It is not just shocking but disappointing to hear that there are people, including political parties, who are inundating the SABC with requests to remove Yizo Yizo 2 from our screens for exposing ”cruel” scenes.
The footage we view on Yizo Yizo 2 is nothing but an accurate reflection of reality.
No one said anything when scenes of women being raped were aired, but all of a sudden, when a man is raped, there is a national outrage, or shall I say ”concern”.
Are we then saying it is more acceptable to rape a woman than a man?
We must be cautious of the message we are sending out and not just blindly criticise.
The destruction of an icon like Papa Action in the series sends a strong message to our young people that crime does not pay. So now, our young people can decide for themselves if they want to experience what Papa Action did. In real life it is even worse than what we see on television.
The series is a service to society.
Crime is glorified in our communities to such an extent that prison is baptised as the University of Wisdom and you have to graduate from prison with a ”Tsizwa’s degree” majoring in ”tsotsiology” to be a ”clever”, portraying crime as a lucrative business.
Yizo Yizo 2 is successfully changing mindsets and promoting a national debate on the topic, which is good, as criminals are often treated like celebrities in our communities.
I want to congratulate the producers and crew of Yizo Yizo 2 for a job well done.
Nangamso nikhule ningakhokhobi.
Sidney Khumalo
Kids to write to
I
I am a volenteer at an after-school care centre for children in the United States. The children here would love to correspond with children between eight to 18 years in South Africa . Please contact me at PO Box 594, Jupiter, Florida, 33468, USA.
Dawn Riggs
Please write to The Teacher, PO Box 91667, Auckland Park, 2006 or e-mail [email protected]. Please include full contact details. We reserve the right to edit letters.
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, Johannesburg, April 2001.