Hateful racial slurs in paper are toxic

For a paper like Sowetan, a daily, to almost every other day feed us Richard Mzaidume’s unrepentant racial slurs is an insult to journalistic integrity.

Mzaidume seems to think he is some kind of racial spokesperson for black South Africans with, of course, Sowetan’s editor’s blessings. That he is published so often suggests the editor of this paper admires his racist views.

I have kept my silence over time but Sowetan’s publishing of this racial hawk’s letter “You’ll need luck Mr Ramaphosa” got me hot under the collar. Cyril Ramaphosa is on the right track to challenge corruption and racialism in this country as one reader wrote in Sunday World May 27 and JoMangaliso Mdhlela in Sowetan May 28.

It is only sick-minded sceptics like Mzaidume who remain in the dark days of apartheid and stagnate as the nation moves forward to address sensitively, and not recklessly, racial incidents.

Did Mzaidume think the constitutional death of apartheid meant it would disappear from people’s minds at a stroke of a pen? If so, this reflects his prejudice and stereotyping because his mind is bent on his “very capable of defending” (as he claims in his letter) his offending, intolerable racial views.

He should learn to let go and go with the mainstream racially healing South Africans after a torrid apartheid era.

We need sensitive critics to discourage racism, not reckless people like Mzaidume. Racist Vicky Momberg is serving time for this kind of recklessness and we need laws to discourage verbal and written racism promoted by Mzaidume.

Each time most of us want to buy your paper, we put it back on the racks in anticipation of Mzaidume’s toxic hateful racial slurs that could be in it. We instead buy racially sober newspapers. Tebolane Montshiuwa

Mabopane