Race and racism in South Africa is a thorny issue, as you can see from the almost weekly stories of the internet blowing up over someone’s actions or comments, usually displayed for all to see on social media.

Take this idiot from Camps Bay, for example, which we hoped might be the last racism-related story of the week.

You’d think there would be enough tension out there that people wouldn’t feel the need to deliberately contribute to it, but you’d be wrong.

Durban businessman Lindo Buthelezi decided to contribute to the problem conversation by making a video, reports TimesLIVE.

In the video, he films himself “chastising” a white vagrant asking for R2.

Take a look:

Buthelezi says that the controversial clip, which has gone viral on social media, is part of a “documentary” which will address uncomfortable issues of race and poverty.

He doesn’t mention anything about being needlessly cruel to a hungry man on the side of the road.

But hey, it’s worth it to “break the internet”, right?

Speaking to TimesLIVE on Tuesday, Buthelezi said his admonishment of the homeless man was part of a carefully planned PR campaign which would “break the internet”.

“I own a PR company and we break the internet with these kinds of campaigns,” he said.

“The trending video of a white man being refused R2 and being given an uncomfortable lecture is actually not a racist video but is part of a new documentary that’s been in the works for some time,” he said.

The video has sparked massive debate on social media, with many slamming Buthelezi. He isn’t deterred though. In fact, he’s really amped about the pushback.

“I’m really excited and happy that we evoked so much emotion, which is what we’ve been working on for such a long time.

“White people need to face reality and get to know us without them feeling superior. Poverty is real and can be addressed once the people who control the economy are exposed to it first hand. Because these issues are continuously swept under the carpet, it goes to show how far we are with this rainbow nation and transformation we ‘think’ we’ve mastered.”

Buthelezi apologised to anyone who was hurt or offended by the video.

The “documentary”, called The Flip Side SA, will air on YouTube at some time in mid-2019.

Think we’ll go ahead and give this one a pass.

[source:timeslive]