Racism hard to stomach 23 years on

THE column “A spur for training in how to handle bigots” (March 26), about the ugly incident at Spur, warrants a response.

It is tragic that, after years of democracy in South Africa, we carry our negative emotions with us from generation to generation, like some kind of treasure.

South Africa still confronts a great racial divide, and there is an urgent need to close that gap as quickly as possible.

It grieves us all to witness the extent to which racial mistrust and animosity still bedevil our democratic nation.

It is evident that there still exists a serious rift in our social fabric when black and white citizens view incidents and headlines through contrasting lenses.

There must be zero tolerance for any form of racism.

The incident at the Spur could have been avoided if both sides had displayed tolerance, restraint, moderation and civility in an awkward situation.

We have come so far, but it seems our journey in defeating racism is far from over.

Let us take time to respect one another. Those who commit vile acts of racism must be ruthlessly prosecuted.

There is no room for racism in South African society.

We sacrificed life and limb for our precious and hard-won nonracial democracy.

We must expunge racial remarks from our vocabulary.

— Farouk Araie, Johannesburg