Hofmeyr said in a tweet: "I have just dumped my R5000 worth of U2 tickets in the Jukskei. I'm going home. I can find no context for that song. Sorry&goodbye".
SHOOT: I tend to agree with Hofmeyr, although before rushing to judgement you should perform this thought experiment. The Afrikaaners recently came up with Delarey, which, if you think about it, is a struggle song against the British. But the gist of the song isn't really anti-English people, it's more pro-Afrikaaner.
That said, 'Shoot the boer' can't be considered acceptable with murders going on now, including against Eugene Terre'blanche, when ANC supporters seem to be having their cake and eating it. In that sense a question around this issue is a minefield, and Bono's comments while they make sense in his neck of the woods, show a lot of ignorance here. I'm sure many will forgive them [U2] but many will not, and that's understandable too. Here's what Bono said:
Irishman Bono, who is in South Africa for the band's 360 Degrees tour, has caused a stir in the country by expressing support for the singing of the "shoot the farmer" song.
"I was a kid and I'd sing songs I remember my uncles singing... rebel songs about the early days of the Irish Republican Army," he said, proceeding to sing a song whose lyrics spoke of carrying guns and readying them for action.
"We sang this and it's fair to say it's folk music... as this was the struggle of some people that sang it over some time," he told the Sunday Times.
But the rocker went on to say such songs shouldn't be sung in the wrong context.
SHOOT: No shit.
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