i really loved this post i read from a friend of mine on Facebook today:
My friend just got kicked out a crime watch Whatsapp group in Morningside, Sandton for posting “Just spotted a white male walking up my street! Be careful everyone!”
Well, loved and hated, because it sadly just proved something i have heard on many occasions – that a lot of Neighbourhood Watch Whatsapp groups are hives for both subtle and quite overt racism. i wrote this once before on Facebook and got huge [and aggressive] push back from a number of people cos #NotAllWhatsappGroups or something. But i have heard examples from Cape Town and Durban and other places enough times to know that this smoke is leading us towards fire.
If you are part of a Neighbourhood Watch group on Whatsapp and don’t believe yours is like that at all [and also if you do] here is my challenge experiment for you. Cut and paste the message that was posted above – “Just spotted a white male walking up my street! Be careful everyone!” – and stick it in your Watsapp group with no other commentary or explanation and then come and report back how well your group responded to that, if at all.
Let’s put the responses in the comments section below. i imagine they might provide some interesting reading. If you are not prepared to do this little experiement, then try and figure out for yourself why that is, because that may be revealing something on its own.
i think that one way we can interrupt Whiteness is by refusing to let our Whatsapp Neighbourhood Watch groups become places where people are assumed suspicious or guilty because of the colour of their skin [cue a list of excuses defending racial profiling]. i don’t think that helps us to free our minds from bias at all.
Any takers?
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Ah, the joy of living in a happily intergrated are is that this has never once raised its ugly head on my Whatsapp groups. I was briefly on one in Claremont (where I work) but had to leave because the levels of paranoia and understated racism were unhinging!
A comment like that will get anyone kicked out of a group – no matter what color you put there! Am part of 15 different NW groups, across entire Cape Town, not only in white areas! A comment like that has no substance – no description on activity. If you want to disrupt whiteness do it by joining the groups – and by walking the walk in those areas. Join your watch who goes out and spends 100 of hours on the road to try and prevent maybe your daughter/wife being attacked- raped – traumatized for life!
It is interesting that i’ve only ever heard it be a problem the moment it is about white people and i have heard countless stories about that Thor. So i call BS on your comment.
My comment if you read it: a post about somebody walking down a road has no need on a group.
It will be: A “insert color here” “insert gender here” is walking “insert street name and direction here” looking into cars/looking over fences/selling drugs/harassing people/breaking into property.
From the 3 most active groups – the last month no race discription on any post.
1 group in a predominately white area – 1 group in a evenly mixed area – 1 group with predominately members of color.
Maybe it is time for you to join the NW in the area you moved to – and lead as an example, and do your own experiment. You might be surprised.
i have had so many people telling me their groups are filled with racial profiling to know that it happens way more than you might think, Thor. That doesn’t mean every single group is corrupt but it certainly seems like way too many of them are.
Holy shit, was reading up on neighourhood watches and came across your SJW racial-hate-inciting suggestion. “Just spotted a white male walking up my street! Be careful everyone!”. That ain’t the joke though, the joke is you purport this to be a christian website?? Buddy, how the fuck do you get to type of perspective then. If you are the typical modern christian no wonder the world is flocking to atheism. “Interrupting whiteness” indeed, realize that you are doing more harm than good. Oh and, “then try and figure out for yourself why that is, because that may be revealing something on its own.” Seriously buddy, you clearly have a massive opinion of yourself, but don’t patronize.
Um, okay. not sure what “racial hate inciting suggestion” you are talking about – the white male comment was clearly tongue in cheek and making the reverse observation point of how so many neighbourhood watches [not all, but a lot] tend towards racial profiling and the racism that is inherent with that.
If you want to engage, i’m all for it, but if you’re just going to be insulting and accusatory, then maybe not so much.
