What are we going to do about our youngsters getting involved in public brawls; the ones that are one fatal stabbing away from a gang fight?
Not counting the road rage argument at the Sea Point Promenade, there have already been two large brawls at malls this year, the latest at Canal Walk.
And because these videos go viral on social media, I fear there may be more.
In both the Canal Walk and Waterfront videos, I noticed the potential for innocent bystanders getting hurt in the chaos.
But I also noticed how nobody really cares about that.
It was all ego and adrenaline-fuelled bravado.
And in an age of gender equality, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that young women are right there in the thick of things.
But the ugliness of it all – and the constant threat that at any point someone could be seriously hurt, or killed – is almost too much to bear.
I need to make a few observations about these public displays of stupidity.
Firstly, I hear many people say that this is not us.
But the fact is, perception is half-truth and this doesn’t just play into the stigma, it crystalises it, further tarnishing the stereotyped image of the entire coloured community.
But that is the least of my concerns.
I worry more about these fights setting a precedent for other youths to emulate, as some form of status symbol.
So this is something we as a community need to collectively nip in the bud immediately.
I think this can be done if men of integrity in our communities make their presence felt and their voices heard, setting examples and mentoring those youths most at risk.
We need to counter the allure and tough appeal of gangsterism.
Our kids are far too eager to resort to violence, because they are surrounded by adults who are seemingly OK with violence and who ridicule kindness and soft-heartedness.
Then we also need to wage a psychological counter-attack against these videos and images that keep popping up.
We need to normalise videos of coloured people both living normal lives, as well as engaging in excellence, humanity and compassion.
Gangsterism, drugs, public brawls, passion gaps and drunkenness can’t be the only things we are associated with.
Stereotypes take a long time to form, and they are usually based on fact.
But just as they are formed, so they can also be undone.
The question is, can we muster the collective willpower?
Do we have the collective resilience and endurance to keep at it for however long it takes?
It took a very long time for us to get to this point and it will take even longer to change it.
And we can’t depend on anyone, but ourselves!