Before going onto the blog, I invite readers to do a quick survey and answer, who finds the Zille-Malema slugfest:
a) Entertaining
b) Irresponsible politics
c) An embarrassment for South Africa’s international image
d) Stupid but harmless
e) Destructive and creating rifts and resentments among races and parties
f) Other (your opinion)
Thanks. I first want to look at perceptions, humour, evil and context before moving on to Helen Zille and Julius Malema. Here goes.
The Shanghai schoolchildren are laughing and pointing at the large, bald man heaving himself into a taxi. He is struggling to get his legs in and the rear of the car sinks as he sits down in the back of the car and puts down his rucksack.
That person is me and I am in pain, man. I am a gout sufferer, and get it every three or four months on average. Rarely, like now, do I get it in both ankles. I see the children, Chinese children I teach, laughing at my struggles and know they probably find it very funny when the car’s rear end drops considerably as I sit down because of my size, especially by skinny Chinese standards. I feel resentful and embarrassed by the mocking laughter. It is a small loss of dignity, but I shrug it off.
Chinese people sometimes laugh at me. It took me a while to understand the laughing was not necessarily mockery at all. It is more to do with delight and surprise — because Westerners are still a rare species in China — and sometimes nervousness. This got me to thinking about perceptions, hermeneutics, how we mean things. Humour for Chinese is perceived differently. They don’t understand sarcasm and ironic retorts. Give them slapstick. Chinese children in particular roar with approval at the slightest slapstick and sometimes I cannot see the slapstick. If I take my jacket off in class they laugh (Is it my size? They think my shoulders and arms are huge). If I happen to answer my mobile phone in a break between lessons they laugh, even university students. I haven’t figured that one out yet.
But those children laughing at all-important me heaving into the car can be perceived as malicious, as finding pain amusing. I think it was. The children surely knew I was in pain as they saw me hobbling in agony from class to class. Children can be cruel and thoughtless, and it is interesting to note that a love for inflicting pain, watching pain, teasing and mocking seems wired into us from birth, a sort of evil.
My last blog, “On the idea of evil and Zuma”, was an invitation to debate what evil is and the general feeling was that there is no simple definition of evil, that it is contextual, even a matter of perception, which reminds me strongly of one post-modernist movement, deconstruction: all meaning is utterly dependent on context, and contexts are without limit. For example, commentators on that blog suggested soldiers and freedom fighters just do what they are ordered to do and then go back to being good. This is their context: they are evil in war, good in peacetime. I agree with what these commentators say. But their remarks or notions suggest a difficulty. So those soldiers just switched on the “evil” button for a while then switched on the “good” button again? This implies that evil is immanent in all of us, that as Freud or Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness will assert, there is a destructive side to human nature that needs to be constantly restrained.
It is very amusing for me, and I am sure for many others, to watch those two public enemies, Helen Zille and Julius Malema, who seem to hate or despise each other, with little or no restraint sling mud at each other. Some of the comments are vicious. They have no respect for each other. Many of us find the banter downright hilarious and it seems to be a very healthy way for them to handle their hatred, by giving and receiving offensive remarks. (I am most curious about the results of the survey I suggested above.) Do HZ and JM hate each other? Perhaps scorn is a better word.
Of course Zille and Malema are not evil. She is an outspoken politician whom I admire: getting awards like the world’s best mayor doesn’t come undeservedly. I love Malema as our court jester. However, they certainly seem to love to hate each other. I am sure they enjoy coming up with fresh taunts. What is this interesting phenomenon, where we love what we hate? What is its relation to evil?
What makes me shudder about human nature is our fascination with evil. Look at the popularity of vampire movies. Or take the Josef Fritzl incest case. It cost 36 000 euros to ensure there was enough courtroom security and to prevent traffic chaos in the area around the courtroom. Sure, perhaps among the people who just wanted to see this monster there were vigilantes. By the way, I simply could not remember Fritzl’s name and googled “Austrian father incest daughter trial” and was appalled by the incest-porn websites available. The links and “inviting” first paragraphs below the links were sickening, “mother daughter sex” and so forth. My search brought up well over a million results. I did not go to page two as I simply did not want to wallow in the muck. Thankfully, Fritzl came out on the top of page one. The internet has certainly proven the shadow side of humans and puts it on show.
