by Justin Foxton | Feb 10, 2016 | Democracy
Writer, justice and reconciliation ambassador and Pastor Alexander Venter speaks of four kinds of racists in post-apartheid South Africa. Following on from my last column – and adding to the continuing national dialogue on racism – I believe that these are very useful definitions in terms of helping us to name our prejudice and hence bring it under control. They are not specific to any one race; they apply to all South Africans regardless of colour or ethnicity. Which one are you?
Confirmed racists are prejudiced and open about it. They resent or even hate people of other races. This includes the phenomenon of xenophobia, where people fear, reject and even victimise those of other races. Some believe more than ever that blacks and whites – and indeed all differing races – should be kept apart. In the case of black and white, white confirmed racists believe black people are inferior. They will say things like: “Things were better under apartheid.” They will express open glee when a black person articulates such a misguided view as for them this is a slam-dunk in terms of confirming their own prejudicial belief systems. For black confirmed racists, white people are still imperialistic settlers and their retort might be along the lines of: “They must go back to Europe.” Confirmed racists are upfront and ‘honest’ about their racism. The attitudes of this group are hardening and they can often be heard dumping their hateful and offensive opinions and actions on those around them.
Suppressed racists are those who have buried their prejudices in the name of political correctness, keeping-the-peace, or fear of being judged. This will come with a decent measure of self-deception and denial. “I am not racist!” they protest (or perhaps even “I am not a racist but….”) and they may even resort to the old: “I have friends/colleagues who are black!” It doesn’t often take much – a particular event, issue, person or glass of wine – to bring out the racist comments and attitudes. The reality is that we can only supress things for so long before they pop out. This type of racism is no less destructive than Confirmed Racism because it pays lip service to principles of equality while opposing its implementation. This is particularly applicable when it comes to any form of redress particularly policies like BBBEE. It would appear that many South Africans are currently stuck at this level of racism. We haven’t engaged deeply and meaningfully with the hard and often painful process of facing our race demons and we certainly haven’t acknowledged just how vital it is that we do. This will take courage and hard, uncomfortable work – and many of us simply haven’t begun that journey. However, until we do South Africa will be caught in the twilight zone between two eras. This will impact on social cohesion, crime levels, economic growth and the strength of our democracy. Moving beyond this stage of racism is fundamental now to our progress as a nation.
Recovering racists are those who have acknowledged and faced their racial conditioning and the fact that if you were raised in South Africa then racism is intertwined in your very being. They are taking responsibility for this and they are consciously working on their thought processes, beliefs, attitudes and actions. They have dealt with their guilt and are free of this, but freedom is relative. Like people recovering from any addiction, they will always be in recovery and this is a daily journey. They are unlearning old ways of thinking and relating and are adopting new attitudes, behaviours and even speech patterns. They are working at inner and outer transformation of their lives and hence society at large. This is the stage we all need to get to. It takes us beyond denial by harnessing the power of vulnerability to admit our weaknesses and our struggles. Only when we do this can we heal – individually and hence collectively.
Pre-racists or Innocents are those who are in the pre-prejudice stage; they are our children. They are racially innocent provided of course their parents, extended family or other influential adults haven’t already polluted them with their prejudice. The post-apartheid generation has a wonderful opportunity to be racism-free in a way all other South Africans could never be. It will depend on our guidance and modelling – or lack thereof – as to whether this generation is lost to racism.
I would suggest that these definitions are very useful starting points but perhaps not as clear cut as 4 neat categories. For example I am a Recovering Racist but I sometimes catch myself suppressing racist thoughts because “that’s not what a recovering racist should think”. But again I ask – and I would urge personal honesty – which type/types of racist are you? Perhaps even more importantly, are you prepared to go on a journey to the next level of recovery?
Justin Foxton is founder of The Peace Agency.
My sincere thanks to Alexander Venter for giving me permission to quote extensively from his book “Doing Reconciliation – Racism, Reconciliation and Transformation in Church and World.”
by Justin Foxton | Aug 18, 2015 | Women & Gender Issues
It is seldom that I read something that physically winds me. John Metta’s piece on Huffington Post entitled “I-Racist” did just that. If you haven’t read it I suggest you take a few deep breaths and do so. It is deeply challenging.
I don’t want to ruin the read for you but at the heart of Metta’s piece is a simple hypothesis: the world order is still fundamentally white and not much about this fact is changing.
But I don’t want to go down the race road in this piece; you can read I-Racist for that. I want to make a connection between what Metta is saying and Women’s Month/Day; the world order is still fundamentally male and we – men that is – are not doing enough to change this. In fact it can be argued that we are contributing to it.
Over the years I have become increasingly concerned that August’s focus on women is beginning to do more harm than good. In a very insidious way we have begun to trivialise the issue of the inequality and abuse of women on a very fundamental level and – in so doing – we have watered down the very message that this month is aiming to communicate.
