Enough! Enough of all the pussyfooting, slippery tongue-sliding circumlocution. Enough of the fall backs to culture, ancestry, age, wisdom, the struggle, the party and the legacy of apartheid. Enough of the misuse of taxpayers’ money. Enough of the failure to speak when appropriate and necessary and enough of the propensity and frequency with which inappropriate, inarticulate and best-left-unsaid comments are made. Enough of the failure to declare assets transparently and enough of the chommie-appointing, corruption-loving, tender-sharing money grabbing. Enough of the unwillingness to provide a safe space for women, homosexual people, foreigners, and HIV-positive people. Enough of the inaction.
When will the elected government act as the representatives they are supposed to be? Never mind being representatives of their voting population, or South Africans, but as actual representatives of a successful, transparent and free society? When will the electorate who voted for the ANC government, and the members of the ANC party who actually still have a backbone (those whose backbones have become puppet-strings in the throes of absolute power are already too far gone) stop sucking up, brown nosing and generally being too power-fearing to comment and criticise a bad job when they see one? Or perhaps it is impossible to see a bad job when there is in fact very little work being done at all.
New legislation granting rights for people and marginalised groups feels like a treat left just outside the cage. We are supposed to look at it and feel pride in what we have been given. We begin to locate our failure to live in a country where we become economically empowered rather than enriched with ourselves.
It is frustrating to be so full of love and hope for a future in South Africa at the moment because it feels like it taunts me. I am within the cage of a country locked in a cage of public inaction and I don’t have the key. The people with the keys are safely seated in luxury hotel rooms, smart cars, lathered in their bubble baths made of oil, money and the blood, sweat and tears of the working public.
The cage of fear of criticising government traps many people. It misshapes their mind in a way that even Orwell could not have anticipated. For it requires no methods or machines of torture. It requires far less. It requires that the majority remain inactive, apathetic and bathed in the belief that the world outside does not affect them, and more so that they can’t affect it.
So enough of the government’s half-eaten sweets of success casually thrown to the masses to allow them a brief taste. Enough of their pitiful efforts to justify their glutton-like lifestyles. Enough of the fear that we cannot criticise. Enough of people who don’t want to act because it ruins their gym routines, their Saturday afternoons or the linings of their latest and most stylish wallet.
Change is inevitable, like death and taxes (well for most people). It requires that we do things and act to make the change the way we want to. It’s as easy as giving an hour of your time for the greater good or opening your mouth to speak out about injustice.
I hope that the government knows that the history books will not be rewritten and their failures will speak more loudly than their successes if they do nothing to remedy them.
We must all take responsibility for building a better South Africa.
@ Dave Harris
So let me get this right. Are you saying that protest politics is a reserved occupation, or are you implying that only those causes aligned with your view of the world are legitimate. You should be concerned Dave, you are beginning to mirror the (illogical) thought processes of your masters. Oh, sorry..I forgot, that’s why they hired you in the first place!
@haiwa
are you forgetting the fact that our country has one of the highest HIV contraction rates in the world?surely if we are going to have a person in power, they should pay atttention to such alarming facts and therefore act accordingly!!its not an attack on the culture of Jacob Zuma, its clearly stating that the man does have a responsibility to this country to act in a way that will not harm any of its people!and that is precisely what he is doing as he is stating that it is ok to have unprotected sex with as many partners as one pleases instead of maybe taking a second, thinking, and realising that in doing so he is setting an example to be followed. the result = more HIV infections!!!
get real haiwa!!or more importantly why dont you go live somewhere where HIV and Aids are not an issue!!oh wait, no such place exists.
its people like you who make this country worse by making unprotected sex acceptable..good luck when you are on the receiving end of HIV and lets see how much you have to say then..
Karin and Jen, you live in a cacoon. And Karin you ran (like a median – not all – woman) with your own interpretation of what I said. I will be more specific below.
When I lived in Southern Africa I had the “privilege” of attending funerals very regularly. 60%+ of my old staff is now deceased. Before dying some of them “murdered?/man-slaughtered?” or gave a death sentence to wives and girlfriends through spreading infection. Culture meant that nothing could be said about protecting the ignorant and susceptible to money (as especially many of the very young rural disempowered girlfriends are). NOTE: FIGHT FOR THE DISEMPOWERED NOT FEMALE – I KNOW IT DOESN”T PAY AND IS DIRTY AND DANGEROUS.
