Community protests are enshrined in our celebrated Constitution. So protesting is a right, not privilege.
But why do our communities resort to violent protests? Why do they target and attack innocent motorists who are passing by? And what justifies this behaviour?
Violent protests are becoming (if not already) a yearly ritual in our community. These protests are counter-revolutionary and destructive. They are also an inconvenience to the community in terms of restricting driving and moving around. And those who barricade roads during protests don’t even border to remove rocks and clean the streets afterwards. This has become normal. When did abnormal things become normal?
The problem is that the revolution has been left in the hands of the energetic and impressionable youth. And if the energy of these young lions (who are mostly unemployed and have a lot of time on their hands) is not directed in the right direction, it is abused and misused. We should guard against that.
We find ourselves in this situation (of violent protests) because community leaders have taken a back seat and are watching whilst Rome burn. These leaders have become spectators in the game they should be playing. They are letting our community down. This is a cause for concern.
Some mature community members also feel that violent protests are justified. They cite a number of reasons, one being that government is not always responsive to the community’s needs. And that it mostly responds when protests are violent. Even if that were true, that doesn’t justify violent protests. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
Violent protests date back to apartheid days. Those protests were used to fight the cruel and heartless apartheid regime, and justifiably so. But now we live in a democracy. So we need to adopt a culture of non-violence when we demonstrate and protest. That should not be difficult.
It is about time that concerned residents in our community speak out against violent protests. We cannot afford to look the other way when this behaviour is affecting our community adversely. And we cannot allow a minority few to hold our community to ransom. So speak out.
