MANY moons ago, when thugs from the townships went into the suburbs to steal from the whites, they were seen as heros.
MANY moons ago, when thugs from the townships went into the suburbs to steal from the whites, they were seen as heros.
Everyone could buy from them and the buyers were not necessarily seen as promoting crime. You could even place an order for a specific brand of TV. It was a matter of us against them. Period.
But the thugs were not as brutal and murderous. They usually broke in when parents were at work and kids at school. We in the township hardly experienced any serious break-ins, robberies and murders.
But things have changed dramatically. Now no one is exempted. Churches are robbed, surgeries are robbed, restaurants are robbed, you get robbed in your office, every model of car is hijacked, everyone is robbed, irrespective of creed or colour, rich or poor. Even beggars are robbed. And robberies occur at any time of day.
There's a saying: For evil to thrive it takes good men to do nothing. Is the out-of-control, spiraling crime the result of our previous attitude towards crime and criminals? Serious crime is everywhere in the world and South Africa is not unique in this regard but the brutality and the barbaric nature of the crimes send shivers down my spine.
One-month-old babies and women aged 100 are raped and priests are attacked, robbed and brutally murdered.
White folk would say that they were never part of the crime but they were responsible for the evil of apartheid. Most of them did nothing to oppose the apartheid government and maybe that justifies the nonchalant attitude towards buying stolen goods.
Does the two cancel each other out, hence our current state of utmost lawlessness and mayhem?
Nearly everyone knows someone who was raped, robbed, hijacked, senselessly assaulted or murdered. We need to unite against all wrongdoing, whether buying stolen goods or reprimanding racists ,
Papla Hendrick Appel, Eersterust
Unite against all wrongdoing
MANY moons ago, when thugs from the townships went into the suburbs to steal from the whites, they were seen as heros.
MANY moons ago, when thugs from the townships went into the suburbs to steal from the whites, they were seen as heros.
Everyone could buy from them and the buyers were not necessarily seen as promoting crime. You could even place an order for a specific brand of TV. It was a matter of us against them. Period.
But the thugs were not as brutal and murderous. They usually broke in when parents were at work and kids at school. We in the township hardly experienced any serious break-ins, robberies and murders.
But things have changed dramatically. Now no one is exempted. Churches are robbed, surgeries are robbed, restaurants are robbed, you get robbed in your office, every model of car is hijacked, everyone is robbed, irrespective of creed or colour, rich or poor. Even beggars are robbed. And robberies occur at any time of day.
There's a saying: For evil to thrive it takes good men to do nothing. Is the out-of-control, spiraling crime the result of our previous attitude towards crime and criminals? Serious crime is everywhere in the world and South Africa is not unique in this regard but the brutality and the barbaric nature of the crimes send shivers down my spine.
One-month-old babies and women aged 100 are raped and priests are attacked, robbed and brutally murdered.
White folk would say that they were never part of the crime but they were responsible for the evil of apartheid. Most of them did nothing to oppose the apartheid government and maybe that justifies the nonchalant attitude towards buying stolen goods.
Does the two cancel each other out, hence our current state of utmost lawlessness and mayhem?
Nearly everyone knows someone who was raped, robbed, hijacked, senselessly assaulted or murdered. We need to unite against all wrongdoing, whether buying stolen goods or reprimanding racists ,
Papla Hendrick Appel, Eersterust