The Reitz four and limited reconciliation

Lycanthrope

Lycanthrope

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The Reitz four. They could be a band. Or a singing troupe at the very least. You know -- powder-blue suits, crèmed hair and toothy grins. Afrikaans acapella -- why hasn't that been done yet?

But no. They had to go and make a racist video instead, in what they endearingly called a "Leon Schuster movie gone wrong". Which if, you think about it, tells you more about the depressing state of South African film than anything else.

We've seen the former University of the Free State (UFS) lads ousted, their eponymous residence hastily converted into a centre for reconciliation (racism ... now you see it -- now you don't!) and the drama of the court proceedings against them.

Until Friday. When hastily converted vice-chancellor, the racially-savvy and helpfully coloured Jonathan Jansen, caused a minor storm of controversy by dropping charges against the students.

It was brave move that was guaranteed to create an outcry. Never mind Jansen's "blueprint for transformation" at the university -- including compulsory Sesotho lessons for white kids and Afrikaans lessons for black kids. Forget the reparations that will be paid to the humiliated workers, the hefty punishment already meted out to the students and the near universal acknowledgement that what happened in that video -- urine or no urine -- was wrong. The institutions that matter (read: ANC and the relevant trade unions) want their pound of flesh.

"Nation-building is good -- but there are no shortcuts," announced ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu, in a magnificent return to the ethics juggle we haven't seen the likes of since the departure of master performers, Jessie Duarte and her thieving colleague Carl Niehaus. (Who, incidentally, was offered to be "redeployed" in the amorphous ANC after his confession. Proving that justice is good -- but there are lots of shortcuts.)

But my absolute best on the Reitz quartet is Sizwe Pamla , spokesperson of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union. He informed any remaining dimwits, who may stupidly have taken any of Nelson Mandela's words to heart, that the time for reconciliation in racism cases was "long gone".

"Yes, we must embrace reconciliation, but it has its limits," he said.

Now fancy that. Anyone with hopes for the Middle East peace process should just give up now. Limited reconciliation. Is that like limited democracy? Or maybe just limited love. It's definitely up there with limited forgiveness.

Here's what I don't understand -- and maybe I'm just slow. As utterly awful and degrading as the video was, it was far removed from the horrors of apartheid. Which was followed by an institutionalised reconciliation process that, successful or not, was at least in name supported by government. If this whole forgiveness business is "taking things too far", what are we saying about the amazing amounts we've supposedly let go off already?

But the powers-that-be have made it clear that they want these racist young men to pay. In court. "At the end of the judicial process all of us would have been persuaded to forgive the former students," said Mthembu on Saturday, in another masterful display of how forgiveness really works. Once the person has, you know, suffered enough. And said sorry like they mean it.

Except that this issue isn't just about four inane men and their warped minds.

"The biggest mistake in the analysis of Reitz is to explain the incident in terms of individual pathology," Jansen said at his inauguration last week. "Yet to dismiss the video as a product of four bad apples is too easy an explanation. This video recording was preceded by a long series of racial incidents protesting racial integration."

He is attempting a holistic approach: tackling the entire institution and examining what allowed the atrocity to be committed in the first place. Dropping the charges is just one facet, designed to challenge every white UFS student tempted to play the victim in the wake of the incident.

Will it work? We've yet to see. But tempting as it is to exempt the Reitz quads from any kind of forgiveness, and direct our collective rage at them, that is too easy. What we demonise we fail to learn from. And what we dehumanise we treat in isolation, avoiding looking around and asking: what allowed this atrocity to be committed in the first place?
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Source: Mail & Guardian

This is just such an absolutely brilliant article. Had to share :)
 
Agreed - great article. Thanks for sharing.
 
