VIOLENT APATHY HAS BECOME THE NORM

VIOLENCE is a South African language; most loved by bullies. It is so deeply ingrained in our society that we have grown apathetic to its effects. Men teach this language to their children when they turn their wives and/ or girlfriends into punching bags. Schoolmasters cripple defenceless children under the guise of discipline.

Unlearning this culture of violence visited in the home, school, and elsewhere, will be a mammoth task, but one worth the effort.

A generation of young children is at risk of following in violent adults’ footsteps as violence begets more violence. Culture dictates that one should spare not the rod, but should beat the child. However, culture must change if we are to win this battle against violence. Following #MenAreTrash, we once more step into the corridors of ignorance as spectators which is precisely when we need to, for a change, not mind our own business. Sandile Ntuli Joburg avert disaster…” We therefore hope this time around the ANC MPs will follow their minds not hearts…

We are also grateful to Buthelezi for keeping on telling the truth. Mfana Charles Khumalo there is a fundamental difference between the hunger strikes during the South African apartheid era and the one initiated by Marwan Barghouti. In South Africa hunger strikers were freedom fighters imprisoned for their political statements, beliefs and convictions. This was a form of non-violent resistance to garner worldwide attention. In contrast, Barghouti was convicted for the murder of five civilians, and many of the others described as “political prisoners” have likewise been found guilty of horrendous acts of murder, including bombings of buses and cafés. Sadly, the calls for a solidar- ity hunger strike are not with the intention of positive engagement, but rather to drive those party to the conflict further apart. Ben Swartz, SAZF national chairperson, KwaDukuza