Being drunk is not an excuse
We are almost at a loss for words following the horrific incident when a drunken man urinated over a homeless man in a street in Pretoria.
Alcohol is often used as an excuse for all manner of bad and criminal behaviour. But the reality is that drink often liberates the true character of a person, letting loose the evil that, when a person is sober, is kept in check.
The person guilty of this act – captured on video and posted on social media – has no respect for other human beings. Even worse, because that victim is homeless, or carrying out a menial job, such as a car guard, then the offender regards him as sub-human. This incident shows that we are still a deeply damaged society, where disrespect for others and violence are the ways in which we communicate.
This thug will, thankfully, eventually be brought to book through technology: the video of the incident and the viral-like nature of social media means many people know about it and will have been looking for the culprit. And, when someone views the video – even if they are not involved – they are bound to reflect on their own casual disrespect for other people.