It's interesting that our usual race-relations managers at myKKK have seen this story unworthy of their time. Wonder why that is? The shoe on the foot maybe?;)... Hmmm makes you wonder no doubt.
Until Friday. When hastily converted vice-chancellor, the racially-savvy and helpfully coloured Jonathan Jansen, caused a minor storm of controversy by dropping charges against the students.
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Now I personally think prof Jansen is a <removed> of note and calling him racially savvy? Give me a break! Prof. Jansen is the equivalent of Ron Carter, he of the 12+1 vs Makgoba at Wits... Anyone who's listened to this fool (Jansen) will know his views on race relations and they have nothing to do with reconciling anything.

It was brave move that was guaranteed to create an outcry. Never mind Jansen's "blueprint for transformation" at the university -- including compulsory Sesotho lessons for white kids and Afrikaans lessons for black kids. Forget the reparations that will be paid to the humiliated workers, the hefty punishment already meted out to the students and the near universal acknowledgement that what happened in that video -- urine or no urine -- was wrong.
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Of course if guaranteed an outcry cause it was a moronic move to start with. And punished you say? How? Inviting the culprits back to finish their studies? Mind you these idiots haven't bothered apologising to their victims. If anything the FF+ (their moral advisers I take it) have said the case is being dropped because UFS has no case against this "pranksters" as the "prank" was nothing more than a "prank" gone too far... +1 for reconciliations FF+;)
 
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R13... said:
Prof. Jansen is the equivalent of Ron Carter, he of the 12+1 vs Makgoba at Wits... Anyone who's listened to this fool (Jansen) will know his views on race relations and they have nothing to do with reconciling anything.
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Would you mind specifying what he has said that sounds "foolish"?
 
grayston said:
Would you mind specifying what he has said that sounds "foolish"?
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Don't you know, he crossed the line when he hinted that "we should all try to get along", and he was convicted of a mortal sin, when he, heaven forbid, judged on the side, of handling this with dignity (although I feel they must be punished).

Oh now, the ANC and their little lackeys want them roasted alive!!!!! Forgiveness is only allowed for ANC supporters (oh boy the number of people they allowed back into government after corruption is frightening), white people on the other hand, will not be awarded such luxury, they need the propaganda wagon to roll, supporters need to be recruited, the white man (dumb idiotic butt head students) must be dragged down...oh wait, but first he needs to leave the infrastructure
 
Palimino said:
I wouldn’t go that far, but in general, I agree. A case of ‘running with the hare and hunting with the hounds’?
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Ok maybe a bit far, but I think it is disingenuous of him asking us to effectively forgive people who aren't asking us to forgive them or remorseful of their actions... It is like that time at the TRC where Tutu had to apologise for Winnie Mandela.. He said the words & she repeated after him.
 
Gothan said:
Don't you know, he crossed the line when he hinted that "we should all try to get along", and he was convicted of a mortal sin, when he, heaven forbid, judged on the side, of handling this with dignity (although I feel they must be punished).

Oh now, the ANC and their little lackeys want them roasted alive!!!!! Forgiveness is only allowed for ANC supporters (oh boy the number of people they allowed back into government after corruption is frightening), white people on the other hand, will not be awarded such luxury, they need the propaganda wagon to roll, supporters need to be recruited, the white man (dumb idiotic butt head students) must be dragged down...oh wait, but first he needs to leave the infrastructure
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Forgiveness is for everyone who asks for it. Show me where these boys apologised and it was rejected. These boys continue to contend this was just a prank too far, nothing more (in their sick minds).
 
R13... said:
Ok maybe a bit far, but I think it is disingenuous of him asking us to effectively forgive people who aren't asking us to forgive them or remorseful of their actions...
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Yes, how terribly mature of him...
 
Mila said:
Who saw the vid?
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I did. The reaction was quite overblown since there was no force, there was no evidence the pee was real and not simulated. I believe they have taken this forgiving stance because the case was weak.
 
Sackboy said:
I did. The reaction was quite overblown since there was no force, there was no evidence the pee was real and not simulated. I believe they have taken this forgiving stance because the case was weak.
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No force you say? So that makes the whole thing alright. The fact that the poor workers are probably used to bowing to the baas doesn't cross your mind now does it? What's worse than this sick episode is that the lot of you are actually sitting there defending this animal behaviour. Reconciliation works both ways as someone said on the radio this morning...