August was meant to remind us that the emancipation of South African women is an ongoing project that is nowhere near completion. Instead we have slowly but surely turned it into something that looks like a cross between Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day: “Have you told your girls how much you love them?” I was asked on Women’s Day. I believe that this creeping distortion of what this month is all about is damaging the cause of the true emancipation of women.
Contributing to this distortion is the growing commercialisation of Women’s Month; it is being used to market and sell products from beds to stationery. The current strapline of a Bic pen campaign is particularly troubling: “Look like a girl, Act like a lady, Think like a man, Work like a boss. #HappyWomen’sDay.” This campaign – and indeed many others –belittles the devastating issues facing millions of women on a daily basis in this country.
Back to the connection with I-Racist: We live in a society in which men benefit from the oppression of women. Fundamentally we don’t believe that there is a problem with women’s equality in South Africa, just like we don’t fundamentally believe that there is a problem with racism. White people believe that black people should just “get over themselves” and “stop playing the race card”. Men fundamentally believe the same about women; “what do you mean you don’t have the same opportunities as men?” we ask incredulously.
And if this sounds harsh then I invite you to ask yourself a few questions: how many female directors are there on your board? How many female leaders are there in your church/place of worship? How many male secretaries are there in your company? If the answer to all these questions is 50:50 then you have joined the fight against the abuse of women in South Africa. If not – then you are contributing to it.
As President Obama said about tackling racism, it is not simply “avoiding the use of the word nigger”. By the same token, we abuse women in myriad ways and not just in how we talk about them or have sex with them – although those are massive issues in this country. We abuse them by accepting salaries that are higher than our female counterparts (on average 30% higher); we abuse them by investing in JSE-listed companies in spite of the fact that only 16% of executive directors in these companies are women; we abuse them by attending places of worship that continue to privilege men for positions of leadership and we abuse them by using Women’s Day to market products.
The reality is that we are women abusers not necessarily because we lift a hand against women (although many do that too) but because we fail to lift our voices against a system that fundamentally, intrinsically privileges men.
Justin Foxton is founder of The Peace Agency.
This column is dedicated to the memory of 17 year old Anene Booysens: gang raped, mutilated and murdered, and our Mozambican brother Emmanuel Josias Sithole: beaten and stabbed to death.
by Justin Foxton | Jul 7, 2015 | Orphans & Vulnerable Children
I have been reluctant to weigh in on the issue of the new immigration regulations pertaining to children but I can contain myself no longer.
Let me begin by recapping the intention behind the new regulations; to prevent child trafficking. Let me also – just for the sake of clarity – define what “child trafficking” is. Child trafficking is defined as: “the illegal movement of children, typically for the purposes of forced labour or sexual exploitation.”
Now it is important that we humanise this issue because the arguments against the new immigration regulations have been worryingly callous; “How many children are really trafficked into or out of South Africa each year?” “Most kids enter or exit illegally through our very porous borders as opposed to through legitimate channels where their travel documents will be checked.” I even heard one travel industry commentator quipping; “Is this not using a steam-roller to crack a nut?”
Researchers seem to agree that hundreds than in the thousands of children are trafficked into or out of South Africa each year. Now to put these meaningless numbers into a little context all I ask is that you close your eyes and imagine your son, daughter or grandchild – the one who is currently playing happily outside with her friends or watching some TV – imagine that child dirty and broken, parading the streets of a foreign country, turning tricks to fuel her insatiable drug habit and the bottomless pit of her “Daddy’s” lust for money. Would you not want to do everything in your power to prevent this from happening? Would you not stand in a queue at Home Affairs all day, every day for the rest of your life to ensure that that dreadful image never became a reality? Of course you would and stuff what anyone had to say about; “the negative impact on our tourism industry.” What callousness! Quite frankly if people are put off coming to our country because we love and care for our children then they should not be welcomed here in the first place.
And let’s be honest here, we are not asking for all that much. Here is an extract from the website www.sapeople.com: “All children under the age of 18 – both local and foreigners – are now required to travel with a valid passport and an unabridged (full) birth certificate stating both parents’ names. If the child is travelling alone or with only one parent, then the child must also carry an affidavit filled out by the missing parent/s.” This particular website then goes on to provide a Parental Consent Form that you can download and use.
So all that is needed apart from the normal passport is an unabridged birth certificate and – only if the child is travelling without both parents – an affidavit from the missing parent stating that the child has permission to travel. If you are travelling from outside South Africa all you require is an official document stating the name of both the child’s parents. According to the Board of Airline Representatives (BARSA) this will cost the tourism sector over R6.8bn in losses and could result in job cuts. It did not specify the timeframe for these massive losses or how the figure was calculated.
But even if these figures are valid which is highly questionable, should we be placing monetary values – however large – onto children lives? Essentially what we are indicating when we say that the travel industry will lose RXYZ billion is that children’s lives are not worth this amount. Again – close your eyes and imagine your child.
Now I know there is a bigger picture here regarding the impact on the economy and de facto on people’s lives as a result of travel industry related job losses etc. But in truth should we not be aiming to create jobs and boost tourism whilst doing everything in our power to prevent the incalculable losses associated with child trafficking? Should we not adopt a certain cosmetic brand’s strapline; “First Do No Harm” and ensure that our travel industry does not thrive at the expense of even one child?
