Due to the arrest of the former president, Jacob Zuma, localized protests erupted. People are calling for the release of Jacob Zuma from prison. Chaos had occurred during the protest; highways were blocked, and traffic was disrupted. This resulted in people taking advantage of the situation that was happening and aggravated the situation to create opportunities for themselves to loot local businesses and factories
We should be cautious of labelling looters as thugs or criminals, it is important that we try and understand their socio-economic position. The acts of people looting should not be used as a reason to help perpetuate actions and thoughts of classism and discrimination. Be careful of putting the poor into one basket.
Several months later people of the same communities where the lootings are occurring may protest the poor service delivery in their area. An individual may then argue against the protest by saying ‘people are protesting the poor service delivery in their area even though they were looting and causing property damage’. Not everyone who protests poor service delivery in their area would have been involved in the looting of shops. We need to understand that the lack of service delivery in their area has been around for years and possibly decades.
Taking a stance that looks down on protests and thinking that people "protest too much" is one of privilege and ignorance. People have been dealing with the same issues for multiple years, there has been poor affirmative action that has been taken by the government. People practise their democratic right and partake in protests in the form of marches however, there has rarely ever been a long term solution that is provided and that will benefit most of the community.
We need to try and properly understand the current socio-economic position that people are in. The unemployment rate currently sits at 32.6% (these are individuals who are actively looking for employment), the youth unemployment (ages 15-24years) is at 63.3%. The lockdown restrictions are not aiding in uplifting the optimism of people for the future. We have had a high unemployment rate for several years and the pandemic has exacerbated the struggles people face in trying to put food on their table. It would seem inevitable that people would take advantage of a chaotic situation and use it to their benefit, hence the looting.
The grievances of South Africans are usually that of bread and butter issues. We need to understand that the gap between the middle class and the poor is enormous. 65% of the wealth in South Africa is spread amongst the top 10% meaning the bottom 90% have 35% of the nation’s wealth distributed amongst them. We know that poverty is a constraint to the livelihood of people, but we often underestimate just how powerful of a constraint it is. We need to remember that during the early stages of lockdown, people would stone down bread trucks and loot grocery stores at night to feed themselves. Since then, the nation’s economic position has not improved much. Therefore, people are still in the same desperate situation today as they were back then.
People of all ages were involved in the looting. Children, teenagers, the elderly, people came with their families (mother, father, grandparents etc…) in hopes of trying to get some essentials such as mealie meal, rice, meat, sanitary and toiletry products.
To reiterate a point that was raised earlier, people should avoid perpetuating classists thoughts as they will eventually lead to discrimination and covert racism. When describing looters phrases such as “these people from the township” are being used as umbrella terms and people do not realise this thought process leads to actions of subliminal racism. Be careful of using these events as reasons to fuel incorrect and ignorant ideas or perceptions about the poor (who the majority of are people of colour).
When content such as images or videos of people looting is being shared, people are seeing black bodies in front of their screens. Without being informed or showing a slight empathy for the reasons as to why people are looting, the videos that you are seeing, sharing or are being shared to you strengthen or intensify ideas of classism, discrimination, and racism. We must be able to see and understand the socio-economic context that people are in that allows them to view looting as an option
to help themselves and their families.
In light of the lootings, we can ask ourselves the question “Is it okay to steal bread to feed your family?” At the end of the day, we need t to analyse what these actions are, people are committing acts of criminality and anarchy that need to be condemned. The after-effects of the looting could be detrimental to the livelihoods of many people.
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