While cutting Penny Sparrow some slack has merit, as the Mercury editorial of August 7 opines, nonetheless, the punishment meted out to her remains gravely unjust when compared with the malevolent exhortations of Julius Malema.
Last November Malema publicly advocated the slaughtering of whites and the seizure of their land. To date, he has gone unpunished and remains a Member of Parliament despite the oath he took to serve the people of South Africa.
Dwelling on the frustrated tweet of Penny Sparrow while remaining silent about Malema’s outrageous attempt to foment violence and bloodshed amount to utter hypocrisy and double standards.
If, as the editorial suggests, the objective in dealing with racism is to correct perceptions and not to “condemn for eternity,” then Sparrow’s fine of R150,000 should be suspended until Malema is punished for his malevolence.
Then, in fairness, her sentence should be re-assessed based on the context of her case compared with that of Malema.
Sent into The Mercury and published, 9 August 2017.
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