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After careful consideration I decided to write this article in what sometimes seems a hopeless attempt to remedy the phenomenally cavernous cloud of judgment blinding the eyes of our aspirant rainbow nation. The need for this endeavor arose out of many experiences in my personal life, as well as the perceptions of others, whether in everyday occurrence or in our vast world of social media.
The honest intent of this commentary is not to maliciously highlight the failure of physical state mechanisms on national or local level, but rather to carefully and as considerately as possible, scrutinize the psychological state of our nation after 20 years of democracy.
In the quest to determine the stance of our society’s inter-racial comportment, one has to tread wary of presumptuous conclusions based on partial information. Perhaps the most common fertile ground for such information is the imposing world of electronic media, with specific reference to online newspapers and the eminent ‘comment section’, of which the latter, in most instances, became a coliseum of verbal mudslinging events governed by political and racial affiliation. This type of e-behavior is not unique to political stance, but is prevalent in the commentary of even the feeblest of topics, such as vehicle comparison videos, as keyboard soldiers declare a ‘name-calling- war’ on each other.
Upon reading comments on our news blogs, the racial apprehension is immediately evident and sometimes downright disturbing. The question then arises: How reflective is the commentary on such blogs of the general state of our nation’s opinion, with specific reference to race relations? What factors should one consider in attempting to answer the latter question?
Firstly, let us reflect a little on our deceptive emotional being. The scars of our country’s heritage is still upon the surface of many minds, whilst, at the same time, the deep burden and pain of violent crime is also affecting millions of citizens. Poverty is stealing our people’s dignity, whilst unemployment pushes hopes and dreams into the realm of fairytales. Someone or something needs to be held responsible: The ANC, whites, colonialism, apartheid, blacks and even Jan van Riebeeck. No matter how one looks at it, there is enough reason for our nation to be in an emotional state and as such are prone to an innate primitive ‘fight or flight’ response. It is exactly in this state of mind where one so easily may resort to written attacks involving utterances which is racially derogatory, especially because one’s bravado is heightened by the fact that one is sitting safely behind a device without the risk of physical harm by the defender.
Is the prevalence of such derogatory comments substantial evidence that racial tension reached a critical state in South Africa, or perhaps a symptom of an underlying emotional discord? In order to get an answer to this question, one has to embark on a journey of honest introspection in an attempt to identify the real issues behind the constant written abomination of other races. When observing the physical interaction between people of different race groups, whether it is at our local school events, the workplace, at social events or at public places, I do not notice any evidence of racism. To the contrary, I notice a common cheery disposition as people from all walks of life intermingle quite oblivious of the intense emotions carried inside us all.
