Do Africans Think That Black Americans Are "Diluted"? (selected comments from a YouTube video discussion thread)

COOPSCORNER, Jan 31, 2025  JOHANNESBURG

Live from Johannesburg, South Africa! Mr. Jackson Cooper aka J-Coop tackles a very important question "What do South Africans think of Black Americans?". These answers will truly SHOCK you. Check it out... Enjoy!

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents a sample of comments from the discussion thread of a 2025 YouTube video about random "man on the street" style interviews that a young Black American conducted with random students from a Johannesburg, South Africa university. This post focuses on some of the comments in that discussion thread that focused on two of those university students in separate interviews* describing Black Americans as being "diluted".

The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to COOPSCORNER for conducting those interviews and for publishing this video.
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*Here's the Google Search results for the term "man in the street" - "A man-on-the-street interview is a type of informal interview where journalists ask random people questions in public places to gather opinions or reactions on a specific topic. This method is often used to capture the pulse of the community and provides diverse perspectives that can enhance storytelling."

Click 5:32 for the complete interview for a Black female student from Zimbabwe who said that Black Americans are "diluted and polluted". That part of her comment begins at 5:43. In response to the question "How do you view Black Americans"?, that student said "Okay, when it comes to us and black Americans, we are just two different groups. We are strictly from South Africa, from Africa, the roots of Africa and I feel like they are sort of like diluted in a way, polluted in a way"...  

(I didn't understand what this student said her first name is. The video captions didn't give that first name, but gave "Sambata" as her  surname.)

Click 9:17 for the beginning of the complete interview with Evans, a Black male student who was born in Zimbabwe. At 9:58, In response to the question "How do Zimbabweans view Black Americans", Evans said "Black Americans aren't really the same African as we are African. We view that as though oh no they're diluted". .

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XeK0MhRqxs

All of these comments were written in February and March 2025. These comments are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

1. nondumisobuthelezi4570
"As a South African, i find words like DILUTED & POLUTED to be so disrespectful."

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2. @papaomphile5094
"As i south African i sonehow got really annoyed when the Zimbabwean dude and the tall girl associated Americans with the word "diluted" thats disrespectful. We love and learn from our Brothers & sisters in the states ❤"

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3. WayneKitching
"I'm a South African and I cringed when the girl said about about Black Americans who have lost their culture but developed a unique culture."

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4. @benjaminsmith2287
"Only two people said that. And we are diluted compared to Africans. I liked how varied the responses were."

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5. @QueenBee-il1oj
"I agree on one hand the words DILUTED to describe African Americans is disrespectful. But on another view many of us do not know from what part of Africa we originated.  What Africans in the diaspora and what Africans on the continent need only to understand 1 thing and that is that we ARE BLACK AND PROUD.         James Brown theme."

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6. @Kii_J
"Calling us diluted yet the whole world including SA 🇿🇦 follows our culture is very interesting. America culture is black American culture as a whole."

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7. @tolucontent3795
"💯 agree..  that’s only that persons view not every African"

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8. @missqt48
"Why do a lot of FBA/AA/ Black Americans get triggered by ONE persons opinion?

How you gonna get on the WM internet and be mad at one person opinion 😄😄😄

If y’all had emotional intelligence you could rule the world! But very emotional people don’t go far in life!"
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"FBA" = "Foundational Black American" is a new term that refers to Black people who can trace their ancestry to at least one person who was enslaved in the United States. 

A similar referent, ADOS, (American Descendants Of Slavery), was first used online for that same population around 2016, but you rarely come across that term online anymore. The referent FBA began to be used online shortly after ADOS began. but FBA appears to be increasing its online use (my guess) particularly among Black people under the age of forty. .

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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/06/article-excerpts-about-population.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Article Excerpts About The Population Referents "ADOS" (American Descendants Of Slaves) And "FBA" (Foundational Black Americans)".

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9. @jbell73986
"She called us polluted"

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10. @jbell73986
"And how the hell do you think that happened? Smh"

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11. @sharadawilliams6394
"I perceive ‘diluted’ to mean that we have little of our African culture. I think about how the Yorubas in Brazil still practice their Yoruba culture. I’m not privy of Brazil’s relationship with enslaved Africans during the TAST; how the enslavers treated them but here in America, our ancestors culture was stripped by their enslavers so what do expect. At least some of us have the desire to connect with people from the continent and learn but the disrespect from some of you can be a deterrent that has caused some FBAs to delineate. If it weren’t for my belief that you are our siblings was instructed, per Scripture, not hold a grudge against you, I would do the same thing.  Accusing us of being proud while you’re over there basically boasting against us hypocritical. Our culture was birthed out of struggle and adversity."

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12. @linthexplorer814
"Hi I am sorry I needed to comment.. as an African who grew up in the US the fact that Africans in the motherland use the terms diluted and polluted to describe African-Americans is so disrespectful.. black culture is so beautiful it’s so unique. It’s so diverse and it should be celebrated and it should be taught . I wish both sides would learn about each other’s histories to understand each other’s walks of life. & also at the end of the day as black people no matter where we are in the world we will fight similar battles so why put each other down because of different geographical locations? You will see that we have a lot more similarities than  differences. Thank you Cooper for these interviews. They are very insightful."

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13. @mel-bp1kp
"Diluted and Polluted she is speaking for herself not all of us hayi that was wrong."
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"Hayi" = South African exclamation that means "No!" [addition and correction welcome.]

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14. @gwendolynallen3218
"I like how he pointed out their hypocrisy and delusions. Dressed like us but we are white washed. What does that make you? 😂"

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15. @FBA-Reddawg2.0
"Salute to the two lovely south African Sista's in the green and black that didn't pre-judge FBA's off something they so on t.v. obviously 🤦🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️as for the few misimformed S.A.'s who said black Americans are "diluted" y'all need to go get y'all minds right ASAP😂🤨🤷🏼‍♂️ we created and molded  our very culture in America that got it out the mud fr that our ancestors built from scratch ❤️ 🔱 🖤💪🏼 some of these ppl have no clue what they even talking about  whose "diluted"🤨 Educate yourself before you speak next-time, black Americans set the trends that the world follows respect that fact just pay homage ✊🏼💯 education was for free this time sheesh respectfully 🤨🧐✌🏼"

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16. @ConnorDelport-ff3dw
"Wow, the disrespect through ignorance is embarrassing. Black Americans have a culture of their own, they don't have to be tied to Africa to be an authentic"

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17. @mtuflani
"This is a great video if anything on the diversity of opinions. Everybody has a culture. Those who say that BAs have lost their (African) culture need to understand that they have their own "unique" culture now which was formed through great adversity and now the results have has greatly influenced the globe. And it is rich and BA's should stand on it with pride. Just facts. Let us celebrate each other's wins from both sides and unite. It is not that deep. We can learn a lot from each other when we share cultures and become even stronger as melanated people"

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18. @pholilemhlanga8664
"We need to dissect the term Culture. We understand African American's were ripped off their African heritage, cultural norms, spiritual practices etc. The "diluted" term comes from the unfortunate circumstances African Americans face.  We need a longer discussion and learn more about each other. This is a great topic Mr Jackson, Thank you for opening communication channels."

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19. @mzinformation8602
"I love my African people,  especially South African,  but many will never understand 2hat itnis to be black in America until they've been black in America.  It's not the worse thing in the world, but it's a terrible feeling knowing that you are hated, feared,  misjudged,  and misunderstood. You can't judge all based on what you see and hear in the media. The diluted polluted was rude. Lol. Of course we're diluted.  We've been mixed with the blood and accents of our ancestors masters. Lol. Come to America and go from state to state.  The accents are different and so are some of the ways. Meaning many blacks in different states maintained some of their African roots a d traditions, but we see ourselves as one"

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20. @benjaminsmith2287
"I don't think mixed is what is meant by diluted. I think Westernized Africans is what is meant by diluted. The Africaness of a people whose ancestry started in Africa has been diluted/polluted."

