I haven't blogged in my usual manner for a while, mainly because I decided to take a hiatus from confronting the all-too-real issues that drag down one's mental health on a daily basis in SA. But after a month or so of "looking on the bright side", the build-up of worrisome developments has again reached the point where I need to pour it out onto these pages, in the interests of my own mental health, that is.
SPOILER WARNING: those of you who prefer to pretend to yourselves that things are just dandy and that no news is good news, STOP RIGHT NOW. (Although maybe a peek at the very next paragraph may help you to decide if the shoe fits or not...)
South Africans, whatever else they may be, are above all, denialists. The vast majority of the white population denied apartheid, preferring to benefit from it while looking the other way. Just as the majority of those who are left here spend their days denying that things are as bad as they seem (while hiding behind their barred windows, electric fences, private security companies and refusing to venture south of Parktown, while cheating on their taxes and happily taking advantage of the perks of living in SA, like unlimited access to pirated DVDs).
Once again it's mostly white people playing the denial game. I seldom meet a black person who denies that things are really bad and getting worse. There's a charming young waitress at one of the Mugg and Beans, whose name is Faith - she's young and pretty, bright and ambitious (she wants to write a novel before she turns 30). But when my friend
Roy asked her if she is a faithful person, she replied "Yes, we have to have faith everyday in this country. I have to have faith that I am not going to be hijacked or raped on my way home from work every day".
She's 22 years old. Nice place to grow up in hey?
One of the weirdest news items this week is this, which would be laughable if it didn't expose just how similar the ANC is to the Nats when it comes to fascist tendencies....
The chairman of the country's parliamentary sports committee - Butana Komphela - has recommended that should not enough black players be picked for the upcoming rugby world cup,
the Springboks' passports will be confiscated. It's not even worth commenting on the obvious non sequitur involved in punishing players for being picked (sorry, logic? this is South Africa, bru, are you on acid?) It's so good to know that the people who are now running this little hotdog stand we live in share absolutely none of the despicable characteristics of the previous regime.
Democracy? Eish, what's that - oh yes, it's that Eurocentric liberal concept that really has no place in Africa.
As one French commentator responded: "You have a country that could be a world leader; instead you have one which is almost on its knees."
(Note to any denialists who are still reading: this wasn't a whining ex-South African with an axe to grind, this is how we appear to the average person in the rest of the world)
And speaking of democracy - our president has publicly stated that anyone who moans about crime in this country is a "despicable racist". Yes, that's a direct quote! The BBC was the target of his latest outburst of denialism and racist verbiage, when one of the most respected conflict reporters in the world pointed out that, statistically, it is more dangerous to live in South Africa than Iraq.
Hmm, can't let the truth be left to speak for itself - let's see what we have in our bag of tricks - oh yes, the race card - haven't played that one in a while.
(See, Mr Frenchman, you're probably also just a racist for making that comment above - if you're not insane like we are, you are a racist, mon ami. Don't worry, once you get the logic it will be easy to play the "being South African" game!)
But perhaps the most striking and sickening evidence of the ANC being the fascist Nats with black skins is their complete refusal to take any form of meaningful action on the Zimbabawe issue - because comrade Bob is their old struggle buddy, right. How in all good conscience can the ANC tolerate exactly the kind violent repression that our previous government used, without realising that they are condoning exactly what thousands of people died to get rid of - and whose deaths helped to put them in power? As they say, nothing corrupts like power - and we do so love our corruption here, don't we. Not to mention power.
And then to end a really good month, it has officially been estimated that there will be around 160 000 violent crimes committed this year in South Africa. Note the word "officially" - that means this figure is an underestimate. Oh and it doesn't count the 36,000 murders that will be committed, btw.
Phew, thank god none of us live in reality, hey?
Labels: ANC, crime, denialism, hypocrisy, racism, south africa, Thabo Mbeki, Zimbabwe
