the irony
Posted on February 28th, 2008 by Richard Catto 1,618 views
This post is an edited version of an email I sent to someone.
Ironically last year I stood by another blogger when he was being attacked online. This year he and others have joined together to brand me a racist troll, which I regard as slander.
I befriended him last year in May via his blog. Standing by him obviously helped build our friendship. It soon became apparent, however, that he and I share very different political views. He began to show contempt towards me in his comments. He regarded my political views as idiotic.
Whatever residual goodwill he might have had for me, did not prevent him from posting numerous blog posts in which he slated me.
For some reason, the post I wrote recently about Emily Williams sent him and a few others over the edge with rage. They denounced me as a troll in blog postings and comments.
The strong reaction has taken me by surprise. When I read the account, I was immediately struck by the mother’s decision to remain parked outside the house where she suspected a crime was in progress. I wrote what I felt.
I’m also finding that I’m butting heads with a lot of whites who don’t like what I have to say about taking personal responsibility for their role in Apartheid. As we are all discovering, South Africa is actually very deeply polarised on racial lines. Racism abounds.
Last year I published a blog post about a woman who said "fuck off, kaffir" to a black man at the V&A Waterfront. I was astounded by the racism displayed by many whites in reaction to my article. One Afrikaans business man from KZN unsubscribed from my newsletter leaving a racist comment as his reason.
This year, as you know, a black domestic worker discovered that her white employer regarded her as a "kaffir bitch" via a missent SMS.
These events (and others, including the Skielik shootings) serve only to further polarise South Africans on racial lines. I have been advocating that whites apologise for their role in Apartheid. This has gone over well with black South Africans but provoked a strong angry response from many white South Africans.
I am now being subjected to various attacks because of these views. I’m being smeared online as a troll and a racist, presumeably an anti-white racist, even though I am white myself.
I think this year is turning out to be a year of truthful disillusionment. The Rainbow Nation we were so proud of, appears to be an illusion, shattered by the reality of rampany anti-black racism amongst dissatified whites.
Tags: Apartheid, kaffir, Racism, Rainbow Nation, transformation
Filed under Current Events, South Africa | 6 Comments »
A worldwide crisis – income disparity – a letter from a Zimbabwean
Posted on December 11th, 2007 by Richard Catto 1,766 views
I love getting emails from my readers and a couple of days ago I received a rather lengthy one from Crosby, a Zimbabwean staying in London, who expressed his enjoyment of my blog articles. Here is a quote from his email:
Most white and black people still live parallel lives more than a decade after the end of Apartheid. Considering that the majority of black people live in poverty while their white counterparts enjoy relative prosperity. That is wrong and the importance of interaction between black and white people cannot be over-emphasised. A hungry man is an angry man and this interaction will hopefully help prevent a surprise scenario where one day the level of anger and resentment felt by the majority of blacks one day spills to the surface.
I agree with those sentiments. Income disparity is something which is on my mind often. I believe the chief reason why the gulf opens between the wealthy and the poor has much to do with ENTRY BARRIERS to the economy. For instance, trading in the property market is an excellent way to become wealthy. Buying, selling, improving and renting out property makes many people very rich. The problem is that to enter the property market is extremely difficult for most people, the world over, because property is so expensive, and few affordable opportunities exist. So for a person without the capital stake to begin with, they have to be able to qualify for a mortgage, and that is out of the reach of most people. Most people cannot afford to own property. The people who really benefit are those that can buy property for cash, improve it and sell it within 5 years for massive profit. Some of them then purchase land and build shopping malls and make absolute fortunes. But those who cannot afford to own even the smallest property are kept locked out and in poverty. This is a problem in every country and I believe it is the cause of enormous frustration.
When the farm seizures started happening in Zimbabwe I was completely shocked by the level of anger felt by my disenfranchised fellow citizens, and I’m black. Imagine how much more of a shock this was for the white Zimbabweans.
I wasn’t shocked. Rich white people are hated in Africa. They love their wealth so much. They love it more than life itself.
In addition I think that to further encourage this interaction, everyone (black, white, Zulu, Xhosa – everyone) should learn at least one vernacular language (that means an additional local language for the black people other than their own). Speaking another person’s language tears down social and racial boundaries like you would not believe. It says "I am one of you". You can ask any white farmer/supervisor/manager who works with black employees for proof of this.
I agree, yet in South Africa it remains compulsory to learn Afrikaans at school to graduate. I don’t know why we haven’t changed that to allow people to choose English and any one of the other 11 official languages to study.
I have a lot of respect for the way you see racism in South Africa and I think you are a brilliant impartial social observer. I therefore think that I speak for many of your readers if I suggest that you run for Member of Parliament or Mayor of Cape Town – whatever takes your fancy.
Haha. Politics is not for me. I’ll stick to writing. 
Thank you for writing in, Crosby. I appreciate the time you took.
Tags: Afrikaans, barriers to entry, Income Disparity, property, Racism, reader's letters, wealth, Zimbabwe
Filed under Income Disparity, Reader's feedback, Zimbabwe | 4 Comments »
The brutal South African Police Services and why few feel comfortable approaching them for help
Posted on December 3rd, 2007 by Richard Catto 3,789 views
So the "hero" of an attempted hijacking in Gauteng, WHITE police reservist, Captain Marc Ishlove, who shot dead two alleged hijackers is also a racist thug.
Right after he had shot and killed two alleged hijackers, he then pounced on an unsuspecting BLACK motorist (first name Fungai) and arrested him. For what? For the crime of being BLACK, that’s what.
Not only that, but Fungai’s 9 year old daughter was detained by police and interrogated for hours for no good reason.
In exasperation, she retorted to her police victimisers, "Why are you asking me these ridiculous questions!?"
A nine-year-old child was held and questioned at the Fairland police station for hours after her father was wrongfully detained following a shootout in which two hijackers were killed.
Suddenly the reservist comes up to me, pointing his gun and ordering me out the car.
"He said to me ‘Get out the car or you will end up like those other two guys’," said Fungai.
What a fucking hero you are Ishlove. You’re a damned racist disgrace, that’s what you are!
In other news, a group of unsuspecting municipal workers almost landed themselves in serious trouble when they discovered a dicarded cache of anti-aircraft ammunition that had been thrown into the drainage system they were working on.
Police have appealed to people with illegal or unwanted ammunition to instead hand it over to the SAPS bomb squad instead of throwing it away themselves.
My response to that is, "Yeah, right!"
Like people are going to risk arrest doing that? Despite your assurances (actually, I don’t see any assurances), I estimate the chances of being arrested by SAPS’ personnel as high, should anyone wish to hand in illegal ammunition.
It’s time for a complete white wash of the South African Police Services. Perhaps if we can get rid of all the racist neanderthals in the SAPS, ordinary South Africans will actually regard the Police as people that are approachable.
You’re supposed to SERVE US, not arrest us, you bastards!
Tags: Marc Ishlove, Racism, SAPS, unexploded ammunition
Filed under SAPS | 56 Comments »
