Government now losing sympathy

To put it gently, surfing must be one of the smaller mass participation sports in South Africa. So, under the lockdown restrictions, who really cares that surfers are not allowed to go into the waves and have fun? Did their protests in Durban and Cape Town this week really merit the media coverage they got? And were these protests deliberately orchestrated to get media mileage? And were these not the complaints of a privileged group of people who could easily get their exercise some other way?

Those are legitimate questions and, in asking them, we point out that government has a reasonable reason for the prohibition on people going into the sea: if they get into difficulties, they will have to be rescued in an operation which could expose rescuers to infection with coronavirus.

Yet, on the other hand, this seemingly minor – and possibly unjustified – protest is a symptom of a greater and growing issue … people are becoming more and more frustrated by the lockdown and its social and economic consequences.

It doesn’t help that the security authorities have been particularly heavy-handed and inflexible in applying the letter of the restriction law. It looked plainly absurd that they arrested a man in Muizenberg for standing still and “not exercising”.

Irrational actions like that, as well as repeated infringements of basic human rights by law officials and soldiers who know they’re largely indemnified from prosecution, are starting to see the government lose sympathy from many in the wider population.

These people went along with the restrictions because they believed they were necessary to stop Covid-19 in its tracks, or at least slow it down.

The price being paid – a devastated economy and increasing loss of liberties – is starting to become too high. The government needs to take note.