Minority spoil it for majority in Rhodes debate
THERE were some interesting letters on the letters page of the Cape Argus of March 24. Mosiuoa Lekota made mention of a few acts of racism.
Sadly the few spoil it for the whole. There are many, many people out there who despise these acts of racism. We hardly ever hear about the good things that people do and there are some amazing people in this country, but who gets the headlines? The rapists, burglars, murderers, child abusers and racists.
We need to start having a dedicated column in the Argus of people doing wonderful things for their fellow man. Look at the outpouring of help during the fires that ravaged our city. People came from every corner and rallied around the firefighters to give support and aid. Whenever Capetonians are asked for help they come to the party. If only we could go back to the heady days of the World Cup in 2010 when the rainbow nation really came together.
Then the excellent letter from UCT student Katy Williams. As she says, to hang used tampons on the Rhodes statue is as bad as throwing faeces. It is disgusting and childish, and diminishes the debate.
As Williams said, if they showed as much energy in worrying about the corruption in every little hamlet of our country as they have about this statue, they would get a lot more support from every corner. Max Price has been more than willing to listen to the students, but the SRC has said they demand the removal of this statue. One gets a lot further by debating rather than demanding, but the students, obviously, haven’t learnt that yet.
Then Colin Bosman makes a few statements in his letter that have to be challenged, one being that all the houses, every road, every bridge is built on the backs of cheap black South African labour.
Ask the minister of housing about this cheap black labour. I am sure she will disagree with you, but at least in a country with so many out of work you have to say they have jobs to go to every day to support their families. There must be many out there who would give their eye teeth for one of these jobs.
He then says to expect a black student to look up to an effigy of Rhodes with respect and admiration is expecting too much. Who on earth said that, Mr Bosman? I think most of the students from the past and the present haven’t given it a thought and certainly no one has said to them they must respect and admire the man. Where did that come from.?
The debate will carry on no doubt with those for and those against. But if only it could be a debate and not a demand. BARBIE SANDLER Claremont IT IS heartening to see that Minister Nathi Mthethwa has entered the fray regarding the debate over the fate of the Rhodes statue at UCT.
It is interesting to note that he indicates that no structural damage should befall the statue. This is the correct call. To damage the statue would not augur well for the thousands of other statues around the country. Structural damage to the statue would send out the wrong signal to local society and the world, and would be nothing short of anarchy as well as being a criminal offence.
After all, we are not barbarians. The statue should simply be removed to a more appropriate place agreed to by all interested parties.
Furthermore, those who attack the Rhodes statue as a means of bringing attention to their efforts for transformation at UCT and other institutions do so in vain as the statue and transformation are two different subjects.
The issue of the statue – standing where it does, representing what it represents, overlooking an institution like UCT – is a stand-alone debate and should not be used to further the cause of those seeking transformation at UCT and in fact all over the country.
As Mthethwa rightfully points out, attacking colonialism and apartheid and seeking transformation is nothing new.
The solution is simple. Relocating the statue to a new more suitable home would go a long way to defusing the situation at UCT. It’s a compromise to all parties and the matter should end there. COLIN BOSMAN Newlands