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21. @benjaminsmith2287 Feb 2025
"The "diluted" comment made sense to me. I took no offense to it. Your comment makes sense to me as well. But there is a non-mainstream Black American that is a great presence too and shows more depth IMO."

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22. @MissKittyKilpatrick
"Diluted and polluted. Some people just say any foolish thing."

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23. @oyunazone6283
"Wow, Calling us Diluted, Confused and people with no culture is craazzzyy Work. I mean, didn't our Music genres like Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop RNB and Rock N Roll not help shape music all around the world? what about the trends we set like our fashion and Dances, The Inventions we made, Or how our ancestors built AMERICA with their bare hands? What About being Literally One of the top athletics groups in the world today? Our Social, Political AND Resilience Influences that even helped Black south Africans?! Soul Food?!  Like I can Literally Go On. We Know Who we Are...its just sad that after all this, a lot of these people still act like they don't. Whether people want to act like they know us or not we're still gonna keep moving mountains. God Bless."

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24. @SoulBuddy2222
"I am a black South African, and I agree with you about black American culture. But please understand that they are talking about culture in the narrow sense of the word and not the broad sense of the word.

When they talk about culture here, they mean cultural heritage handed down from generation to generation, including language and spiritual practices.

Even though many black South Africans have been westernized or americanised, they still follow certain cultural practices, like honoring and celebrating their ancestors etc.etc.

In my opinion, there is no right or wrong, it is just what it is. For example, majority of South African Indians lost their languages and adopted English as their home language, but retained their Hindu and Muslim religions, Indian cuisine as well as other cultural practices. I am also aware that there is a very small African American group, who were less westernized than the majority (there is a unique name for them, which I've forgotten). Based on their lifestyle and culture, they would relate more to Africans than most black Americans. The same applies to some of the blacks in the Caribbean, who retained a lot of their African heritage."

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25. @cHAWELO3
"Wow didn't expect people to be offended by the word diluted. As a black South African woman, I guess I understand as it's like saying you're not Black enough. You also have to take into consideration we don't see culture the same. To me it seems Black Americans regards culture as music, food, clothes, style, people and pioneers who sacrificed and shaped the strong heritage that they possess. Black American culture is so strong and undeniable. I could be wrong in many ways and open to correction😂😂😂 . As Africans, culture means something else to us. It's bloodline, clan names, spiritual vibrations, ancient traditions, languages, ideas, a genesis, legacy,etc. The food, clothes and physical stuff is semantics. But our roots are who we are."

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26. @Pheloooooo
"I think we're confusing culture and tradition, food, music, arts, style etc is exactly what a culture is, tradition is something that's passed down from generations and they've done just that with theirs, the only thing that wasn't passed down was their language(but maybe we can say they do😂cause only black americans speak english the way they do)they have african spirituality in their black american culture too except many of them don't acknowledge that side, which is how that too might die one day but if you go to New Orleans, that place is africa for real😂so spiritual and see a lot of african culture. We have to be careful not to be disrespectful with terms like not black enough, those people didn't ask for the history they have and we SANs have a lot in common with them too, black is genetics and they are black guys🤷‍♀️I think we could learn from each other hey, they come here n teach us how to make money, we pour in where they can't like finding their language, tribe etc plus they lived in 1st world country seeing ⚪️ people do things to keep them oppressed, they could show us those loopholes here in Africa"

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27. @cHAWELO3
"@Pheloooooo  You make fair points. I have never been to the U.S which is why I gave my perspective of Black America from not only what I have seen on TV but history documentaries, proud Black American artists in different mediums of art, books,etc. I had no idea that African spirituality is practiced by Black Americans. While I can believe it's also hard to believe given some of the things they say about Africa and how a lot of people say they don't know much about the continent.

Just to clarify I wasn't saying they aren't black enough but that us making statements that they are diluted can be perceived as stating that they aren't "black enough". So I understand why someone would take offence to such statements even if we claim there is no ill intent behind those words.

Learning from one another is essential now more than ever as white supremacy keeps popping up. Our unity benefits ourselves and the world."

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28. @vividratsculpordwarf
"We’re all colonized.  There is no difference. Our cultures in Africa have a western influence"

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29. @Tytrades
"Most of us are diluted but you can say the same about many Africans"

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30. @JaimieWinston-l1l
"I think another word should have been used tho"

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31. @JaimieWinston-l1l
"I kinda understand , but it’s not our fault our history was lost"

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32. @jessharris8294
"As a black American..I’m not offended. I get it… our black culture is very western"

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33. @Onetoomanytimez
"Might I say as a black American(not by choice) to be referred to as diluted is beyond ridiculous. We have an African presence here and African communities and we don’t speak this way. I’ve worked with different Africans from different tribes and they are nice people. But they do say Africans feel like they are the REAL black people. I personally feel like it’s a blessing to be born in your native land where you are the majority. However I think they might be so privileged by their circumstances that they ignore how we actually ended up so “diluted”. And to not have to bother yourself with the details (our history)just proves my point even more. We have an identity crisis because there’s a war on race here and we are constantly reminded of who we should be instead of who we are. We spend more time defending ourselves than living our lives. It’s a constant fight and it’s exhausting. My wife and I talk about moving to Africa a lot to escape. She has Cameroon blood and I I’m (black,native Chickasaw, Cherokee, and I have some Irish blood as well). My family were apart of the 1921 race massacre here in Tulsa,Ok. We have culture here but unfortunately it’s riddled with violence and barbarism by the hand of our oppressors. 

You would be surprised to know how much black people here resonate with the African diaspora but I can tell by Some of their responses that they prefer we learn their culture even if they choose to ignore our history. They sound pretty intelligent for the most part but there is a lot of ignorance present as well. They seem to be so proud of themselves that intern they devalue us it’s a shame. Being African American is more of a geo-political term(by way geographical disposition)to us but you guys say it like it’s our identity or nationality . They would be surprised to know how white washed they sound as well. Our history brought us here but our blood lineages is stretched abroad just like you."
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I reformatted this comment to increase its readability. 

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34. @shaunstorm9967
"South African here , y’all aren’t diluted   Yall just evolved according to being in the heart of the west  . Y’all went through horrible things and yet you persevered . Sports , Music and Hollywood are your domains of dominance but bet that’s not all you have accomplished, your culture is mainstream and your contributions to building the Us’s military along with it’s scientific monopoly is a testament to your excellence and potential . We are honored to call you brethren and sisters . We pray and move towards a future we work and live among each other .❤"

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35. @TheIntrovert83
"Thank You. That comment made me angry. ❤🖤💚"

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36. @agangproductions1042
"I'm a SAcan who has travelled America a bit. Black Americans  have their owñ culture, survival skills and hustles. I think we should respect and understand that they had to create their own culture as Black Americans , we shouldn't expect them to be African cos they know nothing about that and there is nothing wrong with that, infact we should sympathize with them for being stripped of their names, heritage et al. I wish they can be open to learning more about other nations and stop being ignorant.  Traveling from their side could help a great deal ( even travelling within America could open their perpective a bit) .

Remember, America is good with markerting itself so, be open to learning about the real porverty striken, homelessness, joblessness America too. Aweee!"

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37. @SamraySimon-fy7sq
"Pan-Africanism all the way, y'all!"

