What happened to the days when writers and their elk were given free reign to poke fun at or point out the ridiculous and obvious to the masses, the politicians, the celebrities or the downtrodden without fear of retribution, with a lynch mob dragging them kicking and screaming onto the streets during their bath time?
Once again South Africa has spectacularly managed to show the world that it does not have a clue who to deal with Freedom of Expression as laid out in the South African Bill of Rights, including all the dumb b@stards who jumped on the bandwagon waving their 10 cents to be heard. Clearly people do not understand the difference in having an opinion versus incitement to violence (like the UCT student, on campus, wearing a “kill all the Whites” t.shirt
Anyway, a radio presenter was fired for satirically (but probably more sarcastically) posting on his personal Facebook account (after the deaths of a couple of cyclists on a road where it was illegal to be riding in the first place due to the high number of deaths on THAT particular road), that “I’m thinking of starting a running club. I know there’s plenty of other roads, but I think if there’s an opportunity to put us directly in harm’s way, then why not?”
Now anybody with half a brain and who has read more than a couple of Enid Blytons or at least a couple of Playboy magazines while growing up knows exactly what this man means but after a gazillion irate callers and after 15 years of employment, he promptly got fired (but probably only 2 minutes after a car dealership pulled their sponsorship).
And during all this, nobody is braying for the heads of the “alleged” drunk driver/s who killed the all cyclists in the first place. I also have a problem with “Alleged drunk driver/s”. Either you are drunk or you are not. End of.
No matter who you are, journalist, blogger, columnist, cartoonist, writer, its open season on anybody who knows how to string two complete sentences together so the problem comes in when the ignorant don’t understand satire, sarcasm, irony, puns, exaggeration, derision, mockery, simple humour or even their own stupidity.
I just wish everybody would take a chill pill and get off their sanctimonious high horses.
Personally, I feel that it would be pretty productive if all these “offended” people would use some of that offended energy and actually get offended at things that actually matter, like the escalating cases of human trafficking, incest, rape, murder, the rapidly depreciating Rand, rampant corruption, Rhino poaching and everybody’s favourite, Climate Change
If not, it’s going to result in anybody who puts pen to paper to start self-censoring and where the hell is the fun in that?
Mark Twain is probably rolling in his grave
Article on the affair in question – https://bentrovatowhippingboy.wordpress.com/2016/02/11/lynch-mobs-need-to-get-a-larf/
The Ministry of Common Sense 