Munier can’t hou his groot bek.
This week he got into another war of words - on social media this time.
Munier was reading about the racial violence that’s going gerook in the United States.
US police shot and killed two innocent African-American men last week.
Then in an apparent backlash, a young black man, trained in the US army, killed five members of the Dallas police force.
The turmoil prompted Munier to write: “Slavery was abolished in the USA in 1863. The Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950s, yet it is clear Americans still have much work to do in terms of race relations.
“While here in South Africa we have made much progress since liberation in 1994, it is naive and unreasonable of some to tell others to simply ‘move on and get over it’.
“If we don’t address our issues, we’ll be in the same position as the US 150 years from now.”
One Facebook user, called Wesley, strongly disagreed and said: “I’m one of those people that tells others to get over it. What’s done is done. Until we all start looking forward and working together for a better society for all, we will never get to the point of being able to move on.”
Munier dislikes the phrase “just move on”, especially when it comes to serious issues, and replied: “Acknowledging that a problem exists is the first step in solving the problem, Wesley. Pretending that it’s ‘done’ can have dangerous consequences.”
Wesley clearly didn’t think it was a big deal, and reckoned: “There are many more important things going on like corruption at unprecedented levels. The very people who supposedly stood against oppression are now the oppressors. We should be united against that, but instead we’re all still feeling sorry for ourselves.”
Munier had heard this argument before: “Corruption is more important than racism, crime is more important than corruption, unemployment is more important, no education is...
“ALL these issues are important. The ‘ignorance is bliss’ approach does not work. Ask the Americans. Or do we ignore the USA too?”
So Wesley decided to make Munier haal uit en wys.
He wrote: “How do you suggest we deal with this - something that will get results?”
Munier obliged, saying: “In our own little way, in the media, we expose and condemn racism.
“And it’s working. The Penny Sparrows of this world and dirty cops will think twice about doing what they do.
“Already we have noticed a decline in reports of racism in the media. We as a society have to show that prejudice is wrong. In the same way that we discourage drug abuse, drunk driving, unsafe sex, etc.
“Don’t ignore it, acknowledge it, condemn it. So our kids don’t grow up thinking it’s OK.”
Want to join the debate? Leave a comment below.