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38. @alvinedwards434
"This was good! Especially that last interaction. Each one, teach one! Love that. I understand why some would think we lack heritage or we are "watered down", but what they may not understand is Black people in America influence much of what the world is doing. Style, music, and culture. The world follows our lead! I blame media though, because they only show one side of us, but there are many brilliant Black minds here in the States that dont get highlighted. This was dope though! Keep it up, Jackson! Salute!"

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39. @TsweloMolema
"Black Americans are African by blood and no one can take that heritage away from them. There's a shared narrative (in this video) that they are lacking in black culture “diluted.” I believe music expresses their blackness more than anything from the polyphonic jazz in New Orleans, African American Spirituals, songs that came out of slavery all resemble a part of Africa and the ultimate expressions of blackness (similarly in SA, miners created gum booting as a mode of communication that later became a form of expression and art, we have struggle songs, deeply invested in local forms of jazz, our church song that are sometimes European melodies translated to our languages.) We South Africans love our cultural food; black Americans have that too. There’s differences in the expression of our blackness but that’s what it remains… BLACK. I would’ve thought that the average South African would be more sympathetic in this regard. Great video, love the approach you’re taking in understanding the local culture."

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40. @Azrael-s2z
"For South Africans it’s easy to spot the difference between coloureds and blacks and black Americans. They aren’t the same, the reason many South Africans view them as “diluted” is a cultural thing. They see black Americans as being heavily influenced by western values and customs, they have formed their own culture in America. For me the problem is, media shows some of the worst parts of black Americans and they are portrayed as racist or self centred. Many people mistake what the media shows as the majority of black Americans, but I have met some black American immigrants and loved my interactions with them and as they were my clients I had many interactions with them for 3 years. They are definitely different than their african brothers"

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41.@tommytremble3910
"Imagine a South Africa calling ANYONE white washed 😂"

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42. @benjaminsmith2287
"To be honest, Black Americans are western people with a bit of Black, sometimes Africanish, spice on it. So, we kind of seem like other Americans to a lot of people outside of the USA."

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43. @uncommon1170
"I think the problem is South Africans have learned about African Americans through the media and Hollywood.  The media has predominantly painted us in a negative light.  I am so proud to be African American because we are multi faceted, we are extremely talented, we are resilient and I could go on forever! Now the problem as far as us relating to South Africans is that we come from the USA which has influenced the globe, everyone learns about our country but unless an American has a special interest in another country, we can go our whole lives never even thinking about most countries.  We live in a melting pot and can easily experience so many cultures at home in the states.  Most of us didn't even grow up knowing anything about  South Africa.  I am glad that content creators are educating us on this beautiful country.  I'm thankful to Coop for the hard work he's doing out there. God willing I'll be going this year."

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44. @johnnieolivier1010
"A very insightful video. It's sad that a lot of the young people you interviewed lack the knowledge of the history of black Americans. The influence of black Americans in music, fashion, politics, entertainment, etc is reflected world wide. Black American innovations is so underrated, it's sad because in every sphere of industrialisation the foot prints of black Americans is visible"

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45. @TraveLAttitudes
"The reverse is true regarding African Americans when it pertains to the history of Africa. I’ve come across countless AA who are clueless on the Colonization of Africa"

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46. @MelissaToday
"The dialogue would have completely different with older more experienced, more educated adults. But good to see what young people think."

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47. @cohesivesouls
"Exactly the youth perception is totally different!!!!"

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48. @adoro-ble521
"Yeah or a mix of both"

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49. @oohbabybloo
"These are smart young people. I guarantee if you ask the same question for non-college student not educated or poor the answers will not be the same. "

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50. @eporter8213
"I think we all need read more about each other’s history to get a clearer picture of Black Americans and South Africans."

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51.@junkworks-ok6sg
" "Diluted" & "polluted" is a vile way of describing people."

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52. @michaelsmith8947
"Crazy huh?"

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53. @leszjacobs1637
"It’s not to offend. Africans and black Americans are culturally different that’s just a fact"

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54. @Thesincereservant
"This is a great video on a topic which needs to be elaborated on.

Are we forgetting our forefathers was striped from their land, brought to a foreign land, renamed and brainwashed of their heritage.

Fast forward, the children of the enslaved return to the land, lacking knowledge of who they are, what tribe they are from and no knowledge of their heritage, just to be looked at as foreigners by their brothers and sisters. WE ARE ONE, and the day we get this is the day we can build in all areas of life.

Do Chinese return to China and they say you’re American Chinese?

Do Indians return to India and they say your British Indian?

It’s time our people wake up and unite because we are all one.

Acts 7:6

And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years."

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55. @Thesincereservant
"@ If a person is born in London but both parents are chinese, is that person Chinese or British?"

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56. @MsUbhejane
"@Thesincereservant  Chinese descent and British nationality. There’s a difference between Genealogy and Nationality. I don’t know when the confusion happened, this was never a question. Also the fact that you were born in a certain country doesn’t translate that you will automatically take that nationality. Countries have different laws regarding citizenship and nationality."

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57. @QLivin
"@Thesincereservant  Stop comparing us to immigrants. We have had an ethno genesis. We are American not African."

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58. @nanas1319
"When it comes to disclipline I think there is no difference. It is instilled from an early age to respect elders, take care of family and the elderly. I think based on that we can find common traits among the black americans and south africans."

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59. @tommytremble3910
"This chick called us “diluted and polluted” and said we weren’t the same (people). But let a black American be critical of Africa and speak about them like they’re less then and we’d never hear the end of it or how we’re so self hating. If we not the same like y’all keep saying then it ain’t self hating. It’s just hating ignorant lames who happen to share your skin tone. 🤷🏾‍♂️"

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60. @mfundisombhele3856
"In every society you will always find foolish people & some will be the opposite ...so I hope Americans wont take some foolish opinions that some people have given in this platform.As a South African, I am extremely disappointed by some terrible choices of words used to describe Black American as "'diluted,polluted & white-washed"  that was so unintelligent of them!"

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61. @thepresidentialking9190
"We are not diluted versions of you guys! You have been lied to! 🫳🏾🎤"

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62. @jkelly1418
"Diluted?! Polluted?! I see why FBA stand on business the way they do. Blacks/FBAs we really only have us 🤷🏾‍♂️ "

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63. @ramerehoward9964
"Why is that just about half of the option mind set is that Us Foundational Black Americans are confused cause we know who we are why are We always under the microscope, why are we the lineage everyone likes to give there opinion on 🤷🏾 it must be something unique about Us 😆"

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64. @jkelly1418
"@ bet, I don’t speak for every FBA, there might be some that share the opinion of the interviewees but y’all are gonna call us diluted/polluted because we established our own culture."

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65. @tolucontent3795
"That was 2 out of the 10 people he interviewed…  every Africa doesn’t feel that way …"

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66. @lozi4163
"Show me videos of black South Africans leaving SA to America and interviewing young black Americans in universities asking them about South Africans, i mean we saw how ignorant old black Americans were regarding the Tyla issue let's not act holly. Until we come there and interview your young people in colleges then you might need to get off your high horse"
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A number of African Americans were very critical of Grammy award winning South African singer Tyla saying that she is Coloured and not Black. The Coloured category in South Africa is very different than the old, no longer used referent "Colored" as it was used to refer to African Americans. Read comment #70 below.

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67. @TheIrieman15
"Can't have it both ways. You guys are the most visible and influence black culture so you will be the most talked about."

