I’m annoyed because the issue at hand was never about race
to begin with; it was about inappropriate behaviour in a public environment,
but being South Africa, that card had to be played. It always does.
In a nutshell, a Virgin Active member, Liz Hleza, claims she
was a victim of racial abuse when, in a spinning class, she was attacked by a
fellow spinner who didn’t appreciate her enthusiasm, which was expressed by
yelling ‘yebo’ every so often. Hleza claims she was called a cockroach, a c**t
and a k****r.
The Internet and social networks have run wild with this,
slamming Virgin Active for not reacting appropriately and calling for the
alleged racist to be named and shamed.
Here’s how I see it.
Being an avid spinner myself, I know that it is not uncommon
to have the odd over-excitable spinner who likes to make his or her enjoyment
known through the odd whoop or whistle. Nothing wrong with that. Spinning
classes are, after all, about the energy rush and the pure satisfaction you get
after completing a level 10 climb without bursting your main artery. Hell, one
of my instructors makes us sing that awful “Hey baby (I wanna know if you’ll be
my girl) song; if we don’t sing loud enough, she makes us turn up the
resistance. Making a noise is encouraged.
What annoys me to no end in a spinning class are the two
friends that sit next to each other and jabber the whole way through the class,
straining their voices over the blaring music. It’s enough to make me want to
squirt them with my water bottle and tell them to “shoosh”, as the alleged
Virgin Active offender’s friend did to Hleza.
So I can understand the guy’s frustration at the continuous
shouting throughout the class. Spinning takes a lot of concentration (sticking
to the beat while hovering your butt over the seat is no small feat), and that
concentration is very easily broken, especially when you’re trying to hear your
next orders from the drill sergeant, er, I mean instructor. When you eventually
are in your zone, it’s highly annoying to be jerked out of it by mindless
chatter or, in this case, constant screaming.
Hleza, who felt she didn’t get the right response from
Virgin Active’s management, took her frustrations to the media.
Shock. Horror. Queue social media outcry. Racism is, once
again, in the spotlight.
Conspicuously absent from the media reports, however, was
the alleged bully’s side of the story or any neutral account from other people
in the class at the time.
Granted, if there was tension to that degree in the class,
the instructor should have tried to defuse it, asking one or both offenders to
leave the class. Granted, too, if the situation did indeed escalate to the
point that the ‘k word’ was thrown about, then management should have gotten
involved.
Let’s just state for the record that every South African and
his dog knows how offensive that word is and how much trouble one can get into
for even whispering it under your breath. Throwing it around loosely in the
same way that one would, say ‘idiot’, is social suicide. Why would you do that?
It’s just stupid.
The problem is, according to a
witness account
on Ray White’s 702 Early Breakfast this morning, that word was
never used. Not once.
According to the witness, the ‘bully’ first asked Hleza to
keep it down. In response, she yelled louder and more frequently. The bully
called her a cockroach. He deserved to be pushed off his bike for that (with
his cleats still fastened). But then … Hleza apparently proceeded to antagonise
him, daring him to call her the ‘k word’.
The situation reminds me of a time, years ago, when I would
irritate my sister until she hit me, just so I could get her into trouble with
my parents. Childs play, really.
This smacks of attention seeking to me. The fact that she
took her story to the media and said that he had used the expletive, when
witnesses say he didn’t, means something is deeply wrong in our society.
However, what’s even more disturbing is that the media
jumped on the racial bandwagon, without once reporting the other party’s side
of the story or even bothering to contact witnesses. Unethical and
irresponsible reporting to the extreme.
Has anyone ever once stopped to spare a thought for the
alleged bully? He’s been made out to be an intolerant racist, yet he was merely
trying to enjoy his exercise session.
Added to this the can of worms that has exploded all over
Virgin Active’s face. Now people are emerging from cracks in the walls, telling
of how they, too, have been victims of racism at the health clubs. Even more
worrying is that the Mail & Guardian is encouraging people to
share
their racism experiences at Virgin Active, designing an entire form for
people to fill out detailing the incidents. What are we doing??
Pouring fuel onto an inferno is the last thing the media should be doing.
It’s bad enough that people all over Twitter are supporting
the victim, with the word ‘yebo’ even trending and being bandied about like a
joke. Mail and Guardian editor Nic Dawes even tweeted: “YEBO! As you heft that
weight, YEBO! As you hit the pool, YEBO! On the treadmill and the bike. YEBO!” So much for
balanced and fair reporting.
Where’s the other side in this? Where are the witnesses?
The fact remains. This was about inappropriate behaviour,
not about race. It’s sad how easy it is to start a racial war in this country.
More tolerance, people. It’s the only way we’ll survive.
