwele and ‘co-activists’ (reinforced by Mangcu? http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/so-many-stories-so-much-neglect-2036141) have long-since abandoned the processes
of non-intimidatory, rational
debate/dialogue and consensus-seeking. http://www.groundup.org.za/article/rhodes-and-politics-pain_2796/ Given the actions of Maxwele et al. to date and their
consequences: intimidation, destruction and arson, the goal of their “radical
political approaches” appears to be not replacing an oppressive colonial cultural
hegemony (sensu Gramsci) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramsci with an enlightened, organic
intellectual-driven Afrocentric alternative. The goal appears to be the destruction
of UCT by the Movements’ ‘organic-intellectual’ perpetrators: a leaderless,
intellectually bankrupt, non-democratic minority of educationally misguided
humanity.
The ‘Fallist’s’ Gramscian 'war of manoeuvre'
(direct revolution) was also evident at a recent panel discussion held the
University of the Western Cape. Rather
than participate in a constructive discussion about how South African
universities can be transformed, http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/students-shouted-me-down-2027581
‘fallists’ attacked Prof. Mangcu, describing him as a “typically
self-indulgent” “Uthengiwe
lo” (sellout) when he tried to persuade them to allow speakers to
present their views without interruption/intimidation. http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/uwc-students-response-xolela-mangcu/
To close,
the tactics of the wholesale or situational branding of opponents as racists in
the absence of evidence might have had some application at some South African
universities 25 years ago. It never had
any such application during my 40-year association with the University of Cape
Town and, to use it now, is professionally disgraceful. The facts that the current UCT Executive
refuses to deal with it quickly and decisively and many (most?) of my ‘extant’ academic
colleagues quietly tolerate it is shameful.
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