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68. @ramerehoward9964
"@TheIrieman15  we shouldn’t get so much negative energy from other melanated kindred when we have always shown support & respect to our melanated kindred now us FBA’s have got feed up with it and are in straightening mode."

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69. @mandisamthembu9230
"I don't think very highly of black Americans after they attacked Tyla  for calling herself Coloured. My thing is people were refusing to be teachable, it's a race that is valid here in South Africa.. Our traumas are really not share you guys.. Pissed me off honestly, but we move 😅"
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A number of African Americans took exception to Grammy award winning South African singer saying that she was Coloured and not Black. However, it's important to recognize that the South African referent "Coloured" isn't the same thing as the old, retired term "Colored" that was used in the United States as a referent for African Americans. Some Black Americans (prior to the 1980s) referred to themselves and tp other Black Americans as "Colored" as a way of emphasizing their mixed racial ancestry and de-emphasizing their Black African ancestry. Tyla wasn't doing that in June 2024 when she shared on "The Breakfast Club", a very popular African American radio show/podcast that that she is "Coloured in South Africa and Black in the United States".  https://ew.com/tyla-addresses-her-racial-identity-never-denied-my-blackness-8663341 

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70.  @shanicescheepers1487
"Love the video Coop. I think you should probably get an older crowd for this topic maybe 10+ older, these students are still trying to find themselves, some just came out of school and might still need to learn more about what culture is.

Also I think the coloured topic is another one that confuse Americans because not all coloureds come from black or white dads some of us already have a long bloodline of mixed males because I read some of the comments on the coloured opinions in the video and it’s still misinterpreted as u have a black dad, ur black💀

Speaking for myself here, my dad has khoisan ppl in his bloodline where a netherland white male came and then a xhosa and then his coloured dad and then him and it became coloured because when it cane to his dad a lot of the san, netherland white and xhosa traditions and believes  were intertwined with each other

My mother has khoisan, netherlands white and cape malay(her dad) family where a lot of muslim and indian believes are mixed so being coloured here is not as straightforward as black and white u guys are forgetting the indigenous and oldest group of people in South Africa, the San. That’s why I say being coloured comes from a long bloodline of different believes and cultures that were mixed and made one.

Just to add we kept the Scheepers(Netherlands) Surname because my grandfather was a son to a single mother(who was also a mixed race woman)"

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71. @Christocentric_Lifestyle

"Guys please don't take offence of anything being said here. These are random people expressing their opinions, and they don't necessarily stand for all of us. And most are pretty stupid to be honest."

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72. @KamanoPilane2
"They're not stupid but are kids expressing themselves on their experiences"

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73. @TheDiaryofaRhubarbie
"Diluted and polluted gosh that hurts. I want to react to this but, idk. I do agree we are not the same."

**
74. @Mattilainen45
"Black Americans qnd coloureds both generally have some European ancestry, so they're kinda similar in that regard."

**
75. @evamathebula4448
"The opinion that black American culture is diluted or that they don't have culture is very common among afrikan not just south afrikan and its very wrong I see this rhetoric on twitter all the time. I say this a s a South afrikan. First how they dance, music their dialect AAVE, how they cook the foods during thanksgiving different from others is the same country, their music, is CULTUREEEEE. n we have appropriated most of it globally. I'm not sure if everyone do it but when they get married they jump a broom. A tradition they created because their marriage wasn't recognised during them dayz. And we pay lobola.

Just because they can't trace their tribe from Ghana or Nigeria from literally multiple generations and live or speak what that trobe is doesn't mean they are uncultured. Traditions and cultures are created and evolve. We have also evolved in our culture and traditions as well. Does that mean we're diluted now? No. Anyway it's all❤❤❤that's my 2s"

**
76. @apextraxx2903
"@18:39 This is the problem. They don't seem to realize that in America WE ARE THE CULTURE. That's why you see people around the world dressing and imitating us. The food, the music, the CIVIL RIGHTS black people enjoy across the world started was achieved by us and advocated for by us in other places, MULTICULTURALISM was not a thing until we fought for it here and integrated and then heavily advocated to end apartheid in Africa, sports heroes that broke racial barriers and created a path for athletes to compete and make millions in America, the thousands if patents & inventions etc etc etc.....we are Not Africans living in America, we are Black Americans that built America...THE CULTURE AND THE FOUNDATIONAL PHYSICAL THINGS WERE BUILT WITH OUR HANDS... during and after slavery.

 

With that being said y'all have some adorable woman.😀"

**
77. @mamadeebuildsahouse
"Point of correction: it's not Wits it's Vats! Secondly those few people aren't good sample. I say this as a South African American who is Xhosa."
-snip-
This comment refers to the nickname of University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

**
Reply
78. @MsMak03
"@mamadeebuildsahouse  it’s pronounced ‘Vits’, like ‘Bits’"

**
Reply
79. @KamanoPilane2
"You can't say people aren't good example when bcoz they are not sharing same sentiments as you. What's proud South African American Xhosa? 😂😂😂 Waitse la re tshegisa."
-snip-
Google translate from Xhosa to English
"Waitse la re tshegisa" = "You've been making fun of us."

**
Reply
80. @mamadeebuildsahouse
"@KamanoPilane2  No, i understand that. I feel like there is always a versus being created which isn't helpful. Many South Africans aren't exposed to americans, they rely on what they see on television which is very skewed and often a misrepresentation. So, i wanted people to know that the sample does not represent us as south africans. And for me personally, I've lived with Americans for more than 26 years.  and ordinary americans and you will be shocked how lovely they are." 

****
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Visiting comments are welcome.

South Africans Explaining The Game Of Rugby to People From The United States

SKRAPN3L, Nov 30, 2016Hilton College 2015 Highlights Video

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video of  highlights of  the game of Rugby that were played in 2015 by Hilton College, a South African high school.*

This post also includes selected comments from the discussion thread of several YouTube videos published by people from the United States who were trying to understand the game of Rugby. 
The content of this post is presented for recreational and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are associated with the video that is showcased in this post. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
* I selected this YouTube video to show scenes from South African high school Rugby
games as well as scenes of fans watching those games. This selection doesn't mean to imply
anything about which South African high school team was or is the best high school Rugby team.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/11/south-africans-share-information-about.html  for the pancocojams post entitled "South Africans Share Information About Their Custom Of Performing War Cries In High School, Part I: videos & general information." The links for the other posts in that series are given in that post.  South African war cries and flashes that featured in those videos are performed during high school games of  Rugby.

****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM YOUTUBE DISCUSSION THREADS
The sources for these comments are given in no particular order.

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

DISCUSSION THREAD #1
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcHh86gASVU American reacts to South African 🇿🇦Schoolboy Rugby 🏉 published by Jasmine TV, June 18, 2021
1. nOx, 2021
"Rugby was invented in England in the late 1800s. So the countries that play the sport are mostly countries that were colonised by the English. Countries like Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Canada & the US to some degree. Then there are some good teams (countries) that took up the sport pretty early on in it's infancy for various reasons such as the upper class or aristocracy taking a liking to the values of rugby. These include France, Georgia, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain,etc.

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport outside of the US and then Cricket is the 2nd most played sport internationally. Cricket is popular for similar reasons to rugby, with colonization being the main reason it's played throughout the world. Baseball came out of Cricket, they changed and simplified the rules to suit the American audience and make it more family friendly. American football came from rugby as you probably already know.

