-----Original Message-----
From: Omar Fourie [mailto:[email protected]<javascript:return>mailto:[email protected]%3cjavascript:return%3e]
Sent: 17 December 2015 03:03 PM
To: Bccsa <[email protected]<javascript:returnmailto:[email protected]%3cjavascript:return>>
Subject: BCCSA complaint 'white priveledge' insert eNCA
On 16 December 2015, at approximately 13:30, with Andrew Barnes as news reader, on a public holiday that is supposed to promote reconciliation in South Africa e-News(eNCA) broadcast an insert about 'white privilege'.
I felt that, on an emotional level as a white person living in South Africa, this insert was unfair in that it was unbalanced and also unfair in that it blatantly targeted a minority group without the necessary ameliorating context. It is for these reasons I am lodging a complaint.
I will now explain my reasons for this complaint.
Unbalanced and unfair: In my few it is irresponsible to point out a specific ethnic group for some ills or wrong doing they have or are committing, without for instance at least a balanced editorial check about the integral part the white population plays in the broader South African community, or at the very least providing answers for this apparent problem. The insert could have, for instance, included reconciliatory answers to the 'white problem' like urging increased cohesion between the white community and the rest of South Africa, or dialogue between white South Africans and the rest of the South African population or projects for community uplifting which can include skills transferral from the white skill-base to the previously disadvantaged communities, the increased efficacy of Black Economic Empowerment, and so forth. Without this more balanced view the white community is shed in a certain light and the public is asked to form an opinion on its own. This is a very dangerous practice.
This was the case with anti-Semitism in Germany in the pre-war decades where anti-Semitism was rife and a certain newspaper, Der Stürmer, published anti-Jewish articles, but claimed it did not incite discrimination and violence against Jews. What the newspaper did, and its editor did, and the Nuremberg trials acknowledged was that the newspaper held up the Jewish community in a certain light (for instance the Jews are rich, owns all the companies, that they are privileged) and asked the German public to make up its own mind. This coupled with the anti-Semitic stance of the politics of the day created a discriminatory environment for the Jews. The same can be said for the South African political environment were the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has at its main objective the appropriation of white wealth and the African National Congress using the race card at various times for various purposes not least to counter the popularity of the EFF.
As a white South African I am well aware of the privileges white schooling and social privileges like unbiased social interactions without discrimination, have brought the white community. What the insert failed to mention was the effort white South Africans have gone to in order to make South Africa's communities more prosperous irrespective of race and the rise of white poverty and the appearance of white squatter camps, the effects of BEE and so forth. The eNCA insert briefly showed two white South Africans who said that “whites have worked for their money” (i.e. no white privilege exists, except through hard work) and another that “she is struggling to find work”. These two statements provide proof as to the imbalance of the insert, since these two seemingly contradictory statements were not explained and simply brushed over by the insert which continued to highlight the idea that 'white privilege' exists and that it seems to do so in some kind of social vacuum.
In conclusion: I suggest that the insert holds some ulterior motives that can be compared to a popular slogan in Nazi Germany at the time mentioned before, the slogan was: '"Die Juden sind unser Unglück!" ('The Jews are our misfortune'), this can perhaps be re-cast, if the South African community and media is not careful to suit struggling communities in South Africa into 'The Whites are our misfortune'.
In addressing this complaint I would like eNCA to create a follow-up insert that clearly stands in the moral values of non-racially profiled, reconciled South African community; communities with groups that are not pitted against one another, but encouraged (by eNCA and other media outlets) to work together for a better South Africa for all who live in it.
Omar Fourie
(16 December 2015)
From: Shouneez Martin <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]>;
To: Omar Fourie <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]>;
Subject: RE: BCCSA complaint 'white priveledge' insert eNCA
Sent: Thu, Dec 17, 2015 1:24:11 PM
Dear Mr Fourie
We acknowledge receipt of your complaint of which the contents have been noted.
Should you wish to pursue your complaint before the Commission we require your address (e-mail addresses are not sufficient), contact numbers and examples of exactly what was said during the interview which you considered to be unfair and unbalanced. This information is important when we request the broadcaster's response and a copy of the material.
Your complaint will be forwarded to eNCA for their information.
We thank you for making use of our services.
Yours sincerely
SHOUNEEZ
MARTIN
REGISTRAR
TEL: 27 11
326 3130
FAX: 27 11 326 3198
E-MAIL: [email protected]<javascript:return>
WEBSITE: www.bccsa.co.zahttp://www.bccsa.co.za
From: Omar Fourie [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 17 December 2015 05:55 PM
To: Shouneez Martin <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]>
Subject: Re: BCCSA complaint 'white priveledge' insert eNCA
Good day Shouneez,
My personal particulars are as follows:
Full names: Omar (Greyling Daniel)
Surname: Fourie
Address: 15 Wrench Road, Parow, Cape Town, 7500.