You do know that you don’t have to read my blog, right? So i get to write what i want and what i think is helpful and believe to be in line with the kind of words and works that a Jesus follower is called to [He always called out the powers and gravitated towards the marginalised so maybe consider that] in the hope that people with open-minds will come and read and be challenged and inspired and i’m sure disagree with some of the stuff and enter into healthy debate and engagement. And when it happens it is great so you are invited to be a part of that. But if not, then please move along and go and troll someone else’s blog.
Have a great day
brett fish
I’m part of a warship group in a predominantly white neighborhood. Often I see the messages if cm or bm walking or shopping in the street. It’s usually when they look at the houses and walk in and out of the area, and then return to do the same that they get reported. Most house breaking ate not done by white women or men, or black women. It’s usually colored or black men aged 15 to about 45 that are doing it. This is why people get suspicious of them. In Cape Town there are over 100000 drug addicts on tik, mostly colored and they need money for their fixes. I know it’s racial stereotyping, but it’s actually valid in this case. After about 2 weeks everyone knows who works in the street and who is new. It’s usually a certain look, colored male with gangster look, low pants, cap, looking at houses then leaving. It has reduced crime to almost zero and we used to have about 6 breaking ins a month. So it works, too bad some people’s feelings get hurt, rather that than a rape or a house robbery or murders.
I think you should go to diep river police and ask them for a list of what crimes have been committed in the last year and what race. This will prove that the stereotyping is valid. It does work, the streets in our whatsapp groups are much safer.
Hi,
I think racial profiling is indeed terrible, but its a sad reality. Most of the people (and higher than the percentage of their population demographic) who do crime are black or coloured males. Its real and its true – go look at any prison, ask any policeman (even black police) near you and he will say the same. If you see a coloured male or black male walking in your street at say 7pm to 6AM, he is most likely up to no good. Since we’ve been profiling by race, the crime in our street has significantly dropped. Other races do crime, but in Cape Town suburbs for example, its 99 percent of the time a coloured male or black males doing crime in the street – time and time again. On the group you have to mention them by how they dress, what they are doing and race to help identify. Many times they have just been moved along out of the area… I know some innocent ones are confused with being criminals, but its the price to pay to protect our own. At worst they are just told to leave the area. Its not like they are having a nice walk and admiring the scenery at 10pm at night in winter… We know all the workers and legitimate domestic helpers in our street, so they are safe. They even report others who look like they are up to no good. These groups work, and racial profiling is just a reflection of who is doing the crimes. If a white guy were walking in the street at 10pm and looking like he’s up to no good, he”ll be reported too. But its always charlie males or bravo males. When you have kids one day, you will also do it. Until then, you can’t really have an opinion on this…
Oh really, Jacques. Until i have kids i can’t have an opinion on this? Get your head out of your ass [in case you were wondering why life smells that way] and confront the truth that you are a racist. That you think you’re somehow better than people of other colour. And from this post i assume you live in an area that is predominantly or completely white which is partly the problem anyways. If one of your black or coloured friends was walking up the street late at night to come and visit you and the neighbourhood watch nabbed them as a suspicious looking person, would you have a problem with that?
Hey how you. I heard you ask about a salary for maids. I used to work at a rent a maid company. They gave me R120 for a day, but I ask the boss of the house and they say they pay R270. So the company takes the most and I got little. So I left. Expose this. But they say administration, lift and stationery and calls is where it goes and administrative salaries. But it’s a bit low for the maid. Please ask about this and expose it. Thank you
I was on the what’s up group for the street I worked. I had to report suspicious people also but I was okay as they knew me as an maid of the street. I did 2 houses there. Some would say guy in green jacket with no race mention. Some say black or white or colored. I think most mention races. I catch train to station then get a lift when I maid. It’s really a low salary maybe R2000. I worked 8 to 3 then again at night 3 times a week packing. I now do this and also training so no more maid work. The one employer say that she pays me 650 but I said no, she she said it’s a grant that I get and it’s her paying it with tax. What’s your view is it alright to include a grant.
Hi Tatenda, i’m afraid i don’t know about those things. When you say 650 do you mean a day or a month? For how many days work is that?