"Pistorius And South Africa's Culture Of Violence"

TIME Magazine's front cover this month looked like this:

While it has not been decided (as of today) if Oscar Pistorius murdered his girlfriend or if it was an accidental shooting, I was more interested in the "culture of violence" as stated in the article. 

The article starts off talking about how beautiful Cape Town is. The article states, "about 2 million of Cape Town's 3.5 million people live to the east in tin and wood shacks and social housing built on the collection of estuary dunes and sand flats called the Cape Flats". The article continues on to say that the further you are from the mountain (table mountain), the "lower, poorer and blacker you are". The article goes on with quotes of "South Africa's raging violent crime" and "large areas of the country remain no-go areas for the police".

When looking at South African newspapers (which is where I first heard read about the TIME article), you gain a whole new perspective. 

The Johannesburg Times wrote: 

"But as the lead article in TIME shows, attention has shifted from the fallen hero to South Africa's 'culture of violence'. The country was 'once a model of racial reconciliation'  but is now a place where murder and rape are 'pervasive and persistent', TIME says. TIME magazine takes a stab at the government: 'Why does no one trust the state? For blacks, it's partly because of South Africa's historical legacy. And for all South Africans, but particularly for whites, it's partly because the ruling ANC is tarred by corruption and criminality.'"

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2013/03/01/sa-violence-makes-cover-of-time

The Herald Sun (Port Elizabeth) wrote:

"The article uses the Pistorius story- which has gripped the world's attention for two weeks- as a jumping point to examining South Africa's culture of violence...Citing mistrust of corrupt police and mistreatment, TIME argues that South Africans cannot rely on the state for protection so they are forced to cope with crime essentially on their own and, over time that has shaped the nation". 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/oscar-pistorius-makes-cover-of-time-in-examination-of-south-africas-violence/story-fnd134gw-1226588289972

Some comments on the articles include:

"The USA has killed billions of innocent people around the world and destroyed many cities. How about a picture of George W. Bush and then a sixty page article about America's culture of violence?"

"Every American citizen who is smart enough won't take the TIME's serious. People are dying like flies in American schools, cinemas, and in their homes. Oscar must not be used as a yard stick to measure the element of crime and violence in SA. He must not be used by TIME magazine to stay relevant in modern society. They should rather focus their energy in reporting about the Oscars which just recently took place, because their modern day reality is about POP STAR CULTURE and watching Oprah, setting the trends on what to do and what not to do. STOP making South Africa a Gun-Criminal invested society. Yes we have our own challenges and we are trying hard on attending to them. Focus on the maniacs killing kids at schools, and then, and only then can you brand Oscar and SA as a violent society".

While I do not completely agree with these comments, I do believe that they made some good points. I believe that TIME magazine did use the Pistorius story as a way to examine and evaluate the violence prevalent in South Africa, and potentially as a way to take some focus off of us. I do not believe that we are in any position to critique South Africa or to say that their crime is "pervasive and persistent". After spending four weeks in this country, I have come to understand it in a way I would not have been able to in the States. I was honestly shocked to read that TIME had written an article on the "culture of violence" here in South Africa. 

I cannot remember a day back home that I didn't read of a murder, robbery, assault, or some other criminal offense happening. The United States has a culture of violence which can be said as a symptom of being in international conflicts/ wars for the past decade. I do not think that we have the ability to state that, "the country was 'once a model of racial reconciliation  but is now a place where murder and rape are 'pervasive and persistent'". Many countries in the world today are struggling with internal violence, including our own. And it is not only in South Africa that people may be weary of their government  There are people in the States who do not agree with our government or what they are doing.

Being in South Africa for the past four weeks, there has never been a point when I ever felt unsafe or in danger. Granted I am not in the cities, but if the danger and violence was truly as prevalent as TIME is making it out to be, then I definitely would have been exposed to it by now. I am not arguing that South Africa is the safest country in the world- it's not. However, it also isn't one of the most dangerous, at least in my opinion. 

It amazes me how quickly I was to judge this TIME article, but I truly think its a testament to the power of living somewhere new. I have had the privilege to learn about this country in a way that I might not have been able to otherwise. Without my experience here, I may have been more apt to be persuaded by this article and believe that South Africa was a crime ridden country. I wanted to show a different perspective on the article and speak to the importance to not always take news or information at face value. 

Here is the link to the article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2137420-1,00.html