Teacher caught on video beating student

Same teacher accused of sexual harassment

By Ashleigh Furlong
29 August 2017

Thandokhulu students protest on Monday against an alleged sexual assault by one of their teachers. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

A video has emerged of a teacher at Thandokhulu Secondary School in Mowbray hitting a learner. The same teacher has been accused of sexual assault by learners at the school.

In the video a man can be seen using his belt and smacking it in the direction of a learner, while the learner raises an arm for protection.

Video by unknown. GroundUp has blurred the face of the student in the forefront of the video.

Yesterday GroundUp reported on a protest held by learners at the school, where they called for the teacher to be suspended. The learners told GroundUp that in May one of the learners was sexually assaulted by the teacher when a group of choir members slept over at the school because of choir practice.

However, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has found the teacher not guilty, telling GroundUp that: “The matter was referred to Labour Relations by the school principal. Labour Relations have confirmed that the educator was found not guilty of the allegations and the charges withdrawn.”

Kealeboga Mase Ramaru, the deputy head of Equal Education’s Western Cape Office, told GroundUp that they had a meeting with the principal of Thandokhulu on Tuesday to discuss the teacher’s conduct. She said that the principal told them that when he requested reasons from the Department for the not guilty finding, he was told that there wasn’t a policy to release this information.
Ramaru added that a criminal case had also been opened against the teacher and that he is due to appear again in court on Thursday. She said that he had already appeared once in court but the magistrate apparently didn’t stipulate that he should be suspended from his position, pending the outcome of the case.

Ramaru said that the principal was set to call an emergency meeting today with the learners to discuss the matter.

As for the corporal punishment charge, Ramaru said that they were in the process of preparing evidence that would be presented to the principal.

GroundUp has seen a statement written by the learners where they say they “feel threatened by a teacher’s presence … after his sexual harassment case”.

“We feel that both the school and WCED has failed us as students because the teacher is still teaching at the school and the victim attends his classes,” the statement says. “We now feel vulnerable and that the school should take action and assure us and other students that we are safe.”

Corporal punishment in schools have been banned since 1997 but still remains a problem. According to the 2016 General Household Survey, about 10% of learners reportedly experienced corporal punishment in 2016. These rates were highest in the Eastern Cape where it sits at nearly 18% and lowest in the Western Cape and Gauteng where about 2% of learners said they had experienced corporal punishment.

In Equal Education’s 2016 social audit of schools in the Western Cape, they found that learners were beaten at 83% of the schools sampled and that this was a daily occurrence at 37% of the schools. “At more than 90% of schools with corporal punishment, teachers use some type of weapon,” stated the survey.

“Principals and teachers are the main individuals to whom learners are meant to report violent events. The reporting systems and structures that the WCED has in place are severely undermined by a situation in which learners in such a high proportion of schools can expect to be beaten by the same individuals entrusted with their safety,” said Equal Education.
GroundUp is continuing to investigate this story.

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Published originally on GroundUp .

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For a primer on how to make fun of Nazis, look to Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin’s character Adenoid Hynkel was a not-so-subtle nod to Adolf Hitler.
Wikimedia Commons

White nationalists and neo-Nazis are having their moment. Former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard David Duke is back, yet again, in the media spotlight, while newer figures such as white supremacist Richard Spencer and Christopher Cantwell are broadcasting their views via social media feeds and niche internet channels.

Many Americans are wondering if this resurgent movement should be ignored, feared or fought. What, exactly, is the best antidote for neo-Nazism?

What about laughter?

While the August 12 violence in Charlottesville, Virginia was no joke, the images of armor-clad, tiki-torch-wielding white nationalists did give fodder to late-night talk show hosts and editorial cartoonists.

In a different age, another ascendant white supremacist – Adolf Hitler – used a combination of garbled ideas, stagy phrasing and arch gestures to bewitch much of his nation, even as the rest of the world looked on in disbelief and terror.

While many anti-fascists offered serious and potent arguments against Hitler, comedians like Charlie Chaplin responded to the mortal threat that the Nazis posed in a different way: They used humor to highlight the absurdity and hypocrisy of both the message and its notorious messenger.

Chaplin homes in on his target

In late 1940, producer-director-star Charlie Chaplin released “The Great Dictator.” Often considered Chaplin’s last great film, “The Great Dictator” is the tale of a little Jewish barber in the mythical (but obviously German) nation of Tomania. The barber is mistaken for a dictator modeled after Adolf Hitler named Adenoid Hynkel, and the barber is forced to carry out his impersonation of the German warlord to save his own life.