With fast action to protect the ignorant, naive and let’s face it hormone-fuzzy-headed youth; the epidemic would be significantly less..
So Jen, you and Mbeki can pat each other on the back agreeing that despite coming from different angles your dogmas have achieved the same end.
Still disgusted or reflecting with shame?
@ Haiwa Tigere
You miss the point my friend. As a part of the so called “Caffe Latte” culture, let me give you an example. 10 years ago a plan was initiated in our neighbourhood to transfer 20 hectares of land free of charge to approximately 28 destitute families. The only proviso was that the Government help finance the construction of the houses. Well, 10 years down the line, after countless meetings with various departments, direct petitions to Mbeki and Zuma, press articles and any other means of applying pressure, still no success, so we have embarked on doing it ourselves. The so called “villagers” and land owners are coming up with their own solutions and working together because this Government is too damn inefficient to help with handing over FREE land. Good governance and service delivery are not solely the plight of the wealthy. Quiet the contrary my dear fellow. I have my hand on the pulse of the rural areas and I foresee a serious shock coming the way of the ANC. As the Aussie saying goes..Brace y’erself Sheila….
I see you are reading the comments (sometimes I have wondered). I whole heartedly identify with your frustration, but it is not going to stop. Why?
From the diverse reactions you are getting it becomes clear that the determining factor is world-view. Three quarters of our Government are communists which indicates they have an atheistic world-view. They do not acknowledge any authority but their own. So they call the shots. They are looking after themselves and their buddies. The rest of the African population have an African world-view, which promotes a laissez-faire attitude. So they are satisfied with their entitlement attitude. As Jen F has said she is tired of apologising for being white and left.
The only change in this country will come when we recognise an absolute authority, greater, higher than ourselves.
@Rod of Sydney, you’re completely missing a crucial element of the spread of the virus and that is the stigma that surrounds talking about the virus.
If the virus is not talked about, and people are ‘branded’ as positive, those people will be subject to further social stigma making them easy targets for fear mongers to abuse, exclude and disown.
A badge will never serve the purpose of preventing a virus and it only serves to increase the ignorance around the issue. People would become afraid to seek information about HIV because someone ‘might think they had it’.
I’m sorry about the workers that you lost. The current context requires that we each do something in our daily lives to help those infected with HIV and our own recognition that we are affected by HIV. At least you have the second part right, but the first part I fear lacks empathy and understanding of the social context.
@Dave Harris
You have not answered any of my questions.You said: “Is there not a problem with using a fake name to peddle hatred and spout rubbish?” Who is using a fake name (and who is spouting rubbish?)
I think that is exactly what you are doing, instead of giving us your views on the present government. Stop trying to shoot the messenger and give us your objective opinion!
With your private school background you should be able to give us some well-thought-out ideas. I may not agree with you, but I will respect your right to air your views.
@RubinB & Witbooi
You are waisting your time and energy with the so called “Dave Harris”. Dont engage him in intellectual debate. He neither has the capacity or character to think clearly and speaks from the “Malema” book of so called “potest politics”.
Be mindfull of the brainless amongst us, because destruction and personal self interest is their only goal.There is no other way for them to bask in the sun of the great politicians of our time.Dummies for Dummies he needs a job either way.
@ Jen
Well said,but as pointed out,lets stop talking and start using these forums to put action in place and level Ideas at saving this country for all its people. We will get no help from anyone,where are the concerts and the sponsors now. I guess its Ok for Blacks to suffer under Black oppression.
Wow! I’m reeling after having read the many comments… why is there so much name calling etc? It’s counter-productive and clearly identifies that cultural and racial discord is as much a problem as the ineffective governance.
@Peter L. Your words are refreshing – what a relief!
How about educating the leaders? That would be a great help with educating the masses of followers.
We cannot go back 50 years, only forward and that being learning from the well acknowledged mistakes from the past and not insisting upon tit for tat 50 years to recover.
Seems very much like a vicious cycle!!! Saddening
@ Cobus
I know, but spare a man a little fun would you. Its not often one gets to engage a true comedian.
As animals all humans have a need to survive and when operating on that need alone anything goes provided that it appears to be satisfying that need.
