This article explores the meaning of violence in South African society against
the backdrop of its violent past. Using a perspective suggested by H.W. van de
Merwe** and Sue Williams in an article in 1987 – understanding violence as a
form of communication – the article seeks to analyse how the persistence and
scale of violence can be understood as a legacy of our past. This approach can
also help foster spaces for more constructive engagement with those who resort
to violence in the face of the society’s failure to provide effective channels for
more constructive communication