Let’s laugh at the racists

Why can’t we laugh at racists? Why can’t we mock them? Why are we forced to take them so seriously? Why must we honour them with great importance?

Two years ago, Penny Sparrow, a white Durban estate agent, said on Facebook that some blacks littering the beaches were like monkeys. It was a silly remark and she is probably a silly person but certainly of no importance. Yet her remark made headlines, caused outrage, and resulted in a court case with a heavy penalty.

In a Citizen column I said we should stop honouring stupid little racists like Sparrow. We should laugh at them or ignore them. A black commentator responded furiously that we should indeed honour Sparrow, put her on a pedestal and take her very, very seriously because she caused such “hurt” to black people.

Oh please! Most black people couldn’t give a damn what Sparrow says about them. They are too grown up to be bothered by such nonsense. It is only a small black elite who seem determined to be hurt and offended by white people’s opinions.

Nobody can be offended by the remarks of someone inferior to them, only by someone superior. The words of an adult can cause hurt or pain to a young child but the words of a child cannot cause hurt or pain to an adult.

These black commentators are not inferior and must stop feeling inferior.

Recently H&M, a clothing group, caused uproar with an advertisement of a sweet little black boy and the caption “Coolest monkey in the jungle”. I don’t know, but I guess the intention of the ad was to mock the racists gently and show a black boy full of confidence, proud of what he was and jeering playfully at racist stereotypes.

This was a stupid mistake by H&M. We are not allowed to mock racists. We are not allowed to show blacks as proud and confident.

We are forced to regard them as helpless victims.

The EFF, probably the worst racist hypocrites in the land, exploited this mistake by sending in rampaging mobs to vandalise H&M shops.

Please, can’t we treat blacks and whites as equal?

Can’t we stop crediting stupid white racists with huge importance – indeed with any importance at all?