Contact details: 082 632 4098 or 081 573 6029.
Regards,
Omar.
On Thu, 17/12/15, Shouneez Martin [email protected] wrote:
Subject: RE: BCCSA complaint 'white priveledge' insert eNCA
To: "Omar Fourie" [email protected]
Date: Thursday, 17 December, 2015, 18:08
Dear Mr Fourie
Thank you for your details. I however, still require details of what was said during the news report which you considered to be unbalanced.
I apologise for the inconvenience caused.
Kind regards
SHOUNEEZ MARTIN
REGISTRAR
TEL: 27 11 326
3130
FAX: 27 11 326 3198
E-MAIL: [email protected]<blocked::mailto:[email protected]>
WEBSITE: www.bccsa.co.zahttp://www.bccsa.co.za/
[Description: BCC of SA BC]
-----Original Message-----
From: Omar Fourie [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 17 December 2015 08:48 PM
To: Shouneez Martin <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]mailto:[email protected]
Subject: RE: BCCSA complaint 'white priveledge' insert eNCA
Hello Shouneez,
I am complaining about the entire insert and the message it conveys.
I do not find certain words or sentences necessarily irksome, but the general message that was put forth.
Please refer to my letter for the details.
I hope to send a .word document, if required.
Regards
Omar.
[www.etv.co.za]https://mail30.mimecast.co.za/mimecast/click?account=CSA15A25&code=7d461326b145e8014881c772a5b8fd65
From: Morapedi Pilane
Sent: 18 December 2015 09:47 AM
To: Shouneez Martin [email protected]
Cc: Olefile Tshweu
Subject: RE: BCCSA complaint 'white priveledge' insert eNCA
[Go to the e.tv Website]
Hi Shouneez
I do not think we can assist by just second guessing. In order to respond we need to know what the complaint is all about on the clip. Please ask the complainant to be specific.
Regards
Morapedi Pilane - Assistant
Compliance Officer
www.etv.co.zahttp://www.etv.co.za
T: +27 11 537 9541
F:+27 11 537 9380
On Fri, 18/12/15, Shouneez Martin [email protected] wrote:
Subject: FW: BCCSA complaint 'white priveledge' insert eNCA
To: "Omar Fourie" [email protected]
Date: Friday, 18 December, 2015, 10:36
Dear Mr Fourie
I would like to refer you to the e-mail below with regards to my previous requests.
Thanks and regards
SHOUNEEZ MARTIN
REGISTRAR
TEL: 27 11 326 3130
FAX: 27 11 326 3198
E-MAIL: [email protected]<blocked::mailto:[email protected]>
WEBSITE: www.bccsa.co.zahttp://www.bccsa.co.za/
[Description: BCC of SA BC]
-----Original Message-----
From: Omar Fourie [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 18 December 2015 11:08 AM
To: Shouneez Martin [email protected]
Subject: Re: FW: BCCSA complaint 'white priveledge' insert eNCA
Good day Shouneez,
I do not understand what you require from me, or more specifically I am not sure I can provide what you need.
Perhaps I do not understand the procedures the BCCSA follow when investigating a complaint.
In my mind an investigation simply works as follows:
- A member of the public complains about an insert/clip viewed on Television. (i.e. to the 'Complaint Commission')
- The commission obtains the clip, since you rightly say that you do not monitor all programmes broadcast
- The Commission compares it to the Constitution or regulations of whatever Organisation or perhaps even the South African Constitution, 4. and finally the BCCSA makes it findings and recommendations.
Surely the onus does not rest on the viewer to prove any point(s) about the merits of the complaint or even point out the specifics...
Please let me know if the process can continue.
Regards
Omar.
----- Forwarded message -----
From: Shouneez Martin [email protected]
To: "[email protected]" [email protected]
Sent: Friday, 18 December 2015, 11:20:15 SAST
Subject: RE: FW: BCCSA complaint 'white priveledge' insert eNCA
Dear Mr Fourie
As explained we require you to tell us what exactly was said in the news report. We need to verify what you heard and saw when you viewed the report. Once we establish that we can make a finding in terms of the Code. We cannot decide on your behalf what you found wrong when we view the material otherwise we will initiate the complaint.
Yours sincerely
SHOUNEEZ MARTIN
REGISTRAR
TEL: 27 11 326 3130
FAX: 27 11 326 3198
E-MAIL: [email protected]
WEBSITE: www.bccsa.co.za
- Original correspondence between 17 and 18 December 2015.