Catching Cro Cro

THE DECISION to suspend Cro Cro, caught in a video clip acting inappropriately while driving a CEPEP vehicle, sends the right signal. The State should have no part in conduct that is reckless or that normalises road rage.

With the exception of CEPEP, the parties involved in the incident have left a lot to be desired. Cro Cro for conducting himself in a way that brought the State into disrepute and the other driver for, instead of dousing the flame, throwing gasoline on the fire. Both endangered lives – including their own – as their tempers flared.

The allegation of a traffic offence, namely the use of a mobile device while driving, is just one part of the overall unsavoury picture which both parties may now have to answer for. Sadly, their conduct is emblematic of how many people act on a daily basis.

Suspending Cro Cro sends the message that such behaviour, whether provoked or not, is unacceptable. Too often we resort to verbal altercations or worse in an attempt to resolve our problems.

We allow ourselves to short-circuit, opening the door to perilous situations that make things worse. We forget that in any society there will always be frictions, but at the end of the day we must peacefully co-exist with one another.

We condemn all acts of racism in the strongest possible terms. Yet if a wrong has been done, two wrongs do not make a right.

It is ironic that in this age of social media we have become so anti-social. We are connected to one another more than we have ever been in history, yet that has made us sometimes seem miles apart. Just as we spar in real life, we troll and bully one another online.

Meanwhile, this incident has brought renewed scrutiny on CEPEP and similar government make-work programmes. Cro Cro’s suspension from the post of regional co-ordinator also serves as a reminder that all state officials are expected to conform to certain standards, even those who do not sit in Parliament.

Cro Cro once took to the Savannah stage in a school uniform to sing Corruption in Common Entrance. He has been suspended from class but could yet still redeem himself. The swift apology he issued on Wednesday is a good start.