Peter Black, News24 User
Glancing at what's been making the headlines, I see report after report denouncing the recent xenophobic incidents in Alexandra and Diepsloot. However, if one digs deeper, with particular reference to columnists writing on the subject, you will notice the majority of them are white and have no clue what's at the heart of these issues.
Dribble, such as we are a caring and forgiving nation, love your neighbour, and treat them as if they were one of us. That is absolute "gutter journalism" as I believe the term is called. These are lopsided anecdotes on how we should be tolerant towards the Zimbabwean refugees that have congregated themselves (the majority illegally) in our country.
Well they would say that wouldn't they - these writers don't even live in Alexandra to provide first-hand perspective on what it like for your home, and living space, to be invaded by illegal occupants.
Two things: I don't see these Zimbabweans moving into plush affluent suburbs, and secondly I don't know too many rich people living in Diepsloot and Alexandra at the moment to really experience the saturation of foreign imports - do you?
Walk a mile in their shoes
To be fair, all that well-off people are really exposed to are (some) Zimbabweans, venturing into the suburb and cities, turning to crime as desperation for securing a sense of "income".
But you are forgetting that this criminal activity is not exclusive to rich people - it is happening on a larger and more violent scale in the townships to people that are far more impoverished than your average degree-educated suburban dweller.
If my "neighbourhood" became saturated with illegal immigrants - taking my land, invading my home (just like what is happening in Alexandra) - I would not be happy. Maybe I wouldn't take it as far as gathering a mob for "public justice", but still, I wouldn't be sitting on my sofa cherry picking, that is for sure.
My point is this: people were far too quick to release scathing reports on the recent xenophobic incidents. Denouncing it as cruel violence and asking what is happening to the rainbow nation, and painting a rosy picture of how we should treat all as equals. Judging others on issues where you have absolutely no experience is downright ignorant.
Sugar-coated
I don't condone the murders that happened - but I sympathise (not empathise, because I don't know what is like for your area to be invaded with a flood of illegal immigrants) - with the frustration they must be feeling with an area already saturated and now boiling over with occupants that have no right to live there.
Next time a journalist wants to sugar-coat a story and paint a nice pretty picture of how people should act and feel, I suggest they go to the heart of the issue and experience it for real; get some perspective and reality on the issue.
We can and must denounce murder because it is fundamentally wrong. But don't judge others' beliefs or feelings or animosity because your views dictate that's how it should be.
As the famous quote of Paulo Coelho goes, "We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path."
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Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.