For the first time in my life I have been called a Grumpy Old White Racist P@@$.
It happened like this:
I took the dwarves and three of their friends down to Kings Beach for a dip in the sea this afternoon.
There happened to be a quad bike riding round and round on the sand making most beachgoers slightly nervous as the bike ranged over the beach.
I left the quad biker for 30 minutes or so hoping that he/she would finally get bored and leave. But, to no avail.
I then (at around 14:35) asked the lifeguard on duty if he had chatted to the quad bike rider and pointed out that the beach was no place for quad bike riding. His answer was that he had and had been told to ‘fuck off’ so he had called the beach patrol to come and sort the errant rider out.
Of course I felt very sorry for the lifeguard being abused in such a fashion and took a stroll to where the quad bike was being riden. It was then that I saw that the quad was being riden by a young boy and his father was lying on the bed of the bakkie. Approaching the father I enquired if he was aware that no quad bikes were allowed to be ridden on the beach and that riders should wear helmets at all times.
The reaction was, predictably, not pleasant. After I offered to help the father load the quad bike onto his bakkie the atmosphere got rather heated. Suffice to say that I had a fighting stick shoved into my face, along with being physically manhandled and verbal abuse being heaped upon my person. In the melee the young quad bike rider broke out into tears – of course it was my fault for pointing out that his father was in the wrong.
With the stick in my face I phoned 10111 and tried to explain the situation to them. First off the operator had no idea where Kings Beach is and then whilst the father was heaping abuse on me and throwing my phone on the sand 10111 HUNG UP on me.
And then the line that we all fear was used against me: As I continued to stand my ground the father called me a racist pig/poes and told me to fuck off. As I was contemplating doing so another car (NOT an ORV) arrived with two women and a young boy in and the women began to lay into me with more verbal abuse upon my person, age, gender, appearance, culture and race. Their main argument for their entitled behaviour of riding on the beach in a bakkie AND a normal vehicle AND a Quad Bike was that there were NO SIGNS specifically prohibiting them from doing so.
So there you have it people – According to my ‘attacker’ if there are no signs SPECIFICALLY prohibiting you from murdering anyone then you may do so with impunity and get off Scott Free.
After a few minutes of back and forth and being told by my attackers that the lifeguard HAD given them permission I strolled away to check the veracity of their argument with the lifeguard who confirmed that he had told them to leave and called the beach patrol who were not responding quick enough.
So, back I went to my stick wielding entitled attacker to report back BUT, this time, one of the other lifeguards accompanied me.
And the abuse started again. The lifeguard, to his credit, got the quad bike group to agree to pack up and leave. Apparently the lifeguard was on ‘my side’ because white people pay people like him to do their dirty work.
I have photographs of the bakkie’s expired licence should anyone at 10111 care to attend to my complaint and confiscate the vehicle as they are entitled to do in law ( see the regulations further down), whilst below my ‘friendly attacker’ poses for the camera.
The applicable regulations are to be found here: National Environmental Management Integrated Coastal Management Act, 2008 (Act No.24 Of 2008). You WILL notice that he act does NOT prescribe the use of signs to warn people that they may not ride on the beach and, I presume, employs the axiom that ‘ignorance of the law is NOT an excuse.” AND, at no time did my ‘attacker’ offer the information that he DID have a permit to use his ORV on the beach as indicated on the sign and in the regulations.
The section in the above act dealing with Law Enforcement provides for the issuing of a fine or confiscation of a vehicle/s saying:
10.Law enforcement
(1) Any authorised officer may in addition to any powers he or she may have in terms of the National Environmental Management Act or the Criminal Procedure Act-
(a) arrest any person whom he or she has reasonable grounds to believe has commited or is commiting an offence in terms of these regulations;
(b) seize any vehicle if he or she on reasonable grounds believes that the vehicle has been or is being used in the commision of an offence in terms of these regulations;
(i) may afford evidence of the commision or suspected conmmision of an offence in terms of these regulations or
(i) is intended to be used in the commision of an offence in terms of these regulations;
(c) at any time within 30days of the alleged commision of the offence, isue a written notice in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, stipulating an admission of guilt fine which shall not exceed R25000, to any person whom he or she has reasonable grounds to believe has commited or is commiting an offence in terms of these regulations.
Alan Straton
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