Oh yeah, those are school kids in this video. Much love from South Africa 🇿🇦"

**
2. Michael Hough,2021

"Rugby in South Africa is religion. We are fed mieliepap and braaivleis from birth! Mieliepap is like grits, only from maize meal. Braaivleis is almost like BBQ, just with bigger pieces of meat! We are bred to be big, strong and fearless when it comes to Rugby. It is in our DNA! Here we have 2 choices, you are either a Rugby player or supporter. Both have equal passion for the sport! Watch a few games, I am sure you will enjoy it. After the Rona you need to come to South Africa, sit at Ellis Park Stadium and watch the Springboks (South African National Team) vs All Blacks (New Zealand National Team). The best Rugby match with the best atmosphere in the world! Cheers from South Africa.

**
E, 2022
"We, black and white eat PAP pronounced PUP 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣"

**
Reply
Shanaaz Abrahams, 2022
"School them my friend ."

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DISCUSSION THREAD #2
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOi8hxTwfnE NFL FAN REACTS TO South AfricanSchool Rugby Boys published by Dar Reacts, Oct 24, 2022
1. MzanziMan, 2022
"You start playing rugby when you can walk. At school you start in the first grade, full contact. They need to stop that tag nonsense going on in America"

**
2. Jermaine Wagner, 2022
"Start playing rugby from under 6. The youngsters in the video are about 15 - 17."

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3. Vondre du Toit,2022
"so when you go to high School at the age of 14 the most good rugby players go to what we call a rugby school. The thing is when you go to a rugby school you get better coaching and you'll get seen easier by scouts. The players you just reacted to, they are between 17 and 19 years old. After that, and if you are good enough you sign a contract to go play for a south african club and there the springbok scouts will see you play. By that you stand a chance so play for the springboks, but a lot of them don't make it to the springboks so they go overseas and play for a club there. Hope you understand the whole picture now."

**
4. Marco Laubscher
"we start at grade 1 age 7"

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DISCUSSION THREAD #3
From Dev you wildin, Jan 1, 2022

REACTING TO RUGBY CLIPS, TRYING TO LEARN THE GAME OF RUGBY.

 

REACTING TO RUGBY HIGHLIGHT

VIDEO MADE BY : DIE HARD RUGBY

1. Eury Nomos, 2022
"Hey bro, nice vid.

A lot of the difference in NFL versus Rugby hits is the rule differences, but also the stamina required.

When you might need to make 30 or so tackles a game and keep getting up after, it's hard to make a lot of big hits.

Both games have made big efforts to get a lot safer in the last 10 years though, so it's a bit unfair to compare them right now.

Shout-out to the Seahawks for bringing Rugby inspired defence in to the NFL.

It's pretty hard to summarise the rules, it'll take a while you learn everything.

Here's a start:

https://youtu.be/smnuRhNtT2E

**
2. Rit the Rugger, 2022
"Sorry I'm late.

I see you've received some good explanations already but I can help. I can help because I'm an American that started playing rugby in the early 70s and played coached and reffed for decades. My experience playing American football and basketball helps me explain things to other Americans.

Don't look at rugby as a mixture of "football and soccer". It's more a mix of football and basketball. Basketball was invented by a rugby player living in the mid-west looking for something to do to stay fit in the winter.

Now, I didn't see anyone mention a very important concept to you. That concept is called "Advantage".

American football is a very static game. Play will stop after a few seconds. When the ref sees an infraction he can easily wait for the inevitable stoppage and ask the non-offending captain,

"What do you want? The penalty or the play?"

Since rugby is supposed to flow. The Rugby ref is supposed to promote flow so when he sees an infraction he will call out "Advantage! [ non-offending team's color]" and point to that team with an open palm.

He will then watch to see what develops. If the non offending team gains enough of an advantage (yardage or opportunity) the ref will make no call and decalitre "Advantage over". Hearing they have an Advantage the attacking team will often try trickier plays knowing that if they fail they will get a 'do over'.

If the non-offending team loses the Advantage then the ref will blow his whistle and take play back to wherever the infraction occurred and apply the proper sanction. This location might be 30 meters back and all the way across the field from where the ref was when he blew the whistle.

That's enough for you to take in at one time so I'll let you absorb it for now."

**
Reply
3. Keeran Beg, 2022
"When I was brought to an American football game while visiting relatives in the states I had almost the reverse of that problem.

A game of rugby lasts perhaps 110 minutes. Two 40 minutes halves of actual playing time, a 15 minute half time stoppage, and perhaps 5 minutes of injury or stoppage time where the clock is actually stopped. If kick off is at 3:00 the game is definitely over by 5:00.

For 60 minutes of actual playing time an American football game can last well over 3 hours with stoppages, about the same as a T20 cricket match!"

**
4. Douglas Christensen
"Looks like everyone has covered the basics, more or less. Having a good understanding of American football is a plus when diving into rugby because American football is descendent from the earlier form of rugby. With the Atlantic in the way, the two sports diverged dramatically when trying to solve the various problems in those early years.

So, I'll just go over some interesting things that the two sports have or had in common.

Football used to require you to touch the ball down past the goalline just like rugby. That is why it is called a touchdown, though it was originally two words - touch down.

Rugby and the early form of football was more interested in kicking goals than carrying the ball over the line, just like association football (soccer). The difference being that the students at rugby like kicking the ball over the "crossbar" (at the time, it was usually a rope or chain, not a dedicated goalpost) whereas the students at the schools playing what would eventually become soccer liked to kick under the crossbar. If you look at the goals used for rugby, football, and soccer, you'll notice they are nearly the same size - that's not an accident, since they are all derived from the same sport.

The rugby try and American football touchdown were originally not scoring plays at all. They gave the team the right to "try" for a goal without the other team able to interfere. Until both sports created a scoring system, they used "goals" just like soccer.

In fact, rugby and American football originally didn't have end zones/goal areas. This is why the goal posts are on the try line in Rugby and used to be in American football (still is in Canadian football). In American football, the use of a dedicated end zone came about after the legalization of the forward pass. Before this, you scored a touchdown/try by touching the ball past the goalline... or by just going past the goalline when football modified the rules to no longer press the ball down.

Rugby has a throw-in system in a similar style to soccer: the ball goes out, the other team gets to throw it in. Except in Rugby, it must be in a straight line from the sideline and both teams try to lift their players up to catch it. American football had a similar thing in the 1800s until they scraped it in a series of major overhauls leading into the 1900s.

Rugby union has no system in place to limit how long a team has control of the ball like American football's downs or rugby leagues tackles. Football was initially like this as well, but Walter Camp created the three downs to go five yards to speed up the game. (That was obviously changed to 4 downs to go 10 eventually, though Canadian football kept the 3 downs)

Rugby games are split into halves like soccer, and the clock runs nearly non-stop as well (there are some exceptions in Rugby). Each half of rugby is 40 minutes, but the half doesn't end until the ball is dead. This can lead to some extremely exciting ending where a team behind by a little can lead a comeback by keeping the ball alive and slowly marching down the field. A player being tackled does not cause the ball to go dead, so as long as it is kept alive and in that team's possession, they can win even after the 80 minutes is up.

Like American football, you can pass the ball as many times as you like backward, but never forward in Rugby. Since football guarantees you keep possession unless you commit a turnover, tossing the ball around is frowned upon. In Rugby, possession is never guaranteed and a lack of a forward pass makes movement down field a slow rolling battle. Passing the ball around can get you out of large piles of bodies quickly.

There is no blocking in Rugby. You may not interfere with an opponent going for the ball carrier.

There is a concept similar to football's line of scrimmage. When a player is tackled, he must release the ball. Players must be onside before playing for the ball. A player caught on the wrong side is not a foul unless he tries to go for the ball (for either team). You must get yourself into an onside position before engaging in normal play.

To move the ball forward large distances, kicking is utilized. Unlike a football punt, any player onside at the kick can field in ball. This can lead to players kicking the ball and a teammate (or the person kicking) catching the ball down field almost like a forward pass. It doesn't have to be caught, though. You can find many a highlight video of a player getting the ball from a kick after a very fortunate bounce.

The last thing I'm mention is drop goals. This is the rugby equivalent to field goals (worth 3 points in Rugby union as well, only 1 point in Rugby League). These kicks are performed during play, they are not set plays like American football. To perform a drop goal, you just drop the ball on the ground and kick it AS it is starting to bounce off the ground. This is still legal in American football, and there are a few instances where it has happened and makes the news, but the shape of the ball makes it very difficult. Penalty kicks and conversion kicks (like football's extra point) can be done from a kicking tee."

**
Reply
5. John Linde, 2020
"Thank you SO much for this history lesson! I was an NFL fan for many years, until the strike/lockout of 2011, when they (both players AND team owners) displayed that money was more important to them than their fans. Several of my European friends suggested I take a look at Rugby, and I've been trying to learn the rules ever since. I've got a decent grasp of the game, and have a few favorite players. While there IS a Rugby league in the US, it's not very popular. I think that's because most Americans don't have the attention span to watch the game. Personally, I love it! I learned nearly as much from the 2 minutes it took to read your post, as I did in the first 3 years of watching the game and just trying to understand it as I went.

I was completely lost on the "ADVANTAGE" called by an official, as no one had ever explained that one. It makes complete sense the way you put it. Also, learning WHY the NFL calls it a "Touchdown" was very interesting, and why Rugby still calls it a "Try".

So, again, thank you very much! I admit that I don't have the access to Rugby games that I would like, but I'll often purchase special streaming packages to watch the Six Nations, and some other leagues when I have the chance."

**
6. Rhoetus Ochten, 2020
"When I first joined a rugby club, as a former American football player, they told me the main differences were:

Only pass backwards.

Only block after the tackle, not before.

Wrap your arms on a tackle. -this one is why you see a lot more "big hits" coming from the ball carrier than tacklers in rugby, because the ball carrier is under no such restrictions.

People like to play up the start/stop of American football to the "flow" of rugby, but rugby isn't exactly nonstop movement for 80 minutes. With 15 players a side, most are just standing around or walking at any given time.

AmericN football is a bunch of specialists doing highly distinct things, whereas rugby players are usually much more jack of all trades. Take kicking, for instance: a rugby player can miss three kicks in a match, and it was just a bad match... an American kicker misses three kicks in a game and he's probably looking for a new job.

At the end of the day, they're just two different games with a bit of overlap; comparing them means missing out on what makes both of them very special."

**
7. Vitor Avila
"I’m a little late, but I hope I can help you out

A brief and very basic explanation of Rugby Union(Or just simply Rugby), using American Football as a reference

- Like in Am. Football, you score by moving the ball to the end of the field(pitch) and/or by kicking the ball through the Uprights(goal posts). The "touchdown" is called "Try', and its worth 5 points and allows you a conversion kick(equivalent to the "extra point") for 2 points. You can also go for a penalty kick( similar to a field goal) or for the  drop goal, both for 3 points.

- No forward passes are allowed, but forward kicks are. Passes must be made laterally or backwards

- You can only tackle the player with the ball. You cannot tackle above the shoulder and tackler has to attempt to wrap their arms. It is illegal to push, shoulder-charge, or to trip a player using feet or legs(i.e. no blocks, only proper tackles)

- When the player is tackled, the play is not over. Rather, the ball handler has to release the ball, and it's considered in dispute. Normally other players will try to protect the ball (Ruck)in order to continue advancing.

- Each team has 15 players. There are different positions, but all 15 players will both attack and defend. Most of them will play the whole match(2 halves of 40 minutes), no time offs, only the halftime . There are subs, to a maximum of eight, both for tactical/technical and physical/injuries reasons.

There are a lot of other topics and nuances(fouls, scrums, mauls, lineouts, positions, tactics, etc) but those are the bases of the game, and i believe that's enough to have a idea of how to play the game"

****
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Visitor comments are welcome.

 

 

Videos & Comments About South African High School "Flashes" (spelling with blazers during sport war cries performances)

PinPro Media,  Feb 15, 2020

Theme: Game On (Runners-up) Flashes are performed by not more than 650 learners and not to exceed 5:30min. (This is the same view the judges had.) © PinPro Media

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Edited by Azizi Powell Latest Update - Nov. 24, 2022 This is Part II of this pancocojams series on South African high schools' war caries. This post showcases videos of and comments about South African high school students performing "flashes" ("blazer spellings") while chanting war cries at their sport events. This post also presents an excerpt from a Wikipedia article about South African high school flashes ("blazer spelling"). The Addendum to this post is divided into two sections: An online excerpt about the unequal South African educational system is included in Pancocojams Editor Note #1. My Pancocojams Editor Note #2 presents my opinions about how American based vlog discussion threads provide more information about South African culture than discussion threads for South African based vlogs. I included these same editorial notes in Part I of this pancocojams series. Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/11/south-africans-share-information-about.html for Part I of this pancocojams post. That post showcases two YouTube videos of South African high school war cries, and provides selected comments from those videos' discussion thread. An online excerpt about the unequal South African educational system is included in Pancocojams Editor Note #1. My Pancocojams Editor Note #2 presents my opinions about how American based vlog discussion threads provide more information about South African culture than discussion threads for South African based vlogs. Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/11/south-africa-high-school-war-cry.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post showcases videos and comments from several YouTube discussion threads about South African high school war cries that were inspired by the African American Hip Hop artist Future's 2017 Hip Hop record "Mask Off". For comparison's sake, the Addendum to that post showcases a YouTube video of an African American marching band performing "Mask Off" at a United States university sports event. The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural, recreational, and educational purposes. All copyrights remain with their owners. Thanks to all those who are featured in these showcased videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. -snip- Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/11/south-africans-explaining-game-of-rugby.html for the related pancocojams post entitled "South Africans Explaining The Game Of Rugby to People From The United States". **** SHOWCASE VIDEO #2: Michaelhouse Spell 2018 HomeThomas Witherspoon, May 7, 2018
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO #3: South Africa! These MTBS Flashes are lit!!

That Fire LA, Sept. 10, 2020
****INFORMATION ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA'S MTBS FLASHES
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBS#:~:text=MTBS%20is%20an%20annual%20interschools,and%20includes%20cheerleading%20and%20flashes.
"MTBS is an annual interschools athletics competition (the largest in South Africa) held between four high schools located in Bellville, Western Cape. The competition is mainly an athletics meeting and includes cheerleading and flashes.[1] These schools are: D.F. Malan High School, Tygerberg High School, Bellville High School and Stellenberg High School. [2] The name is a derived acronym from the names of the schools in that order. The first MTBS took place in 1994. This was the brain child of the late Frans du Toit, a retired teacher from JG Meiring High School in Goodwood and a part time sports journalist.[3]

The flashes consist of each school showing theirs images while sitting on the pavilion. [4] This performance (named flashes) consists of a medley of songs during which the pupils create a "human LCD screen" on the pavilion. This is achieved by them opening and closing their school blazer at unique pre-determined moments, with each student effectively functioning as a pixel and thus allowing images and animations to be displayed. Other parts of the school uniform (such as dresses and socks) may also be used, but no other props (such as cards) are allowed. Each school' adheres to a specific theme that has been chosen by that particular school. The annual attendance is an estimated 12,000 spectators. The athletics and flashes are attended by the whole community. It receives coverage by South African newspapers Die Burger, Tygerburger and Rapport. It has also been broadcast on national television channel SABC 2.[1] Similar events exist: most notably in South Korea. Different athletics items take place throughout the day; including short distance sprints, long distance running, hurdles shot put, javelin, long jump, discus, high jump, triple jump and relay races. Two athletes from each school take part in an event, adding up to 8 athletes in each event.

