Ok I've done my bit for the day. Dear Ms/Mrs Stofberg,<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Your response to a fellow cyclist was posted on an internet forum (www.thehubsa.co.za) and I requested your e-mail address for the purposes of addressing a couple of issues with you directly. I hope that you will entertain my point of view as a private citizen, a cyclist and a motorist. I spoke with Mr Maas on the day that the article was first published in the Volksblad to try to understand his motivation before jumping to biased conclusions. Unfortunately his explanation that this article was satirical in nature did little to assuage my feelings of disgust. Nor has your explanation. Satire is a transparent cloak for the generation of hype. I am an English speaking person so my grasp of the nuances of the Afrikaans language is somewhat lacking. However I believe that I probably represent a large portion of the South African population and present that if the satire seemed to me to be tasteless and prevocative rather than achieving the goal of generating healthy debate then this is also the case for a large portion of South Africans. Furthermore, I must question whether the intention really was to generate healthy debate as opposed to just stirring up emotions and hence readership numbers. The latter is obviously a much more vulgar goal and if valid must be seen as a tasteless and insensitive action. You state that <?:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Maas' article was instigated by a prior article which appeared in the Beeld regarding a group of cyclists who attacked a motorist because he hooted at them. Your statements as well as the original article sadden me. Once again, the original article was written in a completely one-sided manner with the sole intention of creating maximum hype. A subsequent FACTUAL article has been written by Willem De Swart which presents that both parties were equally at fault. It carries apologies by both parties and points to the root cause of such incidents as being the general high levels of intolerance of South African road users towards each other. I am in no way condoning the actions of the cyclists in question (whether provoked or not) and believe that they have done the South African cycling community in general a huge disfavour, however I must aslo state that by publishing side one sided accounts of such incidents you increase the levels of antagonism that you claim the majority of motorists harbour. There is a very important issue which Maas' article highlights, albeit perversely. Cyclists are very exposed in terms of personal safety when compared with motorists therefore the actions of cyclists "misbehaving" i.e. delaying motorists by a few seconds or even minutes is completely at odds with actions of motorists who "misbehave". The consequences of the latter are potentially fatal! This fact needs to be highlighted to cyclists and motorists equally - and not in a manner that suggests that can be used as a means to an end i.e. ridding the roads of cyclists! As I write this I am advised of another cyclist having been knocked down this morning. That is 2 for the day so far! I believe that elements of the South African media have lost their way in our new dispensation. They have a responsibility to society and that responsibility is being overshadowed by the drive to sell newspapers and advertising. The balance will ultimately be restored but at what cost in the interim? I am aware that Mr Maas has already suffered financially as a direct result of the article and sincerely hope that the number of responses that your newspaper will have received will make you re-consider your stance on the article. I urge you to focus on highlighting the root causes of the problem, and I state it again - South Africans are generally intolerant and inconsiderate of each other as road users. As long as the Beeld continues to perpetuate the hype and antagonism it must be partially responsible for every motorist/cyclist accident on our roads. Finally I believe that your newspaper should apologise unreservedly to all South Africans who have lost loved ones in cycling accidents for it's complete lack of sensitivity.
