THE WEATHERING STONE.
Anonymity is like a weathering stone. No matter how tightly it is bound and taken away from the harsh atmosphere of everyday living and life itself it will ultimately crumble to dust. And so too, anonymity will ultimately die as a consequence of its very existence. Nothing will live on forever or for a very long time because unseen forces in our midst are at work to destroy and that is a natural law and the final product will be at its maximum entropy. Useless.
Throughout my association with NEWS24 I have been open and honest as to who and what I am, never even considering taking up an anonymous identity. Unfortunately all good intentions tend to come unstuck:
Some months ago an unidentified person entered a shop and requested a member of the staff to peruse a script of a piece he/she had written. For various reasons the staff member could not do so due to the complex subject matter. The script took up 3 pages and was filled with technicalities relating to a mine accident. Later the script was handed to myself and I read it several times to get an understanding of the author rather than the straightforward script. What I assumed at the time is the author wanted to have the full story set in book form. A request was made to a book distributing company to have the entire book printed but it was turned down.
The author mentioned his Surname/ Country of origin. And had me wondering for some time as to who this person was. Recently I wrote an article about mining and conditions on the mines etc. A commentator had a good and solid go at me. His name corresponded to the bit given by the Author of the script.
This person identified me, in the article, as to my movements in the mall in Welkom. while I was busy purchasing birthday gifts for a family member. He was 100% right. I instinctively knew that this person will soon have his state of anonymity shattered by his own doing. I later received a photograph of this person and his attire matched descriptions I received from others. “ Some may ask the typical question: What is the point”. the point lies in the nature of human beings and trust that cannot survive in the environments of distrust:
Today while leaving the mall I passed this person and the look I received was rather one of animosity. And if that is so then so be it. This encounter lasted a split second. I did not enjoy it.
This person exposed himself by his own deed and attitude but I will never disclose his identity.
The 3 page script was well written and shows the author has some insight in what he was writing about.
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