Masking etiquette and a reality dating show were the two unlikely mediums through which racism reared its insidious head and caused a social media frenzy this week.
In the first instance, eNCA political reporter Lindsay Dentlinger was unmasked as a “racist” for apparent inconsistency by asking black politicians — the UDM’s Nqabayomzi Kwankwa and IFP’s Mkhuleko Hlengwa — to wear their masks during interviews. Clips that went viral, one taken recently and another last year, showed that she wasn’t as discerning with FF Plus leader Pieter Groenewald and the DA’s John Steenhuisen, sparking anger among South Africans who interpreted her actions as racist.
However, the news channel — which has been at the centre of racial controversy previously (the ANC in KZN saying racism is endemic at the station and previously discriminated against black journalists) — would have us believe there was much brouhaha over nothing in this instance.
eNCA management defended Dentlinger in a statement, saying she was a seasoned journalist with over 21 years of experience, and concluded that their journalist’s conduct was not racially motivated and lacked malicious intent.
On the eve of national protests by the ANC against “systemic racism” at the station, Dentlinger made a qualified apology for the incident on Monday during an interview on the station’s Power to Truth show with JJ Tabane.
“I felt awful from how this is perceived and what the country believes to be a true reflection of who I am as a journalist. I do acknowledge how it is portrayed. I am being portrayed as not speaking to any black unless he is wearing a mask,” Dentlinger said.
She clarified further that she was not acting in a racist manner during the incident, but that her “error is that I crumbled in the moment and did not remember to tell everyone to wear a mask”, she said.
In other words her mask slipped.
The fact that societies use race to establish and justify systems of power, privilege, disenfranchisement and oppression is something of a South African cultural trademark. It can be intentional, clear and direct, or it can be subtle and therefore not acknowledged.
Unless you are called out on it.
The spectre of further backlash over the national protests and continued barrage of criticism from the public elicited further statements from the station. They said that it would “do everything possible within our powers to ensure that we transform and to ensure that our journalists and management are aware of racial issues in the country”.
South Africans may be forgiven for taking this with the pinch of proverbial salt given that anyone facing censure would say anything.
South Africans may be forgiven for taking this with the pinch of proverbial salt given that anyone facing censure would say anything. The reality, we know, is that “actions speak louder than words”.
Following the incident, Hlengwa has said that he has accepted Dentlinger’s apology and that he is willing to smoke the peace pipe with her. However, he is not as forgiving with eNCA and neither, it seems, is the UDM, which has engaged the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for relief and intervention.
The racism row occupied similar social media space and dialogue around the much publicised froth on M-Net, following the airing of Love Island SA on Sunday amid controversy around the show’s alleged lack of diversity and bad production.
As television critic Thinus Ferreira summed up: “And speaking of white — yes the show is aimed at the M-Net channel’s audience and its specific target demo that does skew white and female, but that isn’t an excuse for it to be almost another lily-white version of kykNET's Boer Soek a Vrou. A reality show like Love Island SA is still anchored and done in SA and must reflect at least a modicum of ‘reality’ and ‘South Africa’.”
The issue that our country’s premier broadcaster seems to be colour blind and racially insensitive was aggravated by an initial response from DStv in which they apologised for technical issues on the show, but insisted it reflected “diversity and inclusion” on all its shows.
“We pride ourselves in reflecting diversity and inclusion for all our shows, including Love Island. The many channels and thousands of programme hours we produce are testament to this.”
But SA’s twitterati set them straight and the show’s main sponsor — LottoStar — pulling its financial support amid the outcry allowed M-Net to atone.
“You called us out on the lack of diversity and production quality in our first episode of Love Island SA. We’re sorry — we didn’t meet our usual standards on both counts. We are working tirelessly to fix things and to deliver the magic you deserve,” it said.
The dictionary’s definition of race misses the complexity of the impact on lived experiences.
Racism, like the Covid-19 pandemic, permeates every aspect of our society.
Our racial subjugation runs deep and in Dentlinger’s case possibly accounts for her “error” in feeling comfortable enough to gently rebuke the black politicians, but not Steenhuisen and Groenewald. And while her qualified apology has been accepted, her actions are what will keep her honest.
Honest introspection creates opportunities for collective action towards a more equal and just society.
But deconstructing structural racism needs some work.
Yes, the combined collective of 160 characters on Twitter calling them out is a first step, but it needs to be consistently and systematically interrogated by government and the arms of justice.
We wait to see how the SAHRC will change the colour of this conversation.