Hitler’s trademark mustache mimicked Chaplin’s.
Insomnia Cured Here, CC BY-SA

The idea of a film satirizing Hitler was one Chaplin had been working on for years. Chaplin was a dedicated antifascist, and was alarmed at Hitler’s ability to captivate the German people. He warned members of the Hollywood community not to underestimate Hitler merely because they found him comical, an effect magnified by Hitler’s unfathomable decision to apparently borrow the most famous mustache in the world – Chaplin’s little black toothbrush – as his own trademark.

Chaplin regarded Hitler as one of the finest actors he had ever seen. (Hitler carefully monitored his public persona, studying photographs and film of his speeches, and taking lessons in public presentation.) Nonetheless, Chaplin, whose international success was based on little people challenging and defeating powerful institutions and individuals, recognized that comedy could be used against Hitler.

“It is paradoxical that tragedy stimulates the spirit of ridicule,” he wrote in his autobiography. “Ridicule, I suppose, is an attitude of defiance.”

Chaplin was warned in 1939 that the film might be refused release in England and face censorship in the United States. Political factions in both nations were anxious to placate the unpredictable, angry Hitler, and “The Great Dictator” could be calculated to enrage the Nazis, who reviled Chaplin as a “Jewish acrobat.”

But Chaplin was a partner in the distribution company United Artists; simply put, he was his own producer, and answerable primarily to himself when it came to risky investments. Due to Chaplin’s perfectionism, all of his films were expensive. “The Great Dictator” was no different: It cost US$2 million to produce, an enormous sum at the time. That perfectionism delayed the film’s distribution until the height of the English Blitz, by which time audiences in the U.S. and England were ready for Chaplin’s humor of defiance. In 1940, the year of its release, “The Great Dictator” was the third highest-grossing film in the U.S.

Exposing a fraud

Much of the comedy of “The Great Dictator” comes from a merciless indictment of those who would follow such a patently idiotic character. The satire mocks Hitler’s absurdity, solipsism and overweening vanity, while also highlighting Germany’s psychological captivity to a political fraud.

All the techniques of the tyrant are on view: the arbitrary demonizing of identity groups, the insistence on mindless loyalty from his followers, the unpredictable behavior toward foreign leaders that ranges from mere abuse to deceit, even the hostility toward science in favor of dogma. (A series of inventors die while demonstrating the patently impossible military technology Hynkel demands, like a bulletproof suit and a parachute hat.) Hynkel is also a casual sexual harasser and grossly overestimates attendance at official functions.

Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Fake German’ speech from ‘The Great Dictator.’

Hynkel bloviates mindlessly and unintelligibly. U.S. and English audiences were already quite familiar with Hitler’s untranslated radio speeches, and Chaplin took advantage of this, making Hynkel’s speeches an amalgamation of gibberish, non sequiturs and vaudeville German dialect humor, as when he shouts, “Der Wienerschnitzel mit da lagerbieren, und das Sauerkraut!” (“The wienerschnitzel with the beer and the sauerkraut!”)

Would Hitler laugh at himself?

The success of “The Great Dictator” spawned a cottage industry of Hitler satire. Some of this work was relentlessly lowbrow, such as the Three Stooges’ short “You Nazty Spy!” (1940), Hal Roach Studios’ short feature “That Nazty Nuisance” (1943), and the Warner Bros.‘ animated shorts “The Duckators” (1942), “Der Fuehrer’s Face” (1942) and “Daffy – The Commando” (1943).

The artistic peak of this cinematic effort was the mordant Ernst Lubitsch comedy “To Be or Not to Be” (1942), in which Hitler is explicitly compared to a ham actor-manager who embarks upon a vanity production of – what else? – “Hamlet.”

Hitler was a huge movie fan, and after the war, novelist and screenwriter Budd Schulberg found proof that Hitler had actually seen “The Great Dictator.” More intriguingly, Hitler ordered the film to be screened for him a second time. (Of course, ordinary Germans weren’t allowed to watch it.)

Interviewed for a 2001 documentary, Reinhard Spitzy, an intimate of Hitler, said he could easily imagine Hitler laughing privately at Chaplin’s burlesque of him.

The image of Hitler watching “The Great Dictator” a second time – admiring the work of the only public figure whose sheer charisma before the cameras could rival his own – is a compelling one.

Chaplin later said that had he known the extent of the Nazis’ barbarity, he would not have burlesqued them; their crimes were simply too immense for comedy, however trenchant. But perhaps “The Great Dictator” still reminds us of political comedy’s golden mean: The more political movements strive to be taken seriously, the more ripe a subject for satire they become.

Kevin Hagopian, Senior Lecturer of Media Studies (Cinema Studies), Pennsylvania State University

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Matatiele protesters demand roads and water

Roads closed with rocks and burning tyres

By Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik
28 August 2017

Matatiele residents want gravel roads like this road in Tshitsong to be tarred. Photo: Manqulo Nyakombi.

Gravel roads between Hardenburg and Matatiele were closed with burning tyres and big rocks on Monday by angry Matatiele residents demanding better roads and clean water.

The protesters accuse the authorities of neglecting their town. They demand better roads between Matatiele and the border between South Africa and Lesotho. They also want clean water to be supplied to the villages.

Monday’s protest was the third in a month and protesters vowed to continue until their demands were met. Schools were closed and vehicles taking learners to schools were turned away.

Residents have formed a forum to express their grievances. Chairperson of the forum Nhlahla Ntsoti said Matatiele was at a standstill and this would continue until their demands were met. He said the town had been neglected for years. Residents had tried to hold meetings with Matatiele local municipality but promises had not been kept, he said.

“We are fed up and this time we are not going to stop until we are heard. We demand tarred roads, clean water and better health facilities.”

Ntsoti said women in Matatiele had to wake up at 02:00am to fetch water from the river and this was dangerous.

“With the high rate of women being raped and murdered we are scared that women in our area might be attacked if this issue of water is not addressed.”

He said the gravel roads made it difficult for ambulances to arrive in villages quickly and even police vans struggled to reach some of the villages because of poor road conditions.

“We are voters and we have rights. It is time our government takes us seriously like other towns. We are forgotten here,” he said.

Community member Thapelo Mokoena from Maluti village told GroundUp that if the gravel road between Maluti and the Lesotho border was not fixed, Matatiele would lose business. He said traders who travelled from Lesotho to Matatiele to sell goods had to drive on poor roads.

In some villages people had to walk kilometres to fetch water. Some people shared dirty water with animals. In some villages taps had been installed but never worked. In other villages boreholes had been installed but only worked for few months.

“We will continue with this fight,” he said.

Matatiele local municipality spokesperson Olwethu Gwanya said the municipality had held several meetings with residents. She said as far as she knew they wanted better roads but that was an issue not for the municipality but for the Department of Public Works.

“We called a meeting between the community and Department of Public Works and we asked for a chance to look into their complaints. It’s clear that the community was not happy, hence they decided to continue with their protest,” she said.

Ntsoti said Mehlomakhulu had been asked to pass their grievances on to the Premier’s office. He said the Premier had been asked to respond within seven days. Protesters would wait for him on the gravel roads, he said.

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Published originally on GroundUp .

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Shaun Abrahams ducks every issue UDF veterans raise

NPA head refuses to withdraw appeal in Zuma corruption case

By GroundUp Staff
29 August 2017

Shaun Abrahams, head of the National Prosecuting Authority, has responded to a letter addressed to him by UDF veterans. Photo from NPA website

National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shaun Abrahams says the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will not withdraw its appeal against a court ruling on charges against President Jacob Zuma. Abrahams has also refused to supply a list of current cases relating to state capture and corruption.

Writing in response to a letter UDF veterans handed to the NPA on 7 August, Abrahams ducks every request in a response that is occasionally belligerent.

In April 2016 a full bench of the Gauteng High Court ruled that the NPA decision not to charge Zuma was irrational. The NPA then appealed against the decision. The UDF veterans’ letter called on Abrahams to drop the appeal. Abrahams’s response was that the matter preceded his time: “I regret to inform you that I am unable to accede thereto. As you are well aware, the history around this matter predates my appointment as the NDPP. The appeal pending in the Supreme Court of Appeal is premised largely on the powers of the NDPP and the functioning of the NPA. Finality is required in this regard.” Abrahams was appointed NDPP in 2015, about two years before the NPA appealed.

“I disagree with you that the NPA has failed to ‘act in terms of its Constitutional mandate to root out criminal activity within the state’ over the last decade. It is regrettable that you deemed to make such a general statement,” wrote Abrahams in the letter dated 16 August.

Abrahams rejected the UDF veterans’ claim that the NPA had been “glaringly absent” with respect to corruption, such as the Gupta email leaks uncovered, and that Abrahams’s silence made him complicit. “It is rather regrettable that you have to resort to making such comments not understanding the role and functioning of the NPA,” he wrote.

More than ten paragraphs of Abrahams’s 20 paragraph response describe the state structures responsible for fighting corruption. The essence of his claim is that the NPA is not responsible for what the UDF veterans are asking. Instead, he argues, their concerns should be raised with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks).

So in response to the UDF veterans’ call for a “full list of current cases relating to state capture and corruption, including detailed time frames, charges, where these have been laid and court dates where these have been set,” Abrahams says this should be directed to the Hawks.

Abrahams tries to hit back at the UDF veterans: “It does concern me that your interest only lies in the eradication of criminal activity within the state. Regrettably you make no mention of your concerns of corruption and acts of criminal activity around the private sector.” This even though the UDF veterans’ letter explicitly mentions several private companies requiring investigation, including Cash Paymaster Services, Trillian, Tegeta, Oakbay, Mckinsey, Dongfang Electric Company, VR Laser, Multichoice, Linkway Trading and several others.

