A columnist at The Sunday Times, Bullard's contribution to freedom of speech and social tolerance in South Africa has been enormous. He is outspoken, cheeky, controversial and provocative and is slowly but surely teaching South African society not to take everything so painfully seriously.
And it’s my bet that Bullard will be able to use this incidence to continue, now from a far stronger foundation, his tirade against the lack of action by the authorities against a crime wave that is killing this nation.
Easy going, jocular and flambouyant as he may be perceived to be, Bullard takes his job very seriously indeed. He also takes himself very seriously indeed and much as one would like to believe that he shrugs off the often-stinging criticism that he receives, in actual fact he doesn't much enjoy being criticised. And this in a way is one of his strengths - because when someone tells him off, he comes out fighting and doesn’t let up until he is convinced he has worn his adversary down and made his point.
So heaven help those who have perpetrated this violent physical attack, because he is the kind of guy who will badger the authorities mercilessly until these people are behind bars and then he will remind them and us for years to come of their despicable deed.
There is no way Bullard is about to wallow in self pity; he is not that sort of person. He might be down for a while but he's certainly not out and will be back with added purpose and vigour. He will be the first to recognise that his attack will be another huge contribution to the fight against crime in this country.
Like David Rattray, Bullard is someone who is enormously respected and who carries a lot of clout in this country. And every time one of these people is attacked, public pressure against crime increases by leaps and bounds.
