Is there a Doom spray for Litterbugs?

Is it okay to excuse someone’s behaviour, give them the benefit of the doubt, because they’re of a certain race?

I’m wondering because the other day while driving we saw the car in front of us throw an empty plastic bottle out their car window and into the street. Lucy, being English, was shocked; I just kind of shrugged and didn’t make too much of it, not because I am apathetic towards littering, but because the car was full of black people.

I assumed they were from an historically disadvantaged area that was probably rubbish-strewn. I assumed they had not such a great education and weren’t exposed to the Zeebi adverts I was as a kid telling us not to litter.

I assumed that they just didn’t know any better.

I sometimes struggle with my attitudes towards other races. Often I see behaviour that makes me sigh – getting offered “nice Charlie” every five steps by Nigerians in Long Street; being cut off by a taxi only to have it slam on the brakes in front of me – I sometimes think things that I know are wrong.

For every dodgy black person I’ve met, I know twenty that are good, honest people. And living in Cape Town I’ve met more than my fair share of dodgy whites.

But then I pick up the paper and read about Julius Malema’s latest racist rant and my mind boggles at the massive support he has, or my fiancée gets treated like dirt at work because she’s white and British and dealing with young South African blacks.

Witnessing the simple act of littering out a car window made me sigh.

I wondered if it was because they came from a township with Pick ‘n Pay packets flapping from every fence. But surely that would make them more aware of how horrible it is to have rubbish just dumped in the street? They were adults; surely their minds could make that connection.

Maybe it was an act of spite? Or defiance of some kind?

Maybe not-littering is something one needs to learn from an early age?

I think it is human nature to box people. Not punch them in the face, but to compartmentalise. Think about it next time you’re in a bad mood in traffic:

Old person driving too slow – fucking grannies should have to do their driving test again when they hit eighty!

Twenty-year-old sits on your arse when you’re doing 120 – fucking young prick should learn how to drive!

Taxi almost kills you – fucking guy probably bought his license!

Psychologists tell us that racists only see the stereotypical behaviour and not the actions that go against the prejudicial beliefs. The hard part is being honest enough with ourselves to know when we are letting the cliché feed racist thoughts.

So what does my reaction to the plastic bottle out the car window tell me about myself? Am I racist for justifying the action? Am I apathetic when it comes to certain races because I think that’s just the way they behave?

In school they told us that when we saw someone littering we should point and shout, “Litterbug! Litterbug!” loudly until the offender picked their rubbish up and deposited it in the bin.

Maybe I should just start doing that again.