Rein in racists

15 April 2008 - 02:00
By unknown

The news media are powerful tools that, unfortunately, are open to abuse. Nazi Germany is the perfect example of how the media can be abused for racist propaganda with devastating effect on humanity.

The news media are powerful tools that, unfortunately, are open to abuse. Nazi Germany is the perfect example of how the media can be abused for racist propaganda with devastating effect on humanity.

We in Africa still have memories of how radio was used to incite Hutus into a genocidal frenzy that resulted in the deaths of an estimated 800 000 people, mainly Tutsis, in Rwanda in 1994.

Sadly, the media continue to be abused by racists and other bigots.

Some unreconstructed racists, such as David Bullard, try to give respectability to their bigotry by passing it off as humour.

Thankfully, his employers at the Sunday Times finally saw through him and fired him, 14 years too late.

His new employers would do well to rein him in.