[…]

From 1994 until 2016, there were only 2 categories (Athletics and Flashes) in the competition. (excl. 2004, 2005, 2015, 2016)[5] The Athletics cup is awarded to the school with the highest total score, according to the scoring system. The Flashes and Best Spirit is independently judge. If a school won both it is called "double gold". In 2017 the Best spirit category was added. If a school won all three it is called “triple gold”.[6] [7]”…
-snip-
Here's a YouTube comment exchange that explains how these "flashes" are performed. The comments are from; e from a 2019 video of DF Malan's flashes performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2LjTaZDOOo South African High School Cheer - Is this the best Cheerleaing ever?, published by Bit Media24, August 1, 2019

Dillan Botha,2020
"its a competition between 4 schools in Cape Town's northern suburbs called the MTBS. Bellville, Tygerberg, Stellenberg and DF Malan high Schools participate every year. Give MTBS 2017, 2018, 2019 a search and check the rest. They use excel spreadsheets to create the images. Then each child gets a card with 200 or so "flashes" on, and they learn when the sould open or close their blazers on the music, rythm and cheerleaders in front."
**
Reply
The Real Big Floppa, 2020
"They design it on an app and then print the 'flashes' with each seat having their named flashes, which is either bold and marked with a '(X)' for closed/blue or just normal font for open/white. They then just learn you the queues and keywords. Back in the day before this they'd learn you it by telling each person what they are, but that took ages."

 ****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM A YOUTUBE DISCUSSION THREAD ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN HIGH SCHOOL "FLASHES"
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6A5hrtH18Q [This is the discussion thread for the video given as Showcase Video #3. The vlogger That Fire LA is an African American. Most of his vlog postings are reaction videos of South African contemporary music, dance, and other cultural aspects of South Africa.

A "reaction video" is when the vlogger showcases a video that they have seen for the first time and gives their reaction about that video while encouraging the vlog's visitors to share their comments about that video and/or their reaction to what the vlogger said.]

Numbers are given for referencing purposes only. 
2020

1.Terri Lourens
"MTBS is an acronym for the four High Schools that participate: (DF) Malan, Tygerberg, Bellville and my school Stellenberg High (the green dresses). My first year was 2009 when Stellenberg started a 5 year long singing cup winning streak! Ocean Fever was our theme as we only has one noticeable mistake. MTBS's that predate 2014 are the best as the event (at least the singing part of it) went on a 4 year break so it's a lot smaller and there are 4 years worth of kids doing it for the first time and the rest who only did it once.

Dude we would train for MONTHS to pull this off! We trained harder than the athletes!😂😂 We would SWEAT in those uniforms ALL DAY IN THE SUN. These were honestly some of the best memories of my school career. AND WHEN WE WON! WHEN WE WON! Tears man. Tears everywhere."

**
2. Heather van Os
"I'm from South Africa. These blazer flashes were a big highlight of the year for me! They create such a sense of unity and achievement, having to get several hundred people to all cooperate"

**
3. cherry cub
"this took about 3 weeks if I remember right. we were practicing almost every day for hours. we worked so hard. this is one of the biggest events in our school. we worked so hard, practicing in school time for 2 hours and then practicing together at school at night too. we even had some days where we practiced for the entire day, 8 hours of hard core practice. that's how much we put into this so I'm sooo happy to see that you like it ✨"
**
4. Lauryn Miya
"Bruh these are the interhighs, normally when school kids compete with other schools in athletics the rest of the kids in the different schools compete amongst each other, not sure if it makes sense but while athletes run and compete, the rest of the kids don't just sit and watch, we compete in MTBS with rival schools so its kinda like a double competition. I dont know how to explain it but hope you get the idea.Its just standard, it normally happens in the early start of the year, we practice everyday for months leading upto the competition/athletics day, come hell or sunshine that practice is done, you mess up in the routine, you basically die lol. Everyone in the school has to participate, its actually a big deal, its part of our school culture. The front kids are the seniors and cheerleaders. Its actually fun. Our highschool experience is so fun. So wish I could go back in time."
**

5. Ryan -McBain
"Yo watch Michaelhouse  or Hilton spelling, not on the same level but its before school rugby matches and its lit"

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6. Carl Behm
"BRO I am in stellenberg the ones who did the first flashes"

**
7. Chamu Chamurorwa
"This is fantastic. I recommend you search these mass displays performed by North Koreans."

**
8. Ashleigh Deyzel
"3:31 Green is the colour of the girls dresses (school uniform)"

**
Reply
9. We_love_Brooklyn
"If you look carefully they doing it mostly just with there school jackets that’s it"

 **
Reply
10. Lize-May Gade
"Yup! They are only allowed to use the uniform - so shirts, blasers and the jade school dress"

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11.ATHENKOSI RUBELA
"It takes us 3 weeks to learn the flashes. Check out Stellenberg 2011 and 2012 flashes. They lit"
-snip-
"It's lit" is That Fire LA's catch phrase. Consequently, a lot of his commenters use that phrase. It's lit means "It's really great"("Lit" is an expansion of  the slang use of "fire", "smoking","hot". "the bomb" etc to mean that something is really done well.)

**
12, Xander Groenewald
"WATCH DF MALAN THEY WON 2020 MTBS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 **
13. Vicky Augustus
"Go watch the smaller version of flashes with 350 people like Schools like Nico Malan mtbs is pretty much just a name for an annual sports event"

**
14. Manqona Masidale
"Am South African never seen such thing wow"

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15. Vesh N
"Schools like Hilton, DHS ect. also do this for rugby games just not as good as this."

**
16. KHOTSO KHANYAPA
"These are usually done at rugby games,we used to do them to compete with other schools,we called it "The Big Brag",which school is better,we'd flex etc"

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17.Thabi Anzeel
"In S.A. Sports tournaments is taken very seriously AT schools..We go all out in different ways 🇿🇦🇿🇦"

**
18. Busi Mathe
"What province is this done in??? I'm gonna guess and say western cape  because that province is literally it own country 😂😂😂"

**

19. kindra's korner
"It takes months of preparation and practice. Long tiring hours but after you do it you feel this sensation. There are multiple years of this, Stellenbergs 2018 and 2013 ones are my favorites"

**
20. Hilke Minnie
"Heyyy from South Africa. I am one of the 8 cheerleaders who created and help with the flashes. The rest of us would love to answer all the questions you have regarding the MTBS flashes or even more🤩"

**

Reply

21. Hilke Minnie
"Ooh and I am in Stellenberg High school, the school you reacted to. Thank you sooo much for the feedback💚💚"

**
Reply
22. Betty Ndaba
"Hey @Hilke Minnie how long does it take to get the choreographer right?"

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Reply
23. bronwyn leah
"Betty Ndaba Hi! fellow Stellenberg High School student, also participated in the MTBS, it takes MONTHS, out first 3 months of school is basically dedicated to this, we practice about 5 days a week, 3/5 hours during school time and 3/4 hours a day after school!"

