Zulu wristband spat 'racist'

[semiautomatix]

'Incident blown out of proportion'

A traditional Zulu wristband that was allegedly taken off an employee by the Vryheid manager of retail giant Pick n Pay has been described by the ANC Women's League as "racist".

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20090108161459441C654636

Yup, they should have left it on her, had the Pick 'n Pay closed for health violations, laid off hundreds of workers to respect her culture. That would have worked out much better.

I can understand the need if you're working with food as those bracelets can be unhygienic. Perhaps a better recourse would have been to re-assign this particularly troublesome worker to the detergents aisle.

Now suddenly this guy is racist and sexist because it was a white male asking a black female to remove the bracelet.

 

[DJ...]

The Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa said it too was disturbed by the incident and labelled it "blasphemous".

Oh you have got to be kidding!? They really need to look up the definition of the word "blasphemy" before embarrassing themselves further with ridiculous public statements like that.

This truly is insane...

 

[bwana]

Is it me or is the opening para so poorly written that it seems the actual wristband has been accused of being racist?

A traditional Zulu wristband that was allegedly taken off an employee by the Vryheid manager of retail giant Pick n Pay has been described by the ANC Women's League as "racist".

I hope the washing of hands is still ok?

 

[lsuacner]

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2450421,00.html

Durban - The ANC Women's League has described as "racist" an incident in Vryheid where a Pick n Pay employee's traditional Zulu wristband allegedly was taken off by the manager.

The organisation's secretary Nonhlanhla Khoza was responding on Thursday to a newspaper report about the employee's wristband being cut off by her manager.

She said even though the report cited "unhygienic" reasons for the act, the league believed the "actions were motivated by racism and intolerance of black people's culture".

Pick n Pay spokesperson Tamra Veley told Sapa the incident was a misunderstanding that had been "blown out of proportion".

She said the employee in question had apparently been wearing an animal-skin band and was asked to take it off when dealing with food, as it was unhygienic.

Sin

Khoza, however, said this was a feeble excuse and that taking off such a band was considered a sin in the African religion.

The Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa said it too was disturbed by the incident and labelled it "blasphemous".

Spokesperson Weziwe Thusi said it was an indication that some men still had no respect for women.

"This action is also in violation of the country's Constitution, which regards all religions as equal and guarantees them protection and respect.

"This therefore renders the manager's alleged action blasphemous," she said.

Veley said if the incident offended anyone, they apologise.

- SAPA

It is my religion to throw eggs at ANC party members who encourage unhygienic conditions, as a true hygienic fellow I should be allowed to do it. I wonder if they would defend my rights as a fellow South African?

They label people so quickly as racist, they are pathetic and can't get out of the old hole already.

 

[DJ...]

Is it me or is the opening para so poorly written that it seems the actual wristband has been accused of being racist?

It's not just you...

Khoza, however, said this was a feeble excuse and that taking off such a band was considered a sin in the African religion.

I would love to hear the reasoning for this. I have seen many a Zulu walking the streets without an animal-skin wrist-band. Does this mean that they were sinning? Do they not take it off to bathe, or sleep? This really is ridiculous. I personally feel that those who go out looking for racism at every single opportunity are in fact more intolerant and racist than those they accuse.

Weziwe Thusi and Nonhlanhla Khoza - you two are in fact the racists on this occasion. Your deep-seeded hatred is evident by your actions and serves little benefit in helping to make South Africa a more tolerable and less racist country...

 

[semiautomatix]

Is it me or is the opening para so poorly written that it seems the actual wristband has been accused of being racist?

 

[semiautomatix]

Oh you have got to be kidding!? They really need to look up the definition of the word "blasphemy" before embarrassing themselves further with ridiculous public statements like that.

This truly is insane...

Religious intolerance I can understand, but blasphemy - how can you be blasphemous towards another person? And I'm pretty sure blasphemy isn't a crime in this country anyway, so who cares.

 

[DJ...]

Religious intolerance I can understand

How so? Is Zulu a religion?

 

[semiautomatix]

How so? Is Zulu a religion?

Apparently there is some sort of African religion involved her. But she's probably a card carrying member of the ZCC

 

[TheHiveMind]

I certainly hope they don't allow people who wear those things to become surgeons or nurses because people would drop dead.

 

[air]

checks Omega SeaMaster, spot on ****ers - elections are approaching...

 

[Sackboy]

I hope the washing of hands is still ok?

No, it's all hand creams now.

 

[BCO]

When a relative dies, one wears an animal skin wrist band (from the cow or whatever was sacrificed at the funeral) until it eventually rots away and falls off of its own accord (AFAIK).

Regardless, it's superstitious religious tripe which should be kept out of everyday life just like all the rest of the superstitious religious tripe out there.

 

[kryptik]

I'm pretty sure that P&P could've handled this better. The fact remains, however, that those statements claiming that the incident was racist are hogwash.

 

[stoke]

Damn racist wristbands!

Hey .. second thoughts .. where can I get one or twenty?

It will be like : Oh really? Well, I don't have a sign, so here's your wristband.

 

[JungleBoy]

Oh you have got to be kidding!? They really need to look up the definition of the word "blasphemy" before embarrassing themselves further with ridiculous public statements like that.

This truly is insane...

The Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa said it too was disturbed by the incident and labelled it "blasphemous".

Blasphemy definitions -
1. irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless
2. impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things

The wristband is generally considered sacred by the Zulu tribe. Forcing her to take it off her hand could be construed as irreverent behaviour.

Believe you me the motivation behind the request is in most cases genuine and reasonable but the manner in which such a request is made is what makes a difference.

Issues of culture and religion should always be treated with utmost sensitivity. The key is to find ways to accomodate each other's belief systems without being offensive to one another.

e.g. the store could have asked her to cover it (this is common practice especially whilst the wristband is still fresh). Better still they could have moved her to a section where she would not come into contact with the edibles.

 

[ToxicBunny]

The story doesn't explain all previous actions taken to try and alleviate the situation, so of course there is missing info which means we can't make a completely informed judgement.

Suffice it to say though, had I seen someone handling my food with an animal skin bracelet I would not have taken the food, and I would stop shopping at that PnP

 

[semiautomatix]

Blasphemy definitions -
1. irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless
2. impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things

The wristband is generally considered sacred by the Zulu tribe. Forcing her to take it off her hand could be construed as irreverent behaviour.

What you fail to see is that blasphemy is a personal thing, you cannot be blasphemous toward someone - only toward your own god/token/etc. If one does not believe in the thing that is sacred of priceless it is hardly irreverent. It may be religiously intolerant, but certainly not blasphemous.

 

[semiautomatix]

e.g. the store could have asked her to cover it (this is common practice especially whilst the wristband is still fresh). Better still they could have moved her to a section where she would not come into contact with the edibles.

So, as it has been raise, what if the person was a surgeon. Would you have asked her to no longer perform surgery (basically be incapable of doing the job for which she was trained) or remove the wristband?

There is a degree of professionalism here and she was not adhering to it.

 

[semiautomatix]

The story doesn't explain all previous actions taken to try and alleviate the situation, so of course there is missing info which means we can't make a completely informed judgement.

Suffice it to say though, had I seen someone handling my food with an animal skin bracelet I would not have taken the food, and I would stop shopping at that PnP

One customer down, only so many until the entire outlet closes down. Clearly their is no concern toward the company that employs you or your fellow employees. If you had pride in your job you would not agree to such circumstances, if you are unable to perform your job you either need to agree to a move or retrenchment.