SABC should not have censored Sowetan ad
In a South Africa rife with social problems, it is refreshing to see an organisation taking a firm stand and speaking out. But when their voice is hushed by an anonymous chain of priggish bureaucracy, one has to question whether the establishment actually does have the public’s best interests at heart.
The Sowetan’s Freedom Day advert, which was pulled by the SABC just before it was supposed to air, was a rendition of Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech that spoke to the core of our social problems.
However, the SABC deemed it unfit to be aired on the grounds that it did “not adhere to their broadcasting compliance regulations”. Parts of it were considered to border on hate speech.
702 were brave enough to air the ad, and must be commended for it, as well as for their on-air discussion of it on the morning it was released.
The ad goes like so:
“I still have a dream, I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up against each other and erupt into an oasis of crime, grime and home to racial attacks and injustice. I have a dream that my children will be repeatedly raped, sodomised and left to fend for themselves long after HIV and AIDS have taken me away. I have a dream today. I have a dream one day farmers shall be brutally murdered and workers thrown into lions’ dens. Let chaos ring from the streets of SA — and when this happens we will all join hands and sing: ‘Free at last! Free at last!’ Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! What have you done with Freedom, South Africa? Don’t let it go to waste. Cherish it.”
Now, I’m certain that it was without a sense of irony that the writers intended the ad. Bold and exaggerated as it may have been, surely these are serious issues that plague our communities, and so should be spoken about seriously and openly.
But this apparent ostrich phenomenon seems to be more the norm than the exception. Inanities and flowery constructions are set in place to prevent people from realizing the severity of the situation. If nobody important says we have a problem, then there is none – right?
Catch stock phrases like “Proudly South African” and “Alive with possibility” are engineered and rehashed, and serve to dismiss the notion that there is an HIV/AIDS or a crime epidemic in our naively proud land. Even our Safety and Security Minister insists that concern has been magnified out of proportion. It makes one wonder whether we’re living in 1984 or 2007.
The way I see it, there are two choices. One is to continue burying our heads and ignore the soaring infection rate and block our ears when our neighbours scream for help.
The other is to actively engage with the issues. The general public, I believe, is aware of the dangers we face, but until the government and (its) media drop their denialist position and start creatively engaging with the task at hand, a great portion of our people will inevitably remain green and misinformed.
Funnily enough, freedom comes with a certain amount of responsibility (how bizarre). With that responsibility comes the need for a forum for informed discussion, wherein there is scope for commentary and criticism, as a means of making sure our freedom is never abused. Then maybe we can begin to face adversary of censorship, on the one hand, and ignorance on the other, with courage for at least having thought - for ourselves - about the problems at hand - Ricky Hunt.