Its idiocy was mind-boggling, but SA will regret Clicks making common cause with thuggery

Clicks's racist ad was to the EFF like a red rag to a bull, and Julius Malema wasted no time in marshalling his so-called ground forces. The self-styled commander-in-chief tweeted "attack" - in capital letters and exclamation marks for emphasis - then sat back and licked his chops.

After a day or so of chaos and mayhem, during which stores were vandalised and employees intimidated, the health and lifestyle retailer was desperately waving the white flag. Thuggery had won the day. Violence apparently does pay.

The EFF was quite pleased with the outcome, and understandably so. If words could walk, they would have arrogantly strutted out of party members' mouths. The sanitisers and the scholarships, though paltry, were the icing on the cake.

The real victory was the fact that a meeting had taken place and that the EFF, without any official authority except threats of violence, has forced a major retailer not only to recant but to grovel in person. In fact, that victory was achieved even before the meeting.

There is no question, however, that the ad was wrong, primitive and racist, and therefore deserved to be roundly condemned

There was nothing to discuss. It's almost as though Clicks were coerced into a meeting where it was presented with a piece of paper and urged to sign. It had to. It had no option. It has a business to run, and countless families to feed. But in making common cause with thuggery, it has set a terrible precedent which the country will live to regret.

In a sense, Clicks had no alternative but to find a way out of the quandary. It had to make the best of a bad situation. Losing an urgent court application, with costs, on Monday had simply added fuel to the fire. It galvanised Malema's ground forces and almost legitimised their action. And the police simply sat on their hands. The company was hung out to dry.

There is no question, however, that the ad was wrong, primitive and racist, and therefore deserved to be roundly condemned. How any self-respecting entity could promote such a crude caricature simply boggles the mind. It's almost as if the script was crafted by someone who has just emerged into the bright sunlight after years of living under a rock.

Also astonishing is the fact that such ignorance or attitudes could persist at a time when the Black Lives Matter movement has firmly put the issue of racism at the top of the international agenda. The decision by sports people to follow the example of their US counterparts to take a knee has sparked a fierce debate about racism across the world and how to tackle it, including here in SA. No-one therefore cannot but be alive to the issues involved.

Many corporates and brands have also come out to disavow any form of racism. Clicks, it seems, never got the memo.

But Clicks's idiocy was the EFF's good fortune. The party has been starved of controversies - its staple diet - to mine of late. People are being exercised by matters of life and death. And so, when Clicks blundered, the red berets immediately pounced, with relish. The ad was a godsend.

There are those who will argue that the EFF's violent tactics have been successful and that the end therefore justifies the means. But violence in a democracy can never be justified. It is wrong. Trashing or vandalising private property and inconveniencing innocent citizens should not be acceptable under any circumstances. What's even worse in this case is that the violence is instigated not by some mischief-makers, but by the third-largest party in parliament which has numerous peaceful channels to voice its displeasure. Lawmakers should not be lawbreakers.

The orchestration of the whole thing had nothing to do with - as the EFF put it - restoring the dignity of the black child. If that were the case, why did EFF members harass a black woman reporter outside a Clicks store in Cape Town? Doesn't her dignity matter? Mbuyiseni Ndlozi dismissed the incident as "mere touching" - mansplaining at its crudest.

But this week's events are part of a pattern. Violence has become ingrained in our society. Buildings and other property are trashed or burnt during demonstrations without the culprits facing any consequences. Those who find themselves facing the mob simply give in to the intimidation to avoid further trouble. And the troublemakers walk away as heroes. It's a recipe for disaster.

And, with one or two exceptions, business on the whole seems to have decided to remain silent. It is a condition, I guess, born of bitter experience. You don't hang around the scene of a mugging in this country. Avert your gaze and keep your mouth shut, or make a run for it. But there are, I suppose, all sorts of calculations taking place in boardrooms around the country: how to pre-empt falling into such a quagmire or how to get out of it with your reputation still intact.

But the vital question is: who runs this place? Is it President Cyril Ramaphosa or Malema? And where was Bheki Cele, the firefighter, who's always the first to arrive at a crime scene? The government simply abdicated its responsibility and left the country at the mercy of an unruly mob. A mealy-mouthed statement on behalf of the cabinet was issued after the fact, a sure mark of cowardice. We know the president was up and about because he expressed sadness at the passing of George Bizos, which was commendable. But the thuggery and criminality which disrupted people's lives seemed none of his bother.

Lack of leadership could prove this country's undoing.