Racism, Hate Speech and Double Standards
Solidarity Research Institute Part of the Solidarity Movement Racism, hate speech and double standards: Not a simple black and white matter Dr Eugene Brink & Connie Mulder www.solidarity.co.za* 0861 25 24 23 Introduction Racism is a worldwide phenomenon and challenge and certainly not unique to South Africa. No country on earth is untouched by this ugly scourge and it has often led to bloodletting, wars and pogroms around the world. In multi-ethnic societies mutual respect, fairness and tolerance are of paramount importance for sociopolitical stability and sound race relations. Extremism and forced assimilation, on the other hand, provide the sparks that could ignite a racial powder keg and turn simmering tensions into a full-blown conflagration. Nobody wins in such situations, except maybe the extremists and their malignant agenda. South Africa does have a fairly unique and well-documented political history. After the demise of apartheid, a new constitution was adopted and new, democratic institutions were created to usher in, and of course buttress, the democratic era. Considering our history, race relations have been relatively good over the past 23 years. People of all cultures and ethnicities work, eat, worship and shop in common spaces. A recent study by the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) among all racial groups showed that a mere 3% of South Africans regard racism as a serious unresolved problem, and that in fact it pales in comparison with issues such as joblessness and crime. They also found in a 2015 study that a solid 55% of all respondents thought race relations had improved since 1994.
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