[imagesource: ANC Youth League]

It’s not a good time to be a pit bull, or a pit bull owner, in South Africa.

Over the past few weeks, a number of attacks across the country have led to a massive backlash against the dog breed.

A fatal attack on Wednesday in the Eastern Cape makes it three maulings (that we know of) in under a week and at least five this month.

Angry residents in Cape Town set fire to three pit bulls and killed them after a young girl was attacked near Athlone this week. The SPCA has received a deluge of surrendered pit bulls as owners fear retaliation if they keep them.

In short, it’s a highly charged topic and thus, as is to be expected, some members of the ANC Youth League have poured gasoline on the situation to score political points.

Here’s TimesLIVE with the poster in question:

“We advice (sic) the neighbours to find creative ways of eliminating these dogs.”

Sure, that will certainly defuse the situation.

The ANCYL in the Free State said it was disciplining members of the Pando Tladi branch:

“The ANCYL does not support the killing of animals or any violence,” said regional spokesperson Ayanda Madona…

“Our only message to the community is that they hand over dogs that they are unable to take care of because they are a threat to society. We will work with the SPCA as far as these processes are concerned.”

More than 120 000 people signed a petition started by the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation calling for a ban on pit bulls, which will be handed to agriculture, land reform and rural development minister Thoko Didiza.

Pit bull owners are being encouraged to give their dogs to the SPCA if they believe they are unsure they can provide a safe environment for the dog and those it interacts with.

Naturally, some owners have pushed back in dramatic fashion – none more so than Belinda Migor, 60, who lives and works in Benoni.

TimesLIVE tracked her down after a racist voice note went viral on a WhatsApp group called “Pit bulls be my voice”:

In her one-minute, seven-second rant, Migor said: “Estelle, I agree with you wholeheartedly. What I say is: ban the black man. They rape, they steal, they kill, worse than any pit bull could, and they get away with it. Ban those who are making the laws, ban Ekurhuleni, ban the black man. Get all the black women and cut out their uteruses and their ovaries [so] that they can’t procreate, because they will all turn out the same because they are all the same.”

She went on to say that black men should be got rid of “because they are the problem” while adding that God created pit bulls:

“Who created the black man? Do you think God? I don’t think so.”

Oh Belinda, you really have made a fool of yourself here.

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is investigating the voice note and Belinda might want to work on her defence.

She told a journalist she wasn’t admitting to having recorded the voice note but wanted to have a chat about it anyway:

“If we’re living in a democracy, why am I not allowed freedom of speech, hypothetically? Who can do anything about that if you have no proof, you only have screenshots, you don’t have the voice note? Whoever said that, that was terrible, and I do believe hypothetically that that person did apologise. I do believe, hypothetically, that that person carries their own shame.”

…”You can go on and on about the voice note as much as you want, you can do exactly what you want to, it really doesn’t faze me. Malema has never been called up for his hate speech, ever. Zuma has never been pulled up for that woman he raped, and I mean that was all over the news. Zuma has never sat in jail for all the wrong things he’s done — in all honesty, that’s the bigger picture.”

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

You know it’s coming:

She said she did not consider herself a racist. “I am actually very kind, specifically to black people. You would be surprised. I always help, always.”

I’m sure she has lots of black friends.

Pro-tip, Belinda – if you’re not racist, don’t call for the eradication of black people.

She went on to blame diabetes for her outburst, seemingly now owning up to the voice note, saying, “When your sugar is out of whack, which happens quite often, you don’t think clearly, you can’t focus.”

I give her some credit for coming up with a fresh excuse. In all my days, I’ve never heard the diabetes defence.

SAHRC commissioner Andre Gaum reiterated that an investigation is underway and a hearing at the equality court may be the way to go.

I’d suggest Belinda lawyer up and monitor her sugar levels before her day in court.

[sources:timeslive&timeslive]