Pieter Howes, a white South African journalist who made a name for himself on Twitter by attacking “whiteness” and joining Julius Malema’s anti-white communist EFF party, reportedly killed himself on Saturday evening.
SA TV industry website TeeVeeTee said his suicide followed “a battle with depression.”
From Citizen.co.za:
Political and social commentator Pieter Howes has passed away, allegedly after taking his own life.
[…] Howes was a South African political and social commentator who wrote for publications including US-based website The Inquisitr. He also founded The Enwhitenment Project, described on Twitter as “a social collective that aims to build awareness of all things related to Whiteness in order to bridge the racial divide.”
https://twitter.com/PieterHowes/status/864866608665292805
Before this, he was known as an actor, theatre director, playwright, and television scriptwriter under the name Pieter Bosch Botha, which he changed to Howes after getting married to his partner Craig Howes.
Howes sent this somewhat cryptic tweet out on Friday:
I'm not afraid of the moment of death. Never have been, because as much as we weren't aware of ourselves before we existed, so too you won't be aware that you have ceased to exist. What I do fear, however, is that I'm wrong and I get reincarnated, doomed to live here again.
— Pieter Howes (@PieterHowes) May 3, 2019
This is currently pinned at the top of his Twitter:
This applies to me. Everything I say has been said by black folk. Know that I only echo. I should not be praised for doing what's right. pic.twitter.com/SvpZj0Zu4b
— Pieter Howes (@PieterHowes) May 1, 2017
His profile picture on Twitter featured him boasting that he was blocked by President Trump. His Twitter feed features dozens of tweets like this one attacking Donald Trump:
The FACTS regarding the surge in white nationalist terrorism are staggering. White male terrorists kill far more Americans than any other hate group. Right-wing White Nationalists have become a major terrorist cell spread worldwide. Check it out: https://t.co/hmzbk3bCAM
— Pieter Howes (@PieterHowes) March 20, 2019
He also opposed Christianity for being against homosexuality and praised people for leaving the church:
YAAAASSS! This is a mother who LOVES her child.https://t.co/cGtbmXTPOg
— Pieter Howes (@PieterHowes) March 20, 2019
Howes repeatedly said that all white people, even the “good” ones, are racist:
Yaaasss! White folks, watch.
And please, for goodness sake, stop believing in this good/bad binary when it comes to racism. Even good white people are racist. Racist does not = bad person (even though some racists are objectively bad people).https://t.co/LM8qVKsq1m
— Pieter Howes (@PieterHowes) March 3, 2019
As a white person, you can be working every single day of your life to unlearn racist thoughts; to see black people as no different from you; to befriend, love and care for black folks; and yet STILL be a racist. Racism encompasses too many layers to dismiss it as a binary.
— Pieter Howes (@PieterHowes) March 3, 2019
Howes made headlines last year for joining Julius Malema’s communist EFF party.
From Hinnews:
Pieter Howes is an EFF supporter‚ because it is “where you should be if you want to be pro-black”‚ he says.
If you don’t know Howes‚ check out his Twitter profile. It consists of pro-black sentiment‚ a few liberal diatribes‚ defence against -isms. All as a means of him atoning for his ignorance‚ he says.
If only all SAs had the economic freedom to explore their own land. Appreciate the opportunities your whiteness affords you.
His pinned tweet is: “Everything I say has been said by black folk. Know that I only echo. I should not be praised for doing what’s right.”
“Every single one of those white thugs must go to jail. White people ask me to stop speaking out against them. I won’t. #RacismMustFall #UFS”
He had a popular thread in August of 2018 where he criticized President Trump for helping advance “the white genocide myth in South Africa.”
https://twitter.com/PieterHowes/status/1032558663855206400
This is a technique used to shock anyone who takes an interest in the white genocide myth in South Africa. But I urge everyone to investigate each claim to assess the veracity. Use the Google reverse image search as a tool. You'll often find the true source of the image.
— Pieter Howes (@PieterHowes) August 23, 2018
In his companion article, “On South Africa’s White Genocide Myth And How Right-Wing Afrikaners Are Dividing The Nation,” Howes wrote:
Many white Afrikaners in South Africa are convinced they are the victims of an ongoing genocide, perpetuated by black people as a form of revenge for the horrors inflicted upon them during Apartheid and colonialism. This idea is hinged on statistics focused on the number of violent farm attacks.
But these statistics have been so widely debunked; it is unfathomable that it still finds traction in conversations around the world. The former President of Genocide Watch – an international organization that monitors the potential for genocide in countries worldwide – Dr. Gregory Stanton, has himself said that a genocide against Afrikaners is not taking place.
[…] White South Africans have never apologized for Apartheid and colonialism. A few feeble and wholly inadequate acknowledgments have been attempted by some whites. However, the historical pain that weighs heavily on the shoulders of black people has never been compassionately and unequivocally recognized.
Now, repeat after me: There is no white genocide taking place. Again. There is no white genocide taking place.
While we may never know what caused him to commit suicide, there’s no question the philosophy he embraced was suicidal.
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