“Contrary to your belief, indicative of the tone of your letter, the NPA will continue to execute its constitutional mandate without fear, favour, or prejudice,” Abrahams ends.

UDF veteran Zelda Holtzman told GroundUp the group was unhappy with Abrahams’s response but that a fuller statement would be issued after the veterans meet in the first week of September.
Download and read Abrahams’s full response.

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Published originally on GroundUp .

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When 'man's best friend' feels more hate than love for an owner

Let’s just go our separate ways.
anaxolotl, CC BY-NC

Everyone thinks that dogs worship their owners – viewing them as gods of some sort. While that may be true in the majority of cases, it isn’t always so. As a veterinarian who has focused on animal behavior and the human/canine bond for 30 years, I can confirm that sometimes, no matter what, a dog and his person just aren’t going to get along.

Take Ruckus, an adopted Wheaton terrier with an attitude. He pretty much hated his new owner, Rick, and was none too warm and fuzzy with Rick’s wife, Cindy. Although Rick was a terrific guy by human standards, Ruckus gave him hell – much the same as he had done with his previous male owner. It started slowly with some space guarding and territoriality. It eventually got so bad that Rick had to call on his way home to tell Cindy to confine Ruckus for fear of being attacked.

To Ruckus, Rick was persona non grata in his own home. It all ended very badly one day when Ruckus was tied up outside while Rick was mowing the lawn. Ruckus’s constant lunging eventually dislodged the tethering post and he flew at Rick, teeth bared and intent on committing grievous bodily harm. A wrestling match ensued; the police and animal control were called while Rick hung on with Ruckus in a choke hold. You really don’t want to know how this story ended: not well for Ruckus, I’m afraid.

Rick adored Ruckus, but it was one-way love. Ruckus truly hated him and engaged in what I called unidirectional aggression. I later found out that unidirectional aggression is a recognized entity in people as well as other animal species.

While there are dogs like Ruckus who frankly dislike their owner, there are others who get no pleasure out of living under the same roof as them. They merely tolerate certain people because they have no other choice. After adoption, these hapless hounds just find themselves having to endure uninteresting or punitive owners. Some withdraw and remain in a permanent funk. Others simply accept this shoddy treatment as the norm and carry on as best they can.

Fear can turn into aggression for some dogs.
Jan Tik, CC BY

In some cases, the dog may have good reason to be nonplussed with his owner: mistreatment will weaken and even seriously damage the human-animal bond. For example, a Brittany intended for hunting was constantly being trained by his owner using an electric shock collar. One day, the dog hid from him and lay quaking under the bed. When the man tried to drag him out, the dog bit him. You could say the man got his just desserts. The behavior the dog showed was fear aggression – directed toward the owner.

Curiously, this direct association between harsh treatment by an owner would not explain Ruckus’ situation because Rick never mistreated him. It seems most likely that Ruckus had been seriously abused by a man in the critical period of his development – certainly the within the first three to four months of life – and he never forgot it (almost like PTSD).

A German shepherd I wrote about in my book “The Dog Who Loved Too Much” was fearful of, but not aggressive to, his male owner. In this case, similar to the Ruckus situation, it was not what the male owner had done to the dog but what other men had done to the dog previously that carried over as a dislike of all men.

But this dog’s reaction was not proactive and aggressive like Ruckus’. Rather, it manifest as pure fear with no aggression – probably because of the dog’s naturally retiring temperament. When the man came home, the dog ran and hid and never appeared again until he left. The dog did not interact with him at all – except under one discrete circumstance.

When the man’s wife, a diabetic, became hypoglycemic at night (a very dangerous situation), the dog would run to the husband’s side of the bed and tug at the bedclothes until he woke up and realized the problem. The dog’s love for the wife caused him to overcome his fear and summon help when it was really needed. Bravery is not about having no fear but having the grit to fight through it. By this standard, the dog was as brave as they come – although he still would have preferred that the male owner did not exist at all.

I’m just not that into you… and I think you know why.
myri_bonnie, CC BY-NC-ND

So when you hear about dogs being “man’s best friend” and supplying “unconditional love” – that’s true only if the person adopts a compatible pet and invests time and attention, showing the dog it’s understood and appreciated. Long walks, plenty of fun, regular meals, clear communication, good leadership and affection should create the dog of everyone’s dreams.

It’s another instance where “the love you take is equal to the love you make,” to quote the Beatles. Mean-spirited owners, or those who have been duped into using punitive training methods, do not enjoy the wonderful bond that can exist – and their dogs do not appreciate them either.

Nicholas Dodman, Professor Emeritus of Behavioral Pharmacology and Animal Behavior, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University

This article was originally published on The Conversation.