Share

The huh? for Red October

Cape Town - A series of protests around the country and in cities in other parts of the world against an apparent white genocide in South Africa has been met with a mixture of support, disgust and confusion.

#RedOctober was one of the top trending topics in South Africa on Thursday as activists staged protests in Cape Town, Pretoria and other cities, according to the Red October website.

The event’s organisers believe that whites are being targeted in hate crimes in South Africa.

Protesters in Pretoria marched to the Union Buildings where they handed over a memorandum demanding an end to what they call a white genocide in South Africa.

Protesters in Cape Town marched from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s Cape Town campus to the main Naspers building in the CBD and then to Parliament.

The Red October website said that protests were planned for other cities in South Africa as well as in Australia, the UK and the United States, however it was unclear if the protests had actually taken place.

Speaking at the Pretoria protest, activist, actor and singer Steve Hofmeyr told the crowd: “They say we're wrong because everybody is dying. Everybody is a victim. They're wrong!”

Fellow activist Sunette Bridges said: “I don't want to live where grannies get raped and murdered and we're told it's just crime because a phone was stolen.”

Protesters carried red balloons to symbolise white people who had been victims of violent crime in the country.

However, it seemed as if more people were against the Red October campaign than supported it if social media was anything to go by.

“World Mental Health day, and #RedOctober supporters are calling anyone who doesn't support their racist cause "libtards". Keep it classy, SA,” tweeted @DiscordianKitty.

“The #RedOctober thing... Uncalled for racism at its worst. The way they're acting is embarrassing,” said tweeter @Mikejdavo.

"Stop crime against white people! We don't care about crime against Black, Asian, Indian, Coloured people!" tweeted comedian Trevor Noah.

“As South Africans we should be protesting ALL crime and ALL corruption TOGETHER. These things affect us all equally,” Noah tweeted soon after.

By Thursday afternoon, a petition on the Red October website had been signed by 22 538 people.


- Follow Lauren on Twitter
 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How often do you go to the cinema to watch new movies?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Often - nothing beats the big screen
2% - 26 votes
Hardly - I prefer streaming online
66% - 730 votes
Sometimes - it depends on the film release
32% - 350 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
19.15
-0.7%
Rand - Pound
23.82
-0.6%
Rand - Euro
20.39
-0.5%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.30
-0.5%
Rand - Yen
0.12
-0.6%
Platinum
950.40
-0.3%
Palladium
1,028.50
-0.6%
Gold
2,378.37
+0.7%
Silver
28.25
+0.1%
Brent Crude
87.29
-3.1%
Top 40
67,190
+0.4%
All Share
73,271
+0.4%
Resource 10
63,297
-0.1%
Industrial 25
98,419
+0.6%
Financial 15
15,480
+0.6%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE