Monday, 8 March 2010
When ‘Just Crime’ is not Crime anymore…
by Henri le Riche
Today, 8th March 2010, the South African government in the form of Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa rightly said that “Farm and rural killings should not be politicised and all murders should be treated equally”. He further stated that “"We do not see it as anything else political or racist, we see it as just crime.”
So my question, thus the reason for this article: “Are all incidents treated equally, and is all crime, “just crime”?
Firstly, let me give a brief summary to those who are not familiar with the South African government system. In South Africa the government system works like in any other country where there is a democracy.
- The newest census figures states that 79.7% of the population is black, followed by whites 9.1% , Coloureds (mixed race) 8.8%, and the remainder 2.4% are categorised as Indian or Asian. In other words it is the opposite of the United Kingdom or United States. Minorities are protected in these First World countries -- and any attacks on minorities are dealt with in a harsh fashion by the media and government.
- To start, let me give some examples of ‘racism’ in South Africa.
Let’s go back another year, where a young (white) boy, traumatised by a personal incident of a farm attack, took matters in his own hands by going into a township and murdering black township dwellers indiscriminately. It was a cowardly act and once again made world headlines. The boy’s actions received harsh treatment from the law and once again South Africans were up in arms and some politicians and parties played the race card. Inciting more hate.
Another year back, a white male with two black accomplices threw a worker into a lions den to get rid of him. An awful incident which should get everything justice throws at these perpetrators. The incident made international headlines and was shown as an example of a racist incident because one perpetrator was white while his accomplices that were black were disregarded. Politicians of the government were outspoken about this murder and we still hear this today, in forums, debates, as a prime example of “white on black” racism. So you will agree with me when I say that the above examples are not crime but have a racial intent?
- To South Africans and the world, the problem in South Africa seems to be a specific race. Or at least that is what we are made to believe. My following question would be, when last, if ever, did you hear about similar incidents as above, but with the roles changed? I am not talking about “just” crime. I am talking where it’s clear racism like the examples above were involved?
I will give examples of where I see racist incidents against whites in South Africa which made an impact on me over a period of time of the unfairness of these incidents. There are so many, as to put them all here would take me days and probably leave most of you with “post traumatic stress” reading through all the stories.
So here are similar, true, stories but with the perpetrators switched.
- David Jones, of the Daily Mail describes the brutal assault of a white woman, Mrs. Ame Brown, in her Johannesburg home, in the absence of her husband, who was working a night shift. Mrs. Brown's two young sons were bound at the wrists and forced at gunpoint to watch by the four-strong black gang which had broken into their flat as their mother was violated in turn by each of the gang members. Says Jones: "As the first man made way for the second, he spat out the hate-filled words Ame, an Afrikaner, will never forget: "For years you Boers always took from us. Now we're taking from you." In fact, Ame Brown worked as a care assistant looking after mainly black children at a Johannesburg home for youngsters. But her work on behalf of such an underprivileged, have-not section of the population obviously cut no ice with her assailants. Her race was all that mattered as far as they were concerned.
- Lambert Theron, 20, Kempton Park Wimpy manager - CCTV filmed this young Afrikaner’s last moments: being hacked to death in a revenge-murder by two black co-workers – who accused him of ‘lying like all white men do’.
- Then there is Jock de Gouveia? This elderly gentleman died after (black) robbers dragged him for some kilometres on a rope behind his bakkie.(Pick-up) His face was totally disfigured. The police caught the three perpetrators after one was caught having Mr. de Gouveia's sim card and TV in his possession.
Alice and Helen Lotter - One of the most shocking recent examples in 2009 was that of two anti-white racist crimes involving the torture-murders of Alice Lotter, 77, and her daughter Helen, 57, which caused a wave of abhorrence amongst the entire white community because of its incredible cruelty.
- The women, both frail, were tortured to death at their farm in Allenridge in the Free State on April 1, 2009. According to forensic evidence, the Lotter mother and daughter died excruciatingly painful deaths: First tortured by being stabbed with broken glass bottles into their vaginas; one of the women also had her breasts cut off while she was still alive – and then both women’s blood, police forensic experts found, had been used to paint the ANC’s anti-Afrikaner hate slogan ‘Kill the Boer Kill the Farmer’ on the walls of their homestead. The list of crimes against "white" minorities, victims of murder and torture goes on.
Or are we so indoctrinated by mass media, becoming sheep of “popular general opinion”, or too scared, even lazy, to travel the lesser road of doing research and reaching out to people from other races? Maybe they have a point when they complain, yet are immediately silenced with the word “racist”.
- During 1999 the South African infantry has been rocked by the murder of seven individuals, six officers and one civilian by Twenty-eight-year old Lt Matubela, after losing his salary from repeated misconduct, went on a rampage in the base. His targets were only whites while not shooting at any other race. What was interesting about this case was that the government said it was racism. But, not racism from Lt Matubela, but from his colleagues!
The majority are the ones who tolerate crime, there for we much judge the racial tolerance of criminals. At night we can only pray that we would not be murdered by somebody with a vindictive racial attitude. We do not get to vote on the attitude towards crime, yet we are told that it is not geared towards us. “It is “only” crime. We have to take the word of the majority, that criminals do not use racial bias.
- In other words: “Criminals are just criminals and incapable of being racists too, unless of course they are part of the minority”. Everyone else is, well, “Just criminals, doing “just crime”; this is what the statics and some government officials make us believe.
The South African government does what everyone government in power does when there is a crises, by playing it down by minimizing the seriousness of the matter. A few years ago it was also done with crime. “What crime”: it was asked by the then President Mbeki? Today we see the same cycle but this time “the what”, was replaced with “the just”.
- When will people, both black and white open their eyes and see some of these murders for what it is not. Not general crime, like theft and murder but where the victim of one race is tortured by someone from another race. It is definitely NOT “Just crime”. The question needs to be asked. When is crime not crime anymore?
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” - Edmund Burke
This article probably asks more questions than to give answers, but the sole purpose is to make you think. Everyone is not as equal as some people make things out to be. Maybe you see this already, but then I might ask, why are you silent?
- In order for human kind to evolve to the next level, we will need to look at these things on an equal basis and treat them as such. If not, we are just re-inventing the wheel of racism, with the roles changed. One last question is why should these things be dealt with on an equal basis?
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Links:
- “Just Crime” http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfrica/News/1059/c83a40f67a0a4da0b5a5a715b380db53/08-03-2010-12-46/Farm_killings_not_political
- Dr. Gregory Stanton – Founder of Genocide Watch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Stanton
- Farm Murders – Part 1 of 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S71PbichSw
- Farm murder name list: http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2010/02/name-lists-rural-murders-south-africa.html
