David Bullard on the slippery slope to racial pariah

The Institute of Race Relations’ (IRR) media site Daily Friend fired columnist David Bullard after he posted a tweet making light of the offensive racial word “kaffir”. On Wednesday he tweeted:

“I realise this is risky (but when have I ever cared?) but maybe we need a new word to replace the K word to describe the people (not all) that we described as K's. Help me out here.....This ain't racial; it's K specific (sic)." 

The IRR’s head of media Michael Morris said the tweet was inconsistent with the IRR’s principles. “We have decided to bring an end to his column and his association with the Daily Friend”.

Unrepentent, Bullard tweeted in response: "I'm prepared to bet that most of the sanctimonous bedwetters getting so excited now that I have Friday afternoons free never even knew I had a column on Daily Friends. Gotta love the leftards (sic)".

In 2008 the Sunday Times fired him after he wrote an “extremely racist” column. It described a South Africa without the "evil white man" to “disturb the rustic idyll of the early black settlers".

ST admitted it erred by not checking the article first. But its response might’ve been a politically correct overreaction if Bullard was being satirical.

He all but disappeared from the media until the right-wing site Politicsweb appointed him columnist in 2018. There he lived up to expectation by frequent race-baiting. In one article he boasted how he engaged with the ANC’s bad boy Tony Yengeni in expletive-laden tweets. PW’s readers approved.

He didn't like criticism of him and the article’s poor taste glorifying incivility, and for PW’s judgement publishing it. Then and at others times, including in defence of PW’s other contributors, e.g. Andrew Donaldson who last year wrote the Group Areas Act in Cape Town was caused by a “land shortage (sic), Bullard replied he didn’t like people with presumably a liberal outlook (Donaldson and Jeremy Gordin don’t like criticism either).

Bullard’s columns typically followed the far-right playbook of disliking and criticising everything the ANC government, left and liberals, whom they call "leftard", say and do. He often came close to or crossed the line into racism and bigotry

He made much of his friendship with the DA’s John Steenhuisen, then chief whip and now interim leader. At the beginning of 2009 he described how Steenhuisen invited him to the State of the Nation address as his guest, gave him a Cuban cigar, and went to the Mount Nelson Hotel for dinner and drinks. In a later article he told how Steenhuisen contacted him out of the blue a couple of years ago wanting to meet. He was proud of this.

Bullard appeared on the DA’s and IRR’s 2019 election platforms. Thereafter he became a Daily Friend columnist. The right-wing IRR launched Daily Friend in 2019 as its propaganda site.

It’s no surprise IRR, PW and DA were associated with Bullard. PW is one of Helen Zille’s favourite media – she described PW editor James Myburgh as one of only two worthwhile political analysts. There’s a virtuous circle between them – they all are and were members of the right-wing IRR. Like Zille, the DA has by all appearances shifted to the right.

But now Bullard’s antics – media site 2oceansvibe says he’s seeking attention – has put that in jeopardy. PW has not said if they too will fire him. Unlikely, though. Instead the condemnation of him, including from Daily Friedn colleagues, might be a topic of PW's Raceballs (editor's James Myburgh's?) column which describes itself the “Official Almanack of the People's Republic of Racial Lunacy”. Of course, it refers to when very occasionally whites are purported targets, never the other way around which is often enough considering right-wing whites' small numbers.

As expected, Bullard has received support, including from those who agree with his tweet, on the false basis of free speech.  But his tweet was unacceptable by any standards. Why would anyone – any rational person – call for proposals classifying (black) people as if they were a species of animal or plant? It reflects his narcissism, very poor judgement (even a talented comedian, which he's not, would not have said it like that or not at all), racism and mindset, and if PW doesn't fire him, theirs too.

The free speech argument is false, and often used by those who lack the idea of responsibility and context; it doesn't exist in a vacuum. There are limits as there are to most things, e.g. the chestnut of crying “fire” in a building, or making inappropriate remarks in company. Defamation and false statements, per se, are covered by free speech but are actionable.

As Bullard shows when criticised, he takes offense and has a thin skin. Today in response to my comments on 2oceansvibe he wrote: "Calm down Thomas and stop being a sanctimonious prick. I'd suggest you watch Humanity with Ricky Gervais on Netflix. Although, maybe not. You'll have soiled your undies in the first ten minutes. I have to thank 2oceansvibe while I'm here. My neighbours think I'm a super hero after this. But we don't have much tolerance for kleptocrats where I stay (sic)." I replied and he continued in this abusive vein. See the full exchange here.

So, standards of decency apply only to him and his ilk.  They can give it but can’t take it.

After the tweets Bullard never clarified, said he meant it as satire, or that old weak defence, it was taken out of context. He never apologised but like those who're caught, doubled down - never say sorry, never admit to mistakes. His supporters took up his cause under the false flag of free speech.

Even IRR, a right-wing organisation (they employed catfisher “Shelley Garland” who perpetrated a fraud on HuffPost and the public. Her alter ego Marius Roodt never said sorry too; the public got it wrong according to her), have limits.

If he is too outrageous for IRR, imagine what it's for reasonable people. It's ironic his supporters defend his freedom of speech but criticise IRR for exercising their freedom to fire him. As usual, only one has rights, not others.

Bullard is irremediably on the slippery slope to racial pariah.