Yes, I have balls

The Record has been inundated with emails and calls about the situation at Roodepoort Primary School in Davidsonville.

We are being accused or inciting racial tension and divide among the residents in that area. One reader accused us of publishing racial propaganda saying “Our ‘black’ community won’t buy or show interest in your paper even when you try to belittle and misinterpret the people of Davidsonville community by jumping on the bandwagon or claiming that we, as Davidsonville, want a coloured principal vs a black principal.

“Deal with the facts; but then again, media is never meant to deal with the truth, and as history repeats itself, you fall in the same trap of spreading misunderstanding to ill-informed public opinion by virtue of using your platform (media) to access people who believe all they read.

“Tell me, what do you stand to gain by reporting such horse sh*t? These are the facts; let’s see if you have the balls to print them, or whether winning favour with the AMC electorates and trophy appointments is your call of duty.” Please read the full letter on this page.

Do I have the balls to print this letter? Yes, I have.

Is there racial divide because of the articles in the Record? No, we merely report on the events and what is said by the MEC, Department of Education and the community. That is our job, to keep the community informed of what happens in the community.

The author continued to list 12 points claiming it as facts. These 12 points have been reported on since the beginning when all the – let’s call it unhappiness – started. The information was not a figment of our imagination, it wasn’t sucked out of our thumbs to see how far the community of Davidsonville will go to ensure their children don’t receive an education. The information was given to us by the people of Davidsonville.

Point number seven is particularly interesting. If it bodes true, there is a huge problem with the system. If you are all for education, why are the residents still in uproar about the decisions made by the MEC? Instead of looking at what you are doing to the children, you opt to blame the newspaper for reporting on events that was incited by the community.

The MEC on Friday said, and I quote “Minority will not rule the majority”. Sentiments from the Davidsonville community range from such extreme statements such as “We are tired of the Blacks (K-word) to a call to make the community ungovernable.

I am not ashamed of reporting on those events, I am proud to say the paper is unbiased and a-polical.

If you want change, look in a mirror, that is where change starts, not by attacking an outside source.