bb_matt
Executive Member
ajak said:
It's difficult looking "in from the outside" - but I have family over there.
There's different points of view from every spectrum, there will ALWAYS be positive and negative views, what counts is the balance between the two.
You could take the news here in the UK and sow it negative - very easy to do - or you could take the positive side and praise it, or, be wise and take the balance of the two.
In the UK, for instance, you could say that Knife crime has reached such scary proportions, that we're all under threat from "young thugs", or you could say "it's a tiny minority" - depends which side you look at it from.
What is clear, is that violent crime is on the rise in the UK, the difference is, we basically have what is bordering on a "police state" over here, or what many refer to as a "nanny state", where civil liberties are forsaken to "protect" civilians.
It reaches a point where you need permission to have a public gathering of more than 10 people.
Regarding the defacing of that statue - it points to a very real issue in South Africa - although it may be no more than a silly prank by a bunch of Uni students in Pretoria (most likely the case) - it does touch on the very real issue of racial problems.
Here in the UK, that issue is currently the Muslim equation. It just won't resolve itself and is spiraling out of control, so the civil liberties noose tightens and everyone is a little less "free"
I guess you can't have it both ways - a totally open free society seems to be one which is plagued by crime, to curb crime, you tighten up the freedom - it's a balancing act that is so easy to get wrong.
I will admit that I haven't felt this secure in my home for many many years - I leave my windows open at night and during the day and have nothing but a simple yale lock on my front door. I have no burglar bars, no alarm. There's no security companies driving up and down the road.
But then, I live in the countryside. In big cities, there's a huge theft problem and violent incidents are on the increase.
Back to the statue incident - I can see both sides of this and I actually think the defacing of that statue is, in some ways, a correct reaction to the shortsighted arrogant reason to put a statue of that nature up in the first place.
Whatever happened to reconciliation?
Whatever happened to "the rainbow nation"?
Why not a statue representing the rebirth of a nation?
How about a statue which represents EVERYONE in the country?
You see, the knee-jerk reaction to that statue, has been the painting of the old SA flag onto it.
It's a crass thing to do, but very powerful and extremely dangerous. It sends out lots of mixed messages - the "honeymoon" period is dead and buried and the racial issues haven't been resolved at all. They were brushed under the carpet for a brief time, but now loom larger than ever.
Hey, it's one of the reasons I left ...
