Winnie will be remembered as a pioneer of freedom

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela played one of the biggest roles of any freedom fighter to liberate our country from a racist, bigoted denialist past.

Like all of us she was not perfect; she made mistakes like we all do. The criticism she is receiving from many quarters is out of context.

I was born to privilege and lived through apartheid in a sheltered environment, but I attended a multiracial school. The parents of non-white kids were seen by some to be apartheid sympathisers because they were wealthy. That was so far from the truth.

They were professional people who had created a successful life in extremely difficult circumstances with vile laws working against them.

They were revolutionaries, the pioneers of black economic emancipation. They, too, were criticised out of context.

Mama, also a pioneer of emancipation, will be remembered for her will, sacrifice and determination to free her people.

Sean McDonald, Knysna

Momberg appeal will fail

Congratulations to magistrate Pravina Raghoonandan for a fair, well-thought-out and balanced judgment in the Vicki Momberg matter.

I have practised as an attorney for 38 years and know this was an appropriate judgment and sentence. I believe it will be upheld on appeal.

Ebrahim Ameer, Reservoir Hills

Malema deserves the same

I accept that Vicki Momberg is deemed a racist (Sunday Times editorial, April 1) and has been handed a significant sentence.

However, you state (with reference to Malema’s “slit the throat of whiteness”) that “his words have the virtue, if one can call it that, of referring to the condition of white superiority”.

Your columnist has created a grave error of what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

If Momberg gets three years, Julius deserves the same.

Where in the world can one publicly slate another race group with impunity and thereby increase racial tensions and yet get away with it?

John Boulle, Bloemfontein

Forget Mars, save Earth

Re “Race for the Red Planet” (April 1), let’s use all the billions of dollars to fix this beautiful planet of ours first.

The possibility of living on another planet is hundreds of years away but the destruction of this planet and this species called humans is just around the corner.

Without Earth, living on Mars will be pointless.

Gustav Lindemann, Tamboerskloof

Bowls no longer in whites

I eagerly follow the fortunes of South Africa’s athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Australia. In the article “Our golden generation” (April 1) your correspondent David Isaacson incorrectly described the Proteas lawn bowlers as “gallant warriors in white”.

Like many modern sporting codes, bowls attire has moved with the times. The outfits for club, district (there are 20) and international teams are most colourful and superbly designed.

Our “warriors” are indeed formidable; South Africa’s bowlers are among the best in the world, but they play in the Protea green and gold.

Alan Simmonds, media officer for Bowls South Africa

Social media part of free speech

In the article “Social media? I remember it well. It brought people together to turn on each other” (April 1), Michael Deacon’s opinion is that this new digital era has allowed what I assume to be malevolent entities “to spread conspiracy theories, lies and propaganda from hyper-partisan political blogs and fake news sites, resulting in the undermining of democratic elections, the death of trust in public figures, the unstoppable rise of extremism, and the eventual collapse of civil society”.

On the same day I received an e-mail requesting me to electronically sign a petition to add my support to the #DeleteFacebook campaign because of its unlawful collection of members’ data.

While there is some merit in what commentators like Deacon have to say, we as civil society are now at a crossroads.

Do we effectively stop the right of people, organisations and political parties to have their say and to interact on a direct level with target sectors, or do we leave exposure and coverage solely up to the mainstream media?

Can it be guaranteed that all mainstream media organisations are disseminating facts and reporting objectively?

Should the basic human rights of freedom of expression and of association be sacrificed because a section of social media constitutes fake news?

A further question: is “fake news” information that is patently untrue or narratives that are deemed misleading or fake because some don’t agree with the prevalent popular narrative in a particular society?

Shane Brody, Eastern Cape

Facebook to fight crime

Michael Deacon’s article cracked me up. However, I would like to believe that 10 years from now Facebook will have turned into a global tool used to solve crimes.

An example close to home is the case of the two Department of Justice employees who were suspended after they referred to a black colleague as a baboon and a monkey on Facebook.

Johannes Tshidada, Johannesburg

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