My esteemed former colleague, Ambassador Phatse Justice Piitso, must have been smoking something. It might even be that his sojourn in the communist heaven, that example of human rights - Cuba - left him a little addled and unable to read a straightforward opinion piece by me without grossly misunderstanding and misrepresenting it.
His direct statement that I suggested driving a bakkie with a dog in the front seat while my fellow human being "is basking at the back through the extremely harsh wether (sic) conditions is a practice amongst the diversified culture of the people of our country" is both semi-literate and ridiculous. I suggested no such thing.
The ambassador takes umbrage at my statement that President (our beloved comrade president, he calls him) Zuma's remarks about dogs and whites were silly and resulted from a focus on dividing and labelling and categorising people instead of seeking as president to unite us all.
He says I would never have said anything so ‘racist' (?) to any of the presidents during the white minority rule years. It may comfort the ambassador to know that in 1961 at the final election rally in the Pretoria City Hall I moved a motion of no confidence in Dr Verwoerd, the National Party and the Government of South Africa. My motion received not a single other vote but I did survive to tell the tale.
My colleague may be surprised to learn that in 1978 as Leader of the Opposition in the Transvaal Provincial Council, I refused to support the customary motion of loyalty to the State President because Mr BJ Vorster was implicated in the Muldergate scandal. I was told by a Nationalist MEC that the Afrikaner would never forgive me for my disloyalty to South Africa.
So you see, Ambassador Piitso, I have a long record of telling truth to power and whether you and your SACP friends like it or not, I will continue doing that. I will also continue doing whatever I can to promote social cohesion, mutual respect and tolerance and unity between our citizens so that we can achieve the promise of our constitution: freedom, justice and equality.
On Twitter, follow Douglas Gibson@dhmgibson
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
