Dear Editor, I was rather disappointed that your newspaper, which is usually very progressive in its way of thinking, actually published an article that was so regressive.
Dear Editor, I was rather disappointed that your newspaper, which is usually very progressive in its way of thinking, actually published an article that was so regressive.
The article "Taxi2.com" by Nthabi Moreosele was extremely disappointing in that she still reverts to the apartheid era.
Fourteen years on we are trying to raise children who are colour and race blind, yet this woman still points fingers at the "white regime" instead of the present "government", which has had 14 years to improve all public transport infrastructure.
Why could she not place the blame where it lies, not on any colour or race, the past or future, but on the present 2008.
We have a municipality-government that delivers bad service, charges us a fortune to use it and in general just does a poor job.
All South Africans, white, black, pink or green, have a tendency, when they are unhappy, been victims of crime or are unemployed, to blame everything on apartheid - black vs white.
Any society's history is important but we are 14 years on, we have learnt nothing.
As a parent I sometimes wonder if our inability to understand and forgive another human being will lead to our destruction as a nation.
The municipalities and the government have had 14 years to get their house and this country in order.
So let's lay the blame at the right door and move forward as a single nation into a brighter future.
I use public transport every day from Pretoria to Johannesburg and I find this type of reporting destructive.
It adds very little value to anyone reading it.
Crowley SS
Dear Crowley SS,
You are right about the government's shoddy service delivery. But it is incumbent on all citizens to voice their displeasure or pain about the measures the government has taken or not adhered to.
The layout of the taxi ranks was drawn up by the apartheid regime. Unfortunately, senior government employees do not use the taxi service. They are not aware of our discomfort or that they are perpetuating the idiosyncracies of the previous rulers.
They mistakenly think that taxi commuters are happy with what they have.
Ngwana o sa lleng o shwela tharing. This means that if we do not complain the government will not know there is something wrong with the service it provides us with.
I am sorry to keep harping on the apartheid past but most of the hateful practices are still with us. They were enacted with a certain purpose in mind.
The advent of democracy has seen many fall away or being eliminated. Some, like the architectural monstrosities taxi ranks are, remain.
I am happy for you that your children play with children of other colours.
I hope you will understand that mine cannot visit those rainbow children because of my fears about their safety.
The remnants of apartheid still grate some of us
Dear Editor, I was rather disappointed that your newspaper, which is usually very progressive in its way of thinking, actually published an article that was so regressive.
Dear Editor, I was rather disappointed that your newspaper, which is usually very progressive in its way of thinking, actually published an article that was so regressive.
The article "Taxi2.com" by Nthabi Moreosele was extremely disappointing in that she still reverts to the apartheid era.
Fourteen years on we are trying to raise children who are colour and race blind, yet this woman still points fingers at the "white regime" instead of the present "government", which has had 14 years to improve all public transport infrastructure.
Why could she not place the blame where it lies, not on any colour or race, the past or future, but on the present 2008.
We have a municipality-government that delivers bad service, charges us a fortune to use it and in general just does a poor job.
All South Africans, white, black, pink or green, have a tendency, when they are unhappy, been victims of crime or are unemployed, to blame everything on apartheid - black vs white.
Any society's history is important but we are 14 years on, we have learnt nothing.
As a parent I sometimes wonder if our inability to understand and forgive another human being will lead to our destruction as a nation.
The municipalities and the government have had 14 years to get their house and this country in order.
So let's lay the blame at the right door and move forward as a single nation into a brighter future.
I use public transport every day from Pretoria to Johannesburg and I find this type of reporting destructive.
It adds very little value to anyone reading it.
Crowley SS
Dear Crowley SS,
You are right about the government's shoddy service delivery. But it is incumbent on all citizens to voice their displeasure or pain about the measures the government has taken or not adhered to.
The layout of the taxi ranks was drawn up by the apartheid regime. Unfortunately, senior government employees do not use the taxi service. They are not aware of our discomfort or that they are perpetuating the idiosyncracies of the previous rulers.
They mistakenly think that taxi commuters are happy with what they have.
Ngwana o sa lleng o shwela tharing. This means that if we do not complain the government will not know there is something wrong with the service it provides us with.
I am sorry to keep harping on the apartheid past but most of the hateful practices are still with us. They were enacted with a certain purpose in mind.
The advent of democracy has seen many fall away or being eliminated. Some, like the architectural monstrosities taxi ranks are, remain.
I am happy for you that your children play with children of other colours.
I hope you will understand that mine cannot visit those rainbow children because of my fears about their safety.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos