Posted on Facebook by Racist

Times Live
August 28, 2011.

Police are appealing to the public to identify those behind this shocking picture

Contact Crime Stop at: 086 001 0111

This is the Facebook picture that has sparked a police investigation. The police are asking members of the public who can identify the man in this picture - which may have been manipulated - to come forward to assist them in their investigation. We have obscured the child's face to protect his identity, but child advocacy groups are concerned about the youngster's well being.

The Hawks have launched an investigation into an image on Facebook in which a white man with a rifle poses over the apparently lifeless body of a black child - like a hunter celebrating his kill.

The undated picture is on the social networking site in the profile of a user called "Eugene Terrorblanche", a play on the name of the murdered leader of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB). As of yesterday, "Terrorblanche" had 590 "friends".

While it is not known if the photograph is genuine or has been manipulated, a child protection charity has expressed concern for the well being of the youngster.

The search is now on for the person or persons responsible for the picture, for whoever created the user profile and for those who have seen the photograph but failed to report it.

The authorities have suggested that everyone party to the posting - including those who have seen the picture - could face prosecution and, if convicted, a jail sentence.

This is regardless of whether the picture is faked.

Read the rest here.

Comment: It is most likely that this is a staged picture. Still it is very depressing to think that a grown man can put an innocent child into this racist illustration of the madness of whiteness.

I expect that a whole grip of white folks will see this as just a prank. Kinda like those racist pigs who manipulated black workers at the Free State University to consume urine laced food.

What is depicted here is the unrepentant arrogance and historical barbarity of whiteness.  And the issue of white racism does not disappear even if it emerges that the picture is digitally manipulated.  At the very least this picture advocates race hatred and child abuse (these are criminal acts in South Africa).

It is a farce to talk about reconciliation and forgiveness in South Africa.

What has to be reconciled is not even decided and forgiveness is mythical nonsense when whiteness is still the greatest fracture in post-apartheid South Africa.

And we are not free!

Onward!

Story/Caption/Picture Credit 

Update (August 29, 2011): Aasia sent a heads up that points out the Sunday Times needed to do some homework on this 'breaking' story.  It has made the rounds before, as early as 2007.  See the Daily Maverick's "Exclusive: Sunday Times exclusive isn't exclusive" here.

The Times website does not admit to their sloppy journalism this morning but says that the man in the picture admitted to paying the child to pose.  They also say he is being verbally "lashed" for the picture.  See the story here.

It is apparent that the Sunday Times used the story to stoke sensationalism (to sell papers).  But, the issues of race hatred and unrepentant whiteness as depicted in the picture stands.

The picture may be four years old but the fact that it was still being used on Facebook is telling.  The racist attitude and the historical disfigurement being celebrated/propagated is hardly in the past.

Thanks again Aasia. 

Onward!