Shooting From The Hip Carlos Kambaekwa People who often play the devil’s advocate are sometimes accused of hypocrisy, notably when they make criticisms which they do not sincerely endorse; they don’t really believe in the arguments they use or else they know the conclusion of the position they are attacking is true. However, this accusation of hypocrisy misses the point and perhaps in part stems from the negative associations with the word “devil” in the title at the expense of the connotations of the real McCoy in the word “advocate”. It should be well understood hypocrites hide their true intentions and beliefs while those who play devil’s advocate openly encourage their targets to give watertight arguments for their conclusions and to take heed of the force of the strongest arguments on the other side. Often the point of using this strategy is to get someone to give good reasons in support of conclusions to which the devil’s advocate is favorably disposed, thus encouraging them to investigate the justification for views which might turn out to be mere prejudices, or perhaps true conclusions defended by weak arguments. This, despite appearances, is not hypocrisy, but rather part of a sincere pursuit of the truth. Many a time, some people are quick to retreat to the dictionary as the ultimate judge on questions of meaning – for instance, such people will assume the question on the definition of certain words such as Associations and Umbrella Bodies can be simply answered by consulting the best available dictionary, but alas, this is over-optimistic. When journos ask a question such as the difference between Associations and Umbrella Bodies, for heaven’s sake, we are not requesting information of this sort, at least we know roughly how people use the words, but that won’t solve the question of what Associations and Umbrella Bodies are and whether or not certain ways of using the word can be justified. A satisfactory answer to the question will go far beyond a description of linguistic practice and perhaps will tell us whether we are justified in applying the words. To treat the dictionary as the arbitrator in debates of this kind is to give it an inappropriate authority, this is not to say the dictionary cannot be the ultimate judge on some questions; if you want to know how words are conventionally spelt, then it’s cool, this is the place to look. However, to expect a dictionary to provide answers to theoretical questions is a mistake. Giving Private Meanings to Words in Common Use is Humpty-dumptying Dear readers, please pardon my ignorance, but yours truly is still battling to come to terms with a particular definition in the Namibian Sport Act of 2003 – notably Part V which specifically deal with Members of the Executive Organ of National Sports and National Umbrella Bodies. *25 (2) A person may not hold office as a member of the Executive Organ on more than one National Sports Body or National Umbrella Sports Body at the same time. My little or poor understanding on the definition of National Sports Associations and Umbrella Bodies includes the National Sports Commission which is the highest sport authority in this country. This issue has been debated on numerous occasions and has yielded very little success if there was any from the relevant authorities, simply because some people have a different interpretation of justice especially when they have erred. It’s common practice for people in positions of authority not to admit any wrongdoings on their part and to come up with lame excuses, thus allowing them to get away with daylight robbery. If one thing is allowed to happen, then this will inevitably trigger a chain of subsequent undesirable events. Now the fundamental question that needs to be addressed is; if an affiliate is in dispute with the Association where the first respondent is also an Executive Member of the supreme body, where does he or she channel their grievances? If an argument can withstand sustained onslaught from someone scrutinizing it for weaknesses then it may well be a good one; if it can’t, then it should be patched up, or at worst, jettisoned. When admirers describe a notoriously cruel tsotsi as “a truly good chap” this can only be Humpty-dumptying. They have high jacked the words “truly good chap” and used them to mean something quite different from what they usually mean, because words have public meanings and to treat them as if they don’t, usually leads to confusion and ambiguity. Football Leagues All Over the World Are treated as August Events I almost fainted when I heard the Namibian Football Association is to host a one-off tournament for Under-15’s in Grootfontein this coming weekend, with an apparent view to selecting a national team. Don’t ask me where and against whom they would be competing because Namibia will not be represented at this year’s Under-17 Tourney in Togo, despite misleading reports in an English daily that Namibia is to send a team to the tiny West African country for the African Youth Championships. Development is a gradual process and should be treated with great care, surely. Soccer House misses the point big time here – a regional league would have been the real test to identify and unearth young talent and certainly not a one-weekend tournament while a sizeable number of kamashonas are still recovering from the holiday blues. If talented youngsters are unavailable on the said date, then their chances of representing the country would be disappearing into thin air. After all, the Association appears to have developed an undying desire for short-term goals rather than long term ones – or how does one explain a situation where a month-long tournament carries hundred times more in prize money than the league which is a marathon? Or are we perhaps implying the league is less important than knockout competitions or what are the real objectives of these knockout cups. It seems football authorities are only using league activities as a yardstick to promote and relegate teams which is a big mistake, hence the continuous scheduling of two matches within a space of 24 hours. Until such time the league is treated as an august event, Namibian football will always remain in the doldrums. In the meantime, I rest my case, at least for the time being.