Controversial social media figure and former politician Renaldo Gouws has launched a cynical and tasteless stunt campaign to raise money to supposedly send a queer activist to Gaza.
The BackaBuddy campaign, which has raised more than R4,000, seeks to mock LGBTQI+ people who express opposition to the genocide in Gaza.
It does so by suggesting that their stance is incompatible with the likelihood that they would face discrimination and violence from the Hamas group in the territory because of their identity.
Gouws Sarcastically Touts “Amazing Offer”
“With so many people on social media displaying the Pride and Palestinian flags next to each other, I have decided to raise funds to provide someone from the LGBTQI+ community with the opportunity to show how united they truly are with the people of Palestine,” wrote Gouws on Facebook.
He continued: “Talk is easy on the internet, let’s see how united they truly are by going to Gaza in person in Hamas territory and waving these flags in unity. Surely this is an amazing offer for anyone in the LGBTQI+ community who has consistently shouted how united they are with the Palestinian people.”
Gouws claims the funds will cover flights, accommodation and travel “for the lucky person”. He added: “The only requirement I have is that they go to a busy street corner in Gaza and livestream them waving the two flags together for an hour. This will show us how united the Palestinian people and the LGBTQI+ community truly are.”
A False and Simplistic Argument
Gouws’ argument relies on the reductive assumption that people cannot show empathy or condemn gross human rights abuses unless their values align with those of the victims.
This is aside from the fact that civilians make up the vast majority of those killed in Gaza. According to UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, over the past two years, 64,000 children have been killed or maimed across the Gaza Strip, including at least 1,000 babies.
Louw Breytenbach Responds
Former Mr Gay World South Africa Louw Breytenbach addressed these points in the comments, writing: “You cannot claim to be Christian, and then argue that we should only stand up for those who won’t harm us… Or that murder is okay, as long as the person was bad…”
He accused Gouws of creating “rage bait to weaponise the LGBTQI community in your effort to deny the thousands of lives lost in this senseless war.”
Breytenbach added that “we can call out Hamas and still defend innocent Palestinian civilians, without making a mockery of other marginalised groups…”
A Troubling Show of Support
At least 20 people have contributed funds to Gouws’ juvenile campaign, falsely viewing it as a “gotcha” moment aimed at queer people who value the lives of Palestinians.
The initiative, which appears to be a bad-faith abuse of the BackaBuddy fundraising platform, has a goal of R100 000. Gouws says that if the goal is reached and no person is willing to travel to Gaza by 31 December, then the proceeds will be donated to Solidarity’s Helping Hand.
Gouws is best known for facing widespread condemnation over a 2010 video in which he used a racist slur. He argued that the clip was taken out of context and claimed he was criticising the EFF’s controversial “Kill the Boer” song. He apologised, denied being racist, and attributed his “colourful language” to youthful immaturity.
Following the resurfacing of the video, the Democratic Alliance suspended him as a Member of Parliament. He has since joined the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus).
One Response
It’s clearly a scam- he’s ignoring queer people offering to go. Obviously all of his talking points are lies- 1) that lgbtqia activists for Palestine are internet based only, and do nothing IRL, 2) Palestinians are homophobic and kill queer people, 3) that queer people are cowards who would never go to Palestine. Each of these public statements are false and have already been proven false- the people who donated have been scammed.