I don't understand

Part of my job includes the reading of newspapers. Reading the news can be a bad thing, but not nearly as bad as reading the comments that follow. 'Trolls' aside, I am often astounded at the sheer disrespect and lack of courteous engagement on online forums.
Yesterday, I read a comment that got me thinking... One person while making their point suggested (quite strongly) that 'white people' would benefit by spending more time listening to the pain of 'black people' rather than defending 'their' positions.
I have taken that to heart I have seen and listened to the suffering of my people and this is what I hear:

• Tens of thousands of children have no food nor proper shelter
• In South Africa, rape and the sexual abuse of women and children at all time high.
• Our youth is disenfranchised and youth unemployment is off the charts not to mention the general unemployment rate.
• The annual death toll on South Africa's roads is three times higher than the number of Egyptians who died in their revolution.
• Basic services are denied to many communities
• Our public healthcare service has fallen apart, in no small part due to mismanagement
• Corruption abounds 
• Children have no textbooks at school. 

I could easily continue to recount the stories I hear while I listen, but now I'd rather as a question of my own.
Why is our ruling party marching to protect the president's penis?

Mercy triumphs over judgement

South Africa's response to 'The Spear' has clearly revealed that we are still a very divided and hurting nation.  Our need for mercy rather than judgement in our public discourse has never been greater. Listening to Ferial Haffajee's interview on John Robbie's show this morning reminded me of a Jack Johnson song called 'The News'. One refrain from the song particularly stood out to me:

"Why don't the newscasters cry when they read about people who die? 
At least they could be decent enough to put just a tear in their eyes"


The lyrics of this song emphasize, for me, that truth is by nature relational. I am grateful to Ms. Haffajee that she is not so hung up the news that she looses sight of the people involved.

As a nation we have been debating the role of the media and whether is should be allowed to self regulate. Could this be an example of what a self regulated press in a constitutional democracy could look like? I think the action taken by Ms. Haffajee and City Press newspaper to offer an 'olive branch' is commendable. I sincerely hope that our ruling party exhibits the same level of integrity and responds in kind.

MarsEdit 3.0

This is a test to see if MarsEdit is a sassy as the review blogs would have me believe.

I'm planning a blogging comeback so watch this space.