To quote another well know brand’s strapline lets; “Just do it”. Let’s go to home affairs, stand in the queue, get the unabridged birth certificate, do an affidavit and stop bloody whining. If we imagine that our efforts are saving children’s lives rather than wasting our oh-so-precious time and money then we may even do it with a sense of pride that our country is doing all it can to safeguard our children.
This column is dedicated to the memory of 17 year old Anene Booysens: gang raped, mutilated and murdered, and our Mozambican brother Emmanuel Josias Sithole: beaten and stabbed to death.
by Justin Foxton | Apr 28, 2015 | Citizen Participation, Democracy
In February 2013 I wrote this in a column: “We must be intentional about remembering Anene Booysens. For as soon as we forget we cease to act. For my part the following words will be written at the bottom of this column for as long as I am privileged enough to write it: This column is dedicated to the memory of 17 year old Anene Booysens: gang raped, mutilated and murdered.”
And now we remember our Mozambican brother Emmanuel Sithole; beaten with a monkey wrench and stabbed to death. As with Anene Booysens we cannot allow this atrocity – this round of xenophobic attacks – to be forgotten. Xenophobia needs to be addressed and countered on an ongoing basis if we are to stamp it out.
And that begins with you and me. It begins with us dealing with our own prejudices and adopting a zero tolerance stance towards all forms of xenophobia and racism. Yes we have flocked to the assistance of displaced foreigners donating time, money and supplies. But we must now channel some of this energy towards coming up with lasting solutions to xenophobia. In truth we need to move beyond aid.
In order to do this we must begin by not forgetting. As with Anene Booysens, we must memorialise the victims of these horrific acts and ensure that their lives were not lost in vain.
Here are a few practical and simple suggestions for what you and I can do:
- Continue to use your social media platforms to oppose xenophobia. This must be ongoing and consistent. I have put #SayNoToXenophibia on my e-mail signature;
- Send out a weekly message on social media commemorating Emmanuel Sithole and/or all victims of xenophobia;
- If you or your business have some spare cash fund a run of bumper stickers that say something like “Never Forget Emmanuel Sithole” or“#SayNoToXenophobia”. Hand them out to clients, suppliers and the public;
- Use your platforms to speak out against xenophobia; families, classrooms, school halls, boardrooms, the media, social groupings, places of worship;
- If you have an audience – even an audience of one or two – then have conversations about xenophobia. If you have audiences of hundreds or even thousands assemble a core group of thinkers from within your ranks and formulate a strategy to memorialise the victims and counter xenophobia.
Whatever we do lets each do something. For my part I will remember Emmanuel Sithole with Anene Booysens at the end of every column I write.
This column is dedicated to the memory of 17 year old Anene Booysens: gang raped, mutilated and murdered, and our Mozambican brother Emmanuel Sithole: beaten and stabbed to death.
by Justin Foxton | Apr 14, 2015 | Citizen Participation, Democracy, Employment, Leadership
I have a friend called Clinton dos Santos. He is a young, middle-class, white South African male. Given what we know about employment in South Africa, Clinton would be better off emigrating than seeking work here. But the odd thing about Clinton is that he is never out of work.
I recently ran a workshop for a group of leaders from a large company. The conversation turned to employment equity and BBBEE and many of them had a great deal to say about the fact that as white, male South Africans they were being excluded from the job market. They failed to see the irony until I pointed it out to them. One of the older guys – a 57 year old white Afrikaans man – then revealed that he had recently put his CV out and within 3 days he had received 10 job offers.
A mythology of white victimhood has grown post 1994 and this manifests in our reactions to employment equity and BBBEE. There is a palpable sense that – as white folk – we have been hard done by.
But my friend Clinton – and so many others like him – prove this to be false. He refuses to fall victim to victimhood.
What differentiates Clinton from other white males is that unemployment is not an option for him. He will make coffee or wait tables. He will do odd jobs or clean streets.
Not for all, but for many white South Africans employment equity and BBBEE has become an excuse. Anyone can sit on a couch and moan. It is much harder to get up and serve food, tend gardens or sweep streets. There is always a job of work to be done – if we are prepared to do it.
But how much of all this is our belief that certain work is beneath us; that it is only for the ‘previously disadvantaged’? In many ways we white South Africans are the ones with the sense of entitlement. If we aren’t living the lifestyle to which our privilege ‘entitles’ us, then we simply turn our sights on employment equity and BBBEE and blame that for our plight.
Black folk are constantly being fingered for blaming apartheid for everything yet we do just the same only in reverse; we blame the demise of apartheid for everything. Let us begin by challenging what we know and by changing the conversations that perpetuate a false narrative.
Only then will we begin to understand that our country is still fundamentally unbalanced – in favour of whites.
This post is dedicated to the memory of 17 year old Anene Booysens: gang raped, mutilated and murdered.