Interestingly enough, Zille, fluent in Zulu, called Malema an inkwenkwe, an uncircumcised little boy. I assume that is a great insult, within the context of Zulu culture, an affront to his manhood. (This is an example of all meaning having context: that insult, aimed at me, would not bother me at all. I am uncircumcised; taunting me with that has no meaning.)
Circumcision — of both sexes — is an ancient practice of the human race, and certainly a ghastly, mutilating ritual (especially the female clitoris) which separates us from the animals. This and other human mutilation rites of passage to gain adulthood/salvation/acceptance have been common human practices for millennia. It is endorsed as a religious practice and the pain is often a rite of passage into adulthood, even being accepted by one or another deity. Yet it can easily be perceived as an evil practice. I doubt our forebears saw it as evil. In the Old Testament there are many instances of the wrath of God burning on people where they may be killed by Him simply because they were not circumcised yet. This can easily be perceived as evil, because that holy wrath is by and large carried out by mere mortals in the name of the deity. Yet the ritual itself in different cultures grants the person salvation, holiness and acceptance into the tribe.
We are a terribly violent species. I certainly agree with Freud and CR Badcock (unfortunate name for a gentleman who specialises in the study of primitive rituals like circumcision) on some aspects of the development of civilisation and the superego to teach restraint of our violent impulses. As per their analyses (to some extent) the bloody rituals of circumcision and other forms of body piercing suggest that the novice is embracing and confronting his destructive nature, owning it, not denying the phenomenon, and, indeed, celebrating it, or as the psychologists and some mystics would have it, befriending the shadow.
So are Zille and Malema befriending their shadows? Celebrating what they are? They certainly seem to be having fun and for me it is great entertainment.
Postscript: I seem to have got it into some commentators’ minds that these blogs are conclusive, inarguable. Not at all. I invite debate, correction, different viewpoints. And my cheek is never far from my tongue.
a) entertaining.
I mean, c’mon: Picture the shebeen. Everyone gripping a quart of Black Label or a nip of Commando brandy. Someone says: “The DA Youth? Those are just Zille’s ‘garden boys”!
Can you imagine anything other than a roar of belly laughter? Someone else chips in: “At caucus meetings, her deputy Joe Seremane has to address her as ‘Medem”! I cannot imagine anything other than delighted braying of YEBO!
I love it: What a turnaround from the days of kragdadigheid! What an improvement even on the Mbeki days of “too scared to crack a joke”.
Politics would be boring without these two.But can’t Zille leave the child alone and pick up a fight with someone her age?In our culture,stooping to the level of kids shows an adult as childish.I respect her as a woman and an adult,and a good administrator to boot even though I detest her politics.
Zille,do yourself a favour.Find some radical in the DA of Malema’s age to take on julius.But he better be good because Julius will tear him to pieces.
Rod, slight correction for you here. “Inkwenkwe” is an isiXhosa word, the language in which Zille is fluent in and not isiZulu. In fact, Zulus are probably the only tribe in SA that don’t practice circumcision as a rite of passage to manhood. Apparently Shaka stopped the practice because he felt he was losing far too many capable youths to it, whereas they could be out there fighting wars for him. So no, Zulu men don’t do circumcision.
Why do people keep claiming that Zille can speak Xhosa/Zulu fluent when she can’t? She speaks like a madam that she is!
She told farmers in the Eastern Cape that Zuma goes to white communities to divide ‘us’! Who is the us that Zille is referring to? Imagine the hysteria that would have been created if Zuma had said that Zille goes to townships to divide ‘us’!
Malema and Zille just seem up for a fight and they are hence perfect for each other.
The answer for me is e)
My answer: a – great fun!
Pasile: “Why do people keep claiming that Zille can speak Xhosa/Zulu fluent when she can’t?”
Because she CAN speak fluent Xhosa. She speaks 4 languages, which is a lot better than most of us! Do some fact checking!
“She speaks like a madam” – Hau! And how is that? Like a white person speaking Xhosa? (Similar to an Afrikaner speaking English or an Englishman speaking French?). How degrading…
pete ess: agreed!!
Beaver – thought it might be Xhosa, thanks. But the languages are very similar. Didn’t know circumcision was not practised by Zulus.
Julius – you seem to literally view Malema as a child, according to your culture. Well then, if he is a child why does he have such a responsible position, one which Mandela once held?
