Racism is rife and white colleagues must call it out
THE anger directed at the racist Stellenbosch student is myopic and fallacious
South Africans have become accustomed to reactive euphoria that only lasts for a few days. This has happened all too often – even our distant enemies have observed the trend. Whoever wants to destroy us as a nation can easily exploit this to our detriment, unfortunately.
We tend to put so much energy and scorn on isolated incidences that happen to receive media attention, yet eat and breathe racism on a daily basis. Sadly, once the social media frenzy dies down we pat each other on the back and say we have confronted the issue head-on, and life goes on.
The South African transformation agenda is just a complete façade.
Stellenbosch is a microcosm of society. Racism in South Africa is rife, and worsening every day. Ironically, people who are the perpetrators of this inhumane behaviour are insolently going about their business quietly.
They socialise their children in this doctrine, and in turn their kids demonstrate utter disdain for black people. One does not need to be Einstein to see this; it rears its ugly head in every aspect of their behaviour.
Black people choose to hide behind Mandela reverence and the Constitution. It seems to me, black people in South Africa have subconsciously accepted that they are inferior and there is nothing they can do about it.
When incidents such as this happen in spaces like universities, the same blacks rush to their television screens and social media to lament the known fate. They scream at the top of their lungs as if this is a completely new phenomenon, yet on a daily basis they sit in boardrooms, share a beer, play sports and share company dividends with these racists and call them our friends, colleagues and partners.
South Africa is a beautiful country on paper, it has all the ideals of a rainbow nation. It sells itself to the world as one people, who embrace diversity and oneness yet in reality, racism is inherent and vexed.
Until the racism debate is held brazenly and a spade is called a spade, it will continue to haunt black people until they do not feel it anymore. Black people think that it is enough to have power and to pass laws and regulations to end racism or to allow it a natural death.
Racism is a socially constructed behaviour, one is taught to be racist, no one is born racist. It will therefore take the process of unlearning racism to end it. No amount of laws will put an end to racism.
Karl Marx explains racism at two levels: capitalist relations of production and their ideological forms and ideological forms that manifest themselves in an array of discriminatory practices.
In the context of South Africa, the means of production are still in the hands of the minority (white) and ideologically they still feel superior to the majority (blacks). Their superiority complex manifests itself in the discriminatory practices that they socialise their kids into and in turn, their kids behave in a manner that dehumanises and demeans black kids.
The Huis Marais incident is just the tip of the iceberg and should be treated as such. To end racism in South Africa, it will take white leaders, white celebrities, white establishments and ordinary white communities to say enough is enough.
It will take our fellow white colleagues at work, in churches, at schools to say “Not in my name”. White folks need to be brave enough to call each other out and say racism is inhumane, it degrades people and it perpetuates hatred and it must stop.
It will take white folks to learn not to hide their heads in the sand as if it does not concern them. It will take white South Africans to learn Sesotho or Tshivenda language and speak it in a manner that some black folks speak the Queen’ English.
Ending racism will take white establishments to fully embrace coexisting with blacks.
I dare say, the same energy expected from white counterparts should be demonstrated by the black folks themselves in their deeds and thinking. There is absolutely no need for the privileged blacks to behave like whites.