Don’t fuel the destructive flames of racism

With the worldwide feared pandemic which came with economic instability, job losses and rapidly increasing Covid-19 cases, good old racism also managed to resurface. #BlackLivesMatter was trending on social media once again.

We are in the second decade of the millennium yet we are still finding renewed protests against racism. This time, it was not black versus whites, but a mass attack by the world against racists.

And as usual, there was the “#AllLivesMatter” counter and #FarmersLivesMatter started trending locally.

But my plea is this – call out and confront your racist friends and family and stop defending racism.

We have seen many social media debates that try to conceal the real issue by placing it under the umbrella of “all” lives.

EFF leader Julius Malema last week made an analogy of comparing the #BlackLivesMovement to a burning house which required attention. “All the other houses are fine. But this house is burning,” he said.

Malema was speaking to his supporters outside the US Embassy in Pretoria in support of the global movement.

When a house in a community is on fire, it is common for neighbours to try and assist the affected family. Last year in my neighbourhood, the community donated food and clothes to a family which lost all their valuables after their home burned to the ground.

But yet, some of us are aware of, socialise with and even work with people who have strong discriminatory and derogatory opinions about a particular race. We know of people who fuel the fire of the burning house.

But call them out for it. Do not keep mum around the braai when one of your friends tries to be funny by telling a racist joke. Let them know they are being racist instead of awkwardly giggling.

We have seen countless racist and demeaning social media posts and those behind them would often end up deactivating their accounts and live in hiding. That was because they were called out by social media users for their inappropriate and racial opinions, which they somehow thought they could get away with on a public platform.

On Thursday, matric pupils at Pretoria High School for Girls were protesting on the school grounds against racism at their school.

When I arrived at the school, I noticed it was the same girls that had protested against the same issues at the same school in 2016.

According to the pupils, the same teachers who were accused of racism back then were still employed at the school.

Four years later, nothing had changed since their initial pleas.

The matriculants understood that change could not be brought to the school unless the teachers are held accountable for their actions.

The protesting pupils’ demands include dismissing and blacklisting teachers who are found guilty of committing a racial offence.

“Our parents had to fight for this and yet we still have to continue the fight. We are still here asking for equality. Why is it so hard to give us equality?” said one of the angered pupils.

Rorisang Kgosana.

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