COLUMN - The amount of negativity spewed at our local authorities, their mouthpieces and even our neighbours has not only left me shocked and saddened, it's also left me wondering what is happening to our basic humanity.
All emotions, including anger, have a place. The question is: where are you directing yours?
There have been many instances I can mention, but the catalyst to this column is the raging attacks at our municipality which has been mandated by Eskom to implement load shedding in areas that were previously unaffected, and the Mossel Bay Advertiser who are also only fulfilling their directive by reporting this in the local news. What happened to don't shoot the messenger?
I concede, there are times when I climb on to my (personal) social media soapbox and have a proper rant, but when it comes to commenting on a public forum, I tone down my inner banshee, and adopt a more level-headed approach in an attempt to encourage a healthy, well-mannered, and mature debate, but from what I have seen in recent weeks, it's easier for some to hide behind a screen and act like an uncouth troll, but I'll tell you this: it's cowardly.
Would these keyboard warriors be as brazen in a face-to-face conflict with their targeted nemesis?
Social media 101
To those delighting in the fact that the central business district and other areas might also have to endure load shedding, remember that many of those businesses are family-owned or run by people you know, and that interrupted power supply will affect them more adversely than big businesses owned by the super-wealthy with deep pockets.
Those small enterprises are part of what makes Mossel Bay iconic, what makes it our hometown. To me, home means a place of warmth, safety and love, but judging from social media interactions of late, our hometown is filled with a vast number of entitled know-it-alls (or who think they do), inflated egos and empty vessels.
Social media 101: if you're going to comment on a thread, be sure of your facts.
One person mentioned: "I don't see Hartenbos on that list", to which I replied: "Hartenbos has had load shedding for ages already."
Those residents griping about Island View need to remember that there is valid motivation as to why the area is still exempt from being plundered into darkness with the rest of us.
If you don't know what the reason is, find out. Would it not be better to think a bit further and make a positive contribution to the conversation like a real adult, rather than just saying something for the sake of it?