Peter Ess – your comment is very insightful. Quite right, once upon a time it was politically correct to avoid racist jokes in SA and here these two are slugging it out in public and everyone, or most people, love the entertainment.
PS, my first job was teaching English at Langa High in the township of same name. This was 1989, apartheid era’s closing days. The Xhosas loved to make jokes, including ones about blacks. At first I was incredulous, then joined in the laughter.But I never made jokes about blacks, only whites.
Correction: Zille is not fluent in Zulu, attention to details asseblief tog.
Correction again, Zulus do not do circumcision as part of their culture.
Interesting! Just a correction Zille speaks a bi of Xhosa and not Zulu let alone fluent Zulu.
At some stage i thought Bhutana Manamela would be a good arch-rival for Julius’ taunts, but Nandos has taken the spot.
I agree that it is unseemly for Zille to be arguing with a foolish kid but its still entertaining.
R100k for the Julius puppet, yho!!!
Julius always throws in a joke or two when he’s addressing the crowd or the media and he’s damn funny. Listen to his press conferences, the media and crowd are always eating out of his hand.
“Hellen Zille is a political toddler”,
“If she can fake her face what about the policies?”
“I’m president of all the youth in this country including Hellen Zille’s children”,
“I think I should debate with Hellen Zille and not them because I don’t think they’ve met that standard of political engagement”
“She is not original but is plastic and cannot stand in the heat…”
I find the whole fight amusing. Personally, I think HZ should not have stooped to JM’s level (which is really low) but since she has, I think they deserve each other and provide much needed entertainement in the current climate in SA politics
Julius has called Zille a colonialist, an imperialsit, a racist, a little girl, a Madam. He’s called her chairman a garden boy.
Zille’s only retort has been that he’s immature .. an ‘inkwenkwe’, which is pretty accurate considering Julius’ only contributions to our election debates were insults.
Where’s the ‘slugfest’ Rod?
Btw, there’s an interesting theme under debate elsewhere that insults like Imperialist, Garden Boy and Madam are our new K-words.
Rod, you mention circumcision and religion together and I assume you mean the Christian/Judeo religion. Most believe that The Bible commands circumcision but that is probably not the case. When The Temple burned 2500 years ago, it is believed the original texts were destroyed but remnants remaim including the original portion said to contain “The Covenant.” It is conspiciously absent. The Covenant is supposed to date back 4500 years but the Egyptian priests were practicing it more than 6000 years ago. These priests were the “rock stars” of their days and it appears the Hebrews adopted the practice to emulate their power and influence for themselves. It was a marking similar to the popularity of tattooing among rock stars today and their fans picking up the practice today to emulate their icons.
.
@Rocky
Thanks for the quotes, Im in stitches!Love him or hate him, Malema is hilarious. Intelligence though, that’s another matter.
there’s more coming
“I wouldn’t say I’m famous the organisation I lead is popular”
“We are in a school of politics, we are in a laboratory, we are science students, we are experimenting. When there is a minor explosion the teacher shouldn’t run away and say these kids can’t be scientists”
“We were drinking with you on the corner, COPE, but now you walk tall. You claim to be men of the suburbs, but you are products of the squatter camps”
“We had to remind him that he was now a premier … because the man insisted on carrying a lunch box under his arm” on Shilowa
“The role of reverends is to pray for us and genuine prayers so that when we close our eyes we shouldn’t panic that by time we open our eyes Presidential candidates positions would be stolen by those who are praying for us.”
“There is no DA youth….until such a time they tell us when did they go to congress, how where they elected we’ll never recognise such a leadership”
“How do you know that, where did you see it? The husband of Hellen Zille must be worried because it means Hellen Zille had a private session with the President of the ANC Youth League. She must refrain from talking about things she doesn’t know”
“Hellen Zille when she dances you can see in her dance that she’s missing Apartheid “
Hi Frank, thanks but… Old Testament? I have read it, albeit a long time ago when I was a church-goer and it had a number of incidents of circumcision. Including God wanting to kill because some individual was circumcised. I find the topic really interesting and look forward to living in New Zealand where I have access to loads of research material on primitive religions. No ways in China.
Sheez Frank, sorry
For some reason this really cracks me up:
On Zille: ” . . when she dances you can see in her dance that she’s missing Apartheid”
LMAO
I’ll try and be more serious next time. From tomorrow.