On Saturday, the South African Twittersphere was set into a fresh rage spiral following comments from Nelson Mandela’s former PA and confidant Zelda la Grange that president Jacob Zuma made white people feel unwelcome in the country.

I'm sure comments like :unafrican to have dogs,stress is western creation,Van Riebeeck etc all good for investment in SA — Zelda (@ZeldalaGrangeSA) January 17, 2015 Makes white people really feel welcome in SA. I think I'm calling Jan today to ask him what de hell he was thinking sailing to Africa. — Zelda (@ZeldalaGrangeSA) January 17, 2015

The tirade, which went on for a number of tweets, echoed many of the frustrations which South Africans across the economic and social spectrum have felt with Zuma but, unfortunately, framed it within a racial narrative.

Many tweeters latched onto this, suggesting that the veil of the “rainbow nation” had slipped. The tone of some of the responses to la Grange meanwhile seemed to suggest that her relationship with Mandela was a facade and that she had harbored racist feelings all along.

Madiba was not wrong for reaching out to Zelda. But the exercise failed. — Mayihlome (@MTshwete) January 17, 2015

This is something which la Grange fervently denied:

I don't know why you are making such noise. I speak out when Steve Hofmeyr is being racist and will do so if anyone blames race for anything — Zelda (@ZeldalaGrangeSA) January 17, 2015

Interestingly, the interaction which some sections of the media were quick to call a twar — between la Grange and talk radio presenter Redi Thlabi — was perhaps the most sane today.

In order to see why, it is worth examining Thlabi’s response, which used academic rigor over emotion and sentiment, in full:

Compare that with the exchange that took place between sports minister Fikile Mbalula and EFF leader Julius Malema last year. It’s gossipy, full of allusions to information one has on the other and is about as far from the traditions of rigorous debate as a school ground fist fight. That is a twar.

Thalbi’s response to la Grange’s tweets is far from that. It’s a rare moment of lucidity and sanity that stands in sharp contrast to the usual frenzied witch hunt that accompanies most similar incidents on the social network.

La Grange meanwhile appeared to have considered at least some of the responses to her tweets and by the end of the day she had apologised.

There will, inevitably, be those who do not accept the apology. That said, even the most hard-headed tweeter would have to admit that it shows making a mistake on Twitter doesn’t automatically mean descending into the kind of pariah who sues puppets.