**
24. Frank, the girl.
"I remember practicing for these flashes at high school. It was the best time ever"

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25. Sifiso Dimmock
"I'm South African and I've never seen such in my entire life......Wow"

**
Reply

26. DJ Nasion
"haha private school things"

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Reply
27.Somisa Mhangwana
"@DJ Nasion  we also go to private schools but this is one of those 10k per month schools👀"

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Reply
28. ChristiaanDB1
"Somisa Mhangwana this is actually a government school 😂 completely public"

**

29. Lize-May Gade
"DJ Nasion not at all! All 4 schools are government schools in Cape Town Northern Suburbs!"

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Reply
30. Lize-May Gade
"Somisa Mhangwana nope! Government schools!"

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Reply
31. Amunition Manyaga
"Damn...

I ddnt even know there were public schools for white folks lol. Thought it was a kasi thing."
-snip-
"Kasi" is a South African slang word meaning "hood" / "ghetto".

["Kasi" doesn't appear to be a negative referent.] 

**
Reply
32. Michael Parfitt
"I go to one of the school in this , bro its amazing"

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Reply
33. Edrian Luyt
"I think It's mostly done by schools around Cape Town. And only for Interschool Athletics. Not Rugby matches. I might be wrong about only Cpt Schools, but I also n have not seen it outside Western Cape. (And it's normal public schools)"

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Reply
34. Abakwe Ramafi
"Somisa Mhangwana nah fam my school is almost 10k a month and I can guarantee you we don’t do this at aaaaaallll"

**
35.  Corné Verster
"@Amunition Manyaga  lmao al 4 schools here that took part are public schools mixed genders and races

** 

Reply
36. Bonga Percival
"Where are from if you have never seen this"

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Reply

37.  Corné Verster
"@Bonga Percival  Ikr when these things happen its on the news , tv shows and newspapers 📰"

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Reply

38. Nelly T
"Me too...I've never experienced nor seen this before....This is AMAZING....WOW this country is full of great talent...WOW WOW WOW!!!!"

**
Reply
39.  Jojo Masipa
"Have you never been to a Inter schools athletic meet. They have a cup for the supporters also. It is stunning to watch - every school work so hard!!"

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Reply
60. Alne Barnard
"@Amunition Manyaga  Hahaha no some private schools are way to expensive. There's hundreds of public schools where you can find any colour person."

**
Reply
61. Alne Barnard
" @Edrian Luyt  Having to move around a lot and going to  4 different high schools all in different provinces( Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Western Cape) I can say that  it is only the Western Cape Schools that does this. The other provinces does have interschools for athletics but they don't do the flashes like WC does."

**
62. • B L O O P •
"There were quite a lot of memes of Bellville and Tygerberg coping each other bc their endings were the same😂😂"

****

2021
63. Tiisetso Shakwane
"I'm from SA my first time seeing this. Gotta say it's Lit 🙂"

**
64. CJ Yung
"Damn that’s littty who else enjoying this"

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65. Kolour Gen
"✨🥲This has me bawling my eyes out! To think of how much time and camaraderie our children in South Africa missed this year! My boys are at an all boys’ school and the inter-house singing competition is an annual event which they obviously missed in 2020. Every boy MUST sing and the team spirit is next level! ✨"
-snip-
This comment refers to in-school learning halted and/or sports activities prohibited because of Covi-19.

****

2022

Megan Church
"This takes me back 20 years! I took part in MTBS 1999 - 2003. Every year at the start of the school year, January for us, we would be at school after hours every night from say 5pm-8pm practicing, and every period at school during the day we didn't have class we would be practicing these moves and songs. I was in Malan, we were much smaller than the school featured (Stellies) - I will never forget how bone-chilling their cries were on the pavilion- they always sang lounger and with more force! Loved their songs! One year we stuck thumtags to the bottom of our shoes and did riverdancing- it was so much fun. A great way to participate"...

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ADDENDUM

PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE #1: SOUTH AFRICA'S UNEQUAL SCHOOLS  The South African high schools that are shown in numerous YouTube video compilations performing war cries at sports events is just one small glimpse of South African high schools.

The information that I've gleaned from reading various YouTube discussion threads for South African high school war cries indicates that only a small number of those high schools perform "flashes"/ blazer spellings. Many South African commenters wrote that they had never seen or heard of that custom before watching YouTube videos of it.

It's also important to recognize that many South African high schools aren't like those that are showcased in YouTube videos of war cries/flash performances. Here's an excerpt about the unequal quality of education in South Africa: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/02/south-africa-broken-and-unequal-education-perpetuating-poverty-and-inequality/ February 11, 2020 " South Africa: Broken and unequal education perpetuating poverty and inequality". "The South African education system, characterised by crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and relatively poor educational outcomes, is perpetuating inequality and as a result failing too many of its children, with the poor hardest hit according to a new report published by Amnesty International today.

Broken and Unequal: The State of Education in South Africa calls on the government to urgently address a number of endemic failings in the system in order to guarantee the right to a decent education for every child in South Africa.

[…]

The report details how the education system continues to be dogged by stark inequalities and chronic underperformance that have deep roots in the legacy of apartheid, but which are also not being effectively tackled by the current government.

For example, it brings to the fore that many schools and the communities they serve continue to live with the consequences of the political and economic decisions made during the apartheid era where people were segregated according to their skin colour, with schools serving white communities properly resourced. The result of this modern-day South Africa is that a child’s experience of education still very much depends on where they are born, how wealthy they are, and the colour of their skin.

[…]

South Africa has one of the most unequal school systems in the world. Children in the top 200 schools achieve more distinctions in mathematics than children in the next 6,600 schools combined. The playing field must be levelled. 
Amnesty International visited numerous schools that had insufficient resources to meet the requirements for a decent education and this is borne out by the Department of Basic Education’s own statistics.

According to the Department’s own statistics for 2018, out of 23,471 public schools, 20,071 have no laboratory. Furthermore, 18,019 have no library, while 16,897 have no internet.

Almost 1,000 schools have no sports facilities, while 4,358 have only illegal plain pit latrines for sanitation; 1,027 have no perimeter fencing, essential for teacher and pupil safety, while 239 have no electricity, and 37 have no sanitation facilities at all.”…

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE #2: LEARNING ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA FROM SOUTH AFRICANS COMMENTING ON AMERICAN BASED MUSIC VLOGS I've found that discussion threads for American based vlogger reaction videos about South African music are usually far more informative than the discussion threads published by South Africans.*  For example, the music reaction videos by That Fire LA, and by Mansa Mayne (who also mostly focused/focuses on South African culture and also moved to South Africa in 2022) provide much more information about South African culture because the South African commenters don't take for granted that their readers know what they are watching and writing about. The South African commenters respond to genuine questions that these American based vloggers ask and/or also correct innocent misstatements that those vloggers (and other people who aren't from Southern Africa). As such, these South African commenters understand their role as "cultural ambassadors". 

It also should be noted that these reaction vlog discussion threads also provide opportunities for South Africans and others to share information and explanations about their country with people from their home nation and other people throughout the world. These conversations are also learning experiences for people who aren't actively participating in the discussion threads, but are merely "listening in". Furthermore, these discussion threads provide historical and sociological information and therefore are worthy of archiving, sharing, and studying.  

Thanks to all South African commenters and others for taking the opportunities that YouTube discussion threads provide to share this cultural information that isn't readily found elsewhere online. 
-snip-
*Most South African based YouTube videos of South African high school war cries and/or flashes that I've come across have no comments , very few comments, or comments aren't allowed. Usually, the few comments that are posted to those discussion threads read praise the school and/or the war cry or flash that is showcased, and/or brags about their school being the best. One discussion thread that is an exception to this description is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ9UY-bLlTY "MASK OFF challenge Hilton College" published by Lethu Duncan on May 11, 2017.  This is one of the videos that is featured in Part III of this pancocojams series.
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This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series..

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