So Sackboy, you think after getting caught those sick f&#^#s would admit the pee was real and this wasn't just racist macho posturing?
 
Sackboy said:
I did. The reaction was quite overblown since there was no force, there was no evidence the pee was real and not simulated. I believe they have taken this forgiving stance because the case was weak.
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That was what i thought, I saw the people laughing in the video as if they knew it was a joke.... ( all parties)

You have to behave like a dignified person to have your dignity taken away? Is that not so?


I’m not approving the video, I thought it was very in the line of jackass , but saying that, nobody were tied with ropes and forced to do anything..... maybe only the children that was part of the hazing were forced to do something but not the people partaking in the hazing.

But that is just IMO.
 
Mila said:
That was what i thought, I saw the people laughing in the video as if they knew it was a joke.... ( all parties)

You have to behave like a dignified person to have your dignity taken away? Is that not so?


I’m not approving the video, I thought it was very in the line of jackass , but saying that, nobody were tied with ropes and forced to do anything..... maybe only the children that was part of the hazing were forced to do something but not the people partaking in the hazing.

But that is just IMO.
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Since when does sheepish submissive behaviour (laughs) pass for jokes?
 
R13... said:
No force you say? So that makes the whole thing alright. The fact that the poor workers are probably used to bowing to the baas doesn't cross your mind now does it? What's worse than this sick episode is that the lot of you are actually sitting there defending this animal behaviour. Reconciliation works both ways as someone said on the radio this morning...

So Sackboy, you think after getting caught those sick f&#^#s would admit the pee was real and this wasn't just racist macho posturing?
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I get what you are saying. And again I'm not aproving of anything that happend. But maybe we should watch the vid again?

Why did the people not say no if they were treated so badly? All i'm asking.
 
R13... said:
No force you say? So that makes the whole thing alright. The fact that the poor workers are probably used to bowing to the baas doesn't cross your mind now does it? What's worse than this sick episode is that the lot of you are actually sitting there defending this animal behaviour. Reconciliation works both ways as someone said on the radio this morning...

So Sackboy, you think after getting caught those sick f&#^#s would admit the pee was real and this wasn't just racist macho posturing?
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We have to look at it objectively. Any incident that is perceived to be racist - coming from young Afrikaners especially - was bound to get overblown. The truth is that these workers participated willingly in the movie, could have walked away at any time and never in fact objected until they were told it was 'bad' by the authorities. They were grown people, not children.
 
R13... said:
Forgiveness is for everyone who asks for it. Show me where these boys apologised and it was rejected. These boys continue to contend this was just a prank too far, nothing more (in their sick minds).
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Have they been offered a chance to apologize? From what I've heard, they were kicked off campus, and there is an ongoing case against them, with any case, you are not allowed to say anything, with that in mind, I've also not heard anything else from them, no media reports nothing, until this event
 
R13... said:
So Sackboy, you think after getting caught those sick f&#^#s would admit the pee was real and this wasn't just racist macho posturing?
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The video was to spook-and-jangle the victims. It wasn’t real. A tasteless and racist prank only. Look carefully at the video (taken from the back). Most (all that I know) males – black & white - shake the last drops of urine off when they have finished. They do not ‘drip-dry’. This is childhood training and is automatic (a conscious effort must be made to overcome this). This shaking would be detectable from the back. It’s not there (it’s as if the ‘urine’ was squirted from a bottle). The shorts are unlikely to have a ‘fly’. This would mean a distortion of the shorts (which you can see from the back) as the penis is extracted through a pant’s leg or the shorts are pulled-down slightly. The ‘food’ being p1ssed-in is on the top of a closed toilet lid. Unless he intended to empty the contents of his bladder into the food bowl (which is pretty small) there is no overshoot. Are you suggesting that the food was contaminated with close to a litre of urine and it wasn’t detected? That’s a stretch.
 
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