Humans also have another need and that is to flourish as human beings. Exemplars like Jesus Christ have shown us that if we want to flourish as human beings then we have to become totally for others, selfless in other words.
Most people lie somewhere on the spectrum that stretches from only survival to complete selflessness. Politics is a profession that seems generally to draw a greater number of people from the only survival end of the spectrum than from the selfless end.
In 1994 we were terribly lucky as a people because there seemed to be a greater proportion of people involved in politics who were towards the selfless end of the spectrum than is currently the case. Now we seem to have a greater number of people who, are involved in politics, and are, as people, at the survival end of the spectrum. The consequence of this is a surfeit of bad governance, corruption, fraud and other socially dysfunctional behaviours.
Jen, talking about it is what intellectuals in city offices do. It is not common in the rural areas of makatini, Gungani, Bunya, Mhlabatini, wherever.
I would like to make an analogy with teenage pregancies – very related I’m sure you would agree? People know the consequences but the “forces” driving this hormonal-induced “love”, status-seeking, amateur prostitution (ie. susceptibility to bling and presents) process of making babies from the young and ignorant goes on and on and on and grows…..
So, it is not stigma of talking consequences but rather that the urge to bonk (for a variety of reasons) is strong.
Furthermore be pragmatic, must we continue to protect the infected (who are the ones doing the infecting or who have the ability to do the infecting!) in case some members of the community ostrasize(sp?) them? That is ridiculous. What about the yet to be infected? They are more important in my book! As an analogy I can be sympathetic to the social drinker who on the only occasion they slipped over the limit caused a fatal crash but I still support a lengthly jail term for them as a deterent to protect others on the road in future.
And no I do not advocate social rejection of HIV people and find any implication a personal insult. I do however think that sexual rejection should be the choice of the uninfected – hence the need for them to know!
Armed revolution is another parallel – sometimes the only way.
@Cobus De Wet
“Good old Racism, who is and who isn’t. Am I or am I not ?? Why do we waste our time on these unanswerable questions.” (Cobus De Wet on May 29th, 2009 at 9:23 am)
Your desire to sidestep the very real racial issues of our country, shows your apartheid denialism.
I’ll ignore your insults and highlight just this hollow statement -”lets stop talking and start using these forums to put action in place and level Ideas at saving this country for all its people”
Did you really mean ALL its people? How could you speak for ALL people when you deny basic reality???
If there is one thing you should have learned from your apartheid heritage, its that you and your ancestors have ALWAYS been DIRECT BENEFICIARIES of white-AA. The days of white-AA are nearing its end and will NEVER come back in SA. So “saving this country” is a euphemism for saving your white-AA privileges eh?
Well brace yourself, you’re in for a rough ride…if you catch my drift
I suppose there are many different ways the same thing could have ben said.
I’m gatvol, says it all for me, but then I already vote against the ANC. The question is how do you get enough gatvollers (GV’s)to use their common sense and swing their vote away, to any other party other than the ANC.
The power quite simply has to be diluted, you dont have to vote for a party with the potential to win for this to happen but you can make a difference and wipe away some of the disgusting, stinking arrogance that permeates our beautiful land.
The country will be a much better place with an ANC majority below 50%, they dont need to be beaten.
Try voting for another party next time?
@haiwa tigere:“Enough of the fall backs to culture, ancestry, age, wisdom, the struggle, the party and the legacy of apartheid” This statement alone shows she does not even attempt to understand the black SAcans.
After reading this statement I went back and reread what the author had written. No where did I find her alluding anything that she wrote to a specific race or culture. And maybe that is one of the biggest problems that face South Africans today. We tend to blame everything on race. What does race have to do with the problems we are facing. We can have whites, with the same mentality as Zuma and Malema run the country and we will still face the same problems. How does attacking one another solve the problems we are facing? Problems that were caused by blacks and whites alike. Surely if we loved our country we would stand together and ‘fight’ for it instead of slinging mud and insulting one another’s race and culture.
Yes the goverment and therefore the country is in a deplorable state – and before somebody makes some inane comment about being welcome to leave if I don’t like it, I happen to love my country – and maybe what we should be doing is trying to figure out a way of fixing it before it is too late. Why wait for the ‘uneducated’ to ruin a beautiful country before we will fight for it?