By Lebogang Matolong<\/p>\n
The recent uproar over offensive remarks made by young people on Open Chat has sparked a national conversation \u2014 but not the one South Africa truly needed. Instead of seizing this as a teachable moment to unpack misinformation, challenge ignorance, and dismantle long-standing stereotypes, the incident has
\ndevolved into a theatre of political grandstanding. Figures like Gayton McKenzie have seized the opportunity to stoke outrage, score political points, and entrench division, rather than foster understanding.<\/p>\n
The remarks in question \u2014 that coloured people are \u201ccrazy\u201d or that they \u201csleep with their cousins\u201d \u2014 were undeniably foolish, uninformed, and hurtful. But they did not emerge from a vacuum; they are echoes of old, lazy stereotypes passed down through casual prejudice and unexamined hearsay. These are not new ideas \u2014
\nthey are inherited misconceptions dressed up in modern language, still carrying the same sting they always have.<\/p>\n
Just as it is dangerous and deeply unjust to stereotype all black people as criminals or suspects, it is equally harmful to generalise any other community based on half-truths, myths, or isolated experiences. Such remarks chip away at the social fabric, creating suspicion where there should be solidarity.<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s history is already marked by decades of state-sanctioned division. The danger of moments like this is that they revive that old thinking \u2014 not by law, but by culture and conversation. What should have been an opportunity to lean into dialogue, to educate young people about the historical roots and the lived
\nexperience and impact of such stereotypes, has instead become a public flogging designed for clicks and political mileage.<\/p>\n
The real tragedy is not only in the ignorance of the original comments, but in our collective failure to use this moment to build bridges. When outrage replaces education, the cycle repeats \u2014 louder, angrier, and with fewer people willing to listen.<\/p>\n
Stereotypes Have History<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Stereotypes aren\u2019t born overnight. Many are rooted in apartheid and colonial propaganda, deliberately crafted to divide. When we ignore these origins, we give historical lies a fresh coat of paint and let them stroll into our conversations disguised as \u201charmless banter.\u201d It\u2019s as if centuries of prejudice suddenly get a free pass because someone said it with a laugh or a wink \u2014 as though ignorance becomes wisdom simply by changing the tone.<\/p>\n The Cost of Stereotypes<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u2022 Limit Opportunities \u2013 Bias can cost someone a job, scholarship, or leadership Stereotypes feed a vicious cycle: prejudice shapes perception, perception influences behaviour, and that behaviour is then paraded as \u201cproof\u201d of the very prejudice that birthed it. Left unchecked, this loop doesn\u2019t just linger \u2014 it calcifies, embedding itself so deeply that it can survive and poison relationships for The Missed Opportunity<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Instead of turning ignorance into education, we went straight to outrage. The people didn\u2019t need a free pass, but they needed correction, not crucifixion. Outrage is performative; education is transformative.<\/p>\n A Better Way Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n We must replace knee-jerk outrage with intentional dialogue: If we choose outrage over education, we miss the rare chance to replaceignorance with understanding \u2014 and in that void, division always wins. Politicians know this, and some are all too eager to exploit it, trading our social cohesion for a quick headline or a spike in popularity. Every time we let them turn ignorance into \ufffd\u00a0Did You Know?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cPlease Call Me\u201d wasn\u2019t the first tech idea in SA stolen from a worker \u2014 but So the next time someone shrugs and says, \u201cRelax, it\u2019s just a joke,\u201d remember: propaganda loves a good punchline \u2014 especially when it can still land decadeslater. The real question is, are we laughing with history, or letting it laugh at us?<\/p>\n About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n Lebogang Matolong is a radio practitioner, broadcaster, and community media Lebogang Matolong \u2013 (Written in my personal capacity)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Lebogang Matolong The recent uproar over offensive remarks made by young people on Open<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":388,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386\/revisions\/388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u2022 The \u201cdysfunctional coloured community\u201d myth was used to fracture unity.
\n\u2022 The \u201ccriminal black man\u201d trope justified over-policing and discrimination.
\n\u2022 \u201cJokes\u201d often mask deep wounds from historical injustices.<\/p>\n
\nrole.
\n\u2022 Strain Trust \u2013 Communities become suspicious of one another.
\n\u2022 Shape Identity \u2013 Young people internalise these narratives, damaging self
\nworth.<\/p>\n
\ngenerations.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Correct misinformation in real time.
\n\u2022 Create safe spaces for discussion without humiliation.
\n\u2022 Teach the historical weight of stereotypes.<\/p>\n
\nammunition, they score points while the rest of us lose ground.<\/p>\n
\nit\u2019s the most famous case.
\n\u2022 Coloured and black communities were deliberately pitted against each
\nother under apartheid to prevent unity.
\n\u2022 Many everyday \u201cjokes\u201d are rooted in propaganda campaigns from the
\n1950s and 60s.<\/p>\n
\nadvocate with a deep commitment to dialogue, social cohesion, and dismantling
\nharmful stereotypes. Having worked extensively in community media, I believe in
\nusing conversation as a tool for change rather than conflict.<\/p>\n