Rhodes Must Fall founder: ‘No such thing as an oppressed white person’
Oxford’s Ntokozo Qwabe believes ‘disrupting whiteness is necessary’
Katie WestonNtokozo Qwabe, the Rhodes Must Fall founder who famously reduced a white waitress to tears, has said: “There is no such thing as an oppressed white person.”
The Oxford student and Rhodes scholar previously refused to leave a tip in Cape Town, South Africa, and wrote on the bill ‘WE WILL GIVE TIP WHEN YOU RETURN LAND’.
Ntokozo Qwabe
In response to criticism over his actions, Qwabe stated in an interview with The Daily Vox: “In light of this being an action to disrupt whiteness, I fully stand by it.”
With regards to 24-year-old Ashleigh Schultz, the white waitress, he said: “Quite frankly, her feelings are irrelevant to us”, adding “if you think people demanding a just society in South Africa is a borderline offence then you are clearly out of touch.”
The Oxford law student then went on to explain how her working class status is insignificant as “she is linked to whiteness” and there’s “no such thing” as an “oppressed white person”.
“Her working class status isn’t as material as it is made out to be. By virtue of her skin colour, she is privileged.”
Qwabe then made reference to how her “typical white tears” reinforce patriarchal attitudes. “These innocent white girl tears re-entrenches patriarchy because white women’s tears make white men want to jump in and save white women from all these aggressive black people.”
A petition was recently signed by 40,000 people to remove Qwabe from Oxford University, but the university refused to take away his funding – ironically he was on a Rhodes scholarship.
The 24-year-old waitress Qwabe and his friend reduced to tears
Schultz has previously stated how, despite his racial targeting, Qwabe’s scholarship should not be revoked and instead he should be disciplined by Oxford University.
She said: “He doesn’t want to lose everything for that… for being a little bit of an idiot.”
The Rhodes Must Fall co-founder made it evident in the interview that he was not planning to end his studies, and commented: “My degrees aren’t going anywhere. My scholarship isn’t going anywhere. The petition to have me removed from the University of Oxford is just another white myth.”