LETTER: The distortion behind the outrage
The entire saga is difficult to comprehend, says Helen Zille
The uproar over the past month about my comment that “the legacy of colonialism was not ONLY negative”, has been fuelled by manipulation, distortion and outright lies. Had I responded to all of them, I would have done little else. So I ignored most. However, Bryan Rostron’s comment in his article (Colonialism now is not about history but the attitudes of tepid liberalism, April 21) is an exception. Rostron notes, correctly, that I apologised unreservedly to anyone who had interpreted my comment as a defence or justification of colonialism, which it was obviously not. However, he then adds that I "fought back" and nullified my apology by tweeting, "My comment stands". This deduction is entirely untrue. Rostron is conflating two different incidents that occurred more than a fortnight apart. The apology referred to the original tweet, both of which were posted on March 16. The tweet "My comment stands", posted more than two weeks later, referred to something else entirely. On April 2, ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.