I can’t even deal with this. The latest “blackface” incident to come out of Stellies has Open Stellenbosch, the group who is responsible for the documentary Luister, sticking up for UFOs.

Last week two girls from the university attended a space-themed party and painted themselves purple. Yup, purple. Not black, purple. P-u-r-p-l-e. Check:

Yeah, it looks bad, but LOOK AT THIS ONE:

Not only that, but the two girls, Poekie Briedenhann and her friend, completed the look with a tinfoil headdress and tinfoil shoes. They even had little tinfoil antennae.

Yet Open Stellenbosch representatives slammed the incident:

On Friday morning, we woke up to yet another #blackface incident at the University.

In 2014, two white students mimicked the same racist colonial construct, for which the university decided not to institute any disciplinary action. As a result, two female students at Heemstede residence picked up where their predecessors left off.

To put an end to #blackface at Stellenbosch, we call upon the university to expel the two students involved in this incident with immediate effect and to remove the residence head and committee which allowed this incident to take place under their watch.

The university went on a massive PR campaign last year on its commitment to transformation. We now call upon the university and Wim de Villiers to honour that commitment.

Yet the response to such an incident from an organisation which is attempting to open dialogue could be dangerous, resulting in it losing its integrity. Even more so because since their first post, they are yet to release an apology.

Stellies Rage responded to Open Stellenbosch in a post, albeit with a little less finesse:

F*** you Stellenbosch University and f*** you Open Stellenbosch for dubbing this blackface and suspending the girls. What a joke. I hope the girls sue the shit out of you for this. #‎jesuispoekie.”

How’s that hashtag? Cannot believe they went there.

The two students have apologised for any offence their actions caused:

We are aware that our actions in the #blackfacing incident last night at the Heemstede stellar space party where painting our bodies dark purple and cover[ed] with glitter appeared as black and thus as attempt to demean and exotify blackness.

We apologise for any offence occurred and take full responsibility for this.

Open Stellenbosch has kept quiet on the subject and are pretty much digging their own grave.

[source: news24]