"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
I too have known the sting of racism. Whether blatant or subtle, racism leaves in its wake a sense of debasement that threatens to overwhelm one. Yet, the pattern we South Africans have fallen into when some random person makes a bigoted statement about others in our colourful but divided society warrants comment. No sooner is a disparaging remark posted then social media flares up like photographer's flashlights at a red-carpet event. The backlash is intense, sometimes short-lived, always vicious and invariably reported on by our national media.
Comments maligning persons of another race infringe upon their dignity and must be condemned in the strongest terms, because mutual respect for human dignity lifts up humanity. Persons making prejudiced remarks should rightly be called out. However, does bigoted commentary really have to become a 48-hour national news story?
With every incident, another name must be remembered, lest one appears clueless around the water cooler or dinner table. Usually it is the name of some random person who is probably important in his or her social circles. However, they are not significant persons in South Africa's public or private sectors, nor do they enjoy the privilege of being an example to many. If racial rants emanate from persons in charge of education or other institutions of civil society, then yes, the resulting twitterstorm warrants reporting on by our national media. The amplification of bigoted remarks made by the insignificant, that would probably only have been read by those who follow or befriend them, serves little purpose. There is not much value in reporting on the resultant social media fallout in the national press. Such coverage in the national press only serves to confirm that we are an imperfect nation.
The challenges we face in South Africa are many. They are difficult to solve and require all of us to apply our minds for the betterment of our country. Coming up with creative solutions is tough, thus we seem to welcome the 48-hour mind-capturing backlash after every racist rambling of some random person. This pattern of racist comment, accompanied by venomous backlash, and then reported on nationally, does our country a disservice.
Each time a twitterstorm breaks out because of some bigoted comment, the frenzy occupies the head-space of those who engage with the comment. The minute it requires to create a hashtag, to tweet or retweet, means that sixty seconds are lost. Precious time is lost, in which we did not engage with our bigger societal problems. On the other hand, there are many who do not engage, but simply say "there we go again". With every internal eye roll, we run the risk of becoming desensitised, potentially not being outraged when an influential person in our society makes an offensive remark, because we have heard it so many times before.
Our national media should refrain from reporting on the twitter flare-ups when racist comments are made by the inconsequential; much like some in the mainstream media in the US refuse to focus on the shooter after a school shooting.
We are the children and grandchildren of apartheid, a system based on racial separation by a myriad laws, so maybe it should not surprise us when prejudice raises its ugly head. Maybe we should accept that we all have opinions about other groups in our society. Some opinions are positive, some are negative. Our collective shock and outrage every single time an offensive opinion is expressed only serves as an escape from the real challenges we face as a country.
We act as if we all went through a factory reset the day Madiba became our president in 1994. The uncomfortable truth is that because of the divisive nature of apartheid, we all have some stereotypes or prejudices lurking inside of us. Disagree? Check what you think the next time some "other" cuts in front of you in traffic ...
Being descendants of apartheid is analogous to having had the childhood illness chickenpox, which is caused by the varicella zoster virus. The virus remains dormant within us and it may flare up in the form of shingles when our immune system is compromised. Not all of us who had chickenpox will get shingles, so too not all South Africans will express themselves or act in a narrow-minded manner. Under favourable circumstances, racist comments will appear on social media.
However, such comments say something about the condition of the perpetrator more than it says about those at whom it is directed. *Whether it is the PR exec boarding a plane to Africa or an estate agent spewing about beaches or some obscure and drunk Hout Bay resident, we must accept that in our diverse society there are those who lack the capacity to engage meaningfully and who will always resort to incendiary name-calling or insulting stereotypes.
We should let those who scour social media for incidents of bigotry do what they do. Once they find intolerant comments, they call it out. They may even lay a complaint with the Human Rights Commission or lay a charge of crimen injuria at the police. Making a national media story out of the random racist ramblings of the insignificant elevates their importance.
Our national media should refrain from reporting on the twitter flare-ups when racist comments are made by the inconsequential; much like some in the mainstream media in the US refuse to focus on the shooter after a school shooting. When the outrage is limited to the twitterverse, the media are free to focus on solutions. It is possible to implement education programmes and run awareness campaigns that explain what racism is and the effect it has on those who are subjected to it.
However, this can only happen if we acknowledge that we are products of a race-based system and accept that we all have the potential to say things that infringe upon the dignity of others. Such recognition will help us understand that there will be racist comments in our society from time to time. It is imperative that we choose our battles. The racist ramblings of someone who is of little consequence in the greater South African society should not be given the same significance as when such comments are made by a person with a greater sphere of influence. In any case, it really does not bother the magnificent baobab when a dassie scratches itself against its bark, but the baobab will notice a big old elephant. Sweating the small stuff is like being on a spinning-bike: it gives us something to do, but we do not move forward.
*A Chinese proverb says: An insult always says more about the person uttering the insult than about the one being insulted.