Hulisani Ravele slams Gareth Cliff's open letter: Pity privilege is a disease you cannot die from

Radio star Hulisani Ravele has added her voice to the wave of outrage over comments made by radio host and businessman Gareth Cliff in an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa about lockdown level four regulations. 

In the letter Gareth claimed South Africans' "patience and emotional state of affairs are on a knife-edge" and they are "losing hope".

He claimed regulations had to both make sense and gain the confidence of the public, warning that not doing so could end in disaster.

“Many of us aren’t afraid of the virus anymore. It’s our health and we’ll take our chances, thank you. We are afraid of the havoc your lockdown is wreaking on the economy, on people’s lives and livelihoods.

“I see fewer and fewer explanations from ministers and more and more capricious, some would say spiteful, regulation," he said.

Gareth's comments sparked outrage and debate on social media, with many claiming his letter came from a place of privilege.

Like many, Hulisani was fuming over Gareth's letter, and said that the lockdown is necessary.

"I don’t know why listening to Gareth Cliff's clip made me cry. It’s a pity privilege is a disease you cannot die from. Lockdown was never going to be easy or comfortable, it was a necessity. It was never going to be perfect either (not the brutality because that’s just wrong).

Radio and TV personality Sizwe Dhlomo also challenged Gareth's letter. 

"Yo, Gareth Cliff. Two corrections here quickly. 1.) it’s not just about your own health, it’s about everyone else’s as well. 2.) It’s not 'us against the government', it’s you against the government & if I feel like you’re a hazard to those I love, then it’s you against me," he wrote.

TV personality Bridget Masinga said she was "a bit disheartened by Gareth’s views".

"I always found him to be a rational thinker, albeit one who at most times agitates the status quo. But this opinion sparked from a position of privilege is something I can’t fathom," she wrote on Twitter.

The EFF have in the past supported government's efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19, and leader Julius Malema added his voice to the debate. 

He said Gareth should "speed up the process so they can learn a lifetime lesson very fast".