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Former estate agent Penny Sparrow, who was found guilty of hate speech after taking to Facebook in which she likened black beachgoers to monkeys, died on Thursday, her family confirmed in a statement.
Here are 5 quotes from her interview with News24 in June 2016:
1. Sparrow on her response should one of her children marry a black person:
It wouldn't faze me. It wouldn't faze me because I am not a racist.
2. Sparrow details death threats she received:
Oh my goodness, the threats were terrible. The phone, I couldn't even dial out.... There were threats of bombing the house. There were disgusting threats of [rape] ... There were threats [relating to] knives, gunshots.... I didn't take my phone to the police. I smashed it in temper in the end because it was so frightening.
3. How life has changed after the post went viral:
It's been terrible. I have paid really heavily.
4. On being called SA's number one racist:
I'm saddened to hear that. I'm so saddened to hear that because I am not. I have never used the K-word. It doesn't even live in my vocabulary.... They are human beings to me and I have accepted the change and it is wonderful.... I am not a racists, let alone number one, definitely not. I'm really not.
5. Why reference was made to monkeys:
Being on the coast, there are hundreds of monkeys and they are cute, they are entertaining and they come down into my garden and they empty my dustbins - and this is how I saw it. A troop of monkeys that came to town and had emptied the dustbins and thrown litter all over. My refer to my children as monkeys.... it is a white thing. White people do call family... it is an endearment to some people to say my little monkey and when they [children] are naughty and impish we do refer to them as monkeys.
