THE way to deal with the racism problem in SA is to devise a programme of redressing racial injustice — criminalising racism is not the solution.This is the view of Joel Modiri‚ a researcher at the University of Pretoria’s department of jurisprudence‚ who was speaking at a seminar on criminalising racism."We are misapprehending the social conflict. What kind of freedom is this where the black majority needs protection from whites?" Modiri said at the seminar‚ hosted by the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism, in Johannesburg on Tuesday.Modiri said there were two ways of approaching the problem. One was viewing racism as a matter of the heart and the remedy being to punish the action. This was a focus on interpersonal relationships. "This kind of approach leaves the social structure intact‚" Modiri said.The second approach viewed racism as a structural problem, with the solution being centred on devising a programme of addressing racial injustice. "This view focuses on race a...
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