At around 11pm on Sunday evening, #PennySparrow began trending on South African Twitter. At first, I suspected it was a new TV show – perhaps a mashup of Penny Dreadful and Jack Sparrow’s character – but I soon realised that it was just another example of Twitter users calling out racists for commenting with overtly degrading opinions via social media. Dumbass, have you not learnt?
It all began when Penny Sparrow penned a lengthy comment on a photo of Durban’s beachfront over New Years, noting how black people are monkeys.
Once it was noticed, people went digging and soon found her contact number:
Apparently, she received plenty of calls last night. Her profile was found on Property24 as well as Jawitz, listed as a Scottburgh estate agent:
But when Twitter asked Jawitz Properties what was up, the real estate agency replied that dear Penny hadn’t worked in their office since November 2015:
Perhaps a bit close for comfort? Maybe, but there’s a Penny Sparrow from Scottburgh who is now a manager at Scottburgh Nursery.
Coincidence or a new vocation for our girl? I wonder how many visits she’ll be receiving today.
However, Penny did issue an “apology”:
She has no idea.
