Analysis: Enough with the ‘racist’ hysteria over ‘hit the boer’

When the Constitutional Court delivered its “hit the boer” ruling last week, it was in no way focused on pronouncing on whether using that phrase was racist or not.

But you wouldn’t think so from the news headlines that followed the highest court’s unanimous decision on whether reinstating nine workers – who had been fired for racism after singing a struggle song with the phrase “hit the boer” – was reasonable.

The workers at Germiston-based manufacturing company Duncanmec were dismissed after they went on an unprotected strike on April 30 2013, and were filmed singing a Zulu struggle song that contained the words: “Climb on top of the roof and tell them that my mother is rejoicing when we hit the boer.”

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