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We need to show respect

The world of news and sport has been completely in the grip of the Oscar Pistorius/Reeva Steenkamp tragedy. Whichever way one looks at it lives have been lost and families affected for life and that is very sad indeed.
Crime is high in South Africa and South Africans generally tend to be very harsh critics. Public opinion is split up into those who feel he is guilty, those who feel he is not, those who hope he is not as well as various political groups and activists applying pressure on opinions and emotions regarding this tragedy.

One would certainly not expect that this would happen to people who hold this sort of profile but it has. The media and various other reporting mediums have said a lot and the facts are not really made known yet. Public opinion is made on what is available and people tend to judge based on what they think they would have done in the same circumstances.

In my heart I want him to be innocent but not for the wrong reasons. If he is lying then ballistics/ forensic and toxicology evidence will move to prove that. His record is clean although he has said things he may regret in certain moments. Most of us are guilty in that department.

Let us rather adopt the approach of waiting for the facts to be known before we pass judgment and let the emotion of the tragedy run away with us. Some of the things being said are just horrible and is probably a reflection of a society that is in a state of decline.

These families would in my opinion prefer privacy to work through this tragedy in the way that they feel best equipped to do so. A respectful society would allow them this time to grieve by staying away from what sells best and that is media sensationalism.

Let us show respect to all parties during a very difficult time. Some may feel that one is alive and one is dead so the tragedy is one sided. Consider possible innocence coupled with the loss of the one you love by your own hand and the loss of everything you have worked for as well.

If guilty consider a life in jail in South Africa for the rest of your life. He will have many years to reflect on those fateful actions that most would not dare to think about.

South Africa is a society that loves them when they are up and kicks them when they are down. History proves it time and again.
 
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