Matric Rage cancellations: Let's put the blame where the blame is due

A few days ago, Rage Festival Group  CEO, Greg Walsh, did a Donald Trump - or if you prefer - a Fikile Mbalula. In a video statement, he blamed the media for the cancellation of the Ballito and Plett raves.

Before I go any further, let me say that I am genuinely sorry for anyone who has lost work and income because of the cancellations. It is really tough and something that millions of South Africans (and people around the world) have had to cope with since the outbreak of the pandemic.

I’m also sorry for the matrics who could not have the parties they were looking forward to having – another sad reality of the times we live in. I know it is a small consolation at this point, but it will be an amazing story to tell your grandchildren one day.

Let me now turn to Mr. Walsh’s video message.

In it, he repeatedly accused the media of lying, spreading panic and hysteria. He put the blame squarely at the media’s door for the fact that the raves were (clearly unfairly in his mind) “forced” to shut down.

“I have come to realise that we are at the lowest time of media’s commitment to its purpose – to inform people of the truth,” he said. He then went on to accuse the media of click-baiting for advertising purposes and said that the core purpose of the media has become one of spreading hysteria.

I am not part of the media (I only write this weekly column) and like Mr. Walsh, I also worry that we are living in a post-truth world where especially social media – seems to have little regard for truth.

However, Mr. Walsh is doing exactly the same thing when he blames the media for the cancellation of the raves whilst providing very little (if any) evidence of the so-called lies that they have purportedly spread.

So let’s look at the actual truths:

1)    At these raves hundreds (if not thousands) of young people get together. They are packed in close proximity and it is impossible to enforce Covid protocols such as the wearing of masks. Simply put ‘rave’ and ‘social distancing’  don’t go together.

2)    There is little doubt that last year’s Ballito rave was a super-spreader event contributing to the second wave that resulted in beaches being closed, Christmas celebrations being cancelled, alcohol restrictions, serious pressure on health care workers etc. (Note that I don’t accuse the rave of being the sole cause, but it definitely played a big role.)

3)    Mr. Walsh makes a big deal of the fact that they were going to require proof of vaccinations and a negative test. That is all commendable. He also explains that they did rapid antigen tests on site. Again, commendable. Yet, we all know that there is a window where both PCR and antigen tests can produce false negatives – in particular, if the person is asymptomatic. In fact, that is exactly what their own testing showed, since a number of people tested positive after (presumably) having had negative test results before the event.

4)    He also makes a point that their infection rate was extremely low. Again, we all know that even one infected person who is in close proximity to a number of people over an extended period of time can be responsible for a huge number of secondary infections.

I understand his frustration with the fact that the events were approved by officialdom. Yet, none of them could have predicted Omicron. They could not have known that we would be faced (at the time of the event) with a new, rapidly spreading new variant.

I’m astonished that after the President’s address to the nation in which he, amongst others, pleaded for these raves to be cancelled, Mr. Walsh didn’t immediately cancel or postpone these events as any responsible citizen would have – especially after what had happened last year. Why wait for an outcry?

Instead he now blames the media. This is totally disingenuous. Omicron is the reason for these cancellations, not the media or politicians or the public.

Is Mr. Walsh seriously suggesting that if the media had not written about those who tested positive at the event’s testing stations that he would have let the raves go on?

Doctors in the know have also reported that many of those who tested positive were flown back to Gauteng by their parents without informing the airlines that they had tested positive.

This is of course not the fault of the event organisers. Yet, it shows why events such as these are so problematic.

Tens of thousands of people (my family included) have had to bury their loved ones over the last 18 months without a proper funeral or any of the rituals associated with saying goodbye. Professional sportspeople, artists, church people, restaurateurs, people in the hospitality industry – have all seen their livelihood disappear – because of COVID and may I add, exacerbated by super spreader events.  

Those who have suffered in this way have not taken cheap shots at the media. They know that the two major villains in this ongoing struggle are a deadly virus on one hand, and the irresponsible behaviour of too many on the other.