Comments on: Take some freaking responsibility

By: Aileen

Aileen — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:19:33 +0000

@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?

By: Paul Whelan

Paul Whelan — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:15:10 +0000

Try voting for another party next time?

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:46:55 +0000

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.

By: Dave Harris

Dave Harris — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:59:07 +0000

@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

By: Rod of Sydney

Rod of Sydney — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:51:39 +0000

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.

By: Rory Short

Rory Short — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:21:34 +0000

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.

By: Witbooi

Witbooi — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:47:46 +0000

@ Cobus
I know, but spare a man a little fun would you. Its not often one gets to engage a true comedian.

By: Sue

Sue — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:33:41 +0000

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

By: Cobus De Wet

Cobus De Wet — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:04:57 +0000

@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.

By: RubinB

RubinB — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:24:21 +0000

@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.