Social cohesion cannot be legislated
IF it were not so serious, one would argue that racism needs a natural disaster in order for us to appreciate that we can harmoniously co-habit.
To make us understand that we are inter-connected and need each other seems to have eluded us so far, simply because we have tried to police human behaviour through legislation – hence the resistance in some quarters.
As a result of the failure to understand each other on human level, the negatives far overshadow the positives.
While we engage in such destructive tendencies, our adversaries, such as the ratings agencies, circle above us like vultures.
The Overvaal school debacle is the latest selfinflicted skirmish that threatens to plunge us into a dark place.
It is fair to say that what we witnessed at Overvaal is just symptomatic of a deep-seated problem in our society.
What that incident demonstrated was the hatred, suspicion and racism that still cloud our common judgement and actions.
Notwithstanding the decision of the court, what stands out like a sore thumb is the deep divide between the two contesting camps.
No one seems prepared to listen to the other.
To worsen the situation, it is the voices of the parents that intrude into our sitting rooms and are spread over newspapers.
Unfortunately, it is these voices that sometimes influence and taint the innocence of our children.
It would be fair to suggest that the Overvaal incident is not only a microcosm of our country, but that of the world at large if one were to consider US President Trump’s illconceived utterances about immigrants.
Unless something drastic happens, this kind of stupidity will prevail and cost us dearly.
It is for this reason that when one looks at the water crisis in the Western Cape, it becomes apparent that we cannot wish each other away.
The water disaster - which is beginning to be realised in Nelson Mandela Bay as welldoes not discriminate; hence we see throngs of different races flocking to the same water source.
It is heartening to note that there have not been any ugly confrontations around these areas so far. If anything, there is understanding, congeniality and even empathy.
One could not help but visualise the comradeship in the 1994 election queues that snaked throughout the country.
Given this thought, it is ironic that a disaster of this magnitude would pull people together - regardless of the symbolic nature of that unity.
What the scenes communicate to us is that racism is just an attitude - it is something that we can and should work out of our system.
The reality is that we have to let go of our prejudices in order to overcome the spectre of racism, no matter how stubborn it is.
To accomplish that, each individual should understand that they have a role to play.