“A jolly good evening to you all! What a pleasure it is to end an early spring day in this erudite company!” It was Luke the Dude, announcing himself to the local Pub & Grill, and pausing only for air:
“So how about that – fake racism accusers facing the music? About time for a decent injection of common sense, I say. Crying ‘Racist!’ has become a far too popular sleight-of-hand for those scheming to deflect suspicion from themselves – often at an employer.”
“My dear Lucas,” considered The Prof, frowning, “what in the list of all things obscure are you talking about?”
“Well,” explained Luke. “Racism is bad, we all know that, and speaking the k-word has become a crime that may land the speaker in prison and banished from society. Case in point, elderly Durban lady Penny Sparrow did not even use the word when expressing her disgust over New Year beach-goers urinating, defecating and fornicating on the beach. She did, however, use racist language.
“If others shared her disgust over the… shall we say, anti-social behaviour, they chose to rather shut up in the outrage explosion which deflected all disapproval directly at Ms Sparrow. She was hounded out of job and party, fined R150 000 by the Equality Court, another R5 000 by a criminal court, plus two years in jail, suspended – she died before the suspension ended.
“Vicki Momberg was sentenced to three years in prison for repeatedly using the k-word in a traumatised outburst after she was the victim of a smash-and-grab robbery.
“So, we know that racism is a serious crime. And we also happen to know that being accused of it can have serious consequences.”
Bill the Beard was fretting. “May I interrupt to order a beer,” he queried in his charming manner.
“Me too!” chorused the other congregators as Miss Lily found a friendlier way. “Tell us where you’re heading, Luke,” smiled she, “I’m curious.”
“The reality is,” grinned Luke the Dude, “fake accusations of racism are often made by people with an axe to grind or by wrongdoers in self-defence. Innocent people have suffered unjust consequences because of that.
“But society has been catching on. When Eskom’s only two white senior executives were – no surprises here – subjected to sweeping fake accusations, including of racism, high-level investigations exposed the accusers and justice prevailed.
“People are fighting back. As reported by Rapport, a teacher falsely accused of using the k-word was suspended for two years and remained under a cloud of suspicion for another four. But the charges have now been withdrawn and she was awarded compensation. Also, diverting from the sublime, a Michaelhouse boy demanded and received a written apology from two St John’s boys who falsely accused him of k-wording in a hockey match (resulting in the cancellation of a full sporting weekend).
“So, Miss Lily, I’ll let Eskom chairman Malegapuru Makgoba have the final word: Any employee making up a reputation-damaging accusation will be ‘shown the door’. As directly as that. Let the news spread.”
And “Cheers!” said all of us.
